Official U.S. Peavey Cirrus Club Part 2

[captaincow101]

I love my USA Cirrus but I'm getting a lot of fret buzz. One of the main reasons I bought a Cirrus was because of the low action, however I can't stand fret buzz, hate the sound & the feeling through the fingers.
The neck is pretty flat with a bit of relief (looks perfect) I've raised the action to an uncomfortable height but I'm still getting plenty of buzz down the lower end & even a bit of tail-off on the upper reaches. Also I get a lot of clatter & not much lower end at all. I play traditional finger style & the mid to high notes mostly ring true & clear but the lower notes are a bit of a middy mumble & can never be heard in a band situation.
I really want to keep this bass, I love the way it feels, but these issues are bugging me. I'm a little bit worried that this guitar will never really sound like the BASS GUITAR in the band.
It's still pretty new to me, so I'll keep fiddling but any thoughts would be much appreciated

[Justin Tuskey]

hey guys, wanted to post pictures of my cirrus and my soon-to-be cirrus! LOVE these basses so much. it is completely ridiculous how much I love them.

Redwood Cirrus: I filled the chip in the headstock with some black CA followed by clear CA. i should have used more black as you can see the line, but it IS filled, smooth, and polished...and not noticeable from 5ft.

I also changed all the hardware to black, because the gold was a little too flashy and well worn down. hope you like!













Walnut/Wenge? Cirrus: my buddies bass, when he got it to me it was in pretty bad condition. slowly brought moisture and life back into the open wood pores, and cleaned SO much green gunk off the frets and crud off the fingerboard. even cleaned up the hardware and got new knobs.

[mb94952]

Originally Posted by captaincow101

I love my USA Cirrus but I'm getting a lot of fret buzz. One of the main reasons I bought a Cirrus was because of the low action, however I can't stand fret buzz, hate the sound & the feeling through the fingers.
The neck is pretty flat with a bit of relief (looks perfect) I've raised the action to an uncomfortable height but I'm still getting plenty of buzz down the lower end & even a bit of tail-off on the upper reaches. Also I get a lot of clatter & not much lower end at all. I play traditional finger style & the mid to high notes mostly ring true & clear but the lower notes are a bit of a middy mumble & can never be heard in a band situation.
I really want to keep this bass, I love the way it feels, but these issues are bugging me. I'm a little bit worried that this guitar will never really sound like the BASS GUITAR in the band.
It's still pretty new to me, so I'll keep fiddling but any thoughts would be much appreciated

I want you to be happy with your Cirrus. My guess, is that going from here in California to you in England, the bass has gone through some climate change.

I GUARANTEE that you can get the bass to where it was before with no fret buzz. Please take the bass to a professional for a set up. It won't cost much, and it will be worth it. It sounds like it's not a matter of raising or lowering the action because you said you raised it too high already. It sounds like it needs a minor truss rod adjustment and in conjunction with that, the bridge adjustment.

After you do that, you will be happy. Don'r forget - you have a 1999 USA Cirrus - One of the best basses ever made. If you can get that bass in order, then there is no hope for all basses

At worst, it may need a fret leveling, but I doubt it. PLEASE don't give up hope on that piece of magnificent craftsmanship...

Another issue to consider is the EQ. Don't underestimate the power of the MID knob. If you turn that down, you remove most of the low end. I keep mine flat, or boosted a tad, but never cut. The Cirrus is a bass that cuts through the mix almost better than any other bass. Also boost the bass a little, if needed. The Cirrus is a "modern" sounding bass, but you can get most ANY tone from the bass you have. That wood combo (alder / maple ) does a pbass type sound very well.

What kind of amp / cab are you using ? That is important, too ...

[captaincow101]

Ahh I've just had a look at the truss rod & it's completely loose, so loose in fact that it rattles when I shake the bass :/ so I can't give it any relief.

[StuartV]

If you leave it strung and tuned up and let it sit for a week or two, won't the string tension induce some relief into the neck?

