Peavey Bandit Red Stripe Any Good ? (Anyone Want To Buy One ?)

DrBob

I’ve just been offered the above in trade for an Xotic EP Boost pedal. Are they any good ? I know there are a lot of people that say good things about the Bandit but there are a few different versions of them.
Also anyone in Glasgow/Scotland after one ? 

My only thought is that really I could still do with the cash and a teeny tiny pedal is a lot easier to do a postal deal on than an amp

ICBM

As you may already know I’m the world’s biggest fan and unofficial promoter of these . The red stripe version is my favourite of the whole series for sound. (Although the last pre-Transtubes are slightly better built.)

Pros: it’s a genuinely great-sounding amp - not an absolute classic in the AC30/Fender Twin/Marshall 2203/SLO league, but will get surprisingly close for something with not a single valve inside and which wasn’t expensive even new. They’re quite compact, fairly light, very loud, very reliable, and ludicrously cheap second hand.

Cons: they’re ludicrously cheap second hand... as well as not actually that small and light. Not that easy to sell because they’re not ‘cool’ and fashionable (despite my best attempts!). So unless you actually want to own it, or can sell it very easily, I probably wouldn’t take it as an equal-value swap for a pedal.

And before you ask... no, I’m not really interested. I have a Studio Pro already and the Bandit is only a very minor upgrade. If it had been a Revolution - or a Blazer! - I’d have bitten your hand off .

monquixote

An EP Boost should be a very easy pedal to sell and post.

A Bandit not so much so unless you need a cheap backup amp I'd steer clear.

Cool amps though (although I'm only really familiar with the Transtube)

robinbowes

Pics? Price?

I had a Bandit in my teens and am considering picking one up for sentimental reasons.

R.

DrBob

robinbowes said:

Pics? Price?

I had a Bandit in my teens and am considering picking one up for sentimental reasons.

R.

Robin,

I could ask the guy for pics if you’re interested but the thing is he’s offering to trade it against my EP Boost which I’m valuing at £80-85 which feels about right but I’m in Glasgow and you’re in York so I’m guessing that postage is going to push it up to £120-130 and I’m sure if you just waited for a bit one would turn up locally which I guess kind of proves Mon’s point above 

punchesjudy

I bloody love Bandits, so much so I have two. Cos you can never have enough Bandit. I recently found out a 2x12 version exists... Somebody should've told me. 



But yes. You'll probably be better off just selling the pedal if you have no use for the amp. 

DrBob

punchesjudy said:

I bloody love Bandits, so much so I have two. Cos you can never have enough Bandit. I recently found out a 2x12 version exists... Somebody should've told me. 



But yes. You'll probably be better off just selling the pedal if you have no use for the amp. 

Thing is I’ve already got two amps I barely plug in so a 3rd seems a bit pointless

punchesjudy

DrBob said:

punchesjudy said:

I bloody love Bandits, so much so I have two. Cos you can never have enough Bandit. I recently found out a 2x12 version exists... Somebody should've told me. 



But yes. You'll probably be better off just selling the pedal if you have no use for the amp. 

Thing is I’ve already got two amps I barely plug in so a 3rd seems a bit pointless

You'd definitely be better off just selling the pedal. You'll get more for the pedal than the amp as well, both of these only cost me £60 each on the local Facebook marketplace. 

robinbowes

DrBob said:

robinbowes said:

Pics? Price?

I had a Bandit in my teens and am considering picking one up for sentimental reasons.

R.

Robin,

I could ask the guy for pics if you’re interested but the thing is he’s offering to trade it against my EP Boost which I’m valuing at £80-85 which feels about right but I’m in Glasgow and you’re in York so I’m guessing that postage is going to push it up to £120-130 and I’m sure if you just waited for a bit one would turn up locally which I guess kind of proves Mon’s point above 

Good point, well-made

R.

robinbowes

ICBM said:

As you may already know I’m the world’s biggest fan and unofficial promoter of these . The red stripe version is my favourite of the whole series for sound. (Although the last pre-Transtubes are slightly better built.)

