I want to turn my Peavey Cirrus into a Fender .. oooh magic !!

mb94952 · #1 08-30-2008, 11:27 PM

OK - I have two Cirrus 4's. I LOVE the way they play, and sound. I have been getting into a more "traditional" sound lately, yet I don't want to part with my beloved Cirrus !!

SO - The solution is to turn one of my Cirrus' passive. I will switch out the pickups to passive ones.

ANY suggestions as to brand / model that would give me a more "Fender" sound ???

Thanks !!!!!!!!!!! - Mike B.

PilbaraBass · #2 08-30-2008, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb94952

OK - I have two Cirrus 4's. I LOVE the way they play, and sound. I have been getting into a more "traditional" sound lately, yet I don't want to part with my beloved Cirrus !!

SO - The solution is to turn one of my Cirrus' passive. I will switch out the pickups to passive ones.

ANY suggestions as to brand / model that would give me a more "Fender" sound ???

Thanks !!!!!!!!!!! - Mike B.

are the pickups on the Cirrus splittable? (ie...are there 4 conductors coming from them?) If they are, simply split the coils via switches so that you can select Front coil/both coils/rear coil for each pickup....

then, depending upon your settings you can go to a lot of different fender jazz type sounds readily...

mb94952 · #3 08-31-2008, 12:06 AM

Cool !! I don't know if they are, yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

are the pickups on the Cirrus splittable? (ie...are there 4 conductors coming from them?) If they are, simply split the coils via switches so that you can select Front coil/both coils/rear coil for each pickup....

then, depending upon your settings you can go to a lot of different fender jazz type sounds readily...

bassmanrocke · #4 08-31-2008, 12:34 PM

My guess, and it is only a guess, if you switched out the pots to 500k or 250k and bypassed the preamp you could turn it passive for less than $30 or so. This would allow you to return it to active if you changed your mind later.

The only hitch would be the pickups. Most active basses have passive pickups that are run through a preamp. This has been my experience with peavey. However, some pickups have the preamp as an integral part(EMG comes to mind), if this is the case with the Cirrus then you would also have to replace the pickups. Good luck either way, but remember to store anything you remove in case you want to return it to original later.

Another thought: If you're looking for passive but like the feel of the skinny peavey neck you might just want to find a used American Foundation. They're passive, easy to play and can be found in the $150 to $250 range most of the time. That way you wouldn't need to mess with your Cirrus, unless you're like me and like to mess with your basses.

MyUsernameHere · #5 08-31-2008, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmanrocke

My guess, and it is only a guess, if you switched out the pots to 500k or 250k and bypassed the preamp you could turn it passive for less than $30 or so. This would allow you to return it to active if you changed your mind later.

The only hitch would be the pickups. Most active basses have passive pickups that are run through a preamp. This has been my experience with peavey. However, some pickups have the preamp as an integral part(EMG comes to mind), if this is the case with the Cirrus then you would also have to replace the pickups. Good luck either way, but remember to store anything you remove in case you want to return it to original later.

Another thought: If you're looking for passive but like the feel of the skinny peavey neck you might just want to find a used American Foundation. They're passive, easy to play and can be found in the $150 to $250 range most of the time. That way you wouldn't need to mess with your Cirrus, unless you're like me and like to mess with your basses.

The pups are active in the same way EMGs are. He'll need to change them.

I was talking to a guy at a local guitar shop who said he put some Barts in a Cirrus and liked the results a lot. I don't know what model(s) he used...I was always under the assumption that Peavey made these pups an odd size that doesn't lend itself to direct replacement.

As for getting a "Fender" sound out of a Cirrus. Good luck with that. Walnut bodies, neck-through, different pup placement, etc... I'd just buy a Fender.