Peavey Centurion Mark III 260C Head

Versatility is key here... 2 channels with automix control through an included stompbox. Parametric EQ on one channel, and shelving EQ on the other. Good gain stage, two outs, preamp out for DI, and power amp in.

I'm sure you can plug about anything you want into this amp, but the compressor circuit and peak LED should warn everyone that this is a Bass amp first and formeost. This was my first amp, bought it in the bass sections of Canada's largest music store, and it was hooked up with a Philip Kubiki ($$$) bass to it. I've used it with a 1*15 cab, then switched to a 2*12 cab with horn for more punch. The head has more than enough power...this is no apartment amp.

Sound is clean, no warm distrotion, it will overdrive with a transistor-based circuit, but why bother? I use active EQ on the bass, and drive the dirt with my fingers. Play loud with j50's and this thing bites! Humbucker pcikups sound nice and growly. Lot of clarity here. I don't like having a lot of the tonal characteristics coming from an amp...I prefer speaker choice, guitar choice, and my playing for that. This amp is very, very good.

I've had it since 84. Still going as a studio amp. Listen, most people come into the studio and head for the GK or the Trace. Hey the Trace has green on the front...it looks interesting. But when I plug them in to the Peavey and let them sweep the parametric eq while thumbing notes, they end up recording with the peavey. They'll set up two tones for the song (verse and chorus) and use the footswitch for the changes. Simple and dead easy, and I can DI them to the board. So these bass players still feel like they have control of the tone while recording. They;re doing it, while I'm behind glass.

Love it. Ugly, but 100% usefull. The bassist's workhorse. To buy a replacement today would be $600-800 for a head I originally paid $350 for in 84 or so. I don't consider it a depreciating asset in the studio for tax writeoffs.

1978? (Stamped on front).

Good general purpose guitar/keyboard/bass amp.

Preamp distortion but, no true high gains sounds.

2 Channels (Mine has no pedal). Useful to switch between 2 instruments or 1 guitar/bass/keyboard between 2 preset amp tones.

Direct output for going into a board (built in DI box = $50.00 value)

Preamp out and power amp in (never used it)

Built in compressor/limiter

4 inputs for instruments. 2 outputs to speakers. Minimum 4 Ohms speaker load (It will do 8 or 16 with less volume output).

130 Watts RMS

Since this amp is not built for a specific application the top EQ is very complicated, but on the positive side you can achieve just about any tone you want. If you need high gain, plug a Marshall Guv'nor in and let her rip.

Tip: Set amp's EQ first to set clean sound, then tune Distortion pedal to suit dirty needs without adjusting amp.

I have used this with a Strat and a PT with humbuckers (Duncan 59 and JB). It has great sound and gets very loud. You can max every dial but the preamp and get clean sounds. Preamp starts to fuzz out after about 2 or 3 o clock (naturally). I am not a fan of the distorted sounds this amp makes, but it would be appropriate for a bass or a retro 60 fuzz sound.

Amp is good for bass when it is hooked up to a proper bass cabinet. It even works pretty well with a bass through guitar speakers too (be careful).

With a pair of 8 Ohm PA speakers you could realise the full potential of this amp... or is it a mini PA?

4x12

Hooked up to a half stack was surreal. Through a full stack? I wish I had the other half to hook up.

4x10 Not as bassy, but still more than enough for serious loud rock

2x12 Best gigging musician setup. Very loud like a Twin, but light and easy to carry. Naturally it doesn't push as much air as a 4x12, but it is still more than loud enough to gig with.

1x12 Perfect for practice (almost too loud for apartment use). Also perfect for gigging because you can use the speaker as a monitor and use the DI to the PA board of the venue you are at if you need more volume than the 1x12 can provide.

VERSITILITY IS THE KEY FUNCTION OF THIS AMP.

For the five years I have owned this I have never had a single problem. NEVER EVER!!! I have never even needed to spray out the pots. Peaveys name may not turn tube freaks on, but the ability to not worry about tubes (and buy more when they wear out) added to the fact that this 130 Watt amp does not weigh as much as a 50 Watt tube head is why I bought it in the first place. If it ever got stolen... Oh well. I am out $100-200. No one can say that for a tube head.

Can't say. I hate wandering through the Warranty quagmire. Every company is guilty of this. If it broke and the repair was more than $50.00 I'd Ebay it as parts, let a pro fix it and buy a working unit for $150.00 (a super steal).

This amp does everything. Here is why I bought it.

Lightweight and solid state (kind of go hand in hand).
Cheap.
Now I can play bass throught this amp and my 12" bass cabinet.
Keyboards? Sure, plug it in. You can plug half of your band into this rig and jam away. Use a mic on the top Channel if you have no PA. Use a guitar on channel 2 and you are a 1 man band.

It would be nice if it had a better distortion built in, but that is silly for this amp. One would rarely want distortion on a Bass or Keyboard. Leaving it out preserves this as a general purpose amp.

If this amp was 300 Watts, I'd give it a 10, but for the $$$ and the 130 Watts (more than most amps in this range) I have to give it a 10. The DI out is what sold me. I needed an amp and a DI box that week. I saved $50.00 that week by buying this amp eliminating the need for the Direct Box.

This amp has no snob value, but the owner of this amp will take the criticisms of the tube amp snobs and ignore them because of the light weight of this amp and the worry-free operation (not worrying about not having a speaker connected thus blowing up the output transformer on your tube amp).


I rarely rate stuff a 10, but FOR THE MONEY you cannot beat a used deal on this amp.

