The finished project. Looks pretty cool, not really sure why I designed it the way I did, but at least I can move it around easily now.
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Peavey MegaBass Club
- Thread starter Stev187
- Start date
The finished project. Looks pretty cool, not really sure why I designed it the way I did, but at least I can move it around easily now.
That is a pretty sharp little jig there man. Nice piece of work!
hey guys, just got a megabass a few days ago, and i'm wondering about how "enthusiastically" peavey will support them... my mega has suffered some pretty harsh treatment, resulting in one pot snapped off (at the post, but can still be turned with a thumb) and most of the eq sliders do not function. i'm not wanting to spend a whole lot, can these issues be fixed on the cheap?
If you check the thread a few people have sent their MegaBass back to Peavey for repair. Peavey offers fantastic support for its products. You should contact them directly.
Thanks! I am currently recovering in black, just couldn't handle the white, it was getting dirty just looking at it.
BTW, I just sent my MegaBass to Peavey for repairs this week, one of the 2 amplifiers was not working (see earlier post). No word yet, but I will post when I find out cost and results, etc. So far, it cost $30 to ship from WI to MS.
Had this up before but decide to have my tech check it out first. My MegaBass is up for sale. Love the amp, just going in a different direction amp-wise.
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/peavey-megabass-head-w-gator-rack-bag.1077919/
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/peavey-megabass-head-w-gator-rack-bag.1077919/
I had a great gig the other night with my MegaBass. So as I was daydreaming through the boring songs, I came up with 10 reasons to love this excellent head. Here's a snap of the rig I'm going to use next weekend: a matched pair of GK 115MBE cabs. These things have neo drivers and weigh 33lbs. Bought each one for a little over $150 used. Cheap, light and loud!
Link Removed
10 Reasons to Love the Peavey MegaBass
1) One of the first Class D bass amps
Peavey engineer Bobby Baldwin posted this earlier in the thread: he says it best.
2) Durable and available on used market for $150
Peavey made a TON of these in the late 80s and early 90s, and like other Peavey gear, the thing can take a beating. You could find them in most markets used for about 150 USD, which is a great price.
3) Flexible bi-amping options
Bi-amping is kind of old fashioned these days, but the Mega can be run bi-amp and full-range. The pair of 200w amps behaves rather like a 2-channel PA amp. The selectable crossover divides the signal into high and low (if you're wanting to go large with these signals, you can tap them from the back with XLR to go to larger amps or to the board).
4) Diversity of cabinets to use
Do you play through lots of different cabs? I can't resist a great deal on old bass cabs I find locally. Because each amp can drive down to 4 ohms, you can drive up to four 8 ohm cabinets with no problems. Also, this amp is safe to to use with cabs with low wattage ratings. Example: I have an SWR 2x10t that I really like. Newer amps with tons of power would fry that thing, but the Mega makes it sing. This is a great cab to use if you are going to be playing through someone else's cabs.
5) Made in USA
Every mega out there was made in Meridian, MS.
6) Still supported by the company
When you need to fix a Mega, the friendly folks at Peavey still know the amp well. Their techs are fantastic, they have all the parts and they'll fix it for you. I had mine completely re-built last year.
7) Transparent, clean tone
The Mega sounds like whatever you plug into the front of it... but louder.
8) Loud, Loud, Loud
The Mega's specs claim 200w per side at 4 ohms, but I have never run out of juice with this thing. This amp has a reputation for being super, super loud. Headroom city with this amp. I almost always leave the input pad depressed to take things down a notch.
9) 7-Band EQ
Remember that transparent tone from #7? Well, you can color that to taste with the 7-band EQ (and do more tone shaping with the punch and bright boost switches). I use the EQ on this amp to dial in the right tone for the cabs I am using.
10) Built-in chorus
This amp is a child of the 80s, so a good chorus makes sense. This one is nice and it has a footswitch jack as well as adjustable depth and rate controls. The cool feature is that the chorus does not affect the LOW amp in bi-amp mode. That's a feature that the modern chorus pedals are just now catching up to all these years later. If you keep the chorus off the low frequencies you can shimmer without losing your bottom end.
