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Hartley Peavey interview at KVR

#22
I certainly didn't mean to start a feeding frenzy. Present day Classic 30s are particle bd. As I said Ampeg had their stint with it in their top of the line 8x10s.

I owned this stuff before many of you were born. It was particle bd.

It is a good use of sawdust. It is really good for non resonant cabinets that don't get moved.

For me for professional amplification, not so much.

Who cares? Buy, eat, drive, what you want.

I praised the man for his economics. That was a model for all the folks who had to run off shore.

Hartley has his opinions but doesn't really speak about how he saved money to meet a price point while he talks out of the side of his mouth about other amp makers

components. A little too much criticism of the "others". Your stuff should stand on it's own merits. I'd let other people compare your stuff to the competition. Doesn't sound

defensive.
 
#25
I'm sure many mean "MDF" where they are saying "Particle" board.

Neither is particularly (no-pun) good for pro cabinets but there is a world of difference in their density.

Plywood isn't always good. There is plenty of garbage plywood, like from warehouse depot stores that isn't suited for any pro audio application yet alone any home construction use.

There might be a historical reason, beyond pricing, why Peavey at some points used MDF. Maybe we'll find out.

I wouldn't buy Peavey or any brand made from MDF. But I also can't look at the plywood and automatically say it's as good or better than another brand used in a cabinet. Good news is that most all makers are now saying what grade of plywood they are using. Now if they'd only audio publish measurements, but that's another story.
 
#26
seamonkey said:
I'm sure many mean "MDF" where they are saying "Particle" board.

Neither is particularly (no-pun) good for pro cabinets but there is a world of difference in their density.

Plywood isn't always good. There is plenty of garbage plywood, like from warehouse depot stores that isn't suited for any pro audio application yet alone any home construction use.

There might be a historical reason, beyond pricing, why Peavey at some points used MDF. Maybe we'll find out.

I wouldn't buy Peavey or any brand made from MDF. But I also can't look at the plywood and automatically say it's as good or better than another brand used in a cabinet. Good news is that most all makers are now saying what grade of plywood they are using. Now if they'd only audio publish measurements, but that's another story.
Click to expand...

Nope. No confusion here. I am very aware of both MDF and particle board (press board). I was refering to 13 ply, 18mm (3/4 in) Baltic Birtch plywood. Peavey used it on many of their cabinets. Look it up.

From the Peavey VB 810 spec sheet: *Enclosure Materials & Finish:18 mm Baltic birch plywood finished in black polyurethane Hammerhead™ finish, with a full length cloth grille*
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#27
MDF = Medium Density Fiberboard and is made of wood fibers. It is less expensive and less flexible so internal bracing of large panels is not necessary. The drawbacks are weight and resistance to moisture. Not to be confused with particle board which is sawdust.

The Hammerhead™ finish is a spray-on truck bedliner type coating.

mech
 
#28
I was very active in the pro and m.i. audio markets in the 80's and traveled quite a bit doing rep and dealer training. I ran into Hartley and his wife several times as they traveled around in their motor home personally visiting key dealers and reps. Very nice people, and I have nothing but respect for him and his products.
 
#32
lesliegl said:
Hi i have a Pavey II5 BW bass cab i bought in 1984 and its made from plywood..i recent years i put recessed handles in the sides and i cut the holes thru a timber with mulitple plys....plywood... 3/4 inch thick

Leslie
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Yeah, the vast majority if not all the Peavey bass cabs I've seen from the early 80's through the early 2000's were all 3/4" ply. The Pro series used 1/2" ply but they were so over-built, and the drivers weighed so much that the Pro 410 weighed the same as a 3/4" ply 410TXF/TVX. I still want one though.
 
#33
In the past, I've owned Peavey gear, to include amps and basses. I still own a Dyna Bass, Dyna Bass Unity Series Limited and my latest acquisition, a Cirrus (a completely underrated bass if you ask me). All of it has been bullet proof. Now, as to the tone, feel, etc., that is all individual taste, but I have to say, as someone who's been playing for 35 years and has owned Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Alembic, Guild, Lakland, Pedulla, Martin, Musicman, Parker, Ovation, Godin, Ampeg, Hartke, Fender, Alembic (pre amps), QSC, etc. gear, one can do a lot worse than to buy a Peavey product.

Alan
 
#34
Passinwind said:
Yep. My 1810 was made around '79 I think. Only way plywood gets that heavy is with alternating lead laminates.
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Apparently, not everyone agrees:
rok51 said:
Weightwise, I seem to remember my 1810s being about 112 lbs (1981-2) and the slightly larger 1820 to be 122 lbs. Going to my 98 lb. 410TXs definitely shed some weight since I had to carry them up and down 15 steps.
No MDF...they were all plywood.

Kim
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#35
seamonkey said:
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He talks about some of the early history of Peavey. Fascinating read. A great USA success story built on the formula that always works: innovate and increase the value, i.e. build it better and cheaper. He should probably consult and mentor a lot of US manufacturers.

He's responsible for many of the cabinet build techniques used by everyone even today.
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Way cool -thanks.

Where is Part Two?
 
#37
John D said:
Apparently, not everyone agrees:
Click to expand...

Peavey made lots of changes in their lines around that time, and there's apparently at least a 2-3 year difference in cab vintage, so we both may just be correct. My cab also could've been a prototype as I was working for a dealer doing warranty service back then and was pretty hot to get one as soon as they came out. Biamping was a definite buzzword right then. And as always, I may just be nuts!

The first SP-2 PA cabs (mid 70s) were particle board (Peavey did not call it MDF back then, and they still sometimes spec'ed particle board in their literature many years later), a few years later they went to plywood. They were still heavy as heck, so maybe they were using lead laminates...:cool:
 
#38
Passinwind said:
Peavey made lots of changes in their lines around that time, and there's apparently at least a 2-3 year difference in cab vintage, so we both may just be correct. My cab also could've been a prototype as I was working for a dealer doing warranty service back then and was pretty hot to get one as soon as they came out. Biamping was a definite buzzword right then. And as always, I may just be nuts!

The first SP-2 PA cabs (mid 70s) were particle board (Peavey did not call it MDF back then, and they still sometimes spec'ed particle board in their literature many years later), a few years later they went to plywood. They were still heavy as heck, so maybe they were using lead laminates...:cool:
Click to expand...

Thats' fair. Peace. :)
 
#40
Thanks for the notice on part 2. More interesting stuff, particularly about failures and market forces and changes. This interview is too brief for me, but it points out (again) that no other MI company matches Peavey's vertical integration or product breadth. If Peavey had been publicly held and run by MBAs, the story would be very different.
 

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