Peavey G-bass? Opinions?

[LinusKarlsson]

Hello!

I've been offered to trade a J-bass I have for sale (value about 500 dollars) for a Peavey G-bass. I have never played one, and what google have come up with have made me somewhat confused.

First and foremost: Sound. Some people describe it as a modern P-bass, and some say it sounds nothing like a P-bass. Some say it's trebly. Others say it's like a Stingray. And so on. Very confusing, and the youtube videos i've found have not been too helpfull.

I play metal with lots of distortion with a pick. I already have a P-bass and love the sound of that, but it would be cool to have something that also sounds like that, but a bit different. You know, really fat and growly. Will I be disappointed or rewarded?

Second of all, playability. It's kind of a big creature, right? How heavy is it? Comfy to play? Balance?

Third, value. What´s the reason for the stupidly low second hand prices of these axes? They were kinda pricy when they were new, right? Is there something special that makes them drop like that?

And last but not least: What do you guys think of them? Are they any good?

 

[M.R. Ogle]

One of the few remaining basses on my G.A.S. list. I'd LOVE to have one.

 

[mark beem]

Hello!

I've been offered to trade a J-bass I have for sale (value about 500 dollars) for a Peavey G-bass. I have never played one, and what google have come up with have made me somewhat confused.

First and foremost: Sound. Some people describe it as a modern P-bass, and some say it sounds nothing like a P-bass. Some say it's trebly. Others say it's like a Stingray. And so on. Very confusing, and the youtube videos i've found have not been too helpfull.

I play metal with lots of distortion with a pick. I already have a P-bass and love the sound of that, but it would be cool to have something that also sounds like that, but a bit different. You know, really fat and growly. Will I be disappointed or rewarded?

Second of all, playability. It's kind of a big creature, right? How heavy is it? Comfy to play? Balance?

Third, value. What´s the reason for the stupidly low second hand prices of these axes? They were kinda pricy when they were new, right? Is there something special that makes them drop like that?

And last but not least: What do you guys think of them? Are they any good?

I owned one, a 4 string. Great tone, feel and playability. The tone to my ear was similar to a Modulus Flea 4 I had with a Lane Poor "Music Man" style pickup. In fact these basses are know as "the poor man's Modulus" due to the carbon fiber neck along with the pickup/electronic configuration.

Mine was light, right around the 8 pound mark. I think it would suit your needs.

The reason they're so cheap on the used market is that Peavey seems to have become known as a "low quality", "entry level" instrument builder. But, as someone who has owned many of their higher-level instruments (Cirrus, Millennium, Tim Landers sig, Sarzo sig), I can say that they right up there with the big guns.

Were I in your shoes I would get it. Even if you decided you didn't like it, I doubt you'd have any trouble getting back what you had in it.

Hope this helps.

 

[smcd]

A G-bass sounds nothing like a J-bass (I have both). The G-bass has a much more "hi-fi" sound, clear and clean, a bit on the bright side. The electronics are dead silent, and the quality of construction of a G-bass is superb.

The G-bass is super light, and the playability is excellent. The balance is great, and it's comfortable to play. It has a graphite neck, which means once the bass is set up to your liking, you may never need to adjust the neck again.

G-basses were an expensive bass back when they were released, though value-wise, even then it was a good deal for what you were buying. They call it "a poor man's Modulus". The value today is low. Crazy low, in my opinion. If you shop around, you can find a G-bass between $300-$400. This has nothing to do with the quality of the bass, but more to do with Peavey's place in the used gear market. Peavey, when they first started making guitars, marketed their instruments as good bang-for-the-buck. As a result, people who don't know any better looked at Peavey's as low budget instruments. Peavey's efforts to shed that image with VERY high quality instruments back in the 90's weren't entirely successful. As such, Peavey gear on the used market is crazy low. This is fantastic for people looking for incredible deals on high-end used basses.

I love my G-bass. I think trading a $500 bass for a G-bass is a bit lopsided against you. I'd look for the G-bass plus $100. If not, sell the J and shop around.

 

[NicJimBass]

Never have played a G-Bass (4 string), but I own 2 GV basses (5 string). Except for the 4 having one pickup and the 5 having 2, and the body wood (4 has basswood, IIRC, 5 has alder) they are pretty similar. The pickup is a Peavey VFL, like what they put on the Cirrus basses. Very quiet, and capable of a lot of output, especially if you raise it close to the strings. I believe the 4's are 35" scale, which may be good if you tune down at all. The preamp is the same as the Cirrus as well, minus the blend control. There are a lot of sounds you can get from adjusting the EQ. I can do modern hi-fi to thumpy, almost P-bass tone.

Obviously the big selling point on these are the graphite/ carbon fiber necks. As I've told others, the necks are probably as stable, maybe slightly more, than a normal wood neck, possibly because of the wood fingerboard (rosewood or pau ferro). I do have to adjust the truss rod every now and again, but it's not outrageous. What I love about the neck is that is seems to accentuate the lows and highs. I can get some deep low end out of these things without touching the EQ much, and the highs are very present, but very nice.

Playability is first-rate. Both of my basses are probably in the 8-9lb range, so not too heavy. These have the micro-tilt built in, which, when used properly, can lead to very low action. The necks are very comfortable and very easy to play.

