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Peavey G Bass Mod: Ya or Nay

non

non

Aug 4, 2015
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#1
I have a Peavey G bass that I am considering modding a little.
I love how light the bass is and the neck feels just like my jazz bass and it is
35" scale. it plays great with the low action.
It's the first and only bass I have ever bought for a collector bass.

The thing is, I don't like the way it sounds. I am thinking of wiring the pickup straight to the
output jack to bypass the 18v preamp and use an off board eq. This is assuming the preamp is coloring the sound with all eq knobs set to center or flat.
What typically happens to the sound when the pickup is wired directly to the output jack?
If this mod could change the sound of the bass for the better (to my ear) it would be worth it and it could be easily undone.
Thanks!
 
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#2
non said:
The thing is, I don't like the way it sounds. I am thinking of wiring the pickup straight to the
output jack to bypass the 18v preamp and use an off board eq.
Click to expand...
The VFL pickup used in the G-bass is active so even if you bypass the preamp it will still require power. Peavey's RSB had 2 VFL pickups hooked up to a passive Vol/Tone set up so other than the need for power, you're good to go :thumbsup:
 
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#4
Not sure the specific bass you have, but I know of G-bass that uses Cirrus preamp with balance pot removed. That preamp is pretty awesome. Now, the VFL pickups are not for everybody and the form factor of the pickup pretty unique fo find a replacement. It is possible to buy an empty enclosure of VFL on aliexpress. It is only $2 or so. Then you can try a jazz bass pickup. And cover it with the empty. The bass will sound a lot different and perhaps you will like it.. and it still will look the same.
 
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#5
kgbeast said:
Not sure the specific bass you have, but I know of G-bass that uses Cirrus preamp with balance pot removed. That preamp is pretty awesome. Now, the VFL pickups are not for everybody and the form factor of the pickup pretty unique fo find a replacement. It is possible to buy an empty enclosure of VFL on aliexpress. It is only $2 or so. Then you can try a jazz bass pickup. And cover it with the empty. The bass will sound a lot different and perhaps you will like it.. and it still will look the same.
Click to expand...

If you are interested to try...
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNeoQIm
I think everyone who owns a bass with VFL pickups should get those just in case.
 
#6
@kgbeast

The G-bass VFLs aren't in those shells. Peavey was getting set to discontinue the Forum models so the G-bass was designed to use up those 'soon to be obsolete' pickups :)

As you can see from this picture of my G-bass, it's a completely different shape.

G Bass (2).JPG
 
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#7
kgbeast said:
Not sure the specific bass you have, but I know of G-bass that uses Cirrus preamp with balance pot removed. That preamp is pretty awesome. Now, the VFL pickups are not for everybody and the form factor of the pickup pretty unique fo find a replacement. It is possible to buy an empty enclosure of VFL on aliexpress. It is only $2 or so. Then you can try a jazz bass pickup. And cover it with the empty. The bass will sound a lot different and perhaps you will like it.. and it still will look the same.
Click to expand...
Very interesting idea!
 
#11
kodiakblair said:
The VFL pickup used in the G-bass is active so even if you bypass the preamp it will still require power. Peavey's RSB had 2 VFL pickups hooked up to a passive Vol/Tone set up so other than the need for power, you're good to go :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Does the character reside more with the pickups, the pre, or combination of both? I'm wondering if component swap-out would be an expensive crap-shoot or should we be considering a heavily-colored "character" pedal as an outboard?

Riis
 
#12
kgbeast said:
Maybe this will fit
Click to expand...
Nowhere near the correct size; and no, EMG have nothing that fits either. BiSonic/Darkstar are too wide, Ibanez ATK too small. 5 string MM have the width but are too long.

All the above is beside the point, the OP was asking if they could bypass the preamp; swapping the pickup in their "It's the first and only bass I have ever bought for a collector bass." wasn't part of it :thumbsup:
 
#13
Zooberwerx said:
Does the character reside more with the pickups, the pre, or combination of both?
Click to expand...
I'd say both but that's just a guess.

