Members Etienne Rambert Posted November 6, 2017 Members Share Posted November 6, 2017 I just picked one up in a local pawn shop. I had no idea it was a 30+ year old amp made in Mississippi, USA. Heavy as lead. Pots are scratchy. It's loud and noisy and comes with an alternate setting: "Even louder and noisier". Hope I didn't pay too much. Anyone own one? Mine is missing a knob too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 7, 2017 Members Share Posted November 7, 2017 eBay sold listings run $100-150 so I'd say you got a decent deal. Incidentally I also found knobs for $10-15 if you're so inclined. Those old Peavey amps are built like tanks so I'm not surprised it's still around and still loud as heck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted November 7, 2017 Members Share Posted November 7, 2017 I have a Studio One made around the same time. I've owned many of their older blackface amps.They make a good backup amp. Usually all you need to do is open it up and give the pots a shot of pot cleaner and that noise should go away. While you're in there make sure the power caps aren't leaking. That's they're one weakness which can lead to catastrophic failure of the output transistors. If you suspect its been sitting around not being run you can simply plug it in and power it on with the volumes off for several days. This will help to rebuild the aluminum oxide layer in that caps and prevents them from shorting. Worst thing you can do is power up and old amp and push it hard when this layer is weak. The oxide layer actually repairs itself when powered so long as the electrolyte hasn't eaten through the foil. Other then that the amps are a bit sterile for tone but when used with pedals aren't bad. Country players love them for their chicken pickin' tones. I'm not a fan of the raw fizzy overdrive. It's not even good for retro tones but maybe you can get some use from it. I just run mine clean and use pedals. I'd stick with the stock speaker too. Peaveys have a strange EQ curve but it works OK with their own speakers. When the amps matched with other manufacturer's speakers The EQ settings can wind up being ineffective. Yours has the newer peavey speaker so I suspect that amp was made in the mid to late 80's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Etienne Rambert Posted November 7, 2017 Author Members Share Posted November 7, 2017 DeepEnd: Thanks. It looks like I paid too much. If $100 is the low-end, I should have gotten it for $70. The price-tag said , $189, which was ridiculous. He asked me to bid on it. I said, $100. I should have said $70. We'll see how well this 30+ year old, $100 heavy-weight holds up. Ah thanks. WRGKMC. I'll do that today -- turn it on and leave it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 I've always thought of the Special 130 as a beefier Bandit. I've never had that amp, but I did own a Bandit back in the day, and it was a good, reliable amp - nothing "special" in terms of tone, and the Saturation on the lead channels is over the top and overdone IMHO, but the cleans are decent for a solid state amp, and it should be reliable for you. A hundred bucks doesn't seem like a ripoff or anything - I'd say it was probably a fair deal for both you and the pawn shop, depending on the amp's condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 8, 2017 Members Share Posted November 8, 2017 . . . If you suspect its been sitting around not being run you can simply plug it in and power it on with the volumes off for several days. This will help to rebuild the aluminum oxide layer in that caps and prevents them from shorting. Worst thing you can do is power up and old amp and push it hard when this layer is weak. The oxide layer actually repairs itself when powered so long as the electrolyte hasn't eaten through the foil. . . . Wow. I didn't know that about ''rebuilding'' caps. Good to remember if I run into another older amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Etienne Rambert Posted November 9, 2017 Author Members Share Posted November 9, 2017 Wow. I didn't know that about ''rebuilding'' caps. Good to remember if I run into another older amp. No way I'm going to push this amp with my playing. I offered to give it to one of my daughters' BF's. I shouldn't have bought this thing. Maybe I'll plug my P90's Les Paul into it tomorrow. Supposedly this amp sounds good with Teles. My LP Special is basically a Gibson Telecaster. FWIW, pawn shops don't like amps. They don't sell fast.They sit there for a long time while the price drops month-by-month. I've bought two amps from pawn shops this year. Both times, the shop was desperate to get them out the door. In a casino town, pawn shops get a lot of traffic from destitute gamblers and traveling musicians. You can find some interesting items in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mr. pockets Posted October 17, 2020 Members Share Posted October 17, 2020 I have had one for 20 years. Not a great amp, but great for punk rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.