What's the bass equivalent of a Peavey Bandit?

Bridgehouse

The Bandit has a reputation as a solid, reliable, easily available, cheap as chips gigging and general purpose amp - but what would you say is the bass equivalent?

ICBM

Peavey TNT.

Bridgehouse

ICBM said:

Peavey TNT.

Do they have the same legendary "it's what the cockroaches will be playing" status?

StageStruck

What ICBM said, Peavey TNT or TKO. Reasonable sounding, very reliable and extremely well built. They'll take a lot of being chucked in the back of vans before they ever break. The bass player in my band has a 25 year old one that has never had a problem. It's done all sorts of gigs, punk, blues, rock etc and sounded fine at all of them. The only downside was the older ones didn't come with a DI-output.

ICBM

Bridgehouse said:

Do they have the same legendary "it's what the cockroaches will be playing" status?

Pretty much - they're essentially the bass version of the same thing. There's an old TNT in the practice studio we use which  seems to just go on and on despite the abuse it must get.

There's also the TKO which is smaller and lower-powered, and the Combo 300 which was a bigger version but which hasn't been made for a long time, since the TNT caught up with it in power.

The biggest problem with them is the weight, and that they're quite tall with only a single top handle - they're an absolute pig to move even by bass amp standards. Ideal for rehearsal rooms, less good for gigging these days with so many more portable options. Fitting side handles is worthwhile if you can be bothered - I did to my Combo 300. It was still a pig! And hence has been donated to the studio as well...

RandallFlagg

Back in the day, early 80s indie gigging days, it was either the Peavey TNT or the HH Bass Machine.

KKJale

The old Trace 712 combo hits that spot... or the AH150 SMC head.

The bass-playing cockroaches will be jamming with Keith Richards with those, I'm sure. 

horse

Mark - this is a bit odd - I asked the same exact question in the past!!

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/39310/whats-the-bass-equivalent-of-the-peavey-bandit

Bridgehouse

horse said:

Mark - this is a bit odd - I asked the same exact question in the past!!

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/39310/whats-the-bass-equivalent-of-the-peavey-bandit

Genius minds think alike

I asked the Q not for gigging, but for use as a potential garage/studio kick about cab!!

horse

Yeah, I didn't think you'd be searching for tone at that end of the market! When I first saw the thread title I thought someone must have commented on the old thread, so was odd to see you asking the same thing

Bridgehouse

horse said:

Yeah, I didn't think you'd be searching for tone at that end of the market! When I first saw the thread title I thought someone must have commented on the old thread, so was odd to see you asking the same thing

I did search, but to no avail (no surprise there!)

And you're right, tone isn't important really

I am at the planning stage for a potential studio setup and was wondering about an indestructible combo for use therein!

It does prompt me to ask tho - did you ever get a TNT or equivalent?

ICBM

KKJale said:

The old Trace 712 combo hits that spot... or the AH150 SMC head.

The bass-playing cockroaches will be jamming with Keith Richards with those, I'm sure. 

Up to the Series 6 - pre-SM/SMC/SMX - after that the quality started to go down the pan. Even the older ones are starting to show a few problems now, although they're usually fixable.

There are plenty of them about though, so you can usually avoid really rough ones.

Modern Trace Elliots… avoid - they tend to be unrepairable if they fail. Ironic, since the brand is now owned by Peavey.

horse

Bridgehouse said:

horse said:

Yeah, I didn't think you'd be searching for tone at that end of the market! When I first saw the thread title I thought someone must have commented on the old thread, so was odd to see you asking the same thing

I did search, but to no avail (no surprise there!)

And you're right, tone isn't important really

I am at the planning stage for a potential studio setup and was wondering about an indestructible combo for use therein!

It does prompt me to ask tho - did you ever get a TNT or equivalent?

No, I was asking for a friend, who managed to get away without ever having his own amp for about a year, which on reflection was the best solution for him

Bridgehouse

horse said:

Bridgehouse said:

horse said:

Yeah, I didn't think you'd be searching for tone at that end of the market! When I first saw the thread title I thought someone must have commented on the old thread, so was odd to see you asking the same thing

I did search, but to no avail (no surprise there!)

And you're right, tone isn't important really

I am at the planning stage for a potential studio setup and was wondering about an indestructible combo for use therein!

It does prompt me to ask tho - did you ever get a TNT or equivalent?

No, I was asking for a friend, who managed to get away without ever having his own amp for about a year, which on reflection was the best solution for him

There are many who would say that I'd be better off without an amp as well

Babones

Most 80s Peavey heads are good. Any 'Mark' series bass head really, but the Mark III 400 is one i'd recommend. Through the matching upright Peavey 2x12 it's awesome.

Bridgehouse

Babones said:

Most 80s Peavey heads are good. Any 'Mark' series bass head really, but the Mark III 400 is one i'd recommend. Through the matching upright Peavey 2x12 it's awesome.

Ooh me lumbago!

ICBM

The early 90s MkVIII 600W is even heavier. A friend of mine had one, with a 4x10" that seemed to be made from concrete... he did something over a thousand gigs with it I think, it never missed a beat. He's not getting any younger though, so last year he traded it for a MarkBass head and cab - the whole stack weighs less than the Peavey *head*.

I also have the late-90s T-Max combo which is a 500W 1x15" that weighs 114lb... over eight stone. It's also nearly a cube, and so awkward it's not only impossible to lift on my own, it's even a pain to get up stairs or into a car between two people. That also now lives at the practice room, where it will stay!

As long as I get either that, the TNT or the Combo 300 in the room we book and I don't have to lift any of them ever again, I'll be happy .

Bridgehouse

Luckily I'm considering this for a static location - I'm not sure I'd want to take any of the aforementioned amps anywhere in a car - just think of the extra fuel consumption

impmann

It has to be said... the old TNTs sounded GREAT too. The bass player in my old band had one that he bought with a Yamaha bass (a bit like a Precision, but with no pickguard and the pickup 'back to front'... BB something or other) in the early 90s for £120 the lot. Its been to hell and back but sounds fantastic. It had a new set of pots and jacks (got crackly - still worked/was gigable) about 10 years ago but that was the only thing that has ever gone wrong. It always sounded strong and solid.

Bridgehouse

impmann said:

It has to be said... the old TNTs sounded GREAT too. The bass player in my old band had one that he bought with a Yamaha bass (a bit like a Precision, but with no pickguard and the pickup 'back to front'... BB something or other) in the early 90s for £120 the lot. Its been to hell and back but sounds fantastic. It had a new set of pots and jacks (got crackly - still worked/was gigable) about 10 years ago but that was the only thing that has ever gone wrong. It always sounded strong and solid.

I wonder how much of the sound is due to the density of the cabinet and the weight? 

I am sure @ICBM would know

impmann

Bridgehouse said:

impmann said:

It has to be said... the old TNTs sounded GREAT too. The bass player in my old band had one that he bought with a Yamaha bass (a bit like a Precision, but with no pickguard and the pickup 'back to front'... BB something or other) in the early 90s for £120 the lot. Its been to hell and back but sounds fantastic. It had a new set of pots and jacks (got crackly - still worked/was gigable) about 10 years ago but that was the only thing that has ever gone wrong. It always sounded strong and solid.

I wonder how much of the sound is due to the density of the cabinet and the weight? 

I am sure @ICBM would know

Yes, it does weigh about the same as the car he transports it in...