Peavy Combo 300

[Speedbird]

Hey, you're right!

My bad.

Good thing, as the 4 ohm vintage 1502 drivers are actually MORE sought after (and hence more valuable) since Peavey no longer makes ANY 4 ohm Black Widow baskets.

Thanks for pointing that out!

Mine (Purchased new ~'93 or '94) was a 4 ohm Black Widow for certain. I remember it as a selling point.

Again: too bad you missed out on mine: Sat here in the classifieds for ~2years: https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/peavey-combo-115-loud-cheap-heavy.1337278/

(FWIW: When I deployed to the ME: '07-'08. I let a buddy borrow it... Annnnd, somehow speaker got blown. He replaced it... Years later, while cleaning, I found the replacement was a 8 ohm [Genuine PV: BW]. I thought about getting a new Peavey 4 ohm BW; but could not locate one except from some kind of OEM Parts wholesaler on-line. This was 2018 ish, I don't remember the exact #, but it was more than I was willing to spend.)

 

[Roundwoundhound]

Anyone use or used one of these amps? There is one for sale locally and I’m still looking for an amp. It looks to be in very good shape. They are asking $450 for it. Is it worth this? I have heard they are very heavy. It has a Black Widow speaker. The photo is from the Craigslist ad.

View attachment 7130964

I purchased one in ‘86-‘87 and used it until 2001. (I sent it back a week later- to fix the cold solder joint) never used an ext speaker but the 210 watts worked well in medium sized clubs. Had I only purchased the Hartke 405 module XL back in the 90s. Oh, well.

 

[Speedbird]

Think you are strong and daring? Try carrying this top heavy, awkward, 90 lb anchor down a narrow set of basement stairs...

I'm talking the ones from houses built in the 70s and 80s. Maybe 36" wide tops with the creaking open back stairs. You had to hold it in front of you by the top handle with the weight on your legs and like ratchet yourself down. It was sketch. (Later learned to just put it on it's side and slide it down)

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

My first bass amp. Seems to be in great shape but not worth $450…at least to me. Only gets to the 300 watts if you plug in an extension cab and the tone is pretty vanilla.

The only good thing I can say about mine is that even though the wood was rotting around it, it would always turn on. So it’s for sure reliable.

Same here. $450 is pretty steep.

I used a Combo 300 for many years. I kept it in our band’s rehearsal room. It was heavy, and awkward to move. It was super reliable. It was capable of some good meat-and-potatoes tones, but nothing to write home about.

 

[Roundwoundhound]

I bought a new TNT 130 maybe 1984 or 85. For an affordable amp, it offered tons of EQ and connectivity. It’s parametric Mid was a first for me and a mystery to operate. The guys I was playing with would make jokes that the ‘bandwidth’ knob determined how closely we stood together onstage.
PS sounded like … like you wanted another amp instead.

Think you are strong and daring? Try carrying this top heavy, awkward, 90 lb anchor down a narrow set of basement stairs...

I'm talking the ones from houses built in the 70s and 80s. Maybe 36" wide tops with the creaking open back stairs. You had to hold it in front of you by the top handle with the weight on your legs and like ratchet yourself down. It was sketch. (Later learned to just put it on it's side and slide it down)

I had a time with my (not my picture) my Kustom 250 bass head and a Kustom 1-18 folded cab. The only Cabinet Endorsed by the national body builders association.

 

[braud357]

I have a Combo 300 that is used as a practice amp at home. First off - he is asking WAY too much for this amp ! I purchased mine about 2 years ago for $150. I just checked on my local(South Louisiana} media and saw 2 of these for sale for $150 and $200. Good points: Very powerful, with a ton of tonal versatility. Plenty loud running by itself at the rated 4 ohms, but can run another 4 ohm cabinet at 2 ohms safely. Bad points: it weighs as much as a Sherman tank ! Not the easiest thing to haul around. If you need it to be portable you will need a good set of casters and preferably a loading ramp. Not a good choice if you have to navigate stairs. My opinion - a good amp if fully functional, but not at that price !

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, I bought a used a Combo 300 years ago. Good amp and I wouldn't be surprised if it's still working.
But dang that thing was heavy and clumsy for me to move around. The single handle at the top was meant for someone a lot stronger than me.

I'd buy one for $150 for a backline or if I needed a rehearsal space amp.
For $450 you've got a lot more options.

Good Luck with your search.

 

[jastacey]

I still have one, haven't used it in 10-15 years, the amp is somewhat "top heavy', the current use is laying it on it's side, and it makes an excellent door stop, all kidding aside, it is a loud combo amp, and I have had to have the speaker reconed, , but it was pretty reliable, the only issue I had was the speaker connector, that attached to the circuit board kept dislodging, and it was 2 ohm stable, a lot of times I would run another 115 speaker cabinet with it

 

[salmon256]

I have already decided to pass on this one as I can’t handle that much weight in a combo. I don’t mind spending more for a good amp. I just wanted to see if this was a good amp but everyone says it’s just so so. I’ll probably get a Fender Rumble 800 combo or the Super Bassman head and a cabinet

Just like most things, your first amp doesn't have to be your last!
I highly recconemned looking into Barefaced if you want light amps
Markbass makes some great light ones as well

But honestly the Rumble 800 is a nice combo that I think fits well for everyone. It is still pretty darn light for its size! Also you can get an extension cab to get the full output, actually unsure if the 800 has that but the 500 I know does!

