(1987-1988) The Solo Series Bandit 75 saw the power increase by 10 watts to 75 watts. RMS and a Bright Switch was added. The Bandit 75 was made in Meridian MS ...
***History and Timeline of the Peavey Bandit*** The Bandit (1980) The very first Bandit was only made for one year. As subsequent versions became available, the original Bandit came to be known as the "Gun smoke Bandit" because the font used to silkscreen the logo on the front of the amp resembled the font used in the opening credits of the popular 60's television show, Gun smoke. The Gun smoke Bandit was made in Meridian Mississippi USA and had a power rating of 50 watts RMS. It came equipped from the factory with a 12" guitar speaker made for Peavey by Eminence. Solo Series Bandit (1981-1983) The Solo Series Bandit soon followed the Gun smoke Bandit and incorporated a variety of improvements, most notably a much improved sound. The Solo Series Bandit was made in Meridian MS USA and came equipped with Peavey's proprietary guitar speaker, the Scorpion. Solo Series Bandit 65 (1983-1986) With the Solo Series Bandit 65, large improvements in tone compared to the previous version were again realized and the power rating was increased to 65 watts RMS. The Bandit 65 was made in Meridian MS USA and came equipped with Peavey's proprietary guitar speaker, the Scorpion. Solo Series Bandit 75 (1987-1988) The Solo Series Bandit 75 saw the power increase by 10 watts to 75 watts RMS and a Bright Switch was added. The Bandit 75 was made in Meridian MS USA and came equipped with Peavey's proprietary guitar speaker, the Scorpion. Solo Series Bandit 112 (1988-1995) The Solo Series Bandit 112 introduced many new features, the most notable being an increase in power to 80 watts RMS and a choice between Peavey's Scorpion speaker and Peavey's newly introduced Sheffield speaker. Many of the innovations that would later be branded as "Transtube" were included in the Solo Series Bandit 112, but the name "Transtube" had not been adopted yet. There have been several different versions of the Solo Series Bandit 112 but they all share the same manual and the same control layout. One of the more popular variations is known as the "Teal Stripe" or "Blue Stripe" Bandit due to a blue horizontal stripe below the control panel. The Solo Series Bandit 112 was made in Meridian MS USA. Transtube Series Bandit 112 (1996-1999) The Transtube Series Bandit 112 formally introduced Peavey's proprietary "Transtube" technology that allows a solid state amplifier to perform more like a vacuum tube amplifier. Central to the Transtube concept is a patented "power brake" that allows the user to control the amount of power required for dynamic range compression from the power amp, from 100% all the way down to 10%, thus enabling the amplifier to achieve power amp compression without running at full volume. The Transtube Series Bandit 112 was made in Meridian MS USA and came stock with the Sheffield 1230 speaker. Notably, it was also the first Bandit to have an external speaker jack, allowing external speakers to be run instead of or in parallel with the internal speaker. Running into 8 ohms, power is still 80 watts RMS, but running into 4 ohms (the equivalent of using the internal 8 ohm speaker together with an 8 ohm extension speaker) the power is increased to 100 watts RMS. Due to the horizontal strip of chrome underneath the controls, this version is commonly referred to as the "Silver Stripe" Bandit, but due to the black color and square shape, it is sometimes called the "Black box" or "silver stripe" Bandit (not to be confused with "Blackface", which refers to F*nder products and/or performances in the style of Al Jolson...) Transtube Series II Bandit 112 Made in USA (2000-2004) With the Transtube Series II, the metal corners and input jacks that had been standard on all Peavey Bandits up until this time were replaced by plastic corners and plastic jacks. Due to a color scheme incorporating a red stripe across the front of the amplifier, many people refer to the Transtube Series II Bandit as the "Red stripe Bandit". During this time Peavey attempted to adopt a new company logo, and moved away from their traditional "pointy" logo. The new logo came to be known as the "Block Logo". The Block Logo was only used for a limited period of time, and the Block Logo Red stripe Bandits represent the last Peavey Bandits to be made in the USA. Transtube Series II Bandit 112 Made in China (2004-2006) This amp is cosmetically nearly identical to the USA version, so it is also referred to as "Red stripe Bandit", but there are several differences between the US built Red stripes and the Chinese ones. First, the Chinese version says, "Designed in the USA" on the front, while the actual USA version says "Designed and Made in the USA". Second, the speaker in the Chinese version is either unlabeled, or is labeled "Blue Marvel", a Peavey code for speakers made outside of Peavey and then re-branded as Peavey. All of the USA Red stripe Bandits shipped from the factory with US made Sheffield 1230 speakers. Another obvious difference is that all Chinese Red stripe Bandits have the "pointy logo", while most - but not all - of the USA Red stripe Bandits shipped with Block Logos. Peavey Bandit III with Transtube Technology (2006-current) The current version of the Bandit is made in China. It is the first Bandit to incorporate a "simulated output" for recording purposes. This simulated output runs independently of the amp's internal speaker, allowing silent recording. The simulated output can also be used instead of or in addition to a traditional microphone. In this version the spring reverb has been replaced by a digital reverb circuit, and the 10% to 100% T. Dynamics knob is replaced by a 3-way switch, allowing operation at 25%, 50%, and 100% power. Metal corners are reintroduced, but the foot switch is no longer included with the amp and must be purchased separately. The transtube circuitry has been updated also.Pages Mac OS X 10.4.11 Quartz PDFContext