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Peavey 'Mark' series amps

cheechi

cheechi

Mar 10, 2015
1,373
1,006
sometimes I am also being serious
#1
So I have a Mark VIII XP head. I hear on TB and in person people talk about the Mark series of Peavey amps as being loud and indestructible but rarely any comments about their tone. They don't seem to have a particularly characteristic or recognizable tone. Could this be a misunderstanding and there is a kind of ' this is the right setting' type magic in these that's not as well known as say, the SVT or Fenders? Or is this the opposite and this amp is more transparent (I don't know if that's an honor I'm not allowed to bestow, just asking) or is it actually lifeless, like some other Peavey gear that doesn't get as much discussion (some 810 cab comes to mind, don't know the model but it was the later end of the USA made era).

The Peavey Fuzz thread (very good and interesting if you didn't get an opportunity to follow that) the Super Festival was discussed, and my Combo 300 has a little of that bitey fuzz but not like the clips posted there. I can't get anything like that out of my Mark.

Is there a 'best' among the Mark series amps? Is any artists' signature sound one of these Marks? Is there a way to bring out whatever character is in there? Is it maybe a way to get more character out of a cab

Or should I take one of those Joyo American and 'turn it into' a massively loud Bassman?

So basically all my dumb questions here and any Mark series amp info you guys want to share. I know there's a Peavey USA club but I thought with so many in this series they could have a thread of their own.
 
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#2
To my ears the Mark series can get a ton of different tones because they weren't designed for any one sound in particular.
Tons of versatility, starting from a nearly true "flat-ish" response, rather than a "baked-in" corporate identity/legacy tone that some other companies try to maintain. Some recent amps only get in the neighborhood of a flat response when you crank the mid knob almost all the way up--so it's a scooped tone unless you get aggressive with that one knob but they don't actually tell you that...
Power, durability, versatility in tone and connections, crossovers, speaker saving DDT limiters, usually two completely different EQ types on each channel.....I loved these amps in the '70s because they kicked everything else's butts, and find myself using them again almost 40 years later because they really work well and now they're cheap as heck.
 
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#3
I was really hoping they were more flat/not baked in like you said, than truly dull or lifeless. And I do love my mids.

So basically if you wanted a super clean 'direct to the board' type sound live the Mark heads could do that, with EQ, and without having to bypass the pre to get it? Or am I overreaching on that.
 
#4
I think what you want, the Mark Series can deliver.
Mids are what many bassists don't seem to understand--how vital they are to hearing yourself, the rest of the band + audience really hearing what you're doing, and especially the singer since studies have shown that they mostly get their key information from the bass, and struggle to find pitch when it's muddy. All the distortion and other effects guitarists use just confuse their ears.
Peavey Mark amps have plenty of mids when flat, so you can still get a scooped tone but can also blast vast honking noise if you want.
In fact, my friends and I found almost zero difference between the bass and guitar amps back then.
The bass amps got crossovers for bi-amping, and DDT, and MAYBE the center frequencies of the EQs were shifted a bit.

Use the pre gain knob as your volume control, and the post gain all the way up, and you'll get clean, clear, and loud sound.
 
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#5
Had a Mark III. Loudest 150W money could buy back then. Amazing how Peavey allows you to sound LIKE YOURSELF. I own a 1990 TNT 150 combo now (essentially same head section, recently serviced inside and out) that's my main gigging amp. Over the top for bar gigs but also played with it live outdoors 2 weeks ago and still rocked the stage. My head (SansAmp RBI for shaping my tone+Hartke 3500) + cabs (1x15+4x10 or 2x15+4x10) stack rarely leave the rehearsing place. All the amplification that I have complies to this same directive: LOTS OF CLEAN VOLUME + VERSATILE EQ. In the case of my TNT I use a Zoom MS60B to pre-shape my tone (some comp. and SansAmp emulation). That's all I need. Depending on the gig, I might even go with a barely over 100€ modified P-bass kit I built early this year. Those times I'm gigging with just little over 400€ in gear. Amazingly cheap yet powerful, versatile and dependable.
 
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#7
I have an XP VIII and it will sound the way I want it to, clean or not. :thumbsup: The SABDDI helps, hehe. With 9 bands of EQ, and more, its quite versatile. And it has plenty of power (600w) to flap your pantlegs playing through my two Ampeg 610s. LOL Heard for miles....:hyper:

:bassist::bassist:
 
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#8
andruca said:
Amazing how Peavey allows you to sound LIKE YOURSELF... LOTS OF CLEAN VOLUME + VERSATILE EQ.
Click to expand...
When I first started out and learned the difference between tubes & solid state, this is what was promised of solid state.

andruca said:
I own a 1990 TNT 150 combo now (essentially same head section, recently serviced inside and out) that's my main gigging amp.[/url]
Click to expand...
I didn't realize the TNT were similar, I thought they evolved out of the Combo series. And I personally think my Combo can get a lot more dirty than the Mark VIII seems capable.
 
#9
cheechi said:
When I first started out and learned the difference between tubes & solid state, this is what was promised of solid state.

I didn't realize the TNT were similar, I thought they evolved out of the Combo series. And I personally think my Combo can get a lot more dirty than the Mark VIII seems capable.
Click to expand...

I think so too, but attribute it both to the builtin compression/speaker protection the combo has (don't recall the Mark III having that) and also to speaker over-excursion as the combo's speaker is "just enough" for the power and bass it puts out (some 200W woofer maybe? also it's pretty efficient so I think it's not too low -thus not that much linear excursion-) while using a separate cab on the Mark III it usually worked in a cleaner zone, with speaker/s struggling much less (never used bass cabs that were less than 300W). I clearly can tell my TNT's speaker is rattling, I see it moving A LOT, while the 400W 4x10" I mostly used back then with a Mark III didn't ever seem to struggle, even with bassy EQ settings. Maybe they're not EXACTLY the same head but from having opened both their sections look quite alike and functionally they're very similar too (just 7-band on the graphic EQ for the Mark III -had the green trimmed version- while the TNT has a 9-band EQ, no chorus on the Mark III -useless after the '90s BTW-).
 
