History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

This forum is for talking about all kinds of Peavey guitar amplifiers.
xr400
New Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2016 11:10 pm

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by xr400 » Mon Mar 14, 2016 11:55 pm

Thank you for your kind words Tele Twister. I also like this site because unlike so many others I've seen there is real info and not a bunch of kids (I assume they're kids?) just degrading each other, that's makes it hard to find the people who share something I can learn from. I am glad I joined this one.

I will be using the stock Sheffield speaker for awhile in the new Bandit (it's also a "silver stripe" looks exactly like my first one). I replaced the first Bandit speaker with an Eminence Delta Pro 12A speaker (it's a PA speaker with 400 watts RMS and 800 watts Max Power handling BUT weighs 18lbs!). It is a secret weapon for use with the POD unit since "guitar" speakers all have their own midrange variance which gives them their tonal characteristics, with a neutral full range PA speaker I can use the POD's emulated cabinets and it sounds amazing (sounds good direct in with guitar too) but at $130 + shipping (from Parts Express) cost more than the combined price of both the Bandits. Still, Line 6 sells PA type powered guitar cabinets for exorbitantly high prices and though I've only heard them on YouTube reviews I can't help but thinking my little Peavey gets better tone! This forum helped me decide between the Peavey and the Crate amps that I was first thinking about, it seems the Peavey's are very well regarded for being reliable. I also have a Yamaha G100-112 Series 3, but I believe the Peavey is sounding better for my guitar use. The Yamaha will be my personal "PA" for a while. My keyboard friend goes thru his little Carvin keyboard amp and vocals can be heard good enough for the volume we play at, well it's better than nothing.

giovilix47
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:03 pm

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by giovilix47 » Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:47 pm

Hi everybody, I'm new in this forum.

I'm from Italy and I'm going to buy a used Peavey Bandit 112, obviously I'm looking for a Silver Stripe or a Red Stripe made in USA.
By the way, here in Italy, I've found quite a lot of people who want to sell this amp, but I've a doubt.
Indeed I've found some Silver Stripes which were made in China, but they come with a Sheffield 1230 12''. Is it possible?

I thought that the Silver Stripe was ONLY made in USA.

User avatar
tele twister
Member
Posts: 1183
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:38 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by tele twister » Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:33 pm

Welcome glovilix47!

Benvenuto!

That does sound strange. This is the USA silver stripe Bandit, made from 1995 to 1999;
DSCN1690 Bandit Silver.jpg
DSCN1690 Bandit Silver.jpg (48.09 KiB) Viewed 8888 times

giovilix47
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:03 pm

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by giovilix47 » Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:10 am

Thank you for the very quick reply! :D

Indeed it is very strange. I searched on the web some photos of the Silver Stripe and I made a comparison with the photos in the advertisement.
I found some differences, mainly two:

1) The Bandit on the advertisement reports "Designed in U.S.A." just above the power button;
2) As you can see in the photo of the back panel, the speaker doesn't have the "Peavey Sheffield 1230" sticker on it; even though on the front panel it says "Sheffield Equipped".

Image

Do you think that it is actually a Chinese model, or not?

User avatar
tele twister
Member
Posts: 1183
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:38 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by tele twister » Fri Apr 01, 2016 6:22 pm

Starting with about the Bandit 75 until about halfway through the red stripe, USA made Bandits said "MADE IN U.S.A." on the front and the back.
When just about anything only states "Designed in USA", it's most likely made in China.
I can barely make out the CE symbol (Certification European) on the back, and I know mine doesn't have that.
My guess is, Peavey was making the European versions over there in China.
Like you, I would prefer one that states "MADE IN USA".
But whyyy...???...because, I would prefer it!

giovilix47
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:03 pm

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by giovilix47 » Sat Apr 02, 2016 1:01 am

Indeed!

Then I've found that the first Blue Marvels didn't have the sticker on them so… I think it's a Blue Marvel. But a question still remains: if it came with a Blue Marvel then why did they put "Sheffield Equipped" on the front?

lionheart
Member
Posts: 810
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2012 3:02 pm
Location: Lincoln UK

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by lionheart » Sat Apr 02, 2016 1:04 pm

I have a very hazy recollection of some Peavey models being assembled here in the UK at Corby Northamptonshire England.
Whether or not that applies to Silver Stripe Transtube series amps I'm not absolutely certain but I'm pretty sure that some Peavey gear was assembled in the UK during the 80s and 90s out of Made IN USA electronics fitted in to Made In England cabs as part of a shipping costs reducing exercise.

giovilix47
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:03 pm

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by giovilix47 » Sat Apr 02, 2016 2:12 pm

Thank you for the reply lionheart!