If you're new here and interested in the features of the MegaBass, check out my video demo:
--Steve
Link Removed
10 Reasons to Love the Peavey MegaBass
1) One of the first Class D bass amps
Peavey engineer Bobby Baldwin posted this earlier in the thread: he says it best.
"One of the reasons the Mega sounds like it does is that it uses a class d power amp that was designed from the ground up with audio quality as a top priority, because a lot of people were against class d back then claiming that the audio quality was inferior to traditional class AB amps. Peavey invested a lot in the technology and had something to prove."
2) Durable and available on used market for $150
Peavey made a TON of these in the late 80s and early 90s, and like other Peavey gear, the thing can take a beating. You could find them in most markets used for about 150 USD, which is a great price.
3) Flexible bi-amping options
Bi-amping is kind of old fashioned these days, but the Mega can be run bi-amp and full-range. The pair of 200w amps behaves rather like a 2-channel PA amp. The selectable crossover divides the signal into high and low (if you're wanting to go large with these signals, you can tap them from the back with XLR to go to larger amps or to the board).
4) Diversity of cabinets to use
Do you play through lots of different cabs? I can't resist a great deal on old bass cabs I find locally. Because each amp can drive down to 4 ohms, you can drive up to four 8 ohm cabinets with no problems. Also, this amp is safe to to use with cabs with low wattage ratings. Example: I have an SWR 2x10t that I really like. Newer amps with tons of power would fry that thing, but the Mega makes it sing. This is a great cab to use if you are going to be playing through someone else's cabs.
5) Made in USA
Every mega out there was made in Meridian, MS.
6) Still supported by the company
When you need to fix a Mega, the friendly folks at Peavey still know the amp well. Their techs are fantastic, they have all the parts and they'll fix it for you. I had mine completely re-built last year.
7) Transparent, clean tone
The Mega sounds like whatever you plug into the front of it... but louder.
8) Loud, Loud, Loud
The Mega's specs claim 200w per side at 4 ohms, but I have never run out of juice with this thing. This amp has a reputation for being super, super loud. Headroom city with this amp. I almost always leave the input pad depressed to take things down a notch.
9) 7-Band EQ
Remember that transparent tone from #7? Well, you can color that to taste with the 7-band EQ (and do more tone shaping with the punch and bright boost switches). I use the EQ on this amp to dial in the right tone for the cabs I am using.
10) Built-in chorus
This amp is a child of the 80s, so a good chorus makes sense. This one is nice and it has a footswitch jack as well as adjustable depth and rate controls. The cool feature is that the chorus does not affect the LOW amp in bi-amp mode. That's a feature that the modern chorus pedals are just now catching up to all these years later. If you keep the chorus off the low frequencies you can shimmer without losing your bottom end.
If you're new here and interested in the features of the MegaBass, check out my video demo:
--Steve
Well, it hasn't arrived yet (I just bought it today!), but I want a number! I have been eyeing these for months, but already owned a Peavey T-Max. I stupidly burned it up the other day, and was heartbroken. It was a great amp, but probably not worth sending back to Meriden for an authorized refurb and/or repair. I found this Megabass right here on the TB Classifieds! It had been there since mid-May, so I'm glad I did a search for "Peavey" under Amps For Sale. Thanks, Kevin, for having it for sale when I needed one.
Here's the "For Sale" ad:
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/peavey-megabass-head-w-gator-rack-bag.1077919/
Here's the pic....I LOVE the fact it has a Gator bag/case!
It doesn't look "minty", but for a amp this age, I'm fine with it. I'm told it works like a champ, and I can't wait to try out my 4 X 10, 2 X 15 and 2 X 10 bass cabs in various configurations with the bi-amp and full feature. It should have even more power than the T-Max, and after reading this whole thread, I just know I'm gonna love it!
I'll post a official "NAD" with more pics when it comes in, but I couldn't wait to share my good news.
Here's the "For Sale" ad:
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/peavey-megabass-head-w-gator-rack-bag.1077919/
Here's the pic....I LOVE the fact it has a Gator bag/case!