[mb94952]

Originally Posted by captaincow101

Ahh I've just had a look at the truss rod & it's completely loose, so loose in fact that it rattles when I shake the bass :/ so I can't give it any relief.

Originally posted by Timmy on US Peavey Club ...
MNAirHead

Location: Minnesota - Twin Cities

Received a pm about setting ultra low action (they played one I setup via mail order)

1-arrow straight neck
2-quality balanced strings
3-string tree
4-geometry
5-touch
6-strobe


Strings.......
I've yet to find a bass that I could get any of the long lines of "I love my...." or "best" strings to work....

Seems as if "balanced.... Exposed core... Stainless" work easiest


Geometry
This is the toughest part.... Takes 6-10 resets to get everything synced ........ (Note you can't get low action on a millenium without shims)


Sustain
There's a geometry point that will add ~30%. I rarely ship them like this as most people insist on their strings and/or will not learn a light touch


Shipping
I'll commonly try to find a balance between "optimal" and the player. About 30% of the time do I dare setup chapman stick action.


Time
I plan on a week to setup a bass ... Takes a few attempts to get geometry ready.... Takes a few days to have strings naturally set in.... Half hour to get intonation set


Hope this helps as there's tons of misinformation on the Internet

[MNAirHead]

Relief isn't necessary on a cirrus you less you use low quality striings

I'd string it up and check it out

How are you sure it's the truss

[MNAirHead]

Originally Posted by captaincow101

I love my USA Cirrus but I'm getting a lot of fret buzz. One of the main reasons I bought a Cirrus was because of the low action, however I can't stand fret buzz, hate the sound & the feeling through the fingers.
The neck is pretty flat with a bit of relief (looks perfect) I've raised the action to an uncomfortable height but I'm still getting plenty of buzz down the lower end & even a bit of tail-off on the upper reaches. Also I get a lot of clatter & not much lower end at all. I play traditional finger style & the mid to high notes mostly ring true & clear but the lower notes are a bit of a middy mumble & can never be heard in a band situation.
I really want to keep this bass, I love the way it feels, but these issues are bugging me. I'm a little bit worried that this guitar will never really sound like the BASS GUITAR in the band.
It's still pretty new to me, so I'll keep fiddling but any thoughts would be much appreciated

I'd start with your strings and technique

If not you may need a new nut cut ..... Some well meaning goof balls lower the nut instead of raising it to get low action

[MNAirHead]

Originally Posted by captaincow101

Ahh I've just had a look at the truss rod & it's completely loose, so loose in fact that it rattles when I shake the bass :/ so I can't give it any relief.

I'd be clamping this bass - videos on YouTube

Was it shipped with or without installed strings?

[MNAirHead]

Originally Posted by StuartV

If you leave it strung and tuned up and let it sit for a week or two, won't the string tension induce some relief into the neck?

Yes

Not necessary on a cirrus - unless low quality strings

Any chance you can post a video of you recreating the issue?

[BrentSimons]

Alright. Which one of you Cats bought the NOS Walnut Cirrus 4 off from Ebay? I was going to buy it dang it!
Brent

[jjk2007]

Hey guys. I did a version of this track playing with my thumb (linked in the USA Peavey thread) and my producer friend wasn't sure if he liked it that way. I finally got around to doing a quick scratch track on my Cirrus, fingerstyle to see how that will go over. This is rough but I want to make sure we're on the same page before I go all in. Anyhow, EQ on the bass is flat, both pickups on and EQ at the board was flat except for a slight dip at 1k. There is also a little bit of compression going on too.

Yes I Can v 2 by Jeff Neer on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[cirrus678]

I need a number....

[VS]

Too long have you sat in the shadows....TTT!

[Landsharks]

I agree, I was wondering where this thread went. Welcome back!

