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It's too bad Peavey gets ZERO respect.

#121
The fact is in today’s marketplace, manufacturers like Peavey are constantly working to provide better products at an affordable price. Carvin and GK are the same way. The all have their higher end stuff which cost more money but the affordable stuff is still VERY competitive compared to others in their price range.
My first amp was a Peavey and it was cheap and kind of sucked, but the 12” combo I bought 20 years later was quite good, and the Tour series amps Peavey makes now are bang-for-buck horses. Therefore you really can’t really present an informed opinion unless you have tried their new products. It’s ok to say “I bought a Peavey 20 years ago and it sucked”, but it would be inaccurate to say “Peavey sucks because the amp I bought 20 years ago sucked”.
 
#124
I think that Peavey basses are some of the most underated gear out there. The peavey cirrus is one of the best sounding and feeling basses I've ever picked up. I've liked just about every Peavey that I've had the pleasure to pick up.

That being said, I wasn't crazy about their last generation of bass amps. I could never seem to get a tone I liked out of them and they seemed a little under powered. However, the new line they just put out rocks! I'd love to have one of those sexy Tube heads that they just came out with. yumm!!
 
#125
Peavey basses (until recently all US made) have never had great aesthetics but have always been solid and what you expect. One of the most underrated basses around is the Peavey Sarzo. It had decent looks but is really solid and has great sound. I never liked the look of the T-40 (even don't quite like the one in the pic above and I think its one of the best I've ever seen.)

One thing Peavey has always been known for in the bass world is innovation. Peavey did the first affordable mass market carbon necked basses (I have a red Peavey G Bass like the one in the picture above) and even tried a super thin neck on it with a 35" scale. Interesting. They also did the Midibase and the Cyberbass. Affordable, high quality controllers/basses. Very innovative.

As for the amps, I have to agree. They are war tested and military grade but just average in tone. The PA systems (I have an old 6 channel I still use regularly) I think are better. My backup bass amp is a Peavey Basic 60 Bass/Guitar amp I got in 1989. It is much better as a guitar amp, and my guitarist has used it exclusively at my shows for the past decade. Not tonally great for bass, but workable.
 
#127
smcd said:
The difference being that those brands today are, for the most part, low level, inexpensive foreign-made brands. Until Peavey started the BXP line, they were high quality, US-made instruments.
Click to expand...

Well, that's not entirely true; Peavey started out a as really awful domestic brand that got *much* better. I really don't have any idea of the quality of gear they make today... but when I worked for a store selling Peavey gear about 20 years ago, it was as good as anything else out there. So they may have gone downhill, they may have stayed good. But back in *the day*, say 1977, there stuff was just awful - the taint of which has never left them.

And I think that lumping Ibanez in with Cort, Traben, etc, isn't really fair - - they have made some highly innovative instruments for many years... That they have chosen to mass produce some real third-world caca in recent years is sad, but their higher-end instruments are still pretty nice. I have yet to play a Cort or Traben that I thought was even worth my closet space...
 
#129
Here's the deal with Peavey gear (and Carvin also). It's funny,if these 2 brands would stick a big,fat-assed price tag on their gear,everyone would be r-a-v-i-n-g for one!
A lot of people are really quick to judge the value of Peavey and Carvin gear because of the low price (and resale value). People tend to think that a low price ='s low quality. Not true!!
EXAMPLE:"It's gotta be good! Look at the price!"
 
#132
BigOldHarry said:
But back in *the day*, say 1977, there stuff was just awful - the taint of which has never left them
Click to expand...

Great point, very true.

I think the T-line basses and guitars was the first Peavey line that actually offered quality, innovative, well-designed instruments, but like Harry said, the damage had been done. Now, decades later, the T-line is almost coveted in the used market and by collectors, and not just for the nostalgic value. They are solid guitars.

But sometimes the faint odor of stink stays with a company for a long, long time.
 
#133
electracoyote said:
Great point, very true.

I think the T-line basses and guitars was the first Peavey line that actually offered quality, innovative, well-designed instruments, but like Harry said, the damage had been done. Now, decades later, the T-line is almost coveted in the used market and by collectors, and not just for the nostalgic value. They are solid guitars.

But sometimes the faint odor of stink stays with a company for a long, long time.
Click to expand...

I think Carvin has the same issue - old (I mean *old*) Carvin gear had real issues - the amps were craptstic, the basses had warping necks... Their current offerings are fine, but the old stink sticks with them.

It doesn't help that Peavey does things that strike folks as silly... Example: For many years, they were *very* vocal about how their gear was all MIA... It was a real selling point with them, and I think they landed some real business in the CW market because of that...

Now, are *ANY* Peavey's made in the US? I don't mean basses - I mean their whole line... Any of it?

That's what gets me about Ibanez - they too had a real stink about them, but somewhere in the middle '80s they turned that around. How? They made some really good products and the market flocked to them. I don't know if you can say the same about both Peavey or Carvin (Though between the Cirrus and the SB5000, both companies have made real progress, market-wise...)
 
#134
If I needed an amp (especially a combo) that would cheaply, simply and reliably get the job done every time I hit the power switch, a Peavey would probably be my #1 choice. It's hard not to love something like that after you've been burned by dodgy gear just once. Best thing to happen to coffee houses since the Shure SM58.

I've never played one of their instruments, so I can't add to that conversation.
 
#137
Back in the 'old days' - Peavey had the same rep as Squier (which recently has made serious jumps in quality and design! ). Low end, cheapo stuff -every Guitar Center and music store offered the brand, be it an amp or a bass.

I had a Peavey 60W amp when I first started and it took a beating but it NEVER broke. I played a couple of Peavey basses but settled on a Yamaha BB200 because of the design and sound. Peavey had some fugly basses then.

I never gave Peavey a second look until this past decade. Even this past year, I went to a local TBers house to check out a Warwick and tested out some of his US Peaveys. They are amazing!!!

So, if it seems like they get bad mouthed - I can understand, because I used to. But, really, Peavey's quality/design for basses now is a great secret. Don't tell anyone else, let them think they're crap. The Cirrus is awesome. I played another model (don't recall the model) with a graphite neck. So smooth. Peavey, to me, has come a long way from being the 'gateway brand' to a brand that is right up there with any US made top tier bass.

Just goes to show, that the label on the headstock is not important - unless you're a gear snob. ;)

Check this one out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Peavey-Cirrus-B...T-/380285043025?pt=Guitar&hash=item588ac14151
 
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#138
Peavey's 2010 catalog is online.

Invalid Link Removed

It lists 4, 5, and 6 string Cirruses, made in the USA. And it even has a picture of a new Cirrus Rudy Sarzo sig model. Looks pretty sweet, but says it's only available as a 4-string.
 
#140
peledog said:
Check this one out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Peavey-Cirrus-B...T-/380285043025?pt=Guitar&hash=item588ac14151
Click to expand...

That BXP is pretty. But, at $500, I don't think it's a particular bargain. Not when there are US Millenniums going in the $400 - 600 range. Like the US Mill 5 Plus that I linked above. Flamed maple top, birdseye maple neck, matching headstock. And I did the BIN on eBay this morning to get it for $600, shipped!

And G-Basses (US-made, graphite neck), in the $400 range all over the place. I guarantee you there's nothing about that BXP that would make me pick it over my G-Bass with Millennium preamp installed. Of course, others may not be as fond of black holo-flake and, thus, pick that BXP just based on cosmetics. ;)
 
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