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Firebase vs Tour 700 vs MiniMega

Forced4dr

Forced4dr

Guest
Mar 18, 2017
8
2
#1
I'm curious to see what others think about this.

Which amp is better? Firebass, Tour 700, or MiniMega.

I owned a Firebass. I loved it, but sold it because at the time I needed more than 275 watts @ 8 ohms.

I've always been more on the vintage Ampeg side of sound... I'm gassing for another Peavey though as a backup.

Peavey has made advancements in wattage with both these newer amps @ 8 ohms. How do they compare tonally? Which do you guys like better?
The Peavey dealers in my area don't really have any stock. I'm buying somewhat blind here... Thoughts?
 
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#3
If you want Power, the miniMega hands down. I have miniMega, and a Mark 8 xp which is a generation before the Firebass. I’ve had lots of great compliments on my tome with a fender PJ bass, Minimega, and a Hartke Hydrive 810 and I’ve never had an issue with not being loud enough. Dual parametric mid controls too so you can easily dial in a good tone. Be careful though, I’ve found the minimega can be very punishing on speakers if you get the bass knob up past 12:00.
 
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#4
I too have been looking into these Peavey amps for a backup. A nice Tour 700 just popped up on a FB gear page, for a very reasonable price. I want it bad but it's a hair farther than I want to drive for a deal. It keeps calling out to me, buy me, buy me, new gear will make you happy.
 
#6
I'm leaning mega right now. The only thing that is holding me back is I liked my Firebass tone and I am thinking the Tour 700 might have more of that Peavey tone as I read in the Mini Mega thread that the engineer designed the Mega based on the tone in his head, and I have no idea what that sounds like....
 
#8
As an old time Peavey user I still love my TMax a lot. Used it with two TVX 410" - cabs @ 4 Ohms for a long time - never had anyone complain about my sound. I use to say its the amp with the best "no-Ampeg - Ampeg-sound" on the used market.

The amp is rated 500 Watt @ 2 Ohms, 350 @ 4 Ohms, and @ 8 Ohms it delivers 180 Watt. This seems not too much, but this one is loud! And verry versatile, as it has two channels, a tube- and a SS - channel. Always run both of them, the tube overdriven, the Solid State channel dimmed to get more clean bass power to the grit. OK, there are other amps that are used live with my bands, but the TMax - Stack still lives in my rehearsal room, my students use it a lot, and I plug in this old pal from time to time.

There are lots of used Peaveys available, maybe you want a more lightweight amp, but nothing beats the versatility of a hybrid preamp architekture. And, in my opinion, you can't get wrong with a Peavey, old or new.
 
#10
I own a MiniMega. I was browsing the 'net looking for a pic of the amp, and I hit the Guitar Center website. There was one review with a two star rating. That ticked me off! Here is the review I wrote up for the Guitar Center website. I am waiting for it to be approved and posted. (BTW...I too think the SVT amps are one-trick ponies. Sure, the tone you get is great. But if you need a different tone you're out of luck.)

This amp is as advertised: Portable, powerful, versatile. You will NOT find another bass amp that is this small, generates different tones, and produces this much power for this price.

I hooked it up to a Hartke HyDrive 4x10 (8 ohms, 1,000 watts max) and 1x15 (8 ohms, 500 watts max). Hooked up in parallel the MiniMega was pumping out up to 1,000 watts and I could make the cabinets fart out at high volumes. With the proper EQ I got a very hard, tight punch with some low end rumble out of the cabs.

I also own an Ampeg SVT 410HLF (4ohms, 500 watts max). I got a lot more low end out of this set up. I actually had to roll back the low end EQ knob so it wasn't muddy.

The amp has variable tone sweeps for low-mid and hi-mid that will allow you to dial in a tight, mid-range punch that a jazz player might like when soloing in a trio, or a metal player might like to lay on the bottom in a two guitar player band (ala Ian Hill in Judas Priest).

The Kosmos is a Peavey feature. It adds a synthesized low end to the tone. When I tested it I vibrated the entire house! The Crunch adds a little distortion or "growl". I don't need it because my basses have active 18v pickups and they already growl, but those with passive pickups might like it. Compressor is ok. It would be better if it gave the player more control (attack, release, etc). But this is typical when a Compressor feature is included on an amp. If you use an external compressor there is an effects loop for you.

I love the mute switch. I can tune with my rackmount tuner without the audience hearing. I love the direct out in the back. I can plug directly into the mixer...no need for a DI box. Pre/post EQ switch on the direct out is a nice feature. Those with a home studio might like that, although I have yet to record with it.

I rated 4 stars because it's not rack mountable. I had to secure it in my rack with cable ties.
 
#11
Forced4dr said:
I'm curious to see what others think about this.

Which amp is better? Firebass, Tour 700, or MiniMega.
Click to expand...

I have both Firebass and Tour 700 in my Peavey stable

These amps are neither better or worse than each other - just different.

I see the Firebass 700 as more of a showpiece amp for use with a wider cabinet

It has +-75V rails with ten MJ-15024/MJ-15025 transistors, has two cooling fans and is built with traditional Peavey military grade electronics. Old school robust EI transformer.

Weight is 51 lbs (23 kg) but two carry handles makes handling easy.

700 watts into 2 Ω, 475 watts into 4 Ω, 275 watts into 8 Ω (rms)

An excellent rugged amp with grunt for bass.

The Tour is smaller and lighter at 24 lbs (11 kg). Is designed for rack mounting so needs a carry case. Suits narrow speaker cabinets and looks the part.

The Tour 700 runs at around +-100V with eight 2SC5200/2SA1943 transistors and one cooling fan and internally looks like a compact Peavey PV8.5C with inbuilt preamp. Has a 700 VA toroidal power transformer to reduce weight.

Not stated program watts into 2 Ω, 700 watts into 4 Ω, 500 watts into 8 Ω (rms)

Power output in the 4 to 8 ohm range is more linear than many competitors.

An excellent amp for bass.

Functionality is good for both amps and reliability is assured.

The choice is really between two great amps. Can't go wrong with either.
 

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