Peavy Mark III bass amp

SilverTurtle · #1 05-08-2005, 12:39 PM

Anyone familiar with this amp? I might be able to get a good deal on a used one.

I finally started playing with a drummer, and this guy is loud... even for a drummer.

So I need quite a lot more power than my 120 watt combo is capable of.

Any input would be great... thanks!

Da LadY In Red · #2 05-08-2005, 01:18 PM

How many watts? My Peavey Mark VIII sounds and plays fine/loud.

Peavey is practically indestructible. 20+ year old Peavey amps are no joke.

carrythatweight · #3 05-08-2005, 01:22 PM

I have a Mark VI, it's wonderful, it was cheap, and it's a tank. Our church's bassist has a Mark III as a backup for my amp, in case I'm gone and I've taken it with me, or something, and it's great too, it's just not as loud as the Mark VI.

**IvanMike** · #4 05-08-2005, 02:33 PM

i had a pv mark 4 head for a long time. IIRC, the mark 3 is very similar with the same power section.

if you can get one cheep, it's a cool amp. it puts out 210 watts into 4 ohms and 300 watts into 2 ohms. i think it puts out about 170 watts into 8 ohms.

It's a bit bulky, but IMO, better than the sruff pv makes now, and WAY more bulletproof.

gilbert46 · #5 05-08-2005, 02:37 PM

I had a mk III XP 300 watt head as my first. I got it in 2003, it was 26 years old then !!!! Looked brand new, sounded great. sold it and regretted it, it was a tank. if i found another i would grab it as a backup.

i_got_a_mohawk · #6 05-08-2005, 05:59 PM

Ive tried a peavey mark III, and tbh, i didnt like it, much prefered my firebass to it, however, i think it might have been because of the cab, or the fact it was used in a practice room so would have had alot of use, the cab was a 15 or 18 + 2 smaller speakers, was a while back i used it, but i really really did not like the sound that came from it

orskard · #7 05-08-2005, 08:15 PM

I had one, water, well snow, got in it and it fried. THat thing was a tank though.

anyone want to buy it?

clothsnake · #8 05-09-2005, 04:39 AM

my mkVI xp has just developed a fault
i have always liked peavey... but at the minute, and because this one let me down... i wouldn't take another peavey head if you paid me... this one has been an arse for a while...

am keeping the 410cab though, and am now putting an ashdown (mag 300) through it... love it (and cheap... well well under a £ a watt)

in my opinion... peavey stuff has far too much on it to be indestructible... chorus... limiters and ****... don't go for a head with anything on it you can't get on a separate peddle

good luck

mwharvey · #9 05-09-2005, 06:06 AM

I had a Mark III for 10 years or so and it sounded OK, but I don't remember it being particularly loud (I think the rated power was 300 watts at 2 ohms). Its one benefit of the Mark III over the Mark IV is that you can turn the DDT compression (limiter) off.

Soulfinger · #10 05-09-2005, 06:11 AM

A Mark III was my first "real" amp. It sounded lousy and didn't have much power. It was only 100 watts at 8 ohms, and 150 at 4 ohms.

andruca · #11 05-09-2005, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clothsnake

my mkVI xp has just developed a fault
i have always liked peavey... but at the minute, and because this one let me down... i wouldn't take another peavey head if you paid me... this one has been an arse for a while...

am keeping the 410cab though, and am now putting an ashdown (mag 300) through it... love it (and cheap... well well under a £ a watt)

in my opinion... peavey stuff has far too much on it to be indestructible... chorus... limiters and ****... don't go for a head with anything on it you can't get on a separate peddle

good luck

1 Ashdown watt = 1/2 Peavey watt

I see why they're so cheap!

ANDRUCA

**Basschair** · #12 05-09-2005, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverTurtle

Anyone familiar with this amp? I might be able to get a good deal on a used one.

I finally started playing with a drummer, and this guy is loud... even for a drummer.

So I need quite a lot more power than my 120 watt combo is capable of.

Any input would be great... thanks!

My first setup was a Mark III and a 2x15 cabinet. Loud...but not detailed. I didn't know any better, though. The amp was good for the money: I could have done better as far as the cabinet, though.

