Picking up a used Peavey TNT 130 for free!!

[bassguitarthund]

Guy at work has an old Peavey TNT 130 combo that had been left in his house when he bought it. Wants to get rid of it. Said he took it to a Pawn Shop or Music store (don't remember which), they were not interested cause there was some static in the volume knob when turning it. Did not have a bass with me to try it out, but hey it is free!! Speaker does not look torn. Head unit in the combo is missing its screws and sliding around and the handles are all missing. Tolex is a little torn but not to bad. The body is still very solid and not broken any where and the grill cloth looks like it is in good shape. On the grill it says "BW Equiped", assuming that is the black widow speaker? Did not see the back side of the speaker yet. Might be a fun little project to fix up. What do you all think? Worth sticking a little money into, as long as the volume knob does not end up being a big deal?

[autodidact]

I could see investing a little into it but not TOO much. Definitely a nice, reliable amp. Built like a tank and much louder than you think. That being said they can be found for cheap on any Craigslist anywhere for about 150-200 so I wouldn't put more than like $75 into it.

[BassmanPaul]

Very often when an amp is turned on after being stored the pots sound a little noisy. Get a can of Deoxit and spray a very little into the pot as you rotate the knob.

[will33]

Knowing peavey, likely all you'll need to do to have a good working amp again would be to clean it up, replace whatever missing screws, tighten everything up and spray the pots, jacks and switches with deoxit or similair pot cleaner. Check out the input jack just in case somebody stepped on a cord and yanked on it or something somewhere along the way.

Good score.

[bassguitarthund]

Thanks guys! Yea my plan was to replace all the missing screws and put new handles on it. Thought about possibly replacing the tolex, then again really not that bad of shape and I can live with a few small tears. Where can I get the deoxit? Radio Shack? When I pick it up I will give the wiring and jacks a good once over. Thanks for your suggestions

[will33]

Fry's, other electronics supply places. Don't know if radioshack carries deoxit brand bit they do have stuff labelled "tuner control" that's suitable. Has a little lubricant mixed in the cleaner for the pots. Just don't use stuff specifically labeled "contact cleaner". That stuff's ok for jacks but can damage pots.

[JTE]

Hosa, the company that markets all those short cables and various adaptors also markets Caig's DeOxit so you can find it at a LOT of music stores now.

TNT 130 was a great amp, and the price is right. If it's been sitting a long time there might be too much oxidation inside the pot for DeOxit to clean so you might need to replace the scratchy pot (or just live with it). That might be a hassle because it's mounted to the PCB and you'll have to take off every single knob on the front to get it out. But for free, I'd do that if it needed.

Have fun!~





john

[1n3]

Originally Posted by bassguitarthund

Guy at work has an old Peavey TNT 130 combo... Head unit in the combo is missing its screws and sliding around and the handles are all missing.

Handle(s)? Never saw a TNT with more than a top strap.

On the grill it says "BW Equiped", assuming that is the black widow speaker?

Yeah. I actually prefer the OEM Eminence, but the BW adds to the value... and weight.

Worth sticking a little money into, as long as the volume knob does not end up being a big deal?

Yes, IMO. I used one of these for a while. Heavy and awkward, but it fit my needs well at the time. The 130 is my favorite of the TNT/115 line. They are fairly plentiful and cheap. I see them go for $80-200, depending on condition. Invest in some good casters if you're going to gig it.

[will33]

Originally Posted by 1n3

Handle(s)? Never saw a TNT with more than a top strap.




Yeah. I actually prefer the OEM Eminence, but the BW adds to the value... and weight.




Yes, IMO. I used one of these for a while. Heavy and awkward, but it fit my needs well at the time. The 130 is my favorite of the TNT/115 line. They are fairly plentiful and cheap. I see them go for $80-200, depending on condition. Invest in some good casters if you're going to gig it.

If by "OEM Eminence" you're refering to the old stamped frame square magnet emi's found in the early tnt100's and shallow 215's, those things are absolute fart machines. They do have a sweeter tone at low volumes but the bw's are far superior for live use in my experience. The square mag, 1 - 1-1/2" vc models require 2 per every 100 watts to have a chance of not farting out. If there's some other emi. they used, I'm not aware of it.

[bassguitarthund]

Originally Posted by 1n3

Handle(s)? Never saw a TNT with more than a top strap.

Sorry that is what I ment to say. I see where the top strap was located. It is missing. I was thinking of putting some spring loaded handles on the sides of it. Kinda just mixed the two thoughts up there when I was typing. Brain fart, lol!

Originally Posted by 1n3

Invest in some good casters if you're going to gig it.

Not sure if I will gig with the Peavey or my B450 yet. No longer in a band right now so not that big of an issue at the moment. I do like the idea of putting casters on it, may do that anyways. Thanks!

Again thanks for all everyone's input

[will33]

If you plan on taking it anywhere, even just to the next room, put some casters on it.

[dmusic148]

Originally Posted by will33

If you plan on taking it anywhere, even just to the next room, put some casters on it.

Yep, I had one- my first amp. Wish I still had it. Yes it is heavy and cumbersome with just the top handle. A bit like lifting a 32" CRT television with one hand, not very much fun.

