Peavey Bandit 112S

This is the Bandit Transtube series 112, Shettfield 12" speaker. The amp is rated at 80 watts rms and 100 watts when an extension speaker is connected. Basis amp with 2 channels - clean and distortion.

I'm using several guitars through this amp - Fender Strat Deluxe Plus with lace sensors, California Fat Tele and Custom Shop Tele. I play live every weekend playing classic rock and modern country. For me the Bandit is a great amp, sound wise for my applications. It has great clean sounds with plenty of power.

This is the 3rd Bandit I have had. Never had problems with any of them. I also own a couple of Fender tube amps which require lots of maintanence.

I would have to say other then SKB cases, Peavey has the best customer support. Anytime that I have had a question, they answered promptly.

I have been playing since the 60's. I have played through every type of amp that you can imagine. Like I said before, this is the 3rd Bandit that I have owned. Every time I get rid of one of my Bandits, to use one of my other amps, I end up going back to the Bandit. Dollar for dollar you can not beat the Bandit. Being one of the best selling amps of all times it's not only reliable it sounds great. With the Transtube technology it's the closet thing to a tube amp without the costs and upkeep.

Lots and lots-o-stuff. You got your low/mid/high eq for clean and dirty channels, bright, channel, fx level, and resonance switches, fx loop, reverb, pre and post gain, presence knob, and T. Dynamix knob (tube amp emulation). Also the fx loop and clean/dirty channel can be switched on/off with the included footswitch. 80 watts, 100 with extension speaker.
Oh yeah, one complaint. No headphone jack. Wish it had it, but the amp is so cool, I don't mind too much.

Oh hell fuckin yeah! Has a really nice, juicy, chunky distortion. Clean is pristine. I've never played on a real tube amp before, but I know that this sounds a hell of a lot better than the Fender Princeton 112 (solid state) amp I had, so whatever it sounds like, it sounds damn good. Juicey is the best word to describe it.
It's also pretty damn loud, but with the drummer we had for a while, it wasn't quite loud enough. Just a little too low. However, our former drummer beat the piss out of the drumset, and while I'm at home and the rest of the band is still on campus, we've aquired a new drummer. I haven't played with him yet, but hopefully he's a little quieter. If the amp still isn't loud enough, though, I'll probably buy an extension speaker, to boost the output. Reverb isn't bad.

Well, I've had it for a few months with no problems, but that's what you'd expect. I had a little Peavey practice amp that lasted pretty well, though. Only thing it ever needed was for the screws to be tightened on the speaker. Hopefully this thing will last.

I emailed them about their 112sx extention speaker, and they got back to me right away with the retail price ($229) and dealers in the area that might carry it. I'll give them an 8 based on that.

I've been playing for 2 1/2 years, so I know what I'm talking about, but I'm also no expert. This is a kick ass amp, and I'm really happy I got it (I took back the Fender Princeton because it sounded like crap and got this for some extra dinero). Clean, distorted, it's all just too groovy, baby. It really brings out the chunka-chunka in my Fender Tele, without being overly trebley. Other than the lack of a headphone jack, I have no complaints.

I don't know when it was made. I just got it yesterday, I still haven't figured out what all the dials do. there arelike 12 dials and 4 buttons that push in or out and some switches. I never played an amp before that had more than volume, treble, mid, low and distortion before. 80 watts is more than I could imagine needing.

I play everything from Harry Chapin to Nine inch Nails, and this amp seems quite capable of coming along for the ride. I really like playing with the footswitch reverb when I play some stuff from "Tommy", I've never played a tube amp though, so I can't make a comparison.

I bought this used yesterday. sometimes the lead cuts out if you turn it up high enough, but you just have to jiggle the reverb knob to fix it. it's just a loose connection somewhere.

I play this with a Epiphone Les Paul 100, the lowest guitar on the Epi LP food chain other than the specials (which I always say, an Epi LP special is to an Epi LP what the special olympics are to the olympics) but back to the point, anything that makes my Epi LP 100 sound sweet for $75 is a tremendous value for me.

