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Peavey Cirrus points

T

TheReceder

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Jul 12, 2010
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11,770
#1
I've got an earlier USA Peavey Cirrus in Peacock blue that had been in the case for a while, It apperently developed a pretty fair static/hiss on the bridge pickup, with the blend knob turned to the neck it was fine. Changed batteries, not acting like a dirty pot, or a bad jack. Seems more like something in the electronics. In TB seems others had similar problems that leaned (but not definatley) to the Pickup. Tried contacting Peavey, which is becoming a bit of a challenge,
(601) 483 5365.

Love the bass, and the way it sounds, but I could use some help...

A side note, and apologies if I'm late to the party, but I was glad to find that they're making the Cirrus again. A little pricier than I expected at $3499.99

Mine 2001............................................. New 2025?
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#2
If you like the way your Cirrus sounds, see if you or someone can fix it. The new Cirrus sounds nothing like the original. If you cannot resolve your issues with your Cirrus, I recommend that you but Sadowsky Modern. Get a Metro Express if don’t want to spend premium dollars ($1,300-$1,400) or buy a Metroline, Warwick Custom Shop, NYC Custom Shop, it you are willing to spend $3,500-$7,500.
 
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#4
if you are a tinkerer, it should be easy to run that bridge pickup directly to an amp to hear it naturally.
Even if it "doesn't seem like a dirty pot". I would clean and exercise any knob or switch related to the bridge pickup.
I dont know that circuit, but a preamp problem would most likely affect both pickups the same. I would imagine that the problem is before the preamp.
 
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#5
I`m in the camp that it is a preamp issue as I also have problems with mine cutting in/out. Works sometimes, for a while, for a moment, etc.

Another bassist I know said he had the same issue, sent it back to Peavey and they put a new preamp in the bass. However, that was years ago. I tried calling a Authorized Repair (Peavey) shop and he claimed not to have access to the boards any longer.:sour:

Mine has a Bubinga top over Mahogony (sp.) and multi-lam neck-through. Been hanging on my music room wall for years.
 
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#6
Also, assuming you solder and can DIY a little. - Inspect all your solder connections to be sure they are solid.
Also, get a short length of wire and test for whether it's a ground problem. If it has or can have alligator clips, that would be helpful. You can "jumper" out things that may be causing a problem. If you can isolate the trouble, solder as needed to make the repair.
It could just be that the preamp is failing. If that's the case, it's an opportunity to try something new! I just threw a little two band Bart 918 in a bass b/c it needed one, and am pretty happy with it!
 
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#7
rjmsteel said:
I tried calling an Authorized Repair (Peavey) shop and he claimed not to have access to the boards any longer.:sour:
Click to expand...
The fellow you most likely talked to at Peavey is the national parts and service manager, as well as a close friend of mine for many years. He is a good a person as they come. If he says it, you can bank on it.

He and I have had many discussions on Cirrus basses and parts. The supply of new and replacement preamps ran out a long time ago.

One can try the usual places to see if anyone is selling any parts including that preamp.

It is a big letdown that the new Cirrus doesn’t sound like the old one. It does sound really good, though, and the new Cirruses feel and play great. I’m close to getting one for grins and to play with the electronics. But time and funds for such activities are getting thin, so I don’t know.
 
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#8
@ Geri O. Appreciate the feedback. The Authorized is a local amp/guitar shop in Northern IL. Obviously, he said the same thing about preamp replacement parts. (Actually, he was kinda` rude about the discussion with me, (ya` think), as I`m no beginner bass player. I own 4 Alembics along with the awesome Cirrus. The Cirrus plays great, however, there is no way I can use the bass on any gig or service I`m involved in, (needless to say).
 
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#10
What is different about the sound of the new ones? I had 3 Cirri (2 fretless redwood 5s and a maple 6).
They sounded fantastic, but I always thought they sounded more Roscoe/big-P-bass like than Ken Smith like as people often say (the shop I bought them from had a bunch of Smiths).

Back in the day Peavey was great with warranty service - my first fretless developed cracks in the neck near the nut and Peavey built/sent a new one within a couple months, no questions asked after the dealer contacted them, and threw in a strap and 3 or 4 sets of strings.
 
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#11
Geri O said:
The fellow you most likely talked to at Peavey is the national parts and service manager, as well as a close friend of mine for many years. He is a good a person as they come. If he says it, you can bank on it.

He and I have had many discussions on Cirrus basses and parts. The supply of new and replacement preamps ran out a long time ago.

One can try the usual places to see if anyone is selling any parts including that preamp.

It is a big letdown that the new Cirrus doesn’t sound like the old one. It does sound really good, though, and the new Cirruses feel and play great. I’m close to getting one for grins and to play with the electronics. But time and funds for such activities are getting thin, so I don’t know.
Click to expand...
Meh. Spend your money on a Spector Euro. Nothing sounds like a Spector.
 
#13
Thanks for all the input everyone. I hadn't gotten into it to deep, but it's probably time to break out the O-scope and do some signal tracing.

I will say that contacting Peavey was interesting, some vociemailboxes were full and got disconnected, and getting a voicemail mesage that basically said they aren't telephone repairman and don't give advice over the phone.

There's a major mail order company that was pretty helpful that I've called on occasion that shall remain nameless, on several occasions they've helped locate some pretty obscure parts. Not only that but they send candy with my orders to help me keep my wife happy. ;)
 
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#14
I've worked on a ton of Cirrus basses, currently own 4.

The blend pots in these basses are not great and replacement parts are almost nonexistent. You do have a couple options...

-You could try to jumper the bridge pickup to always on 100%, see if that takes the crackle out. You could also swap the bridge and neck wires to the preamp to see if the noise is the pickup or if its in the blend pot. Your blend pot will be backwards for this test... (You dont have to change the +18V line, just signal and ground.) The pickup wires are soldered to the preamp circuit board and go directly to the blend pot.

-It could be something simple like a bad solder joint (as others mentioned above). I would cut the pickup lead back about 1/2" from the circuit board and reterminate it.

-The bass is 24 years old. The caps were middle of the road quality to begin with. I recapped mine with higher quality caps and saw a slight improvement. Fixed the noise issue too. I also installed one of the OPA2145 opamps in one of mine and it made it sound a lot better.

-Replace the preamp with a quality aftermarket one. I really liked the Nordstrand 3B, and the mid has options for the frequency center. Its not adjustable, look into an EMG with adjustable Q if you want that. The Bartolini is nice too, but I dont have personal experience. The stock preamp does have a sort of baked in sound, but its kind of the "Peavey" sound. The Nordstrand preamp made it way clearer, it was like taking a blanket off the speaker.

Photo of my 1998 Wenge 4 for eye candy. (This is the one with the Nichicon Gold caps and OPA2145 opamp)
 

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#15
rjmsteel said:
I`m in the camp that it is a preamp issue as I also have problems with mine cutting in/out. Works sometimes, for a while, for a moment, etc.

Another bassist I know said he had the same issue, sent it back to Peavey and they put a new preamp in the bass. However, that was years ago. I tried calling a Authorized Repair (Peavey) shop and he claimed not to have access to the boards any longer.:sour:

Mine has a Bubinga top over Mahogony (sp.) and multi-lam neck-through. Been hanging on my music room wall for years.
Click to expand...
Bubinga top on a Walnut body was the standard wood combo.
 
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#17
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