[hrgiger]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Yep, I had one- my first amp. Wish I still had it. Yes it is heavy and cumbersome with just the top handle. A bit like lifting a 32" CRT television with one hand, not very much fun.

after years and years of hearing people complain about flimsy goods from overseas, in every category under the sun, isn't it refreshing to get something quality made and built to last, from a private american company? long live Peavey

[1n3]

Originally Posted by will33

If by "OEM Eminence" you're refering to the old stamped frame square magnet emi's found in the early tnt100's and shallow 215's, those things are absolute fart machines. They do have a sweeter tone at low volumes but the bw's are far superior for live use in my experience. The square mag, 1 - 1-1/2" vc models require 2 per every 100 watts to have a chance of not farting out. If there's some other emi. they used, I'm not aware of it.

Never had the speaker out, but assume that's what it was. My amp was mid 80s, so the OEM speakers might've improved since the 100s, which were late 70s as I recall. No doubt the BWs of the day were more sensitive, and took more power. But it had a fat tone that I liked, and enough power for the gigs I did. Did a couple loud outdoor things where I used the biamp feature to drive a second amp and cab (a folded horn). Wasn't going for a Squire/Entwhistle tone, obviously.

I ended up swapping the TNT for a Combo 300, as a favor to a friend who wanted it. The C300 had a BW, and was louder, of course. But the tone was less to my liking, and that amp has just sat around... think I gigged it once in ten years. Different preamp, of course (much preferred the TNT pre, with full parametric mid). But some of what I didn't like was in the speaker, and was hard to EQ out completely.

"Sweeter tone"?... close enough.

[will33]

If it's the one I'm thinking of, they really did have a nice sound, just couldn't take the power required for live use. I don't mean earsplitting loud, just comparable to a drumkit where the drummer wasn't holding back all the time, common 20-50 watt guitar amps with one speaker, maybe two turned up to where they sound good but not cranked by any means, etc. I would like to hear one in a B15 or other low power/high quality amp, I think I'd like it. I might have one or two in my closet or I might have sold them off, can't remember now, never know what you might find in there. The ones I'm thinking of are from before tjey started making their own speakers. I assumed they quit sourcing from other vendors after that but I could be wrong....it's happened before.

[Rob22315]

For the screws, just call Peavey service (use the number on the website). They probably still carry them. Warning, the one time I tried to buy screws from Peavey, they wanted a pretty steep price - something like $0.50 per screw. If you're only buying 6 or 12, that might be worth it to get the right ones to get that head tied back down.

I needed a couple for a peavey cab and combo on which I was doing some minor repairs. I decided to try to get them cheaper from local hardware or online parts stores. Three tries later, I still haven't found screws that are the correct size, color, and thread pitch. Probably should have just paid Peavey a little extra to get the correct ones.

They can probably sell you a handle too.

[will33]

I don't think they're that "specialty". If you can't find something that works at a hardware store, check out stuff autobody guys use. As far as color, nothing stabbing them in a piece of cardboard followed by a little paint can't fix.

[millsbass5]

Killer old-school combo. Bullet-proof,for sure. Just don't forget your back brace when you go to his house to pick it up!!!

[1n3]

Originally Posted by will33

If it's the one I'm thinking of, they really did have a nice sound, just couldn't take the power required for live use. I don't mean earsplitting loud, just comparable to a drumkit where the drummer wasn't holding back all the time, common 20-50 watt guitar amps with one speaker, maybe two turned up to where they sound good but not cranked by any means, etc.

This would get louder than that. I was doing mostly country and ballroom dance gigs, competing with 50w Fenders and 210w Peaveys... an occasional small-club rock gig. No problems.

The first TNT I heard was in 1981, in a commercial country band with a loud drummer - often broke heavy sticks. I played guitar through an Ampeg VT-22 and two D130s. The bass player bought a TNT 130. I was so impressed with the tone AND the volume, I went looking for one when I switched to bass a few years later.

Obviously, our experiences differ... can't explain.

The ones I'm thinking of are from before tjey started making their own speakers. I assumed they quit sourcing from other vendors after that but I could be wrong....it's happened before.

Peavey still buys speakers from Eminence. One that I know of is the Blue Marvel that goes in the Nashville 112.

[will33]

Originally Posted by hrgiger

after years and years of hearing people complain about flimsy goods from overseas, in every category under the sun, isn't it refreshing to get something quality made and built to last, from a private american company? long live Peavey

+1

No investors who care about bottom line more than quality or tone, etc. Granted, they've had to outsource some stuff to stay competetive but that's the way it's designed to work. If the powers that be (the ones we don't get to vote for.....he who has the gold makes the rules, etc.) had their way, nothing would be made here, this would just be some "economy" that money passes through on it's way to somewhere else, degrading by the day. At least peavey still makes stuff here, employs our neighbors, and offers good stuff at a fair price, I'd lump carvin in that group as well. In a more niche market, people like Aguilar and Baer deserve a place as well. Buy a Peavey, help give someone in mississippi a paycheck and get a great piece of gear to boot.

In a way I wonder if they're not making it too good, I mean, if the stuff is going to last as long as the gigging life of the average musician, how many new items can you sell before everybody has one and none of the old ones have broke yet?