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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$453.80
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9.0
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Description:
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From the owners manual:
Power Output:
-350W at 8ohm
-450W at 4ohm
-minimum load is 4ohm
-9 band graphic EQ with push button bypass
-Smart Rail Technology
-DDT (digital distortion technology) speaker protection with defeat switch
-Analog Octave Divider with footswitchable bypass
-Buffered Effects Loop
-Combination Speakon and 1/4" speaker Jacks
-2 input jacks, high and low gain, for active and passive basses
-Pre and Post gain controls
-Bright and Low cut switches
-Low and High Shelving EQ
-Contour Control
-DI XLR output with Failsafe DI backup 48volts phantom power
-Tuner send
-FX send and return
-Thermal protection circuit
-Cooling fan protection circuit
-Current limit protection circuit
-Weight: 21.8 lbs.
-Dimensions: 3.875h x 19.00w x 12.50d (two rack spaces)
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Author
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GreggBummer
Registered User
Registered: January 2008
Location: Exit 4, NJ
Posts: 1319
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Review Date: Mon March 31, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $400.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Big, fat, powerful sound. Great price, very versitile, lots of control.
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Cons:
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EQ trades simplicity for control, footswitch not included.
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Peavey is one of those brand names that many players seem to have mixed feelings about. Probably with good reason. However, in the past ten years, every product made by Peavey that I have worked with, or near, has been nothing short of remarkable. I have never had a Peavey owner tell me a story about an equipment failure. Peavey's are built to last, and they deliver.
When I began my search for a modestly priced, well powered, semi-pro level amp to gig with I decided to look at Gallien-Kruger, Hartke, Ampeg and the like. Peavey was not on my list, largely because most of the shops in my area did not carry the brand. Guitar Center was supposed to carry them, but did not have one in the store to try. I spent about two months researching, comparing, and playing through a variety of amps. I had settled on a Hartke HA3500A, and I was shopping for a best price. Then I walked into a local mom and pop and that all changed. I played through the Peavey Tour 450 for two hours and decided that this was it.
I am not going to bore you with details about this amp, they can be found at www.peavey.com. Just download the owners manual. (I suggest downloading and reading the owners manual to any equipment you are shopping for. It makes you somewhat familiar with the equipment before you plug into it in the store).
This head has big, fat, creamy sound that I love. I won't mislead you here- this is not a $1500 all tube amplifier. However, the sound coming out of this amp is just fantastic. With only the head and a Hartke 1x15 at 8ohm, this head filled a small club with sound- with plenty of headroom. The DDT, a nifty limiting feature that will protect your speakers, allows me to crank up without fear of shredding something expensive. This amp has POWER that is shockingly CLEAR at high volume. Using the equalization features and the contour feature allowed me to dial in a sound that I had in my head. I no longer have to settle for what I have.
The combination 1/4" (standard) speaker outs combined with the Speakon (new style) outputs are great. They add even more flexibility to this amp. I don't understand why more manufacturers don't make these standard on their heads.
This amp had tons of USEFUL features. A mute button, for changing instruments or tweaking the amp silently. Low cut, great for tightening that low B on my five string. The EQ bypass is another great feature that many manufacturers seem to forget. Pre and Post gain knobs help to get the signal sounding strong and clear.
One more thing: During my research on this product, I called Peavey. They were quick to answer my questions and followed up with an email. This is excellent customer service. The warranty can't be beat- 5 Years. Problems? Take the amp and your receipt back to your authorized Peavey dealer. See the manual for details.
As great as this amp is, it does have weaknesses. The nine band EQ takes a while to tame. Combined with a low boost/cut knob AND a hight boost/cut knob, a bright switch, and a low cut switch.... things get a bit confusing. However, "Zeroing" the EQ and starting from there really helps. The thing to understand with this particular EQ is: You trade a little simplicity for a whole lot of control. Fair trade? Depends. If you like a three band EQ because you don't need the fancy-schmancy stuff...
A few other quibbles. It does not ship with a footswitch. I know that this is pretty normal, but honestly- Why not? Why can't I use ALL the features when I take it out of the box? The footswitch is one channel and only controls the octiver. I don't really use this kind of effect, so the lack of a footswitch is not really that big of a deal. However, I would have prefered a multichannel footswitch- one that activated the mute. However, my tuner/effect pedal has a mute feature. Just as easy.
In conclusion, this head is worth your consideration. It sounds great, is priced right, and has a ton of features on it. I scored it a nine out of ten. Keep in mind I am comparing this amp to others in the same price range and class. I feel that this amp will serve my needs for years to come. Questions? Don't hesitate to PM me.
Keep it groovy,
Gregg
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ProfGumby
Registered User
Registered: January 2007
Location: Michigan's U.P.
Posts: 4566
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Review Date: Sun January 25, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 0
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Great Review! The local shop has a TVX 4x10 and he is waiting for the TOUR 450 HEAD. I am going to be his first phone call when the head is in and get first whack at it.
Peavey amps, Peavey basses are both the same in being overlooked by the masses. Sure there have been some misses over the years, but their winners are winners and last forever!
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 Don't ask me, I'm still trying to find the #@$#& "trust rod" on a bass!
I would hesitate to use the phrase "very good bassist" in any association with my name
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Bass4lyf
Registered User
Registered: November 2008
Location: Sydney
Posts: 109
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Review Date: Sun April 12, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $850.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Built really tough, great sound, can be pushed hard, rackmountable, sound versatility.
