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Peavey Bass Amps
- Thread starter SUNBURST
- Start date
I had two Peavey bass amps in my life.
I had a TNT circa 1980 / 1981, then I upgraded for a Mark II (or Mark III) in 1982 (200 W head w/215 cabinet, so maybe some experts can remind me the exact model name).
From what I experienced, if you want metallic sounds with much attack, they are great sound. Hard rock and slap are great with these amps (at this time I was into that kind of music, and my main bass was a Stingray 4).
This also means these amps are definitely inappropriate for someone who looks after vintage sounds. But I believe most people here already knew that.
These are reliable amps. I never experienced any problem with them. But they are heavy.
Hope this helps,
I had a TNT circa 1980 / 1981, then I upgraded for a Mark II (or Mark III) in 1982 (200 W head w/215 cabinet, so maybe some experts can remind me the exact model name).
From what I experienced, if you want metallic sounds with much attack, they are great sound. Hard rock and slap are great with these amps (at this time I was into that kind of music, and my main bass was a Stingray 4).
This also means these amps are definitely inappropriate for someone who looks after vintage sounds. But I believe most people here already knew that.
These are reliable amps. I never experienced any problem with them. But they are heavy.
Hope this helps,
Actually, even the most crude Peavey amps will do the "vintage" sound quite well. Peavey amps are kind of unique in that if you move the knob "x" degrees, you get "x" amount of change. In other words, they are extremely responsive to change. Honestly, they are much more adjustable than many high-priced rigs (mine included). Peavey's have an inordinant amount of control in the midrange, allowing them to achieve many voices. No, it won't replace a tube amp if you want that sound, but it can come pretty close. It will never have the "feel" and response of a tube amp, but the actual sound can come surprisingly close. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they are incredibly versatile. If money is no object, you can find better. If you are struggling financially, you would be foolish not to try Peavey gear.
Kim
Kim
I believe we don't have the same requirements. I never considered as "vintage" sounding something that was only "close to".
The best solution to avoid mistakes is to get (or at least borrow) an old SVT or an old Portaflex, or an old Fender Bassman, for example. Once you used them (supposing you use them for a few days), no-one then can persuade you with pseudo vintage tones that are actually not.
The best solution to avoid mistakes is to get (or at least borrow) an old SVT or an old Portaflex, or an old Fender Bassman, for example. Once you used them (supposing you use them for a few days), no-one then can persuade you with pseudo vintage tones that are actually not.
Peavey Bass amps give you the most bang for the buck.
In my early years of playing I had several Peavey Combo amps. Even when I started using other heads to get the tone I wanted, I used Peavey cabinets because they were affordable and durable.
Even today I have Peavey PA cabinets and power amps.
Peavey gear lasts and has a good resale value. Look on Ebay for the Peavey equipment selling. There is always PA equipment from the 70s and early 80s for sale in working order.
The Late 70s and Early 80s Basses are still used today in Nashville recording sessions (T-40 and Foundation series).
Peavey's amps have improved in tone over the years. If you have not tried new Peavey equipment, try it. Sure, better sounding equipment is available on the market but at a much higher price.
Dollar for dollar Peavey gear is the best value out there.
In my early years of playing I had several Peavey Combo amps. Even when I started using other heads to get the tone I wanted, I used Peavey cabinets because they were affordable and durable.
Even today I have Peavey PA cabinets and power amps.
Peavey gear lasts and has a good resale value. Look on Ebay for the Peavey equipment selling. There is always PA equipment from the 70s and early 80s for sale in working order.
The Late 70s and Early 80s Basses are still used today in Nashville recording sessions (T-40 and Foundation series).
Peavey's amps have improved in tone over the years. If you have not tried new Peavey equipment, try it. Sure, better sounding equipment is available on the market but at a much higher price.
Dollar for dollar Peavey gear is the best value out there.
I have a T-MAX 550 with an eden 115
people at gigs with ampegs and stuff ask to play through it.
In the studio i run it through a kasino 215
200 watt,but i bypassed the poopy amp and installed a 1/4 inch on it.
its ugly and never leaves the studio
good tone and volume though.
people at gigs with ampegs and stuff ask to play through it.
