Peavey Grind... What's your verdict?

[Orangeclawhammr]

Bought a 4 string used, so cheap I had to buy it, I LOVE it, but it's the first bass I've ever had that wasn't the cheapest one on the shelf, so might not be a great comparison.

Tuned it B E A D, couldn't get used to a 5 string, but still wanted the low B.

I had another bass player play it, far more accomplished player than I, raving about the sustain on the grind. He called the tone very "mellow", but he might have just been being kind.

I bought mine new in 2007. the neck warped this past spring. Two techs told me it was shot. The term, expensive piece of firewood" was used. So I bought a used Cort GB 34a for $120 from a Music-G-Round in another state. A friend who used to be a tech and wanted to get back into it asked if he could mess with it. What could I lose? Doggone if he did not straighten the neck. The action is still a bit high, but it is quite functional.

I found myself liking the Cort better, (Did you ever have something that, even though it was fixed, you still didn't trust it?) so when a local store was going out of business, I bought a set of strings for a 5 string and strung it BEAD. It was fun filing out the slots in the nut.

 

[RNV]

I love my Grind 4. I agree the tone is a bit dull, but I raised the bridge pickup and it helped a bit. I had a problem with the 6th fret having a sharp edge. It is now filed down and it is my main player. Super fast neck and the thing NEVER goes out of tune. NEVER!!!!

 

[Throckmorten]

I've had a recent model, the 5er, made in China, for about 6 months. I believe the model is now discontinued.

Mine is strung with SIT Silencers

IMO there are more cons than pros.

Pros
That neck. It's subjective but I like that neck profile and relatively narrow width 1 3/4" at the nut and 17mm spacing at the bridge.

Neck-thru - also subjective.
String-thru or top mount bridge. IMO string-thu is no big deal so it's nice to have the option

24 frets and easy access all the way up

Low action right out of the box

Weight of my bass is just a hair over 9lb which is not bad for a 5

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Cons
Cheap electronics. Never saw 2 pickups with less usable variation in tone. The controls seem to work against one another at times. Turn the tone pot a hair and the vol drops. Go figure.

Output from the neck pickup adds little to the overall sound and is significantly lesser in volume. (Yes I have tried to raise the pup, but it is screwed into the wood with some foam on the bottom, not much room for adjustment).

Cross string volume is irregular. Once again, it's possible to control that but the design does not accommodate that kind of adjustment.

I found one setting with a very nice tone and I might as well glue the pots in that position.

Fret sprout. Not much but noticeable. An indication to me that they have used green wood (likely) or have skimped on fret dressing.

The bass looks nice but I don't get a sense of overall quality control. The variation in some of the comments in this thread suggest as much. It's not staying in tune, cheap tuners or unstable neck?
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IMO This bass should not sell for over $350. At that price it's decent for the money, an easy player and a good platform for mods. But there is a lot of competition at that price point.

I wanted an easy playing, inexpensive 5er and maybe do some of my own upgrades. The Grind is fine for that but there are a lot of other choices.

I also know that Peavey can do better. And in fact I believe the earlier Indonesian made modes were better. The Grind is now their Chinese bottom end. You get what you pay for, and possibly less.