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My Latest Made In USA Vintage Amp! (Snicker....)


schundog

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Posted

So there is a wannabee Pawn Shop Thrift Store here in town that I stop by at from time to time, and, after using a rode hard/put away wet 90s Peavey Bandit to try out and buy a First Act Volkswagen guitar/gig bag that I quickly flipped for a profit a couple of weeks ago, I decided to go back and make an offer on the old Bandit. They wanted $50, I offered $30, and they took $35. I took it home and found the source of a buzzy sound on some of the low notes; the original speaker had a couple of holes in it. I remembered that I still had the original speaker from my Blues Junior stashed away under the steps to the Man Cave. I retrieved it, installed it, and the thing sounds as good as you could expect. Sure, it's not a Vintage Fender Tweed amp, but, for $35, it was kinda fun to resurrect...

 

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Old Speaker with hole....

 

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Posted

I like the Bandit. I have a red stripe one. Still puts out a decent sound. It can compete with a tube amp at bedroom volumes because the tubes don't really wake up until you get past 3 or 4. Get up past 4 and the tubes will start to outshine the little SS Bandit.

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Posted

Don't laugh folks...the right pedals with one of those in the hands of a tone maven will make more than a few boutique amp owners cry like a little girl with envy. Hartley Peavey did many great things for music players.

Posted

Don't laugh folks...the right pedals with one of those in the hands of a tone maven will make more than a few boutique amp owners cry like a little girl with envy. Hartley Peavey did many great things for music players.

A guy I worked with for a while who was one of those guys that oozed musicality and was more than competent on any instrument he played, gigged with a peavey bandit for a long while. Always and regardless of genre pulled a great sound out what ever gear he was using at the time. The bandit was no exception.

Posted

Hard to imagine that little hole in the speaker cone would have much impact.

But if so, it's an easy fix with a bit of clear nail polish.

Posted

Good job Brian.

 

There is a guy on the Hamer forum who haunts the pawn shops as well, he's in sales and on the road a lot. He may have better pickings in Texas though. Gets great deals. Finds stuff misidentified etc. Establishes relationships with the shop owners too, just like you do.

Posted

Sheepish update: I played it loud and proud yesterday, and noticed that the buzz WAS still there on the low notes, even with the Blues Junior speaker. THEN, today, I plugged my Line 6 POD HD300 into it, and got even louder. Hmm, what's that smell??? I obviously blew the speaker. I put the old Peavey speaker back in,and still had the buzz on the low notes. I can't think it's the small holes; when I play a low note and touch the edge of the speaker, the buzz goes away. Anything from the A string on up plays clearly. Thoughts?

 

Posted

P.S. I tightened and re-tightened every screw on the thing, and put a small shim of wood between the rock solid baffle and the original speaker, where I heard the buzz. No better....

Posted

Maybe a rattle.

 

Don't feel bad, I had a similar issue with my old Twin from the 70s, had the orange back JBLs, I too assumed it was a speaker blown, they were, after all 40+ years old. I bought new Eminence speaker (dooohh). Made no difference. Ripped into it determined to do my first black face mode..many parts, lots of reading, etc etc. Got er done...still not right.

 

Had a pro do it, he removed half the crap I obsessed about and researched. Sounded great when done.

 

Sold the JBLs to Brian.

 

So, I'd say pass it on to a friendly pawn dude, maybe make a profit even. Or, there is a nice rabbit hole available I am sure. :o

Posted

So nice to get something usable for such a low cost ! It's a great feeling...

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

i FIXED a problem like that once by going to home depot and buying a few window strips used to mount an air conditioner in a window. dense sponge about 1/4 inch thick. I took the chassis out, put some of that window strips along the top and tightened it down. Problem fixed. Wished I hadn't parted with a few other amps I had where I suspect the chassis was causing the rattle. Good luck troubleshooting that

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