In the studio i run it through a kasino 215
200 watt,but i bypassed the poopy amp and installed a 1/4 inch on it.
its ugly and never leaves the studio
good tone and volume though.
I have a Peavey Basic 112 combo amp.
I have found this out about it:
1) Better than most combo amps
2) Very loud
3) Tone sucks but for a practice amp it's good
4) Heavy-but isn't every bass amp/combo heavy?
5) Very reliable-I've had mine for about 4 years and nothing has gone wrong even when used at maximum volume.
Pretty soon I will be looking for an actual gigging rig. So I'll only use this for a practice amp.
Cheers.
I have found this out about it:
1) Better than most combo amps
2) Very loud
3) Tone sucks but for a practice amp it's good
4) Heavy-but isn't every bass amp/combo heavy?
5) Very reliable-I've had mine for about 4 years and nothing has gone wrong even when used at maximum volume.
Pretty soon I will be looking for an actual gigging rig. So I'll only use this for a practice amp.
Cheers.
Yeah, Peavey = reliable, affordable(cheap), replacable, etc. I had a MK IV that was my backup/ beater that I bought for $175 and sold for the same amount. As backup it was called in to use more than once. I call the older Peavey stuff's sound "cardboard tone" or "quacktone". I found if I tried to eq any grunt or woof into my sound the DDT limiter would kick in and momentarily shut down the output. Also the lowest freq. band on the graphic eq on most Peavey stuff is 80hz. The low E on a bass is 44hz: low B is 32hz.
That being said I currently own two Peavey heads: I have a VTA 400 Super Festival which is an all tube 200 watt (4x 6550) late 70's vintage. It is huge and ugly and was cheap. I ripped out the preamp section and currently use an Ampeg SVT IIP preamp as front end for it. If I am satisfied after using it in that configuration for a while I will build a decent case around this setup. (The original case was made to house two power amp chassis for their VTA800). One drawback to this amp is that the output transformer is a single impedence: 2 ohms. This limits power output at other speaker loads.
The other Peavey amp I have is an Alphabass tube amp. This amp is supposedly 160 watts @ 2 or 4 ohms (6 x 6L6). Peavey has managed to get an almost perfect simulation of their quackiest , extremely dry cardboard solid state tone out of this all tube (except for graphic eq section) amp. However I found that the preamp from the aforementioned VTA400 sounds great through this amp - so - I am currently building an auxillary circuit board with the preamp components of the other amp to graft into this amp. Also I am revoicing the graphic to something similar to an Ampeg.
WHY?????
I am trying to have something that sounds a little different. Yes, I do have time on my hands. My total investment for each amp is about $175 ( see reasons to buy Peavey above).
Oh yeah, over the years I have owned all flavors of SVT - the best for my ears was the early '70's, but that's a whole other discussion.
Thanks, Brian
Answer by local farmer to question about animals he was raising: F--- pets!!! Dem's MEAT RABBITS!!!
That being said I currently own two Peavey heads: I have a VTA 400 Super Festival which is an all tube 200 watt (4x 6550) late 70's vintage. It is huge and ugly and was cheap. I ripped out the preamp section and currently use an Ampeg SVT IIP preamp as front end for it. If I am satisfied after using it in that configuration for a while I will build a decent case around this setup. (The original case was made to house two power amp chassis for their VTA800). One drawback to this amp is that the output transformer is a single impedence: 2 ohms. This limits power output at other speaker loads.
The other Peavey amp I have is an Alphabass tube amp. This amp is supposedly 160 watts @ 2 or 4 ohms (6 x 6L6). Peavey has managed to get an almost perfect simulation of their quackiest , extremely dry cardboard solid state tone out of this all tube (except for graphic eq section) amp. However I found that the preamp from the aforementioned VTA400 sounds great through this amp - so - I am currently building an auxillary circuit board with the preamp components of the other amp to graft into this amp. Also I am revoicing the graphic to something similar to an Ampeg.
WHY?????
I am trying to have something that sounds a little different. Yes, I do have time on my hands. My total investment for each amp is about $175 ( see reasons to buy Peavey above).
Oh yeah, over the years I have owned all flavors of SVT - the best for my ears was the early '70's, but that's a whole other discussion.