#10
Combo 300 has a 1502-4 which some old manual Peavey says its a 700W program speaker. The 150 TNT might be different from this, I imagine it's a 1505-4 which has greater travel than my 1502. The DDT in the combo is not defeatable like it is in the Mark VIII, but even if it was I don't think I could get my speaker to travel the same way yours does. However, with such a small cab box on my combo I can tell you it has its own fun set of problems, just that crazy speaker travel thankfully isn't one of them.

I was just curious about the evolution of the 'more dirty' super festival and combo, compared to the 'more clean' TNT and mark series. It is certainly possible they all share quite a lot in common, and the preamp section would be one that once they got it right, I assume they wouldn't likely change much.

I wish I knew better the guitar heads and PA equipment, maybe it would make it easier to 'trace the family tree' and see all this in a greater perspective.
 
#11
My understanding is that it's the power amp sections that stayed the same "once they got it right", while the preamps changed often as fads and customer requests took hold.
My Mark III is a later one with the 400BH power amp rated at 210 watts @ 4ohms and 300w @ 2. The date on the back is Jan 1980.
It has a compressor, though not labeled as DDT which came a few years later. Just an on/off switch on the right side of channel 2.

I've heard that this power amp ended up being a main player in a plethora of solid state amps from Peavey including PA gear, combos, etc, because it was the most bulletproof and efficient design up to that point and was impossible to beat for a long time.
I also have a white-face Combo 115 that I could swear has the exact same 400BH design, at least 20 years later.

In fact, I use them both right now but only the power sections, driven with my most excellent $79 Peavey MAX Tube/SS 2-channel preamp, crossed over so the MKIII powers a 410TX 8 ohm cab full-range while the 15" Black Widow Combo acts as a subwoofer that really doesn't even get warm in most situations since the 410 is right up behind me and doing most of the work.

But in a pinch either amp could drive my stack just fine on their own, and I would be perfectly happy. Twist a few knobs just a bit farther from flat than they are...good to go.

My impression is that these old Peavey bass amps are very in your face, for lack of a better term. They hit you hard and with punch and respond to what you're doing to the strings in an honest and immediate way.
And they seem louder than the rated watts would lead you to believe--probably because they don't scoop mids like so many other brands.
 
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#12
I have a Mark 6 and a Mark 6 XP. The XP sounds a bit fatter (for lack of a better term) to me. They are both plenty loud enough for any gig I have ever played when run through an 8 10. This includes outdoor gigs at car shows with no PA support. Never had any problems at all "cutting through the mix" with them. Great heads IMHO. Do they sound as good as my SVT? No. Do they get the job done? Yup ,every time I need them to. The XP is and has always been my back up to my SVT. It is my "go to' for any gig using generators. They are heavier than the new lightweights but sound as good as most of them. Half the weight of my SVT and they seem pretty much indestructible and at a cost of $150 to $200 bucks these days , what's not to like? Haven't seen one for sale around here lately but if I do I will buy another one.
 
#13
I didn't realize there was both a VI and a VI XP. Was it a revision or a higher end model at introduction? I looked through the timeline on the Peavey site and didn't find any mention. Other than the sound, are there any differences in features or specs?


KeithAlanK said:
My understanding is that it's the power amp sections that stayed the same "once they got it right", while the preamps changed often as fads and customer requests took hold.
Click to expand...
This makes sense. I was assuming that based on how many other Ampeg amps' preamp is based on the SVT, but I can see how solid state and especially Peavey being so early in the Class D would have got a lot of mileage out of power amp designs.
 
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#14
My first "real" bass rig was a Mark IV with matching 1810 cab that I picked up cheap at a local shop. I never had an issue finding the sound or volume I needed. Nostalgia has lead me to tracking down another old Mark head, this time a III. Even through an 8 ohm cab, I have plenty of volume for bar gigs and jam sessions. The amp adapts well to any bass I plug into it. Bulletproof, versatile, surprisingly loud and cheap. I'm a fan!
 
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#15
cheechi said:
I didn't realize there was both a VI and a VI XP. Was it a revision or a higher end model at introduction? I looked through the timeline on the Peavey site and didn't find any mention. Other than the sound, are there any differences in features or specs?



I have a Peavey promo mini catalogue which came out with the introduction of the XP series and it mentions the EQ on the graphic has been improved..something about frequency centres being lowered..

Leslie
Click to expand...
 
#17
So this is where we find a bit of fairly recent love for the Mark XP heads!!! Started with a mkiii xp from new in the early 90s for 289 pounds! Regularly frowned upon by many a bassist in the UK over the years "yuck a peavey" "where is your marshall gone" I gave it a real hammering for 15 years running at 2 ohms not originally realizing ! Before it went to storage. Had all of them since and now gig the Mk8 XP with pro cabs when there is no one to help me lift the classic 400. Guess who returned to duty from storage as resident in our practice room?The mk iii xp. Now running a safer 4 ohms. The old girl is still pumping away 26 years later never opened never serviced not even a scratchy pot.....now living in Holland where they are rarely seen. I have lost count of how many offers I have had on MY MARK collection........
 
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#18
I have a Peavey Mark III head and I'll admit that don't really like it a whole lot. And it needs a jumper cable across the effects return otherwise it doesn't work.

However, it was missing a slider knob when I bought it. So I wrote to Peavey and told them it was missing a knob and they sent me a bag with about a dozen different sliders! :)
 

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