 

[MaxCellExcelWon]

Bottom line, the extra value in this particular example is the museum quality. Makes all the difference to certain people willing to pay $$$ for a mint example. 40 years is a long time to keep something perfect, and that has value.

 

[moon-bass]

That WAS the sold price. Look at the picture.

I *did* look at the picture - it's the asking price for the listing, not the sold price and it's hard to tell anything else since it's just a snippet of the screenshot. If ebay is showing the actual "sold for" price, they show it in green. That being said, it only took a few moments to find the listing and that was the sold price as well (which was $165 ... not $214).

Looking at the actual sold prices for Peavey 15" Black Widows and that one is an anomaly, price wise. Other than the certified Peavey speakers, the majority didn't sell for anything close to that and quite a few sold for considerably less, the majority sold for well less that $100 - even BNIB.

BW speakers are definitely not a good investment item You'd only be slightly better off than buying a Hauk Tuah crypto meme coin.

And yes, the Combo 300's BW was a 1502-8.

Apparently not, since it's a 4 ohm speaker

 

[moon-bass]

Just like cars, a lot of older equipment can be parted out for much more than it's complete value.

not in this case tho.

 

[darev]

I have already decided to pass on this one as I can’t handle that much weight in a combo. I don’t mind spending more for a good amp. I just wanted to see if this was a good amp but everyone says it’s just so so. I’ll probably get a Fender Rumble 800 combo or the Super Bassman head and a cabinet

Good choices, @Memphis Soul

 

[bylar13]

I still have mine,which I bought new in 1986. I did 3 tours of the US and Canada with it in a punk rock band and I never had an issue with it.

I blew the speaker once or twice but I was able to go to pretty much any music store and buy a replacement basket and replace it in the club, before the gig.

It got dropped, knocked over and had gallons of beer and sweat on it. Never didn't work. It was heavy and I used to just pick it up buy sides, bear hug style, because the handle made it harder to carry!
Carrying it that way now, that would be a problem, especially on stairs! You can see it in the back of this pic.

 

[agedhorse]

Bottom line, the extra value in this particular example is the museum quality. Makes all the difference to certain people willing to pay $$$ for a mint example. 40 years is a long time to keep something perfect, and that has value.

I would agree with this, but you would need to find a collector that values it at $450. This might be more difficult than you realize, but obviously not impossible.

 

[MaxCellExcelWon]

I would agree with this, but you would need to find a collector that values it at $450. This might be more difficult than you realize, but obviously not impossible.

I already posted that I would buy it if I were close by (or if it could be safely shipped).

So, not very difficult at all.

 

[agedhorse]

I already posted that I would buy it if I were close by (or if it could be safely shipped).

So, not very difficult at all.

Or you are "the one". My experience is that there aren't many that share your desire for this type of gear.

 

[MaxCellExcelWon]

Or you are "the one". My experience is that there aren't many that share your desire for this type of gear.

Not many, but enough. There aren't enough mint examples out there, and when they pop up on nationwide or worldwide selling sites, mint rare examples sell for high dollar. Again, condition is key for the right buyer.

That's why a truly mint museum quality Mesa 400+ would sell for thousands, while a beat example can't be given away for $1500...there has been one on eBay forever, and it's not even beat badly. It's just not mint, and hence will never sell for that.

 

[agedhorse]

Not many, but enough. There aren't enough mint examples out there, and when they pop up on nationwide or worldwide selling sites, mint rare examples sell for high dollar. Again, condition is key for the right buyer.

That's why a truly mint museum quality Mesa 400+ would sell for thousands, while a beat example can't be given away for $1500...there has been one on eBay forever, and it's not even beat badly. It's just not mint, and hence will never sell for that.

Yes, but in general there are a lot more buyers for Bass 400+'s than the Peavey combo 300 (in my experience). The Bass 400 was much more in demand even though it cost many times more when new. In short, it is much more desirable to many more players.

 

[MaxCellExcelWon]

Yes, but in general there are a lot more buyers for Bass 400+'s than the Peavey combo 300 (in my experience). The Bass 400 was much more in demand even though it cost many times more when new. In short, it is much more desirable to many more players.

No demand for this one; I've seen it endlessly for sale for about a year:

However, looking at Reverb completed listings for the Mesa 400+, the lone "MINT" example sold for $3600, more than twice the amount of any other listing:

Again...condition is key in valuation of any vintage amplifier. People will pay $$$ for a perfect example.