Value is all about perception, unfortunately. Everyone who hears the name Peavey seems to cringe at first. I used to, until I discovered their US made basses. US Peavey's are amazing basses, especially for the price you can get them for. If you're worried about resale, look elsewhere. You can probably break even if you decide to sell, but I wouldn't count on a huge profit or anything.

What do I think about them? I LOVE them. I've become a huge Peavey fan over the last 2 years. I've owned several, including a couple Cirrus', several Millenniums (including the 4-string I have now), a couple vintage axes (Patriot and Fury) and a Foundation 5. They all are super solid basses, can be easily adjusted and set up, and sound and play great.

 

[NicJimBass]

LOL... the 3 Peavey Musketeers strike all at once!

 

[LinusKarlsson]

Thanks for all your input!

The sound is the most important thing to me. I wan't to sound like a P-bass or in that direction at least, that's why I'm selling the J-bass. As long as that is possible, I will probably be happy. The graphite neck and 35" scale is something new to me, but I do tune my basses BEAD so I guess the G-bass will do a good job with that.

Resale value? Not so important. As long as I can get my money back (or at least close to that) if I decide to sell it, I will be happy.

 

[mark beem]

LOL... the 3 Peavey Musketeers strike all at once!

LOL!

 

[smcd]

Resale value? Not so important. As long as I can get my money back (or at least close to that) if I decide to sell it, I will be happy.

What kind of J-bass are you trading? MIM, I assume?

 

[LinusKarlsson]

What kind of J-bass are you trading? MIM, I assume?

It's one I put together myself from different parts. Fernandes body, Allparts neck and hipshot tuners.

 

[spufman]

An assembled parts Jazz would probably not fetch $500, so I definitely vote to trade it for the G-Bass. They are really nice and between the 35" and composite construction, it should really work well in B-E-A-D.

 

[smcd]

An assembled parts Jazz would probably not fetch $500, so I definitely vote to trade it for the G-Bass.

+1

You'll never see anywhere near $500 for that Jazz parts bass. Trade it quick before the guy with the G-bass changes his mind!

 

[LinusKarlsson]

Hmm... 500 bucks translates to about 3000 swedish Krona, wich in Sweden would be a quite resonable price for that bass. Anyway, I will give it a good think.

 

[smcd]

Hmm... 500 bucks translates to about 3000 swedish Krona, wich in Sweden would be a quite resonable price for that bass. Anyway, I will give it a good think.

Didn't notice you were from Sweden. I have no idea what market prices are over there on used gear, nor do most non-Swedes, I suspect. In the US, you'd have a hard time finding someone who would pay $250 for a Fernandez parts bass. A G-bass would fetch $300 without difficulty.

 

[LinusKarlsson]

250 dollars here would get you... Well, not much really. With a bit of luck, a used Squier VM or something.

 

[LinusKarlsson]

I just got one more thought. Can anyone confirm or deny that it is possible to get a Precision-like thump/growl with a G-bass? It´s kind of a dealbreaker (or maker) for me.

 

[ubnomnar]

The tone to my ear was similar to a Modulus Flea 4 I had with a Lane Poor "Music Man" style pickup.

A G-bass sounds nothing like a J-bass (I have both). The G-bass has a much more "hi-fi" sound, clear and clean, a bit on the bright side.

There are a lot of sounds you can get from adjusting the EQ. I can do modern hi-fi to thumpy, almost P-bass tone.

Can anyone confirm or deny that it is possible to get a Precision-like thump/growl with a G-bass? It´s kind of a dealbreaker (or maker) for me.

I've owned many Peavey USA basses including a G-Bass. Excellent bass in it's own right, but if you're looking for a legitimate Precision thump/growl I would pass.

You'd have better luck routing your Jazz for a split-P pickup, or trade for a bass that has one.

A Precision sounds the way it does because of the passive split-coil pickup wired in series. The VFL is active and a completely different design.

 

[moonshinegtrs]

Thanks for all your input!

The sound is the most important thing to me. I wan't to sound like a P-bass or in that direction at least, that's why I'm selling the J-bass. As long as that is possible, I will probably be happy. The graphite neck and 35" scale is something new to me, but I do tune my basses BEAD so I guess the G-bass will do a good job with that.

Resale value? Not so important. As long as I can get my money back (or at least close to that) if I decide to sell it, I will be happy.

I'm a P-Bass guy at heart, but I own a green G bass (used to own a red one as well... paid $150 for the green one, with case!). I prefer 4 strings as well so I strung the G bass BEAD...

It KILLS!!! I definitely can get a P-bass-ish thump out of it.

It's one of the few active basses that I use on a regular basis.

I just noticed it's the bass I'm playing in my avatar

Trade. quickly!

Moonshine

 

[LinusKarlsson]

Thanks guys! But once again, I'm confused...

 

[smcd]

Thanks guys! But once again, I'm confused...

There's nothing to be confused about. If you want a Precision bass, buy a Precision bass. A G-bass might maybe almost cop a P bass tone if you fuss with the tone knobs and the amp enough. But a G-bass wasn't designed to ape a P bass. It was designed as a totally separate animal. If sounding like a Precision bass is a dealbreaker, move on.