What am I missing about Peavey basses? They have some really dirt cheap ones and then insanely expensive ones. Nothing in between.
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Peavey Basses
- Thread starter nitrateaudio
- Start date
At one point they were a great "in between" company. They offered quality US made instruments for less than anyone else. They closed their US guitar manufacturing years ago (want to say it was 2010). For several years they only offered beginner imports. Recently they revived the Cirrus as a Czech made bass*.
IMO if you want a good Peavey, go find a used US model that is in good shape. Cirrus (US version, they also did a BXP import), Millennium (US versions, they also use this name on imports), G Bass, TL Series and several others are excellent basses for the money. I bought a Peavey GV Bass new in 2003 and still regularly play it. Fantastic bass.
*I have a feeling the Czech made Cirrus will be a hard sell. You can buy an excellent condition US made one that was offered in more configurations than the Czech models for significantly less. I am sure the Czech made Cirrus is a great bass, but for the money it has stiff competition. A used Cirrus is a bargain for what it offers.
IMO if you want a good Peavey, go find a used US model that is in good shape. Cirrus (US version, they also did a BXP import), Millennium (US versions, they also use this name on imports), G Bass, TL Series and several others are excellent basses for the money. I bought a Peavey GV Bass new in 2003 and still regularly play it. Fantastic bass.
*I have a feeling the Czech made Cirrus will be a hard sell. You can buy an excellent condition US made one that was offered in more configurations than the Czech models for significantly less. I am sure the Czech made Cirrus is a great bass, but for the money it has stiff competition. A used Cirrus is a bargain for what it offers.
If you don't mind the older stuff, Fury and Foundation are highly thought of on TB. And I've got a fretted and defretted Milestone II that actually are preferable to any of my Fenders.
A used US Peavey Cirrus or Millenium in primo shape would be a great score.
One of my impulse purchases back in the day was an import Peavey Milestone-BXP with the J/J setup. Inexpensive bass that was a decent player and solid overall. Plus I thought it looked cool as hell at the time, with that long curved upper horn and pointy headstock. Still kind of miss it.
Those '80s and '90s USA basses are so nicely made and still undervalued IMHO. I'm cleaning up a mid '90s Foundation 5 to sell right now and the more I mess with it the more I don't want to. Probably a slightly better instrument than my USA Jazz but I have more sentimental attachment to that one.
I went 40 years with one bass. A fender Jazz.
I caught flack for not having a backup, and found a Foundation for 70 bucks. Bought it because of a gear snob hating Peavey.
I did a set up, cleaned it up, and found it played and sounded better than my jazz. First chance I got I played on stage and left the jazz at home. Drove the gear snob crazy.
From then on I bought every Foundation that came up on CL,
Soon after, I bought the following
Peavey USA Cirrus
Peavey Midi bass
Peavey Quad 4
Close to 15 foundations, 1 fretless, primarily 1st gen. Donated to a couple churches, a schaool and sold at a significant discount to students. Most of them were under 100 bucks, with my favorite being one for $20 thqat the owner claimed the local shop said it was a basket case that coudn't be fixed, and it came with a hardcase. Took me about an hour to repair it, clean it up, and do a setup. Sold for $225.
Great basses that range from a borderline boutique instrument to the ultimate beater bass that's great for those shows that need a bass to sweat all over.
I caught flack for not having a backup, and found a Foundation for 70 bucks. Bought it because of a gear snob hating Peavey.
I did a set up, cleaned it up, and found it played and sounded better than my jazz. First chance I got I played on stage and left the jazz at home. Drove the gear snob crazy.
From then on I bought every Foundation that came up on CL,
Soon after, I bought the following
Peavey USA Cirrus
Peavey Midi bass
Peavey Quad 4
Close to 15 foundations, 1 fretless, primarily 1st gen. Donated to a couple churches, a schaool and sold at a significant discount to students. Most of them were under 100 bucks, with my favorite being one for $20 thqat the owner claimed the local shop said it was a basket case that coudn't be fixed, and it came with a hardcase. Took me about an hour to repair it, clean it up, and do a setup. Sold for $225.
Great basses that range from a borderline boutique instrument to the ultimate beater bass that's great for those shows that need a bass to sweat all over.
I bought my 1999 Peavey Cirrus for about $1000 a few years ago. I want for nothing else.
I have a T40 and a Millenium Plus 5 (US). Both are excellent instruments and they're price range used is more or less somewhere in the middle of cheap to expensive.
I have never understood why USA Peavey basses are so inexpensive on the used market. They’re well made, play well and sound great. I think it’s perception more than reality affecting them.
A Peavey Foundation was my main bass for a few years before I discovered Music Man Stingrays and had the gigging bucks and need to upgrade. It was a good bass.
- Apr 18, 2008
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- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
The Cirrus is really nice.
I’m a huge fan of the first-gen Foundation - what a kickass rock bass!
I’m a huge fan of the first-gen Foundation - what a kickass rock bass!
The T-40 weighs a lot, but is a Swiss Army Knife of tones due to it's rather unique wiring. When I say heavy, I have had two. One was just under 14 pounds, and the other was 12 pounds on the nose. The bodies are DENSE. But, they sound incredible, and there is even this that someone did up that illustrates what I mean by Swiss Army Knife of tones.
Of all the basses I have parted with, my sienna burst '79. I should have never sold it.
Of all the basses I have parted with, my sienna burst '79. I should have never sold it.
My T-40 weighs 11.2 pounds, still a lot. But it's manageable with a suitable strap.
I tried out a US Peavey Cirrus and actually thought it was amazing. I think a good chunk of rainforest died to make that bass but it was beautiful.
I have to admit, I didn't buy it because of the name on the headstock. It was a long time ago and Peavey's reputation wasn't the greatest. In their defense, they were really trying hard to up there game, but I couldn't get past it. Kinda regretting it now.
I have to admit, I didn't buy it because of the name on the headstock. It was a long time ago and Peavey's reputation wasn't the greatest. In their defense, they were really trying hard to up there game, but I couldn't get past it. Kinda regretting it now.
When I was starting out (as a teen in the ‘80s), Peavey seemed to be what all the schools in my area bought… so when I saw a kid playing a Peavey, I always assumed (unfairly) that they didn’t have their own bass and had to use the school’s.
Joke’s on me, as those school-bought Peaveys were almost certainly better basses than the junk I was playing…
Joke’s on me, as those school-bought Peaveys were almost certainly better basses than the junk I was playing…
Just adding to what most others have said already - the old '80s and '90s USA Peaveys were great basses and great values. I still have a '90 Dyna-Bass (Peavey's take on the Active Jazz) that I bought in '92, and it's still a solid, great playing and sounding instrument. It was my only bass all through college and a chunk of post-college life, and I'd put it up against any Fender from that era. I've sort of semi-retired it, put flats on it and run it in passive mode, and it sounds great - there is a lot of love here on TB for those Super Ferrite pickups, deservedly so IMO. I did have to have it refretted a handful of years ago, and even through the refret cost probably 2/3rds of it's current market value, I did not hesitate because I'm never, ever selling that bass.
Same as Carvin…it’s all perception. They might not be to your taste but they are very well made.
So Anyway, I was going to make the same Carvin comparison. I've always thought all Peavey/Carvin USA models were well-made and undervalued, especially on the used market.
Mississippi VS California....Peavey's are Pick Up Trucks and Carvin's are Convertibles.
