Special 130 amp on gigs??

Paul Wade · Post by **Paul Wade** » 14 Sep 2019 6:32 pm

How Many have gig with a peavey special 130 amp??
And what is your take on this amp

P.w

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 15 Sep 2019 7:20 am

Its a great amp , its like the original PV Bandit ( the early ones with the Aluminum strips) ) except it is double the rated output power and also has a MID shift control. This is the original Bandit on steroids ! The original speaker was named a Scorpion, reportedly made for PV by Eminence.

Theres a few kicking around the used market. They do have some weight though, 48 pounds !

PV made several amps with the Bandit badge, they are not all the same, in fact they are not even similar other than a cabinet , a 12 and a badge.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 15 Sep 2019 3:54 pm

I played over 1000 gigs with a Special 130 (on guitar). Good solid amp, better with a different speaker like an EV.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 16 Sep 2019 4:26 am

Paul, I thought you had one of those. I have tried a couple speakers in mine and still not feeling good about the tone. Got a TT Eminence in it now. No matter where I set the mids, and trying an outboard EQ, the tone is too harsh. I did the Fox chip upgrades and it helps but still not a winner. Some guys love them. I believe it sounded better with the TC Furlong 12 speaker.

Paul Wade · Post by **Paul Wade** » 16 Sep 2019 5:11 am

larry,
i do have one but, it's in a nash 400 cabinet with
a 1504 15" speaker.i did not like the peavey 12" speaker in it. it sounded thin to me not enough bass
so, the 15" works just fine. planing on buying another and running two amps together .

paul

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 16 Sep 2019 5:50 am

Sounds good. I have 2 Peavey E115 cabinets, open back and Black Widow equipped. I tried it with these and it's better but not what I plan to use. That 130 is heavy for it's size even with the TT speaker. If I could get the proper tone, I will build a lighter cab and use the 130 as a head unit.

Tommy Boswell · Post by **Tommy Boswell** » 19 Sep 2019 5:27 am

I installed Ken Fox's chip upgrade kit in my Special 130, made a big difference.

The chip install can be a little tricky, it helps if you have some special tools for handling the chips, like they used to sell for computer technicians, but I managed to fumble through without those.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 21 Sep 2019 5:48 am

Paul, could you share the settings you use? I'm trying to find that tone everyone loves. I have played it enough to get a satisfactory sound, except for the reverb. I put the Boss RV3 in front to get a better reverb with delay. Thanks.

Paul Wade · Post by **Paul Wade** » 21 Sep 2019 6:03 am

sure larry
1 high gain channel"push in"

2 post 5-7

3 norman gain 0

4 shift 6-7

5 mid 1-2

6 presence 6-7

7 reverb 2-3

8 high pull thick 6-7
now this is what i used at home with my pro 11 d-10
and Rv-6. on gigs adjust to room. hope this helps

p.w

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 21 Sep 2019 6:08 am

Thanks Paul. I will give it a try. I know you use a 15 so I will get a slightly different result. I will plug in my 115 Peavey for the before and after test. Thanks for your help.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 21 Sep 2019 10:37 am

Paul, you didn't mention bass and no matter because this is a 12 inch TT speaker. Also I see you are using the lead channel. At any rate here is my settings with the thick knob engaged as you suggested. Sounds good like this using a Stage One S10. Not sure why the image is upside down. Thats a Boss RV3 on top.

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Paul Wade · Post by **Paul Wade** » 21 Sep 2019 6:55 pm

Larry
Bass should be 8-9 . hard to tell your settings

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 22 Sep 2019 9:14 am

I have the bass much lower, around 2-3. Not sure how to flip that picture. It's correct on my tablet but flips when uploaded.