I finally had a chance to put a Peavey DE Scorpio through its paces last week and as there had been a few questions about this bass on recent threads, I thought I'd share my impressions.
Background: I play traditional and alternative heavy rock. I like fast playing, high output basses that can sit bright, pretty and present in the mix. I'm a Peavey loyalist for their consistent quality and overall cost to value ratio. My main bass is a 90's Foundation with the Super Ferrites. I also have a Millennium AC BXP with the active VFL pups. The Foundation, as long as the strings are fresh, is the better sounding of those two basses, but the Millennium is more comfortable to play with a slimmer, faster neck and better weight and balance. I'm comparing with those two basses.
The DE Scorpio: First, aesthetically, this bass is a winner. I generally loathe pickguards but the chrome one here against the black gloss poly screams metal and looks really classy as well. I also love the newest rendition of the Peavey headstock. It's very elegant.
The fit and finish seemed superb. According to the sticker on the back of the neck, this bass is made in China. The bass balances well. No neck dive and it's nice and light; lighter than the Foundation and almost as well balanced as the Millennium.
The neck at first glance appears to be the same as the Millennium neck, but the proof is in the playing. It's 1.5" at the nut like the Foundation and Millennium necks, but feels slightly wider and flatter than either of those. It felt slightly deeper than the Millennium but not as deep as the Foundation. It would take some getting used to, but I think it would be a very comfortable neck to play once I got past how flat it felt. Like the Millennium it's a satin finish, which I prefer, as opposed to the gloss neck of the Foundation.
The sound: This is where this bass really disappoints IMHO.
I had really high hopes for the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound P and J pups, considering the things I had read about them. I mean aren't they one of the more respected sets of P and J replacement pickups? I found the sound muddy, almost "foggy", to my ears, and no matter what I did on the bass or the amps, I couldn't dial in a distinct, resonant sound. Boosting the tone made the pick sound really clicky and tinny. Also and somewhat remarkably, the difference in the solo'd sounds of the neck P and the bridge J weren't all that perceptible. I tried the bass with a variety of amps; Ampeg, Markbass and Peavey. All tube, solid state and hybrid. Combos, and heads and cabs. 15s, 12s 10s and 8s. I couldn't get a useable tone out of this bass.
Just to make sure it wasn't me or the amps, I grabbed a Cirrus BXP and plugged it into the same amps and it was immediately obvious that the bad sound was in the Scorpio. I gotta blame the Duncans. The VFLs sounded great through the same amps with the same settings.
Maybe I'm spoiled. Are the Super Ferrites on my Foundation really that good? They seem to blow the Duncans right out of the water. I can get a good 'Arry P tone by soloing the neck pup on the Foundation and a good Geddy sound from the bridge. Putting the neck on full and the bridge 2/3 of the way up gives me just about a perfect sound.
Anyway, to sum up: the Scorpio is a great looking and feeling bass, with poor sound.
YMMV.
EDIT: 1/29/08
I had the chance to try another one of these this past weekend and I WAS able to get a good sound out of it. It took some adjustment to the EQ and contour, but I finally got there. So I concede that the first one I played may have been a lemon or had the world's worst set of strings on it. It still didn't have the liveliness of sound of my VFL or Super Ferrite-equipped basses, but considering how nice this one played and how great the instrument is styled, I would consider adding the Scorpio to my Peavey arsenal.
Background: I play traditional and alternative heavy rock. I like fast playing, high output basses that can sit bright, pretty and present in the mix. I'm a Peavey loyalist for their consistent quality and overall cost to value ratio. My main bass is a 90's Foundation with the Super Ferrites. I also have a Millennium AC BXP with the active VFL pups. The Foundation, as long as the strings are fresh, is the better sounding of those two basses, but the Millennium is more comfortable to play with a slimmer, faster neck and better weight and balance. I'm comparing with those two basses.
The DE Scorpio: First, aesthetically, this bass is a winner. I generally loathe pickguards but the chrome one here against the black gloss poly screams metal and looks really classy as well. I also love the newest rendition of the Peavey headstock. It's very elegant.
The fit and finish seemed superb. According to the sticker on the back of the neck, this bass is made in China. The bass balances well. No neck dive and it's nice and light; lighter than the Foundation and almost as well balanced as the Millennium.
The neck at first glance appears to be the same as the Millennium neck, but the proof is in the playing. It's 1.5" at the nut like the Foundation and Millennium necks, but feels slightly wider and flatter than either of those. It felt slightly deeper than the Millennium but not as deep as the Foundation. It would take some getting used to, but I think it would be a very comfortable neck to play once I got past how flat it felt. Like the Millennium it's a satin finish, which I prefer, as opposed to the gloss neck of the Foundation.
The sound: This is where this bass really disappoints IMHO.
I had really high hopes for the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound P and J pups, considering the things I had read about them. I mean aren't they one of the more respected sets of P and J replacement pickups? I found the sound muddy, almost "foggy", to my ears, and no matter what I did on the bass or the amps, I couldn't dial in a distinct, resonant sound. Boosting the tone made the pick sound really clicky and tinny. Also and somewhat remarkably, the difference in the solo'd sounds of the neck P and the bridge J weren't all that perceptible. I tried the bass with a variety of amps; Ampeg, Markbass and Peavey. All tube, solid state and hybrid. Combos, and heads and cabs. 15s, 12s 10s and 8s. I couldn't get a useable tone out of this bass.
Just to make sure it wasn't me or the amps, I grabbed a Cirrus BXP and plugged it into the same amps and it was immediately obvious that the bad sound was in the Scorpio. I gotta blame the Duncans. The VFLs sounded great through the same amps with the same settings.
Maybe I'm spoiled. Are the Super Ferrites on my Foundation really that good? They seem to blow the Duncans right out of the water. I can get a good 'Arry P tone by soloing the neck pup on the Foundation and a good Geddy sound from the bridge. Putting the neck on full and the bridge 2/3 of the way up gives me just about a perfect sound.
Anyway, to sum up: the Scorpio is a great looking and feeling bass, with poor sound.
YMMV.
EDIT: 1/29/08
I had the chance to try another one of these this past weekend and I WAS able to get a good sound out of it. It took some adjustment to the EQ and contour, but I finally got there. So I concede that the first one I played may have been a lemon or had the world's worst set of strings on it. It still didn't have the liveliness of sound of my VFL or Super Ferrite-equipped basses, but considering how nice this one played and how great the instrument is styled, I would consider adding the Scorpio to my Peavey arsenal.