VFLs in my RSB are different positions from the ones in my Forum and G-bass plus I'm lousy at isolating bass tones in my head :D

Don't know if this has any relevance but the backstory to VFLs was G&L's MFD, the G-bass was actually Peavey's attempt at the L-1000. Mike Powers originally designed the VFLs as a passive pickup but without the parallel/OMG options :laugh: Maybe someone with their L-1000 wired direct to jack socket will see this thread and chip in how it sounds.
 
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#14
non said:
Thanks for the info. I was afraid it wouldn't be so easy as I was hoping to go passive.
I think I will leave the bass as is. Thanks.
Click to expand...

From reading the posts. It looks like leaving it alone is probably a good instinct. I do not have the same vfls as it was determined, but comparing to jazz bass, vfls are a bit darker and perhaps 4db hotter. About a year ago, I put VFL with passive tone control. Note that the pickups still need at least a 9v battery to output the normal signa, but can be connected to a regular, passive tone / volume control like in P-bass wiring.
The resulted sound was the same as the active tones are in the detent. But I thought passive tone took more highs off leaving and interesting "marshmallow fluff". But a few days later, I figured that the active preamp, which is the Cirrus preamp, which I think you have as well, gives a lot more pleasant and usable tones. So if you want something brighter than what it is, removing the preamp will not do that. For that you will need a different pickup, which from what I read is not an option. Different preamp might give you different level of adjustment, but VFLs just don't have that sparkly highs, they will always sound as an in series humbuckers I think. I myself actually like the VFL tone.
 
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#15
I went on a search a couple years ago to find a pickup for my GBass and didn't find anything exact, but I got close with Bartolini. I received an email reply with the closest thing they have. I don't think any gap would be highly visible around the pickup they suggested, e-mail reply below.

The original GBass pickup dimensions in the email below (104mm X 47mm) is what I measured for the cavity in the bass body & not the exact pickup size, which would be slightly smaller.


The pickup is a unique shape. The 104mm x 47mm measurements do not match any pickup I have available.

The Bartolini CF pickup shape is the closest without being larger than the cavity. It is right there in terms of length, but the width is well short. Please see the detailed drawing below.
IMG_6181.jpeg

Best,

Frankie
 
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#16
My GBass. It has the sparkles, but you can hardly see them unless it's in the sunlight. Bought this one from a guy who was going to sell me the neck for $100. When he opened the case to remove the neck, I asked him how much for the bass intact. He said $150 and I obviously paid the price….very quickly….
This one has the Modulus made carbon fiber / graphite neck that shows the cross-ply fiber look & also says "Cirrus" on the preamp circuit board. The later models had a solid dark gray looking carbon fiber shell made by Peavey. I never bought a pickup, so it's still all stock.
IMG_0532_Original.jpeg
 
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#18
I had one of those basses. It didn't sound very good either. I changed the pickup and preamp. After all that it was still lacking.
I would sell it and find a bass that has a better tone. Some basses just don't have good tone. Why spend hundreds on mods and end up with something you are not happy with?
 
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#19
Oh cool, this was the first graphite neck instrument I'd ever seen. A friend bought one. It played great & sounded great unplugged. Balanced fine on the strap. He didn't own it for very long.

The baked in tone/voicing has to be good for at least one genre, but I don't know what genre that is. Maybe it is intended to be paired with a specific Peavey amp? If it's part of a Peavey system… maybe it's intended for 80s/90s country? Pretty sure Country was Hartley's focus, IIRC.

If you keep it stock and work with it in a DAW with a lot of other instrumentation (probably leaning toward Bruno Mars/Toby Keith level highly produced & polished Pop instead of stripped down Guitar Rock) maybe you can find that it's rather P Bass like in sounding like crap solo but sounds perfect in the mix?

It might even be an interesting flavor for Modern Jazz as a low-baritone soloing instrument? Probably pretty cool for little breaks in Daft Punk style stuff with a synth actually holding down the bottom end.

Multiple people signed off on it to go into production without feeling like they were making a mistake. It's a shame for their efforts to be being trashed.
 
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