It doesn't look "minty", but for a amp this age, I'm fine with it. I'm told it works like a champ, and I can't wait to try out my 4 X 10, 2 X 15 and 2 X 10 bass cabs in various configurations with the bi-amp and full feature. It should have even more power than the T-Max, and after reading this whole thread, I just know I'm gonna love it!
I'll post a official "NAD" with more pics when it comes in, but I couldn't wait to share my good news.
Congrats! You can be #21. My first Mega lived in a soft case. Very helpful, but super heavy for something that was so soft! LOL. Be careful if you use a shoulder strap--the Mega is heavy enough to break them.
I played a really large room last weekend and only brought a 4x10 with the Mega. Got there and thought I should have had the pair for a stack. I kept having to turn DOWN! There's no room the Mega can't handle.
Here's the current list.
1 - Stev187
2 - Ayce
3 - jpknox
4 - MNAirHead
5 - cflbass
6 - uhdinator
7 - Five String
8 - LowEZ
9 - Wookieonbass
10 - marq1965
11 - TheREALRandyMos
12 - Count Bassie
13 - Triskaidekaphobia*
14 - KPJ
15 - Fluid Power
16 - Slackbladder
17 - lossfizzle
18 - Stevekeys
19 - 5chevin5
20 - bthebass
21 - eldoryder
BTW, that's a great video, Steve! Thanks for posting it. It made setting up my "new-to-me" MegaBass up a lot easier. Didn't even have to read through my .pdf manual yet.
Saw this on the local Craigslist if anyone's interested.
Bass rig (Peavey) 400
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Bass rig (Peavey) 400
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Ironically, I just found a Megabass AND an 1820 cab local to me, and the guy will take $200.00 for the pair. Can anyone give me any advice or experience with the 1820 versus the 1516? Pros? Cons? The present owner says that the speakers are original and work fine, same with the amp. It sounds like a too-good-to-be-true deal. He was asking $250.00, but would take $200.00 since he no longer plays.
Whattya think?
Whattya think?
I think that's a steal. I had an 1810 and I gave it to a friend; I just never gigged it and they go for about $150 on the used market. The 1820 has a slightly larger enclosure for the 18" speaker. In many ways, this is a perfect cab for the Mega because it lends itself to biamping so well.
If you have the room, I would grab that pair pronto. The Mega alone is about $150 - $200 itself.
--Steve
Just picking up (in a trade) a Mega today. I'd sold mine a year ago, and this came around. I can't remember why I sold it- probably for a cab... but I'm very happy- maybe satisfied is a better word- to have this old beast back in my small arsenal. Always did well for me. Never an issue, always delivered. It acts like I want my amp to act: Invisible to my sensibilities when I'm playing. Pretty dang perfect head, as far as that goes.
And yeah eldoryder, you nailed a good deal...
Steve187, nicely presented list of 10 reasons there above.
Steve187, nicely presented list of 10 reasons there above.
I played the new-to-me Megabass head last night at band rhrsl. For the rock band, I like it considerably more than the Trace Elliot AH350SMX I've been playing through. I love the Trace for the reggae gigs, and for pop/rock/hippie-mess stuff I do for short bread here and there the voice is really good. But this Mega beast cuts through our slavering rock band mix like a hot knife through soft cookie dough. Diggity mang...
Here it is, snarkily poised (
) atop the Trace rig:
![DSCN2788[1].JPG](https://www.talkbass.com/data/attachments/2891/2891745-c72cf3a8432b08cb40b9fefc64a216fc.jpg?hash=xyzzqEMrCM "DSCN2788[1].JPG")
Here it is, snarkily poised (
) atop the Trace rig:- Jul 29, 2014
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- Disclosures
- Had mine since 1984 I think. I was Peavey Autherized repair. Have all schematics.
Had mine since 1984 I think. I was Peavey Authorized repair. Have all schematics.
This is where I learned to fix and mod amps!!!! 1985ish and I got it there:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Music-Museum/111561178884651
It's hard to see, but behind me. I love the Chorus on the unit!!!!
This is where I learned to fix and mod amps!!!! 1985ish and I got it there:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Music-Museum/111561178884651
It's hard to see, but behind me. I love the Chorus on the unit!!!!