This is a new Transtube bought 3/99. It's 80W or 100W with extension speaker. Preamp out, Poweramp in. Effects Loop, Two Channels, Resonance, Presence, and T.Dynamics controls besides the regular EQs, bright switches, etc. This amp is very loud.

I use a Mex. Strat with a '59 humbucker in the neck and a Tom Anderson HN2+ in the bridge. I use a Boss GX700 preamp through the clean channel both for clean and dirty sounds. I play everything from clean chorused stuff to Satrianiesque and Vai-like dirt. This amp really adds flavor to my Boss GX700 although I find the T.Dynamics controls does fairly little in my opinion. As I stated in my Blazer 158 review, the PREGAIN setting on Channel Two does more to affect my Channel One setting than the T.Dynamic. For example, at O, the pregain on Channel Two makes channel one sound more clean, more solid state. Turn the pregain to 10 and channel one becomes more tube-like. Apparently there is some channel bleed. I thank God I found this out because it makes a HUGE difference to me. (I play with it on about 8). This trick is more apparent when playing dirty. If you plan on playing metal on Channel Two, considering using a stompbox at full volume into your amp at full gain.

Can't trash a Peavey!

Fantastic. Best customer service going. Website is great and informative.

Definitely buy again. Sturdy, reliable, killer sound with the right tools. How can you beat it for the price. Very loud. I am considering a poweramp only because I want a stereo rig and two Bandits may be a bit much to haul.

I don't know what year the amp was made in, I got it used. I play alot of punk, alot of surf, and some blues and some gothic, it handles punk and gothic very well with the "Supersat" and gain it has. As far as the blues goes, it handles it decent. The reverb works great for surf. The amp has two foot-switchable channels, effects loops jacks, line out jack, but no headphone jack.

I play a Peavey Predator with a humbucker and 2 single coils. The reverb is great, I play alot of surf so it comes in handy. The only problem I have is the "shift" on the second channel doesnt hardly respond. The clean channel sounds great at low volume as well as high volume. The amp has "Supersat" which gives a nice fuzzy distorted sound when used right.

I depend on this amp soley, I dont have alot of money and it is the only thing I can use. The amp has had no problems with me, I dont know if it had any previous problems with the prior owner.

I havent had to deal with the company yet. I dont know if I have a warranty getting the amp used.

I have been playing for about 4 years, the last amp I owned was a little Harmony 10 watt. If it were stolen or lost, depending on if I had the money or not I would try to get another one. I really like the amp, the only thing I hate is the "shift" setting not working.

this new technology named transtube is supposed to be an tube emulation... I don't exactely the difference between tube and solid state but this tube emulation sound LIKE HELL!! the lead channel himself is excellent to play blues... nice warm sweet sound... hummmmmm... the clean channel is not noisy and this is great! I wished it have a headphone plug but it don't have one so this maybe the only inconvenient i found on this amp... this amp is 80 watts and is so loud!!! I play on the clean channel with a distortion pedal and if you put it at more than 1 out of 10 (clean volume) you'll be blown away!!!! especially when I do palm muting who sound AWESOME!

I used a very beginner guitar (250 canadian $) cheap... but the bandit 112 Sheffield equiped make my guitar sound so great ... the lead channel alone has a good distortion for punk metal of thing like that but work better with blues... but with a GOOD distortion pedal playing on the clean channel you can get any good artist sound. you can get a close marshall sound (but remember... with a good distortion pedal!) i can get great "black album" (metallica) sound and good Pantera too (i don't say you can replicated exactly the same sound but near) the best thing I found on this amp is when I do palm muting... Man I'm not joking the PM is better than metallica and a bit better than pantera, so CoOl! (for that great PM keep in the "resonance" button and put the T-Dynamics at 100%) I'm not playing with a metalzone and it's sound so Great so maybe that with a Boss MT-2 is sound like Hell!

sound like tube but don't have to replace the tube because there is no one! So very great

Im playing since 2 years and if it where stolen: 1: I would found the guy who take it and KILL him! 2: After I would kill all his family even his dog and cat 3: I would bought another bandit 112 Sheffield amp
it's a great amp look at it If you have the chance