Thanks, Brian
Answer by local farmer to question about animals he was raising: F--- pets!!! Dem's MEAT RABBITS!!!
Peavey, the only amps I have used! Have a 4x12 amp with a Delta Bass Head! Sounds awesome if you want tone you have to play around with it a bit! Before that owned a 50w Micro Bass Practice Amp! Besides that if I have a problem and my Peavey needs repaired! If I have a gig or need to practice, they get me a loner til mines fixed!
I really like my Peavey. When I went amp shopping, it outperformed the fender bassman and another brand or two I tried side by side in loudness, punch, and tone. The peavey even had less wattage than a lot of them. Peavey=good
ok , peavey is a pretty good reliable middle priced product. that's the good side , now for the bad! the tone is mediocre, and like all transistor amps when they have a prob they have a real serious prob. they also have a bad habit of compression clipping. once that starts happening it's all over for the piece. i have an ampeg svt 2 head and every time i use it i'm surprised at how good the quality of (genuine)tone is ,and how completely reliable the amp performs.
i've gotta say, almost shamefully, that the one thing peavey is really kicking ass on is they're bass guitars!!!!!
(blushing) i bought a cirrus bass (all the bells and wistles, 18 volt system, neck through construct, beautiful flame maple top. and i just recently(last week) bought an old used peavey bass (again made of koa , neck through construct, bartilini p\u's, 3 way active tone controls) and it's one of the best sounding(god forgive me) basses i've ever laid my fingers on!! so hats off to peavey for that.
p.s. i bought my cirrus for $900 . it's now selling for $1500 . the first new bass i've bought that actually increased in value!
(blushing) i bought a cirrus bass (all the bells and wistles, 18 volt system, neck through construct, beautiful flame maple top. and i just recently(last week) bought an old used peavey bass (again made of koa , neck through construct, bartilini p\u's, 3 way active tone controls) and it's one of the best sounding(god forgive me) basses i've ever laid my fingers on!! so hats off to peavey for that.
p.s. i bought my cirrus for $900 . it's now selling for $1500 . the first new bass i've bought that actually increased in value!
The Cirrus is awesome. I use their basses exclusively, simply because they do all I want a bass guitar to do...and honestly, for my ear, I haven't played anything that sounded demonstrably better (donning flamesuit). It sounds like the koa bass you picked up is the old Dyna Unity Koa...I had been looking for one of those prior to getting my Cirrus. Nice axe.
Kim
Kim
jaco1pas,
I think that you're over-generalizing regarding Peavey's amps. What you're saying may have been true on some of their earlier products but some of there more recent products don't fit your description in my opinion. I currently own a Peavey MAX preamp, KiloBass head and I had a Mark VIII XP series head at one time. I sold the Mark VIII to raise money for the KiloBass but it was a very decent head. Now the KiloBass and MAX are hybrid pieces. Both have tube & solid state channels that can be run individually or combined & blended to taste. Lost of tones are available in each and they are of very good quality. the tone may not be what you're looking for but it's certainly not bad by any means.
Ask Funkster how he feels about his Classic 400 all-tube head. The FireBass is a nice head and it's replacement, the MAX series heads, looks even more impressive than the FireBass.
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Maybe it's just the products that you have tried. I gotta say that I'm with you on Peavey's basses though. I'm a Cirrus and Millennium owner.
ebozzz,
thanks for your response and respectfully i can see the vast improvements peavey has made . to me their products are great for a back up but not my first choice. i've turned into a tube snob. nothing is as creamy as the mids of my svt,especailly with my 8x10 cab. i guess i've become hard to please. but yeah ,peaveys are loud and proud.
thanks for your response and respectfully i can see the vast improvements peavey has made . to me their products are great for a back up but not my first choice. i've turned into a tube snob. nothing is as creamy as the mids of my svt,especailly with my 8x10 cab. i guess i've become hard to please. but yeah ,peaveys are loud and proud.
Nothing wrong with that jaco. You like what you like. I can respect that. That's what so cool about having options, right?
I guess that I mistakenly felt that you were forming your current opinions based on Peavey's much older lines. My bad.
Lots of other people do that very thing and I just don't understand it.