Funkengrooven · #13 05-09-2005, 08:12 AM

I have used Peaveys for years and I found them all to be solid, reliable, built like a tank and used circuitry that was very forgiving of musicians doing stupid things (I did my share).
I still use some Peavey stuff (Maxx Preamp/ProBass 1000 preamp)
But I have sold my power amps.
The only fault I have found is that the amps are not "HiFi" or as some would say "detailed" but depending on the music you are playing that may or may not be a consideration.
If you need a reliable amp it is tough to go wrong with a Peavey.

tramp · #14 05-13-2005, 09:20 AM

I have a mark lll bass head. Used it for about 5 yrs.
Sounds great with 160 watts at 8 ohms and 210 watts at 4 ohms. I was using a peavey 15" black widow. It's in mint condition. Had it up for sale locally about a month back @ $180.00 or best offer,but no takers so far.

CrackBass · #15 05-13-2005, 09:36 AM

i used one for about two years of gigging. not the best sound but it did the job. indestructible little amps, and fairly light too. they are one of the best bargains in the used amp markets these days. don't run it with just a 210 in a loud situation, it won't keep up, but if you use it with some fairly substantial speakers it will do fine. i also bought a mark VIII and i liked the mark III better. the markVIII is a little deeper and a tad bit louder but not enough of a difference to justify the cost. i was planning to sell the mark III but i ended up taking the mark VIII back. anyway the mark series is a super bargain in the used amp market for budding bass players who want to get out of the livingroom and into the bars, and they aint too bad for seasoned pros who do things on the cheap. one hell of a practice amp too.

bassicinstinct · #16 05-13-2005, 09:51 AM

1 Ashdown watt most definitely and positively does NOT equal 1/2 a Peavey watt.

I've owned and gigged with one or the other for well over 3 decades and there is no foundation for the comment so far as I'm concerned.

oldfclefer · #17 05-13-2005, 10:10 AM

I owned one for over 25 trouble free years. Spilled countless beers into the upper cooling grill, dropped it, left it in the car during summer heat, winter subzero, blew up three cabinets with it, and still every time I needed it, it was there. A little noisey. Don't use the footswitch, mine screwed up something fierce. The amp is absolutely bullet proof and it's 300 watts of true, available, American power, and it's a real workhorse. The only reason I got rid of mine is because I'm in a position where I can spoil myself with a higher tech compent setup.

steveksux · #18 05-13-2005, 10:13 AM

Quote:

1 Ashdown watt = 1/2 Peavey watt

I always wondered what the exchange rate was on Peavey watts.

I had an old Peavey combo (my first bass amp), threw a voltmeter on it while playing one time, the built in limiter kept the output well below rated power. It ran really hot too, couldn't touch the heat sink at all. That was almost 30 years ago though, maybe it doesn't apply anymore. But you can see I was emotionally traumatized by the Peavey exposure, and to this day, 30 years later, I still avoid Peavey products.

My dad was great for finding "great stuff" that was cheap. "Randy, I found this place that has a GREAT steak for $5.00". Surprisingly enough, the "steak" wasn't so great.

That's my impression of the Peavey niche. Not the best quality equipment, but inexpensive, could even be a good value for the money. They are probably a great entry level amp, cheap, robust, reliable. Just not "THE" tone though. When bass players sit around campfires telling scary tone stories, they're talking about Peavey amps they used to own.

But I'm 30 years out of date, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, maybe I'm just a Peavey bigot.

Randy

tplyons · #19 05-13-2005, 02:01 PM

I have a Mark VI I bought for $20. It caused me to entirely reconsider and revamp my tone.

Wesley R · #20 05-13-2005, 02:12 PM

back in '72, I forged my moms signature as a cosigner to a loan for band equipment. All Peavey.

The PA head did not work from the very first fire up, went back to the store (1 hour later) with hopes of an exchange, no dice. I had to haul it in to the repair shop (it was closed) the next day. None of the input wires were conected.
It worked great after being fixed

The bass cab was warped and cno one woulf fix it, so for a year or two I set it on a pile of moving quilts, sounded good though.

The bass head failed upon initial fire up an was fixed and worked fine.

in about '83 bought an all tube combo for guitar, blew an internal fuse first night home. sounded darned good after getting fixed and he used it for a long time.

My DJ stuff (Power amps and speakers)and my buddies (power amps & mixers)all has worked great no issues.

A friend once said "No one sets out to buy Peavey gear, they just end up with it"