Peavey BQuad Feedback thread

MNAirHead · #1 06-05-2010, 11:44 AM

postition holder for BQuad

MNAirHead · #2 06-05-2010, 11:48 AM

shipped and received

N.F.A. · #3 06-06-2010, 11:24 PM

Tim is the nicest and best seller here on talkbass. He is a Peavey expert and general great guy to deal with. Another great transaction with him!

MNAirHead · #4 06-07-2010, 10:12 AM

Thank you..

Please contact me if you choose to sell it...

Unmolested BQuads are as good as production basses (and many botiques) get.

Tim

lofreek · #5 06-07-2010, 12:57 PM

I have a B Quad Five, signed by Brian Bromberg himself. It is an awesome instrument. I feel very fortunate to have it.

MNAirHead · #6 06-07-2010, 01:01 PM

The day I purchased NFA's Bquad 4 .. I started the global search to locate a Bquad 5.

Unfortunately most of them are dorked around with and "modified"

lofreek · #7 06-07-2010, 06:52 PM

These are not to be modified. They are among the most advanced basses ever built. Why tamper?

N.F.A. · #8 06-07-2010, 07:52 PM

Yes, they are things of beauty. No dorking allowed.

ajish4 · #9 06-07-2010, 09:17 PM

Hmmmm,

One of these days.....one of these days.....

perfektspace6 · #10 06-07-2010, 10:14 PM

Not sure exactly what you are asking for here but I have a B Quad 5 Fretless. Apparently these are few and far between. Completely black minus the inlay and headstock logo. It is certainly a very distinctive bass. The piezo's are a bit unpredictable. Mine still work fine but can be scratchy at times. The replacement pots for the pre are apparently only available from Peavy at an extraordinary price tag (if anyone knows differently please tell me).

Very aggressive tone if desired and great playability. Suffers from a somewhat unbalanced B string, a common complaint on Peavy's from what I have owned and heard. I have never seen a fretless 5 on the bay but fretted 5's pop up several times a year, often in the $1200-1500 range. Worth every penny.

MNAirHead · #11 06-07-2010, 11:57 PM

Perfekt..

PM .. sounds like someone has gotten to your bass.. "unpredictable piezos" indicate that someone did not know what they were doing when working on your bass. it's posisble they did some minor damage to the bridge.

If treated well it will not be scratchy..

"unbalanced B String" this confuses me.. something is setup wrong.

First step for your bass is to order GHS tapercore stainless (light guage)

Meridian does not charge a ton for shop time.

MNAirHead · #12 06-07-2010, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lofreek

These are not to be modified. They are among the most advanced basses ever built. Why tamper?

Normally it's because someone acts before reading the manual. It's common for someone to try modifying the preamp or bridge.. this normally starts the "upgrade" path.

Silly when Peavey still supports this bass.

perfektspace6 · #13 06-08-2010, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNAirHead

Perfekt..

PM .. sounds like someone has gotten to your bass.. "unpredictable piezos" indicate that someone did not know what they were doing when working on your bass. it's posisble they did some minor damage to the bridge.

If treated well it will not be scratchy..

"unbalanced B String" this confuses me.. something is setup wrong.

First step for your bass is to order GHS tapercore stainless (light guage)

Meridian does not charge a ton for shop time.

Can't be sure but I don't think anyone has "messed" with it. Who knows but the problem is intermittent/rare and doesn't prevent using the piezo's.

From what I understand Norm Stockton originally owned the bass, played it briefly on a video, and then it sat unused for a long while. Second owner sold it to me after owning it for a short time. Basically it was about as close to new as a 12+ year old bass can be.

The piezo's on this bass are notoriously susceptible to going bad and are very expensive to replace but luckily mine work pretty well and are nice to blend in to the magnetic p/u's at times. I think the reason you see so many of these with mod's is the result of the piezo's failing and it being too expensive to replace them for many folks. So, a lot of players just gut the electronics and put in a new pre. I agree, it's a shame.

The B string being unbalanced is just something that I have noticed with a lot of peavy's. Nothing to do with the strings unless I have had really bad luck with strings. It isn't a big deal and can be rectified in the mix with minimal effort. This bass sounds as good as my US Spector live and recorded (but very different).

