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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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$462.50
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10.0
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Description:
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34" scale
21 frets
Black finish with chrome-plated pickguard
8" radius maple neck with rosewood fingerboard
Solid alder body with sculpted front and back contours
Steel bridge with machined steel saddles
1 1/2" nut width
All chrome-plated hardware
Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pound P & J
Passive electronics - V-V-T
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Author
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JPaulGeddy
Registered User
Registered: September 2007
Location: Germany
Posts: 332
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Review Date: Fri July 11, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $400.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Neck/feel, sound, look
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Cons:
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Some QC issues, bit of neck dive
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In a word, this bass is a killer. I was hired to do some gigs for a metal band, and needed something to fit the 'look'. Already a fan of Peavey and Dave Ellefson, this one was a no-brainer.
The surprising thing is, this is not the type of bass I usually like. I usually go for active pickups, for one thing, as well as maple fingerboards, couple other things. That's how I knew it was the 'one' when I couldn't put it down after trying it.
The neck is very close to a jazz, nice and skinny (if you like that sort of thing). Good roundness to it though, too. Plays very fast, feels very solid. As it was set up, it's perfectly balanced. I've gotten used to using compressors, now I'm just wondering if I have a bunch of problems with my neck/pickups in the other basses (very possible).
The sound is... well, perfect. This thing will do P-bass tone as well as anything I've played, and comes pretty darn close on J-bass too. It is absolutely devastating in metal/rock bands. I took this to practice through an Ampeg stack, and I swear it altered my insides.
I don't know that it's the most versatile instrument I've ever played, but if you're in the market for P or J passive, you cannot do better than this, especially for the money. MSRP is 899, they're new for 679 anywhere, and if you wait/dig, you will find them in the 350-450 range. Easily worth it. Cool gig bag, too.
So, a caveat or two. When I went to buy mine, there were two in the store. The one I bought had an issue with the electronics (turned out to be an out-of-phase pickup, fixed). Also, one of the strap buttons likes to work itself lose (easily fixable). It also has just a shade of neck dive; I've heard from others that they don't experience that problem.
The one I didn't buy had a noticeably slanted nut. Nothing detrimental to the playability, but noticeable. Also seemed to have some weird powdery residue on the neck where it joined the body. So, at least in my experience, I've seen some quality control issues. I would highly recommend you actually see/play the one you're going to buy beforehand, which is pretty standard advice for anything in this price range.
That being said, I can't put the thing down. It sounds great without being plugged in, and stunning in a band situation. Love picking it up, love looking at it. If you're in a similar situation, there is not a 'cooler' looking bass around. But it's not so obnoxious to look out of place at a blues gig, or anything else for that matter.
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Risen Ashes
Registered User
Registered: November 2005
Location: Miami, FL
Posts: 733
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Review Date: Mon September 1, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $525.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Tone, Playability, Looks, Quality for price
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Cons:
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not made in the U.S.A.
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I am a huge Megadeth fan and a huge David Ellefson fan.
I waited about 15 months before buying this bass. I was between: an ESP Vintage 4 bass (P/J) , ESP F-404, Spector Euro neck-through, Fender American Deluxe P, Fender Highway One P bass Musicman Stingray & Sterling and the Peavey Zodiac DE Scorpio.
From the headstock to the bridge:
Tuners: Old school clover/butterfly chrome, not bad for being made in China
Headstock: Black with a scorpion and Mr. Peavey's signature
Truss rod: is on top and is easy access compared to other basses that require the user to remove the neck completely. Big +
Nut: It seems to be plastic, but for now it works and is one of the few things that I would change.
Frets: good to go, perfect
Fretboard: Rosewood, I had my doubts because my Geddy Lee bass has a maple fretboard and I've developed a preference for it. But, this board cosmetically fits the bass and tone wise it is complements the overall sound.
Neck: Maple, just like my Geddy, it is not as big as a P neck but it is a wide neck. I do like the fact that it is a fast neck. I like the finish, it is similar to the finish on the back of some Fender P's and Musicman basses.
Body: Alder
Pickguard: Very Metal, but as mentioned earlier, not so extreme. This bass can be used in other types of music.
Bridge: a Meaty bridge. I will have an extra Badass Bass II bridge soon so I will replace it but the stock bridge gives the bass good sustain.
Pickups: The reason why you should get this bass over the other Zodiac basses and the basses that I compared this bass against. I was not expecting to be blown away by these BUT I was wrong! They are passive, so batteries will never be an issue. When I got the bass, the strings were old and fairly dead...I plugged the bass in like that and rolled the tone nob down and played fingers...Like this with flatowound strings you can get a Steve harris/Frankie Bello/Geezer Butler tone...I prefer the opposite-which the bass is made for- Steel strings, tone and both pickups all the way up...Think- Megadeth bass tone from Megadeth's Killing is my Business and Business is Good TO Countdown to Extinction that's the tone i was after and that's exactly what this bass delivers!
If you want an aggressive, punchy and fairly versatile metal, rock or blues bass Go check one out today! And see for yourself why I'm so excited for this bass!
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Fender & Peavey basses. Nemesis and Ampeg SVT amplification. Mesa Boogie Cab.
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