Trouble With the Peavey

Pigg61 · #1 02-06-2013, 11:17 AM

I recently acquired a peavey tko 115 400 watt combo amp (don't judge... It was cheap) I can't get a real clear sound out of it. Is there any tips you may be able to throw at me?

**faviobarrio** · #2 02-06-2013, 11:25 AM

Are you certain there's nothing wrong with it? I've had a couple of those amps over the years and the "default" sound I always got out of it was definitely clear.

Edit: Maybe a damaged speaker?

DiabolusInMusic · #3 02-06-2013, 11:29 AM

I had a TKO 115 as my first big stage amp. The tone was definitely clear, it was too bland to be anything else. The amp was WAY to heavy but boy could it take a beating, I put mine through a window, plugged it in minutes later and jammed.

**faviobarrio** · #4 02-06-2013, 11:35 AM

Exactly...also my first gig worthy amp many moons ago. Only non-clear sounds I got out of it were once I had messed up the speaker from pushing it way too hard.

And, I still gigged with it a bunch like that!

Pigg61 · #5 02-06-2013, 11:53 PM

Thanks guys! Maybe it's me being picky. I appreciate the input!

Misty Mountain · #6 02-07-2013, 07:27 AM

Try using the low gain input, dial your EQ section flat and see how it sounds. Yes, Peavey is known for clear tone, many players complain that they can't get away from it, but I've always found that careful EQ use allows a wide range of tones from most Peavey amps.

nashvillebill · #7 02-07-2013, 05:01 PM

It may have a problem, if I had it on my bench I'd put a sine wave into the input and look at the output on a scope. These had 4558 op-amps I believe, which sometimes get fried; if so, they are socketed and easy to swap for not a whole lot of cash.

pocketgroove · #8 02-07-2013, 05:11 PM

Old TKO, or the newer tour series one? I've got the Tour TNT, which is the big brother to the Tour TKO, and the same issue.

Jaco who? · #9 02-07-2013, 05:44 PM

If the EQ on these is similar to Nitro and Firebass heads, the bass knob boosts frequencies that are centered way way too low. Try the bass knob around 10:30 or no more than 11:00 and boost the low mids at around 500-600 hz. If it has a contour knob, turn it fully counter clockwise and leave it there forever - hell, epoxy the damn thing in that position of you have to.

**hsech** · #10 02-08-2013, 12:38 AM

Every Peavey bass amp I've owned has been clean, clean, clean. They were always dependable and sounded good. I never had one fart out on me either. All the one's I had at one time or another had the "Black Widow" speaker in them and you couldn't kill it or even really drive it to distortion without causing ear bleeds where ever you were playing. If yours is having sound problems, one thing would be to pull the guts out of the cab and clean everything with contact cleaner and compressed dust off. Always worked for me when we would play at bars on the beach in Texas.

Pigg61 · #11 02-08-2013, 05:39 AM

Well it is a new TKO with the graphic EQ. I'm not keen on the EQ because I'm used to the simple bass mid and teen set up and it seems a little touchy to me. Maybe I'm pushing the low end too much? It just sounds loaded down.

Pigg61 · #12 02-08-2013, 05:40 AM

Bass mid and treble set up. Auto correct got the best of me.

pocketgroove · #13 02-08-2013, 05:47 AM

Sounds exactly like my TNT...I just can't get a decent tone out of it at any EQ setting, though it does sound better when it's louder, and the crunch channel has a lot more clarity. I can't really weigh in too much except to say that I've come to the conclusion that there's something wrong with mine.

Do you know if it's one of the earlier production ones? I think they started shipping in 2009 or 2010...

Anyway, good luck!

ack · #14 02-08-2013, 06:03 AM

I have had several Peavey bass amps (including a TNT130 combo w/ BW) and I liked them all - until I got an MXR Bass + DI, now I love them all. For me, I was looking for a bit warmer tone. The MXR did the trick.