The Bandit 112S is an 80 watt, solid state combo amplifier with a 12" Sheffield speaker. This provides plenty of overpower for home use. It has a clean and a lead channel, switching between the two either on the amp on via the included footswitch. Each channel has a 3 step EQ. The clean channel has a "Bright" switch for boosting the highest frequensies. The lead channel has, besides the usual 2 knobs for gain and output volume, one "Thrash" switch and a "Gain" switch. Thrash lowers the mid range frequencies even more than the mid knob allows. (Playing metal? Keep thrash in!) Gain boosts the gain so that the maximum can be reached (Again, keep it in!). Both channels share the "Reverb" knob and the "Power amp" section. This includes a "Resonance" button for additional bass, a "Prescense" knob boosting the extreme high frequensies and finally the "T. Dynamics" knob which regulates the compression rate. With the T.D. turned down the tube simulation is said to be enhanced. I don't know if I agree with that. It basically just turns the power level down. No headphone jack. A cabinet can be connected for extra power. With the impedance lowered to 4 ohms you can get 100 W out of the Bandit. It's very loud as it is though. There is an footswitchable effects loop. My friend said the bypass wasn't reliable. I actually never tried it.
The new Bandit 112 is built using the so called Transtube Technology. This is said to provide the best tube simulation of today. I play thrash and heavy metal and do not actually like the sound of most tube amps, but I just love the sound this amp though. I don't lack anything except maybe a headphone jack.

My guitar is a very cheap one but of good quality anyhow. The pickups are of the humbucking kind. This in combination with the massively-high-gained distortion gives me a very good sound for metal, which is what I play. I haven't heard any tube-amp that can give you a sound as complete, tight and aggressive as the Bandit. An factor of irritation could be that the amp hisses loudly at high volumes on the lead channel. Of course the hiss is killed instantly when the strings are set in motion, but still. When playing together with drums and bass the distortion is powerful enough but somewhat hard to quite make out. In these situations it can be recommended to turn the mid knob up just a bit even though mid on 0 is best when you're at home.
Good for playing music where a high-quality distortion is necessary, like Metallica and Megadeth for example. The Bandit 112 can also produce many other kinds of sounds other than metal I that's what its best for playing.

No problem. I've heard about people dropping it down staircases and such. It hardly ever needs any service at all unlike tube amps. It's definitely well bulit.

I have never needed contact with Peavey. The warranty is a year.

I can not find a better amp on the market today. The price is low and the quality is high. Why should you spend thousands and thousands on tube amps that still don't quite do the trick. The amps under Bandit in the Transtube series aren't as good as the Bandit. The models under it are good but not by far as fine as this amp. Getting a Bandit doesn't jut give you more power than the others. The sound quality is definitely enhanced. The Bandit amp head version is called Supreme. It is also very nice, but costs about as much as a Bandit. For short: It's great!

Best tube simulation I've ever heard. It "breathes" like a tube amp, and the variety distortion coloring you can achieve with the gain and thrash buttons is great.One thing that would be cool is if you could footswitch the gain button. This would in effect create a third channel, so you could have clean (distortion off), rhythm distortion (distortion channel on and gain button off), and lead (gain on). This amp is a fire-breathing monster power-wise.....more than enough for any imaginable live and studio situation, especially paired with a 4-ohm extension cabinet.

My main 2 axes are a Strat plus deluxe with lace sensors and an Ibanez RG550. They both sound great through the Bandit. I play a wide variety of stuff, from progressive (Genesis, Yes, Rush, etc) to modern (Better Than Ezra, Collective Soul)to heavy (Van Halen, Metallica, etc) and the amp can handle it all and then some. There is a bit of hiss when using single coils, but that's to be expected, and can be handled with a noise gate. The clean channel really sparkles, and the distortion is fabulous, you can get a wide palette of sounds from slightly-distorted blues to all-out metal, with a very tube-like,warm feel.

Peavey is the hardiest gear anywhere. I used to have Classic VTX 2x12 that I dropped 5 feet from a loading dock onto concrete and it didn't even faze it! Also spilled beer into the open back once, and just wiped it up and kept rockin'.