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Cons:
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Graph eq isnt my thing, some of the buttons are flimsy, not as loud as youd expect.
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This head is really great, sounds great, works great and is really built tough. I use this mainly in my metal band I gig with this quite often. The eq is very precise and responsive, I am not experienced enough with graph eq's so they do take me awhile to put in a good tone. I dont prefer the graph eq. The eq bypass button is about to give way as it isnt working properly. This amp doesnt use its wattage effecient enough as it is quiet for a 450watt amp, and i have taken into consideration that i am running it at 8 ohms so only getting about 300 of its watts. Kosmos effect is abit useless but works and sounds great. Di out for recording isnt the best, muddy sound. Best to mic the cab for recording. The DDT protection feature is a must have on all amps, you can really hear it kick in when the amp clips.
Really worth the money.
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Cort basses rock!
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elver_ca
Registered User
Registered: September 2010
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Review Date: Fri October 8, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $400.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Price, power and flexibility
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Cons:
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Cheap knobs
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I was looking for an inexpensive head to gig with in my weekend-warrior bar band and picked the Peavey for it's power, price and features. I have gigged this head about twice a month for two years and it hasn't let me down yet. There are almost too many options for tone shaping though .. but that is not really a bad thing ... but really - has anyone ever actually used the octaver?
I run this head either with 2 Ashdown 4x10 cabs with bluelines for larger rooms or with a single 4ohm 12" Avatar cab for portability; both sound great. I would recommend this as a decent inexpensive head for work or play.
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klejst
Registered User
Registered: October 2010
Posts: 2584
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Review Date: Tue October 12, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $429.99
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Many EQ features, built solid
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Cons:
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I bought this head to work with a Fender Bassman 410 cabinet when I upgraded my bass rig from a Fender Rumble 210 combo amp. This head blew me away at how well it worked with the 410 cab, with that setup I could definitely make the bass come through at a gig without even having to plug directly into the PA system. This head has a lot of EQ features which makes it easy for anyone to get that distinctive sound they are looking for. I have upgraded my bass rig since; however still hold onto this head because of it being a overall great product that has always performed well for me without any problem.
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nance511
Registered User
Registered: April 2009
Posts: 37
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Review Date: Mon August 29, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $189.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Built to last, probably has the most adaptability of any head on the market at the same price
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Cons:
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EQ, boost and contour controls are a little too subtle, HEAVY
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I have played through Peavey stuff literally since the day I started playing the bass. The first rig I had was a gigantic 1975 Peavey Musician transistor head run through a peavey 4x10 cab. The thing was a dinosaur, to say the least, but it never crapped out on me.
When I decided to downsize my stuff, I knew I wanted to stick with Peavey because of the build quality and just how long I knew it would last.
I played through the Tour 700 on a whim at Dave Anderson's Zoo music in Dallas and really found what I wanted out of a more modern head; the classic Peavey tone was retained in a somewhat smaller package with a ton of new shaping options.
I went with the Tour 450 because really I don't need that much power. I happened to find one used through GC for $189. The catch was that the preamp wasn't powering on properly. Turned out that it was a $90 fix that took about a day to get done. So basically, I won on a huge steal.
This amp does a lot for people who need it to do a lot:
-A 9 band EQ is honestly overkill on a gigging rig like this and I'm not sure if Peavey intended these heads to be used in a studio setting more than a live one, but if you're interested in having EXACTLY your sound JUST the way you want it, this is the way to go.
-Like everyone else has mentioned, the Octaver feature is pretty much a useless knob on the control plate, as it has exactly ZERO functionality in any genre of music except maybe techno-trance.
-The EQ Bypass controls are convenient if you have no interest in using the 9 band EQ, but if you didn't buy the amp for the EQ, you'd probably do better with something else anyway.
-Basically, this head is highly customizable for someone who knows EXACTLY what they want in their sound and, honestly, for the price, no other 450w head comes close to this affordability.
On the practical side however, Peavey has never been one for "Lightweight" gear. This amp weighs in at around 22 pounds and in a rack case or bag, you're looking at around 25-30lbs alone for just the head.
If you couple this with any one of peavey's higher output cabs, you're looking at a rig that weighs well over 100lbs and with Neo cabs ranges anywhere from 50 to 90lbs. It's nowhere close to being the lightest on the market, so if you're down for lugging heavy-ish gear, this is pretty standard.
I've used this head through the Peavey Tour 115 1x15 Neo ported cab and can say that it will push through just about any band setting. It's built to withstand whatever punishment you can throw at it, and, when coupled with the right cab, will hang with just about any $800-$1k rig around.
Great head for the price and power, I just wish peavey would look a little more into lightweight manufacturing in the future.
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Fender Precision Bass Club#122
Fender Jazz Bass Club#709
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gary ashall
Registered User
Registered: July 2010
Location: belfast
Posts: 46
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Review Date: Wed April 17, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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really good clean sound at high levels
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Cons:
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traded my old bass head for the peavey tour 450. great amp,great features except the sub harmonics thingy...i mean why ?. i run this through a peavey tvx 4x10 at 4 ohms and the sound remains clean at high levels. i have plated for over 25 years now and have had many bass amps so without starting to slate other brands by name i am surprised that the tour 450 has to be ONE of the best bass heads i have owned. the tvx 4x10 handles my low B string nicely also. the fan is also nice and quiet unlike some on other amps that sound like theres a hellicopter hovering above my house....love this amp.
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