[Claybo77]

Does Anyone have ANY idea how many cirrus' Peavey was putting out in the early years (98-99-00)???
Are there any production numbers... Or maybe Steve at Peavey Repair might know some numbers?
ALSO: Has any TB'er seen or owned a triple walnut cirrus that had "flame, marble, curl, burl, fiddleback, or any other highly figured walnut"???
And to be clear, I am asking about NON-Claro Walnut. The later cirrus used CLARO tops. The Pre-Millenium/EARLY... SOLID Walnut basses are black walnut back/neck/top. Maple stringers. Pau fretboard.
How many FIGURED black walnut cirrus basses have you seen or owned?
Thanks to all,
Clay

[bogabi72]

Hey Justin, these bass probably the most beautiful ones what I've ever seen. Congratulations!

[BassicJohn]

Here is the current list of club members.

1 joevcool
2 psychicpet
3 Ronbo
4 wishbon 7
5 damon106
6 Hounddog
7 mb94952
8 Dr. Cheese
9 IronSpatula
10 Fps
12 spade2you
13 Papersen
14 Fletch
15 Vic
16 bottomzone
17 Bassman4
18 Cirrus6vt
19 Cheezewiz
20 Jhow
21 im a sock
22 rockern
23 138BASS
24 Mendry
25 Topgear
26 chevelle 91 Z
27 alembic 5
28 myusernameHere
29 bassplaynmatt
30 TumeniNotes
31 Stevem627
32 PeterT55
33 embellisher
34 Sir Pug
35 shadowmac
36 metalbob
37 Danny R
38 aproud
39 larito
40 Soy Milk Hero
41 Rogt
42 Michael Henson
43 Shelly
44 fyrbass
45 jacall 237
46 Seracis
47 Cirrus b 2002
48 Cliff 78
49 BassicJohn
50 fretless4jc
51 octaedro7
52 genstormbringer
53 Hux
54 JamesE
55 B4SSPlr
56 PeaveyCirrus4
57 TYS_MIKE
58 bassdr
59 cb56
60 Im a sock
61 capnsandwich
62 Old Rover
63 Ltrain
64 revroy
65 Lenhny
66 Late Boomer
67 old rocker dude
69 widefat
70 Mam
71 TonyFranklinFan
72 cirrus_606
73 ledyard
74 Tony CC
75 bass_lord_mutha
76 nervous
77 AtomicPunk
78 ModuMan
79 davidgoldman
80 Joospocks
81 Will Kelly
82 VS
83 BananaKing
84 RaginRog
85 jjk2007
86 ba$$player
87 BR7176
88 jackajesusfreak
89 Drocdbase
90 embellisher
91 xhawk5
92 TFish
93 Kipaste
94 kascollet
95 Monotheist
96 onemorebass
97 Ricardo Br
98 JerryD
99 Plstrns
100 cronoskus
101 Jason P Bass
102 envy1400
103 21niko21
104 southgabass
105 Xandros
106 lfbassguy
107 Inferis22
108 ZubenElGenubi
109 Aspidites
110 JLS
111 streetknight
112 Buck Spunni
113 Whatisbass
114 G.Bisson
115 Bassman369
116 Kinbass
117 VanillaThundah
118 geoff_in_nc
119 Java5er
120 p12bassnut
121 Landsharks
122 FrenchBassQC
123 nyde7
124 parapentep70
125 abngourmet
126 fuzzychaos
127 naetog
128 bogabi72
129 amadeusex
130 captaincow101
131 llamalor2112
132 Justin Tuskey
133 cirrus678

If I missed anyone, please let me know.

[puremusic]

Do anyone know if all VFL pickups in USA Cirruses are the same size 4, 5 or 6 string I heard that they are but I don't know for sure? I am only asking because I will be replacing my neck pickup because of issues that it is having.

[lfbassguy]

Originally Posted by puremusic

Do anyone know if all VFL pickups in USA Cirruses are the same size 4, 5 or 6 string I heard that they are but I don't know for sure? I am only asking because I will be replacing my neck pickup because of issues that it is having.

I believe they are different sizes. Maybe the 5 and 6 string ones may be the same, but I know the 4 and 5 are different.