I wrote Hartley Peavey a letter in praise of this amp and he wrote back a personal 3-pager (not a form-letter) explaining how they came up w/Transtube technology, and thanking me for my business. It was great! He's totally committed to his business and products and it shows. I've owned Peavey gear since the early '80s and never once had to take it in for repairs, other than retubing the Classic a couple of times.

I've been playing for 28 years, and own 10 guitars, 2 basses, stereo power amp and cabinet, a Digitech GSP 21 Legend and a mess of pedals. This amp is hands down one of the best pieces of gear I've owned. I'd definitely buy it again. Why spend thousands on a boutique combo when this one does the job just as well, with probably more versatility? Over the years, I've played through just about every brand name amp you can think of; I always thought solid state would never come close to tube, but Transtube changed my mind. At this price-point, you'd be nuts not to chech a Transtube amp out-save yourself some major bucks!

You've read it all before, I'll comment below, BUT, - this is a problem update. Problem is, the amp began breaking up distorting on the clean channel, not a great deal, but enough to be noticable. Reason, according to Peavey, is a bad Poweramp In jack on the rear. Fix is to have the jack replaced, or jumper from Preamp out to PowerAmp In with a short patch cord. I did this and it fixed the problem. There is a similar problem with the effects loop, fix is the same, except patch effects-out to effects-in. This is also the reason and fix if the thing plain quits working (usually in the middle of a gig, right?)
Other that this, I don't know how you'd get more bang-for-the-buck. Effect loop, dual input, dual EQs, presence, the whole deal for often less than $300.00! The effects loop is neat, it's nice to be able to set up your pedals, and just turn the loop on and off, BUT.. I find the sound quality is poorer this way (I have a set of 5 pedals, and they just sound better straight-in). A system like a Digitech RP6 may work better in the loop, though, never tried it.

I use an Epiphone Sheraton II (dual humbuckers) and a Squire Bullet Strat with Carvin A11 pickups) Clean sound is very good, not as shimmery as a Fender, etc. but very nice. Tried out a Classic 50 4x10, which was nicer, but not by much. Distortion channel is a bit metallic for my taste, extra gain is over-the-top-nuts, and EXTREMELY noisy. But, again, is not bad. Clean has tons of headroom. I don't know if this 'sounds just like a tube amp' or not, don't really care, I think all that matters is how it sounds to the player! It is very versitile. I'd give it a 9 or 10 if the distortion was more 'creamy'...

Other than the problem above, no worries.

Found the answer to my problem from their website in the user-group area, and was also emailed back by the sysop. Peavey is the 'working man's' amp, and very reliable in general. Response for me was amazing!

Had it 1 1/2 years, if it was stolen I'd probably look at other options before buying the Bandit again, but only because I'd have reason to. I'm very satisfied overall with this amp.

The Peavey Bandit 112 is a great sounding solid state amp with two channels, a clean channel, and lead channel. The clean channel sounds great for playing anything from blues to rock and the lead channel has excellent sounding distortion for playing hard rock and heavey metal. The amp also has a killer Reverb, high and low inputs, effects loop, and external speaker output for giving 100 more watts to a cabinet.

I mostly play heavey metal and hard rock, and this amp sounds great playing both. I play a Fender Strat, and a Washburn Dimebag Darrell, and both of these guitars sound killer through this amp. The distortion can go from clean to chunky with the turn of a knob, with very little feedback. The clean channel sounds great too. I can crank it up to seven or eight and it sounds great with no distortion, I dont do this to often though because this amp is so damn loud. The amp sounds great playing any style of music, the only thing I dont like is the constant low pitched hissing sound, other than that this is a great amp.

This amp is very reliable and I would definatley take it to a gig with out bringing a backup. It has never broken down, and I dont excpect it to either.

Never had to deal with them, and hopefully never will.

I have been playing the guitar for a little over a year, and this is the best solid state amp that I have heard. I was maybe going to pick up a Marshall amp, but I did not have a 1000 bucks to spend, and I also didn't want to have to replace tubes every six months. For less than 400 dollars, I think this is the best solid state amp out on the market and if anything did happen to my amp, I would definately buy this amp without hesitation.