I bought this amp used in 1990 for $150. It has 2 channels, I footswitch between them.

This amp does everything I need in an amp. I use it with a Sunn cabinet with 2 15" Altec Lansing speakers.

I have used my Ampeg B-15-N amp as a preamp with my rig, also as an extra PA power amp. Lots of power, I have not been able to over drive this amp.

I play 1965 Fender Jazz Bass. Blues, pop, rock, etc.

I like to have a big loud sound on one channel, a softer tone on the other, and use the footswitch.

I have never had to do any kind of maintenance on this amp, I've had it 15 years and counting.

I was able to find the footswitch from a local dealer in Western Massachusetts, no problem.

Peavey has good help and info when I contacted them. They didn't have the owner's manual.

I bought this amp because I found it as a used item, and it fit my needs well.

I bought mine brand new in 1980. The amp features two separate channels, one configured with passive EQ, the other channel with an active notch type parametric EQ. Passive EQ has pre gain, bass, mid, treble, post gain. PEQ channel has pre gain, low,(mid)frequency, (mid)bandwith, treble, post gain. Automixing allows foot controller selection of either channel or both. Front panel line out, preamp out. Built in DDT? compression. Very powerful amp though I would disagree that it is a full range applicable, it's best for bass guitar using 2-15" or a 2-10" & 18" combo.

I used it for 12 years as the main amp for a weekend band playing about 35+ weekends a year. Our focus was 80's - 90's music and the Centurion allowed me to get the bite I needed for the bass sounds of that era. I used a Rickenbacher 4001S with it for years, though later switched to a hotrodded Kramer Focus 7000 becuase the Centurion/Kramer combination gave me the most versatile sound combinations. In the almost 25 years of owning this amp I always played with the pre-gains of both channels at 12 o'clock and the post gains around 7-8 o'clock. The attack on this setup was quite apparent when doing a more lead type of bass playing. I doubt you could get a dull thumping country sound out of it, this thing was meant to rock. The appreciable gain of having the the automix send to both channels was so good, I tossed the foot controller a decade ago. W/O the pedal it defaults to the combined mode when you plug into the automix jack. The passive EQ is pretty much normal, but with the notch and bandwidth of the upper parametric channel, you can dial in the exact midrange emphasis you want.

For several years it was quite reliable consdering all of the road gigs we went through. Then I developed a slowing reoccuring problem where the bass would cut out totally. I'd bang on the head and it would come back, though it took several belts to get it back one time so I ripped it open. I took the circuit board front panel to work(DoD electronics tech) and checked it out under a scope. The pins that the jumper cable go to had broke free from the solder connection on the board. (the front panel is a circuit board configuration with a connecting cable to the power amp back panel) Apparently they were skimpy with the solder at the factory. I reflowed the solder and made military type fillets(ISO 9001 specs) to resolidify the posts and never had a cutout happen again. I also replaced the ancient mica type transistor insulators with military spec new types. During my troubleshooting Peavey Techs were all over it in supplying me with the schematics and parts listing for the entire Centurion, all through email at no cost to me.

Peavey with all products is hands down the best there is in the industry. No other company provides schematics, parts listing and troubleshooting feeback like Peavey.

I see more and more guitarists inquiring about this amp, though with my Fender Stratocaster(1978 American) I still found the Centurion partial to the low end. If you want a strident ripper sound, pass on this amp. Any bass player that has a good speaker set would love to have this baby. If I lost it or someone stole it, I'd pay just about any price to get one back. I've been with it for over 20 years and it defines my bass sound.

Made in 79,First let me start by saying , Im tired of seeing this amp listed as a bass amp.It's a general purpous amp i.e, Guitar, Bass, and keyboard.Now that, that's said.
The amp has huge versatilitie.For bass and guitar apps.
It has four channels..and an automix,you can switch channels by the foot switch.It has line out,pre amp out ,pwr amp in. It has a 5 eq system for channel 1 a and 1 b.It has eq system for the second channels a and b.and a built in compressor.I use this head with a crate half stack.Along with too many pedals to list ... I use multiple guitars with this setup ...Dxmg, fat strat, omen 6, samick, and a few others...it sounds really good and very loud ,It cuts thru everything else like a ginsu.Its a tough head to beat exspecialy for the price you can get them now for under 100.00 bucks you just have to know where to look.make sure you test before buying

I play alot of Metallica, GNR, Lynord Skynord, to older stuff Hendrix,
just alot of different shit ..but no country.Its completely quit .You will get the low hiss if you max out the gains but you get that on all amps even 1000.00 mesa boogies and Marshalls.You can produce a nice clean sound with this or get a low bass feal that will knock out windows ..I use diff pedals to get distortion I like the turbo rat best with the setup im using right now...It will make your ears ring..

You can depend on it ...It will last for ever ,,,It gets hot but dont worry its supposed to and you can play for hours non stop and it wont let you down...Never broke ....

Customer support I will give a 10 to not because they had to be called because of any failure but because I needed a manual ...but they are fast and friendly and they can help you with any problem you have.

Ive been playing for over 3yrs and like I said earlier I own quite a bit of gear so I will only name the gear I use the most ...Jackson dxmg and a shecter c1 stealth.I use pro co turbo rat for dist,and thats about it.I wish it had a few more options but its as old as I am so you cant realy expect new stuff on an old amp I like using pedals and rack shit anyways, so it works perfect for me.Oh and it has oh I cant remember I think DDT ..so it wont let it clip.and thermal shutdown....I would deffinatly buy it again,Its a kick ass amp hell I might buy another and use it on my bass setup.