Mistake made in haste Peavey MAX combo

[bigdaddybass12]

Honestly that might not be a bad thing. I had that same amp and it only lasted a few weeks because of how bad it sounded. One of the worst sounding combo amps I ever played through. If it does come to getting a new amp, seriously look at the Fender Rumble combos, The Peavey's cannot come even close to sounding as good as those Rumbles. I used a Rumble 500 for many years then stepped up to a Rumble 800. I played hundreds of shows using them and never had one issue. Very well built and reliable amps. I currently still have a Rumble 100 which again has been fool proof.

Good advice. I used a 100 at my small gig.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I'm 74, and had a long life playing bass. I've owned so many amps, I literally have forgotten some. Ampeg B-15's, BT-15C, SVT, SUNN Coliseum, Marshall Major, Marshall 3540, Seymour Duncan, GK's Traynor, Hartke, SWR, Carvin, Pearce B2P, and a nice Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 that Andy serviced. Oh, yeah, I have that Peavey MAX 250, AND a Fender Rumble 200. I feel the opposite to be true. The Peavey is a better combo. The Peavey has more usable stand-alone watts, the Rumble has about 140 or so by itself. The thing that I do not care for, is the non-defeatable limiter on the Rumble. Although I have utilized it for some 'squeeze' on occasion. Don't get me wrong, I like the Rumble, but as far as it not coming close to the MAX 250, I feel they're both capable amps. The MAX also has an angled baffle, and that really helps. I have played the 200 on gigs where I was told to just bring that, and I'd be "In the house" Yeah, sure. Kick drowned me out in the foldbacks. Amp out of steam. 'Normal' cover band stage volume. Bass kazoo.
I've tried the 500, side by side with the 200. Fart machine. I bought the 200, a better, fuller sound at what I thought would be typical volumes. I also tried a new MAX 250 at Guitar Center at the same time. It was killer sounding. I much preferred it over the Fender and Ampeg combos on the floor. I didn't buy it, because the grille rattled badly. Apparently, Peavey fixed that. I may actually bring the Rumble and the MAX to my next gig there to compare.
I've had mixed feelings about combos over the years. If you are in a loud situation, you might be stuck with that amp, and that speaker- with no options. Usually I carry a good 500 watt or so head, a spare amp head and a good cabinet. I may resume that policy.

I have been working my back to head/cab setup. Generally seem to sound better. My important gigs I can easily bring a backup head that stays in a small laptop bag. Sure beats the old 75lb peavey heads!

 

[Pulverizor]

Gigging at 74 is bad-assed! Hope your combo is OK, mate!!

 

[drumvsbass]

I like my thing. I don't like your thing. Your thing is broken and instead of helping you, I'll tell you how your thing sucks and how much I like my thing. The world is a better place everyone being like me. Or someone works for Fender...

 

[Andy Marshman]

The fact that the band leader handed you a 1/4" cable instead of one with XLR connectors for a Line Out signal reveals a lack of experience on his part. (I know that some amps don't have XLRs for a Line Out and that you can try the 1/4" Out jack of an effects loop)

 

[nickelwound]

I have a question about this as I have no experience on this…. Shouldn't the sound guy seen an enormous signal coming from that line and known something was wrong ?

 

[agedhorse]

I have a question about this as I have no experience on this…. Shouldn't the sound guy seen an enormous signal coming from that line and known something was wrong ?

The damage may have been done before the signal was even present. Especially on half-bridge topologies.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I have a question about this as I have no experience on this…. Shouldn't the sound guy seen an enormous signal coming from that line and known something was wrong ?

Not if there was an amp / speaker level DI on the other end of the 1/4" cable the OP plugged in the external speaker jack on his amp.

If there wasn't a DI box and the other end of that cable was plugged directly in to a channel on the mixer, the sound guy might have seen too hot a signal or perhaps not, if he blinked. The channel might have had a near instantaneous failure.

My question is, what was going on with the bass in the entire first set? No bass in the PA and just the amp supported bass, or the bass was working in the PA? I'd expect the sound guy to have noticed something with that, or maybe not. I've seen some outrageous errors and / or failure to unmute various things after breaks….like the FOH / mains.

I checked after that set, and THEN saw the XLR out. I unplugged the cable.

 

[tshapiro]

Hopefully your amp is ok.

For what it's worth, I always connect my amp outs or pedalboard preamp out through isolating direct boxes. And, unless the output is obvious, always have it marked with a road worthy easy to see tape strip. Doing new things in a rush, in the dark, is a good setup for mini-disasters. In the attached pic, I've isolated by Darkglass preamp between the XLR out and Mixer as well as the 1/4" out bass amp might be overkill, but nothing hums and nothing blows up

The yellow XLR cord is ugly, but, I prioritize being able to trace my cords in a pinch vs coolness.

 

[LHbassist]

I took my Peavey MAX back to the same gig, same room, same band this past weekend. And, I brought a backup head and cabinet, just in case. Although I briefly tested the MAX in my house- I could not really know at lower volume, if it was damaged by my mistake last month. It not only was not, it seemed to sound better- I tried my fifty dolar 'Sonicake' compressor, and was really, pleasantly surprised at my overall tone. Usually, I'm not a fan of using compressors, and this is a Chinesium copy of a 1776 type unit. Major surprise at the utility of it. Conclusion here- I dig the Sonicake, and- The Peavey is a tank!
I really should be a brand ambassador for Peavey- yeah, me- a Pearce amp, and boutique gear snob from back in the day.. I used to look at Peavey bass gear with a little bit of dismissal. Not anymore. I bought this little (see photo) compressor for my home silent practice rig, and it sounded so good- I had to try it live. Recommended!