Peavey TNT 130 vs Ashdown electric Blue 180

[skidder652003]

Oh dear, I have the choice of picking either one of these up for about £60, and I'm so indecisive I can't well..decide.  My heart says the Peavey as I love that old US Iron but my head says the Ashdown as it has more features, is more modern, has a compressor built in etc. 

Its to use for smaller pub gigs where I don't really need the overkill of the Ampeg and 410 I lug around.

Anyone been fortunate enough to had both, and give me some opinion?

Cheers.

Edited February 12, 2019 by skidder652003

[Paul S]

Peavey hands down.  Not even a close call.

[skidder652003]

9 minutes ago, Paul S said:

Peavey hands down.  Not even a close call.

Really? Thats interesting. Care to elaborate?

Edited February 12, 2019 by skidder652003

[Paul S]

Well, I've owned a Peavey combo - not this one but a similar one - and it sounded immense.  Huge tone, exceedingly loud for the spec, ruggedly built.  I played through both of these that you are asking about in rehearsal studios where they certainly get put through their paces.  The Peavey was everything mine was but more.  By contrast the Ashdown Electric Blue sounded lifeless, dead and woolly, the knobs were loose, the buttons weren't engaging properly.  Now I realise that is only a sample of one of each but it was enough to convince me.   

[Marvin]

Peavey.

I’ve played through both and the Peavey was a much better amp. I didn’t like the Ashdown at all. 

[Japhet]

Peavey for me too. I don't mind Ashdown stuff but these combos were gutless. By comparison, the Peavey is a bit of a beast.

[skidder652003]

Peaveys 3 nil up so far!

[geoffbyrne]

Peavey = advantage - nuke proof = disadvantage = weighs about the same as a small planet.

[Steve Browning]

Peavey. The Ashdown sounds horribly boxy, couldn't stand the one I had (briefly).

[Andytre]

another for Peavey. the Ashdown Blueline 1x15 i had sounded terrible, ended up chopping it half to use the 1x15 as a cab with my trace head for home practice.

 

use a TNT and Peavey mark 4 head at a practice room and both sound great. never tried to lift one though!

[M@23]

I've had both recently, the Peavey was better. The Ashdown compressor and octave thing were rubbish. The Peavey was in great nick for its age, got the impression that it would outlive me. 

[JellyKnees]

I tried an Ashdown combo once... nah.

My TNT 130 stood me in good stead through most of the 80's and 90's... a fine piece of gear.

[ahpook]

Peavey.

Bulletproof amps.

Noah had one on the Ark, I believe it's currently in a practice studio in Birtley...still going strong.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2019 by ahpook

[Andytre]

11 minutes ago, ahpook said:

Peavey.

Bulletproof amps.

Noah had one on the Ark, I believe it's currently in a practice studio in Birtley...still going strong.

 

 

older than that according to this picture 

[Deedee]

Definitely Peavey for me. Well built and easily achievable good, usable tones.

[skidder652003]

Blimey 10-nil, a thrashing of Man City vs Accrington Stanley proportions!

[Low End Bee]

Peavey here too.

I had one of those Ashdown Electric Blue things for a bit when I was between amps. Was very muffled sounding and none of the extra features/knobs helped. Before I could flog it it decided to set fire to itself in some sort of protest.

Peavey TNT's have provided the house amps for a few venues I've played for a reason.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Low End Bee
spelling

[Jono Bolton]

I misread the title and was wondering why so many people were going for the Peavey. Re-read it and realised it was the Ashdown Electric Blue; horrible, shitey wee amps. Any Peavey would easily be better, but out of interest, which TNT combo is it? Peavey produced TNTs for over 20 years, going through several design changes. If it's one of the older ones with silver stripes, definitely get it. Whichever it is though, it'll weigh an absolute ton.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Jono Bolton

[bassbiscuits]

Yep, definitely go for the Peavey.

I gigged an old TNT 130 for donkey's years and it had plenty of wallop, and never let me down.

A good solid reliable loud amp. £60 is a good price too.

[skidder652003]

Picked it up tonight..

£65

weighs a ton, side handles going in for sure...loud as hell, thanks for all the advice chaps

Edited February 12, 2019 by skidder652003

[Deedee]

1 minute ago, skidder652003 said:

£65 weighs a ton, loud as he'll, thanks for all the advice chaps

Good man 👍

[gjones]

I really liked my Ashdown Electric Blue 150. It was pretty loud and quite light (compared to a Peavey TNT). The Peavey TNT I used to own, was as heavy as a small planet, but was probably louder than the Ashdown.

[ebenezer]

Without doubt, the Peavey is the way to go, I had the TNT 130 combo with black widow speaker....sounded great and had a well thought out preamp with the parametric miss.

[The fasting showman]

Peavey any day, looks like the OP has got the version with the Black Widow speaker looking at the cast frame. Nice sounding amps particularly on a table or stand (good luck lifting it onto said table or stand) they have great presence in a band mix, can out perform many a high end amp in some rooms. If you can play half decent and your bass is OK this amp won't let the side down.

Enjoy it, I'd use M6 T-nuts to fit the side handles!

[The fasting showman]

....I've owned a couple of TNTs and Combo 300 Peaveys and there's a quirk they suffered from that isn't that big a deal once you are aware of it! It's partly caused I think by them being such a struggle to lift and plonk down.

A few times I had a mains light on, fuse OK but no sound issue. On the PCB there is a plug in connector that connects the internal speaker to the amp (called a Molex I think) that can get dislodged if the amp is put down clumsily, it's easy to plug the connector back in once you know. Obviously if you wouldn't normally root around in an amp, and if it isn't broke, then nothing to worry about but if you are remotely handy it's one to be aware of that could save faffing around with amp techs. If you do look inside the amp you'll see how well made it is and over engineered.

But yeah, try not to drop it down too roughly and it will be fine. They really are built to last and are easy to fix and keep going.