Hope you can find a nice 5 on the bay or here on Talkbass. Keep looking. They pop up but usually in that hideous violet color

DanRJBrasil · #14 06-08-2010, 07:47 PM

Peavey B Quad 5

MNAirHead · #15 06-09-2010, 09:50 AM

PErfect.. I own everything from Fenders to Bogarts.. never had an issue with stirng balance on any $1000+ original price fender.... must be something errant on your bass.

Piezos.. the common issue is that the wires get pinched.. many folks forget there are electronics in there.

shakey_slim · #16 06-09-2010, 11:28 AM

Hideous violet color?!? Are you talkin' to me?

My VIOLET fretless 5 has the same problems listed here: unbalanced B string, intermittent short in the piezos (on the G string).

Mine is currently strung it up as a piccolo and tuned it to C~Bb F Bb Eb (per Manring's "Monkey Businessman"), and it sounds great!

...for a violet bass.

perfektspace6 · #17 06-09-2010, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakey_slim

Hideous violet color?!? Are you talkin' to me?

My VIOLET fretless 5 has the same problems listed here: unbalanced B string, intermittent short in the piezos (on the G string).

Mine is currently strung it up as a piccolo and tuned it to C~Bb F Bb Eb (per Manring's "Monkey Businessman"), and it sounds great!

...for a violet bass.

Sorry meant no disrespect

I like it more than the aqua blue but really love the natural which doesn't pop up much.

And thanks for backing me up on the other issues. The other guy is convinced I am torturing this bass and causing the aforementioned problems. I've owned enough basses at this point to rule out the more obvious stuff. The piezo's are simply fluky for lack of a better term.

ajish4 · #18 06-09-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perfektspace6

From what I understand Norm Stockton originally owned the bass, played it briefly on a video, and then it sat unused for a long while. Second owner sold it to me after owning it for a short time. Basically it was about as close to new as a 12+ year old bass can be.

I WONDERED where that bass went to! I took a few lessons from norm in a Marathana workshop back in the 90's. Nicest guy you every want to meet.

I noted in some of his liner notes he used a BQuad but only spotted that once.

perfektspace6 · #19 06-09-2010, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajish4

I WONDERED where that bass went to! I took a few lessons from norm in a Marathana workshop back in the 90's. Nicest guy you every want to meet.

I noted in some of his liner notes he used a BQuad but only spotted that once.

Yeah apparently this is the one. I have tried to find the clip he plays it in but have never been able to track it down. If you remember which DVD/track, let me know.

ajish4 · #20 06-09-2010, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perfektspace6

Yeah apparently this is the one. I have tried to find the clip he plays it in but have never been able to track it down. If you remember which DVD/track, let me know.

Sure, here you go!

A Tender NAMM Moment
Album: "Pondering the Sushi" by Norm Stockton
Written By: Norm Stockton (Stocktones Music/BMI)
(c) MMI Stocktones Music, P.O. Box 2012, Mission Viejo, CA-- 92690-2012

Basses Used:
MTD 535 Fretted 5-string serial num. 252 - 98% of the track
MTD 735 Fretted 7-string serial num. 552 - the harmonics & high melody at the top of the tune
The tapped line that is panned wide in the stereo field (occurs around 3:28 track time) was played on a Peavey B-Quad 5 Fretless 5-string.

AND....

Confirmed here....

"NS: Ahhh, yes...the MTD 735! What an incredible instrument! Actually, it is not my main axe, though... I tried for about 2 weeks to transfer all of my "bag" over to the 7... But, then came the overwhelming question, "WHY?" ha! It is just too much instrument... too much fingerboard expanse... too many strings to mute, etc... to make it my primary instrument. I will always be a 5-string player. In my mind, it is the perfect balance of range and manageability. However, the 735 was tremendous for this project, allowing me to do a lot of chordal, melodic and solo passages in a register that my MTD 535 couldn't attain. I think the 735 recorded really well, too! The other instruments I used on Pondering the Sushi include a Modulus Graphite Quantum 5-String with piezo bridge, a Peavey B-Quad Fretless 5-string with panning strings (ala Brian Bromberg), and a 70's Fender P-Bass with flatwound strings."

http://www.normstockton.com/communic...lobalbass.html