The Steel Guitar Forum

I am curious to know the value of a Session 500 Steel amp. I have not seen one for sale for quite some time & I know there are a few of them out there.
I had one once [bet you heard that one before!] it was really a great amp, just a little heavey.

please post here if you can answer my question. I would appreciate it. & thanks in advance

Ernie 301-264-4172

it was really a great amp, just a little heavey.

That's an understatement.

I seem to recall them going in the neighborhood of $300 - $400. Sometimes less.

I can't remeber the last time I saw anyone use one. The weight factor is really hard to overcome. When you consider the age and weight, it might make for a challenge to sell.

Yes, I know there was a time when everyone had one . I had one. Like any commodity, its worth whatever you can find someone to pay.

I'm thinking it would be hard to find a buyer with so many lighter amps to choose from, but if someone had to have one, I'm thinking between $250-$350.

Steve
I purchased one locally for $200 last May. It was advertised for a couple of weeks before I bought it, but I don't know if that price represents actual market value or not.

All the best.
Brian Saulsman

Brian,
I'm not a bit surprised. I was expecting to get flamed for suggesting these amps are becoming challenging to sell, but younger players don't have any history with the 500, and older players might not want to carry them.

I bought one for $ 150 about fifteen years ago. It was in rough cosmetic shape. I had other lighter amps, and it never made it into the rotation. I kept it upstairs, and never moved it.

Under different circumstances, it might be a good deal at a fair price for the right guy.

Their weight tends to reduce their value, but they're great amps.
They usually go, regrettably, for under 3.

I also had one years back, but it didn't take me long to get rid of it because of the weight. But at that time I was not really sure what a good steel sound should be, but I have one here now & I cannot beleive the sound, its great, to say the least & you don't need a Profex to make these sound better, they are already there, too bad none of the other amps could sound that good. But, the weight is still the problem, I am a little too old for a Session 500, but it sure is nice to hear one again!!

I will probably stick to my Evans SE-150 [with a Profex II, or since I have an earlier Profex also which still works good!! the 30lb weight is nice at my age!

Ernie

The nice thing is, Peavey still works on them. I was having a problem with one of mine, sent it to Peavey and they returned it as good as new for a very reasonable service charge.

I think $250 to $300. It is not practical to buy one that has to be shipped. Shipping is just too expensive on these amps. I have had 3 in my life time and they are awesome sounding, if you get the EQ right. I used the Big E's settings, which I got from Jeff Newman. There was also a chart on the forum when the 500 was used by the big name steelers at Scotty's convention. I might be able to dig it up, if anybody is interested. I am not sure, but it seems like it was posted by Gene Fields.

I have said this before, and I know some of you think I am crazy, but I think it is the perfect practice amp. Think about it. A cheap, large cabinet, heavy amp that needs to be placed in one place and never moved. The perfect home for these great amps is your practice room, at church, or a venue that you can simply get a moving company to move it for you and then just leave it there.

My experience with used ones is that the majority of them never left a guy's house. Just too big and heavy to move. So you can get some really nice one's used.

I think Richard and Lane are correct... I’ve seen them from 200-400
and if it weren’t for weight, I’d say they’d be priceless... just a great sounding amp.

The value of a Session 500 is in inverse proportion to the age of the player!

Ernie - I get by with an Evans JE-150. At home I sometimes plug it into what remains of my my Session 500, just the BW.

The value of a Session 500 is in inverse proportion to the age of the player!

Ernie - I get by with an Evans JE-150. At home I sometimes plug it into what remains of my my Session 500, just the BW.

The Session 500 and the 400 were the best steel amps
Peavey ever made. I'll say two to three hundred for either amp. Just my opinion. Tenn. Lee

I have a Session 500 and these amps are worth there weight in gold...so to speak!

These are the best amps that Peavey has ever made. I also had a 1975 Session 400 and sold it. I could kick myself for letting it go, it was a great amp too!

Session 500 today goes for $150 to $400. There are a lot of Session 500's out there to buy, but no one whats to pay the high shipping cost. Shipping is $80.00 to $175.00 in certain States to get it to your front door.

Worth weight in gold - at current gold price Peavey 500 would be about $1.3 million, would certainly set a record for price of steel guitar amp!

Had one that I bought in mint condition,about 25 years ago, but it didn't work, for $90. Cost me $30 to repair it. $120 total. Sounded great, gobs of power, but no better than the lighter Vegas I replaced it with.

Ya...i here ya Kyd!

The Session 500 is a little heavy, but a good powerful amp.)

Shipping costs were mentioned above. I wanted a Fender Super Six amp but when I located one nobody wanted to ship it, or if they did, it was going to cost me an arm or a leg. Then I found one for sale at a Guitar Center store out East. They will ship something to another one of their stores anywhere in the USA at no cost. So I got me the amp I wanted shipped to a GC store quite close to me. And you should have seen the excellent job of packing it. The box was SO big I could hardly get it in the back of my Jeep.

Hi ,
Please don't forget the Vegas 400 in all of this.Essentially a twin channel Session 400.
I bought mine brand new for about £450 in the early 80s in the UK.
It is in remarkable condition after 30years of gigging.It also gives one of the best steel sounds I've heard thro my Mullen.Yes heavy but worth the haul.No pain no gain!
I would be very reluctant to sell it ,but if I did it wouldn't be for under £300 GBP !

Dave, it's a big-cabinet Nashville 400. It has the IC based EQ

bought mine last monday for 90. works and looks like new