Making Out... Like a Bandit?
My first amp ever was a Peavey Rage 158 (silver stripe). Having spent a year or so on my mother's acoustic, getting an electric guitar and amp and being able to engage overdrive was pretty amazing.
It didn't take long for me to outgrow that amp, and I was quickly onto the Peavey Studio Pro, which added reverb and a bunch of other features (bright on the clean, gain boost and "thrash" on the lead, the later of which scooped some mids). That was the amp I'd use for most of high school, and the one that to this day remains the amp I gigged with the most.
Fast forward a bunch of years, and I found myself without an amp, though I don't really remember why. Maybe I had sold my DRRI, but I'm not sure. In any case, upon finding out that I was amp-less, my brother offered his Peavey Red Stripe Envoy (the x10 combo) to fill the void.
Years later, the thing still sits in my living room. I use it more than the Z, not because it sounds better, but because it IS easier. Just grab a guitar, plug in, and have a little Saturday morning dance party with the kids. I find that the lead channel is pretty responsive to changes to the volume of the guitar, so much so that when the channel is set to "lead" on the three position switch, I can go from "clean-enough" to "primo-riff-age" without touching the amp.
Keep in mind, I'm not suggesting this is world-beating tone, but if you're not a guitar player, you probably won't know the difference. Then again, if that is the case, you're not reading this either...
I was browsing Facebook Marketplace, which is starting to become my go-to for super-local listings, and came across a Peavey Bandit, Red Stripe, for $200. I didn't think it was a great price, but I decided to watch it on account of extreme proximity to me, and the fact that FB Marketplace seems to encourage sellers to lower prices as time moves forward.
After a week, the price was down to $130. I offered $100, and the seller agreed. He even offered to deliver to my door, making the entire transaction hassle free. The bonus-news was that it came with a foot switch. The not-so-bonus news was it needed to be cleaned something fierce.
While cleaning, I noticed that the speaker in the back had no label on it. Hmmmm, I thought this would have a "Blue Marvel" like the Envoy. I went over to the Envoy to inspect, and noticed that the Envoy, sporting the Blue Marvel speaker, was Designed AND Built in the USA. The Bandit was only designed in the USA. It was built in China.
Hmmmmm....
The two amps definitely sound like they are part of the same series, with the Envoy's lower power and smaller speaker accounting for less low, but the quality of speaker accounting for smoother highs. There is something about the top-end that is quite shrill in the Bandit, reminding me of the Crate V18-212, which are great amps IF you replace the speakers. In fact, my experience thus far with Chinese made valve amps is that replacing the speakers generally improves sound exponentially.
Despite this, the sound of the Bandit is actually quite good. It's been said before, but Peavey's "TransTube" technology isn't just snake oil - it really does reproduce a percentage of the feel/compression/dynamics that are inherent in a tube amp. A percentage mind you, not the whole experience. Suffice to say that the Bandit produces a perfectly acceptable tone, and I'd happily cart it out to a jam session or something, knowing that I didn't have to worry about a singer spilling a Hard Lemonade on it or something.
What I've noticed more than anything over the course of a week with it is that it's greatest attribute might be it's ability to put my other amp (the Z) in context. By messing around with the Bandit, and using it as a point of comparison, I've been more attentive to dialling in exactly what I want out of the Z.
My thoughts return to the speaker: Is it worth replacing it to make a good experience better?
Not sure. I've already spent $100 on a Peavey Bandit, something I already know my brother does not approve of. Spending slightly more on a replacement speaker seems to be silly, but I suppose I could always keep the speaker if I sell the amp down the road...
Plus it gives me something new to keep my eye out for on the used market.
It didn't take long for me to outgrow that amp, and I was quickly onto the Peavey Studio Pro, which added reverb and a bunch of other features (bright on the clean, gain boost and "thrash" on the lead, the later of which scooped some mids). That was the amp I'd use for most of high school, and the one that to this day remains the amp I gigged with the most.
Fast forward a bunch of years, and I found myself without an amp, though I don't really remember why. Maybe I had sold my DRRI, but I'm not sure. In any case, upon finding out that I was amp-less, my brother offered his Peavey Red Stripe Envoy (the x10 combo) to fill the void.
Years later, the thing still sits in my living room. I use it more than the Z, not because it sounds better, but because it IS easier. Just grab a guitar, plug in, and have a little Saturday morning dance party with the kids. I find that the lead channel is pretty responsive to changes to the volume of the guitar, so much so that when the channel is set to "lead" on the three position switch, I can go from "clean-enough" to "primo-riff-age" without touching the amp.
Keep in mind, I'm not suggesting this is world-beating tone, but if you're not a guitar player, you probably won't know the difference. Then again, if that is the case, you're not reading this either...
I was browsing Facebook Marketplace, which is starting to become my go-to for super-local listings, and came across a Peavey Bandit, Red Stripe, for $200. I didn't think it was a great price, but I decided to watch it on account of extreme proximity to me, and the fact that FB Marketplace seems to encourage sellers to lower prices as time moves forward.
After a week, the price was down to $130. I offered $100, and the seller agreed. He even offered to deliver to my door, making the entire transaction hassle free. The bonus-news was that it came with a foot switch. The not-so-bonus news was it needed to be cleaned something fierce.
While cleaning, I noticed that the speaker in the back had no label on it. Hmmmm, I thought this would have a "Blue Marvel" like the Envoy. I went over to the Envoy to inspect, and noticed that the Envoy, sporting the Blue Marvel speaker, was Designed AND Built in the USA. The Bandit was only designed in the USA. It was built in China.
Hmmmmm....
The two amps definitely sound like they are part of the same series, with the Envoy's lower power and smaller speaker accounting for less low, but the quality of speaker accounting for smoother highs. There is something about the top-end that is quite shrill in the Bandit, reminding me of the Crate V18-212, which are great amps IF you replace the speakers. In fact, my experience thus far with Chinese made valve amps is that replacing the speakers generally improves sound exponentially.
Despite this, the sound of the Bandit is actually quite good. It's been said before, but Peavey's "TransTube" technology isn't just snake oil - it really does reproduce a percentage of the feel/compression/dynamics that are inherent in a tube amp. A percentage mind you, not the whole experience. Suffice to say that the Bandit produces a perfectly acceptable tone, and I'd happily cart it out to a jam session or something, knowing that I didn't have to worry about a singer spilling a Hard Lemonade on it or something.
What I've noticed more than anything over the course of a week with it is that it's greatest attribute might be it's ability to put my other amp (the Z) in context. By messing around with the Bandit, and using it as a point of comparison, I've been more attentive to dialling in exactly what I want out of the Z.
My thoughts return to the speaker: Is it worth replacing it to make a good experience better?
Not sure. I've already spent $100 on a Peavey Bandit, something I already know my brother does not approve of. Spending slightly more on a replacement speaker seems to be silly, but I suppose I could always keep the speaker if I sell the amp down the road...
Plus it gives me something new to keep my eye out for on the used market.
