• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Peavey 400 series Bass Head

#2
If it's the amp with the big chrome knobs, distortion circuit, etc. that just says "Bass" on the front then it dates to the late 1970s.

By 1980 it had been replaced by the Bass Mark III.

Footswitches for older Peaveys that use multipin connectors (usually marked "Automix") are hard to come by. There were many variations that looked similar but are incompatible. If it's just a phone jack style connector, then you just need to know if you need a one button or two button model.

Try CALLING Peavey's service department they used to be able to supply manuals for a small fee and can give you a definitive answer on the footswitch.
 
#3
I have an old Series 400 and I ordered the manual and schematic from Peavey and got them very quickly. Go to their web site.

Not an extremely high powered amp--rated 210 watts into 2 ohms--but it's been rugged and dependable for the 15+ years I've had it. I carry it as a backup head now.


edited: Oh, the schematic shows the pinouts for the footswitch. It's got some pretty fancy mixing capabilities between channels. You'll need the DIN connector, some multiconductor cable, a box, and some switches....make it yourself!! (No the connector's not your usual phone plug type)
 
#5
Gets a pretty decent tone, especially with the P-bass. Turn the Slope control up about 3/4 full, and plug the bass into the Parallel input. I don't use a footswitch.

I usually plug it into a 2x15 cab (running 4 ohms). Can keep up with reasonably loud bands. I've plugged two cabs into it, running it at the rated 2 ohms, and been asked to turn down.
 
#7
I havent played around with it too much yet, but the times Ive played with it Ive been able to get some really awesome tone. Its got a really nice natural distortion to it, and the actuall distortion circuit sounds nasty as hell. I love it, and my Ibanez EDA 905 sounds really great through it. I love the tube scream that it gets, and it sounds really great through my BP200 with my crazy wah effects and stuff. It may be old, but I doubt I could find a tone thats this unique out of any modern amp. I love it, and for $150 bucks it was a steal.

Peace
 
#8
I have one also! a few weeks ago i got pissed at it and decided to get something else(was on a get new MODERN trip)..i was running a 1 15 in and i was hooked up to the jack farthest left...then my one buddy was messin with it as i was playing and hooked it up to the jack one over from farthest right OMG! HUGE diffence! then i put a 8 ohm 10 in cab i made on it alog with the 15 in BW(4ohm) ,so im running at 3 ohms now i think,it sounds simply amassing !..I hope my new ampeg(b4r)that gets here tomorrow sounds this good it should be in indiana by now cant wait hehe
One thing " I love the tube scream that it gets,"
I belive its straight up SS amp..I never read the manual though :( Some say peavey is toneless I so dissagree...
 
#9
yeah the clean area is one of the best features on this amp. I play it usually through the parallel jack so I can mix and match between the EQ on both channels and set the tubbe scream that it has through the gain knob on the distortion circuit. The only thing I dont like about this amp is that im never able to get a truly clean tone because its always a little fuzzy, but at the same time I love the natural growl of 20 some odd year old tubes. As far as I know it is a solid state amp, the model that was made directly after it was not, but most of the 400 series was. I also play mne through a peavey 115BX cab, and I love the punch that this thing gets. Im pretty happy with it for $150, and its much better than running my cab through a Crate BFX 100. I loved that amp but it wasnt powerful enough and it was way to damn heavey.

Adam
 
#12
Invalid Link Removed


Wow. I thought I was the only one that still had one of those things. I bought mine six years ago for $50. Its been collecting dust for the last couple years. Maybe I'll dig it out and mess with it again.
 
#14
claytonbartton said:
dang ive been looking for that schematic for ever. my amps broken and i need to fix it. this amps got some of the weirdest wiring ive ever seen. could you send me a copy at [email protected] thanks
Click to expand...

I'm sending it over right now. Bill sent me a copy a few months ago, might as well pass it along. :cool:
 
#18
Why the Sheffield? That's a guitar speaker specifically designed to mimick the low-wattage Celstions used in Marshall amps in the '60s and '70s.

If it's a Peavey MK III or MK IV in the 400 series, they had several cabinets they sold at the time. It would hav either generic speakers, Scorpions, or Black Widows depending on the specific cabinet, the year, and whether it was upgraded to BW or not. BTW, my personal preference for Peavey bass speakers is the Scorpion. Not as much power handling as the BW, but it's a lot punchier and less pillowy on the low end.

They made a very nice an portable for the time 1x15, various 2x15 cabinets, some 1x18s, and the 1810/1820. These last two had a single 18" BW and a pair of 10" Scorpions, a crossover with bi-amp input jacks. There was also a 3620 with two BW 18's. Big and heavy... My favorite Peavey cabinet of all time came a bit later- it's the 1516 which had a single 15" speaker and a pair of 8's. Similar crossover network as the 1820, but much more portable and to my ears much much better sounding- not nearly as muddy and woofy as the 18"s.

If the amp was made in 1973, neither the Scorpion nor the Sheffield were in the line then.

jte
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back