Pros: it’s a genuinely great-sounding amp - not an absolute classic in the AC30/Fender Twin/Marshall 2203/SLO league, but will get surprisingly close for something with not a single valve inside and which wasn’t expensive even new. They’re quite compact, fairly light, very loud, very reliable, and ludicrously cheap second hand.

Cons: they’re ludicrously cheap second hand... as well as not actually that small and light. Not that easy to sell because they’re not ‘cool’ and fashionable (despite my best attempts!). So unless you actually want to own it, or can sell it very easily, I probably wouldn’t take it as an equal-value swap for a pedal.

And before you ask... no, I’m not really interested. I have a Studio Pro already and the Bandit is only a very minor upgrade. If it had been a Revolution - or a Blazer! - I’d have bitten your hand off .

Mine was one of these:



In your experience @ICBM how do these compare to the later versions?

R.

ICBM

robinbowes said:

In your experience @ICBM how do these compare to the later versions?

They're much more 'transistor' sounding - they don't sound at all like a valve amp really - but they do have a unique sound of their own that some people really like. Different rather than bad, but most people seem to use them only as a clean pedal platform.

These ones are absolutely bombproof too - every component is over-spec, even down to the hard-as-nails rough tolex that's just about capable of skinning your knuckles if you aren't careful - with the exception of the speaker, which does occasionally blow.

Telejester

robinbowes said:

ICBM said:

As you may already know I’m the world’s biggest fan and unofficial promoter of these . The red stripe version is my favourite of the whole series for sound. (Although the last pre-Transtubes are slightly better built.)

Pros: it’s a genuinely great-sounding amp - not an absolute classic in the AC30/Fender Twin/Marshall 2203/SLO league, but will get surprisingly close for something with not a single valve inside and which wasn’t expensive even new. They’re quite compact, fairly light, very loud, very reliable, and ludicrously cheap second hand.

Cons: they’re ludicrously cheap second hand... as well as not actually that small and light. Not that easy to sell because they’re not ‘cool’ and fashionable (despite my best attempts!). So unless you actually want to own it, or can sell it very easily, I probably wouldn’t take it as an equal-value swap for a pedal.

And before you ask... no, I’m not really interested. I have a Studio Pro already and the Bandit is only a very minor upgrade. If it had been a Revolution - or a Blazer! - I’d have bitten your hand off .

Mine was one of these:



In your experience @ICBM how do these compare to the later versions?

R.

I had one of those in the mid 80s, nothing but good things to say about it

Sassafras

If you want the cash quickly sell the EP. There's never any shortage of buyers for them.

robinbowes

Telejester said:

robinbowes said:

ICBM said:

As you may already know I’m the world’s biggest fan and unofficial promoter of these . The red stripe version is my favourite of the whole series for sound. (Although the last pre-Transtubes are slightly better built.)

Pros: it’s a genuinely great-sounding amp - not an absolute classic in the AC30/Fender Twin/Marshall 2203/SLO league, but will get surprisingly close for something with not a single valve inside and which wasn’t expensive even new. They’re quite compact, fairly light, very loud, very reliable, and ludicrously cheap second hand.

Cons: they’re ludicrously cheap second hand... as well as not actually that small and light. Not that easy to sell because they’re not ‘cool’ and fashionable (despite my best attempts!). So unless you actually want to own it, or can sell it very easily, I probably wouldn’t take it as an equal-value swap for a pedal.

And before you ask... no, I’m not really interested. I have a Studio Pro already and the Bandit is only a very minor upgrade. If it had been a Revolution - or a Blazer! - I’d have bitten your hand off .

Mine was one of these:



In your experience @ICBM how do these compare to the later versions?

R.

I had one of those in the mid 80s, nothing but good things to say about it

Yeah, mine was in the mid-80s too.

From memory, I traded it in at Peps Music in York for a Marshall 2205 head and 4x12 cab. I never got on with the Marshall and sold it. Some time later, I bought another one to try again - I still didn't get on with it, so sold that one too!

R.

DrBob

Sassafras said:

If you want the cash quickly sell the EP. There's never any shortage of buyers for them.

You say that, mines been in the classifieds here for a while now 

Zonular

I've a rage 158 , I'd love a bandit, it the most played amp in the house