Peavey Cirrus 4 - Need maintenance advice

[gil_mor]

So yea, I just got my USA Peavey Cirrus Walnut and I'm excited!

I've been playing for quite a few years now, but this is my first "Real" guitar.

Couple of questions:
1. How do I clean it? - Is it polyester/urethane or oil-urethane finish? What would be the right way to clean it?

2. Setup question -
The setup is near perfect, but, I would like to lower the action a little. The neck has a slight bow, and the G string saddle is down all the way. I'm a soft player and I would like to lower it even more.

I've never played a neck-through-body before, and I don't want to harm it, is there anything else I should think of before I start strighting the neck?

Any other suggestions about taking care of my beauty will be appreciated.
Thanks!

[gil_mor]

Anybody?

[MyUsernameHere]

Originally Posted by gil_mor

1. How do I clean it? - Is it polyester/urethane or oil-urethane finish? What would be the right way to clean it?

Depends on what finish it is. Is it shinny and really smooth? If so, its a lacquer of some sort (I have no idea if its poly or nitro...I'd guess poly). In that case, clean it like you would any other bass with that type of finish.

If its rough, its an oiled finish. If you really think it needs cleaning, go over it with 000 steel wool or one of those green scrub pad thigys...but it probably isn't that bad. Other than that, just put a little wax on it every now and then and you're good to go.

Originally Posted by gil_mor

2. Setup question -
The setup is near perfect, but, I would like to lower the action a little. The neck has a slight bow, and the G string saddle is down all the way. I'm a soft player and I would like to lower it even more.

I've never played a neck-through-body before, and I don't want to harm it, is there anything else I should think of before I start strighting the neck?

I'm assuming the bow is forward?

Take a look at the set-up stickys if you don't know how to set the relief in your neck. Don't be scared to mess around with it. Keep in mind (and this is only from my experience with my own Cirrus') that its going to have a truss adjustment that's a pain in the butt. The adjustment nut is offset from center for some reason and the channel they cut to access it isn't big enough to be able to put an allen wrench in there and move it around without it being a pain. Its the worse thing about the Cirrus's design by far.

Also, you can get the action on these things ridiculously low and the neck arrow straight without it buzzing. So low, in fact, that the strings will make this weird thumping sound off the fretboard but not buzz. Its annoying and gets worse as the strings break in. Point being, you might want to lower your strings to a pre-determined height (I can't remember exactly what low action is considered in mm above the fret, but its not hard to find out) instead of just lowering them as low as they can go without buzzing.

[gil_mor]

Originally Posted by MyUsernameHere

Depends on what finish it is. Is it shinny and really smooth? If so, its a lacquer of some sort (I have no idea if its poly or nitro...I'd guess poly). In that case, clean it like you would any other bass with that type of finish.

If its rough, its an oiled finish. If you really think it needs cleaning, go over it with 000 steel wool or one of those green scrub pad thigys...but it probably isn't that bad. Other than that, just put a little wax on it every now and then and you're good to go.

I'm assuming the bow is forward?

Take a look at the set-up stickys if you don't know how to set the relief in your neck. Don't be scared to mess around with it. Keep in mind (and this is only from my experience with my own Cirrus') that its going to have a truss adjustment that's a pain in the butt. The adjustment nut is offset from center for some reason and the channel they cut to access it isn't big enough to be able to put an allen wrench in there and move it around without it being a pain. Its the worse thing about the Cirrus's design by far.

Also, you can get the action on these things ridiculously low and the neck arrow straight without it buzzing. So low, in fact, that the strings will make this weird thumping sound off the fretboard but not buzz. Its annoying and gets worse as the strings break in. Point being, you might want to lower your strings to a pre-determined height (I can't remember exactly what low action is considered in mm above the fret, but its not hard to find out) instead of just lowering them as low as they can go without buzzing.

Thanks for answering!
I think its the oiled finish. Its not dirty, I just want to know how to clean it. What kind of wax do you use (I know nothing about wax).

I've setup guitars before, but this one is a little tricky.
I had the same problem with fitting the allen wrench so I just cut it (the wrench, not the guitar) but. It wouldn't fit!
It works well for my SX and Squier, but, not for the peavey.
How odd.

How do I straighten the neck then?!
Is there a spacial allen wrench for this one?

[Slammin]

I just went to the hardware store and got a set of the L shaped allen wrenches. The 5/32 works fine.

[bassplayertom77]

I used to own one with the bubinga top. You said it's oil finished. I remember going to a hardware place and getting some kind of oil for it, made for furniture. Green bottle, that's all I remember. Some dude on the label. Always wished I got the walnut one.