Yesterday evening I contacted the customer support and I discovered that if the serial number begins with a "G", then that Bandit was made in China.

EDRo
New Member
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 16, 2016 6:37 am

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by EDRo » Mon May 16, 2016 7:43 am

Howdy folks!

My name is Ed. I'm 47 and have been a guitarist/composer for well over 35 years. I joined the forums today as I recently acquired a "red stripe" Peavy Bandit and wanted to research it a bit to find out which one I have and learn a little more about it.

Back in the 80's, when I was a young teenager, I had a Bandit. I can't remember for the life of me what color stripe it was or anything specific about it, other than it was a Bandit and I loved it! Even back then, I remember these amps being so popular among guitarists. When I saw this one I just had to have it!

What I want to confirm, is if this is a real "Made in USA" model or not. I think it is; it has "Designed AND made in USA" on the front (top left under the "Transtube Series"), and then on the Sheffield speaker it also says "Made in USA", so I'm assuming it's "Made in USA"?

Here it is pictured with my beloved Gibson Les Paul Custom and some other gear...
Image

Here I made sure to get that yellow tag in the pic, as somebody mentioned something about it earlier in this thread.

Image

The Sheffield:

Image

And the serial number:

Image

EDRo
New Member
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 16, 2016 6:37 am

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by EDRo » Mon May 16, 2016 11:40 am

Btw, I'd like to thank the op and those who've contributed to this thread! I'm very happy to have found it!

Thanks again!

User avatar
tele twister
Member
Posts: 1183
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:38 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by tele twister » Mon May 16, 2016 7:21 pm

Welcome EDRo, a new/old Bandit brother!

Congrats, you have a real USA made Bandit. The Asian ones leave out the "and made" part.
Yours was probably made in the early 2000s.

Here's the owners manual in case you needed it;
https://assets.peavey.com/literature/ma ... 304681.pdf

God Bless America!

ScottMarlowe
Member
Posts: 1475
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:23 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by ScottMarlowe » Mon May 16, 2016 7:28 pm

Welcome EDRo! I just picked one up myself. I already had a block logo red stripe Envoy and Rage, so the Bandit just rounds off my collection, for now at least. Man, what sweet amps! They're like a nice $300 distortion pedal with an amp/speaker built in!

EDRo
New Member
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 16, 2016 6:37 am

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by EDRo » Mon May 16, 2016 10:30 pm

tele twister wrote:Welcome EDRo, a new/old Bandit brother!

Congrats, you have a real USA made Bandit. The Asian ones leave out the "and made" part.
Yours was probably made in the early 2000s.

Here's the owners manual in case you needed it;
https://assets.peavey.com/literature/ma ... 304681.pdf

God Bless America!
Thanks for the welcome! I'm so relieved that my Bandit is the real deal, Made in the USA, just like my LPC! ;)

I found the links to the manuals in the first post of this thread first thing... it's what led me here. What a great resource!

EDRo
New Member
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 16, 2016 6:37 am

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by EDRo » Mon May 16, 2016 10:48 pm

ScottMarlowe wrote:Welcome EDRo! I just picked one up myself. I already had a block logo red stripe Envoy and Rage, so the Bandit just rounds off my collection, for now at least. Man, what sweet amps! They're like a nice $300 distortion pedal with an amp/speaker built in!
And thank you for the welcome as well!

I agree! These are fantastic, versatile, and loud as hell little amps!

Patriot
New Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 8:12 pm

Re: History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit

Post by Patriot » Sun May 22, 2016 10:36 pm

Back in the Early 90's I ran music shops in London and Picked out a 1990 Blue Stripe Scorpion Equipped Bandit 112 for my Uncle to use with his pedal steel for it's great clean sound. The Amps clean channel has sparkle and warmth and the Scorpion I would rate over the later Sheffield speakers it has great range from low to high it handles everything with ease.
Eventually I got the Bandit back and its been a favourite in both live and recording situations. I have tried the later models but still prefer this one. For lead guitar the overdrive sounds are very good,it can be tricky to EQ but experiment with small adjustments will get the tone you want. The spring reverb is good, some hum at higher levels (as they all do) but works well.
Amp has never gone wrong and the cab construction and coating from that time were the best ever offered so it still looks great 26 years after I first got it. They sell for bargain sums in the States but It would take a lot to part me from mine. Quality tone, a bona fide classic Peavey amp.

Post Reply