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Peavey MegaBass Club
- Thread starter Stev187
- Start date
Of course! You have to post pictures of your beauty though.
I don't think anyone is officially running this page any longer, but I try and keep up with postings. I've owned the same Megabass I bought new in the late 80's. I gigged it for years touring, then I gave it to my brother whom gigged it as a violin amp (can you imagine the power for a violin, lol) and then it got put into storage.
Years later I dug it out after an amp of mine went down, and I was amazed that it sounded great and still had enough power for the gigs I was playing. The sound or looks aren't dated by any means, and the chorus sounds great with my fretless. It's a great amp.
Many people have found the EQ section somewhat lacking in the MegaBass. Have you tried running your RBI directly into the Power Amp input on the back ? That will bypass the whole front end (Preamp and EQ). You will still have Low & High Post Gain level controls on the front. The Chorus will still work on the High Range amp also. I have the Tech 21 VT Bass Deluxe and love anything SansAmp. You can also bypass the EQ/punch & Bright sw's by using a mono cord from the send/return jact to the Power Amp In Jack and still use the input jack and Pre Gain control. The Block diagram in the manual is very helpful to understand all the many options available to use the MegaBass System
I actually have a T-Max Head Racked up with my MegaBass in a 4 space rack. The T-Max's EQ and Preamp are much more to my liking . I run from it's preamp out into the Power Amp In on the MegaBass. I can drive up to 5 cabinets if necessary.
MegaBass Manual PDF ; https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/80300567.pdf
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I have ran it bypassing the preamp, but I don't for a couple reasons, mostly because I experience a drop in volume and the sound is a little more dull that route. Running a flat eq and bumping up the preamp to about 9 o'clock give it a cool little bite I like.
i run an Art 351 31 band eq with hi/low pass filters into the tech 21 RBI. I have a DBX160a compresser looped 50/50 into its effects chain, and then go into my amp and speaker cab. I bypass the eq until I play my fretless, so I'm using that as a second channel. Foh gets the signal from the preamp, not the Megabass. Another nice thing is I can quickly cut or boost a freq on the 7 band eq on the Megabass to account for a boomy or other weird stage sound, and I don't effect what the foh is getting.
actually having trouble posting picture, it is my avatar though
Very nice! You will be amazed at the power and versatility of this amp. It's a great workhorse that will get the job done.
Trial and error, and personal choice. 
I had mine set pretty flat with just a touch of bass boost, but it also depended on venue. Some stages wanted more bass, some wanted less. ( In one case, I had a feedback roar coming from under the stage, and had to cut the bottom end severely to stop it.)
I had mine set pretty flat with just a touch of bass boost, but it also depended on venue. Some stages wanted more bass, some wanted less. ( In one case, I had a feedback roar coming from under the stage, and had to cut the bottom end severely to stop it.)
I run mine pretty flat and cut just a bit off the highs when using the amp without a dedicated preamp. All boosts are off. If the Megabass has a weak spot, it would be the 7 band eq.
I've found adding a dedicated preamp such as the tech 21 RBI or RPM really adds a lot to the sound, and you can really tweak in a great sound.
I had a few issues with the amp two weeks ago at a gig, and thought I'd give a heads up about how it ended.
I was driving two cabs, one per side, and noticed one of the cabs were breaking up a little, farting out and sounded like a blown cab. i didn't think I should have blown a cab with the eq settings I was running and at the levels I was playing at. It was only one cab, so I was able to make it through the night driving the other. (Thank goodness for the two separate amps)
I later set tested the "blown" cab, and noticed it was fine. Confused, I set up the complete Rig I ran, and messed with it for a while. I couldn't get it to break up, but did start smelling hot electronics. It was at that point I realized the fan quit working. I immediately shut it down and took the amp cover off. I took the fan apart, lubed the bearings with WD-40, cleaned the dust and dirt, put it back together and fired it back up.
Once again it ran like a champ, and I've not had any issues since. What I'm thinking is the amp got hot and started shutting down in a protection mode. Once again the Megabass shows its durability by not blowing up. A little maintenance and she was good to go. If you take the cover off and take the fan out, you can take the blade assembly off, and can get to the bearings easily with WD-40 to lube them. This will now be a procedure I do every 6 months from now on.
Just thought I'd pass that on. If anyone is interested, I can make a step by step guide with pics on how to do this.
I was driving two cabs, one per side, and noticed one of the cabs were breaking up a little, farting out and sounded like a blown cab. i didn't think I should have blown a cab with the eq settings I was running and at the levels I was playing at. It was only one cab, so I was able to make it through the night driving the other. (Thank goodness for the two separate amps)
I later set tested the "blown" cab, and noticed it was fine. Confused, I set up the complete Rig I ran, and messed with it for a while. I couldn't get it to break up, but did start smelling hot electronics. It was at that point I realized the fan quit working. I immediately shut it down and took the amp cover off. I took the fan apart, lubed the bearings with WD-40, cleaned the dust and dirt, put it back together and fired it back up.
Once again it ran like a champ, and I've not had any issues since. What I'm thinking is the amp got hot and started shutting down in a protection mode. Once again the Megabass shows its durability by not blowing up. A little maintenance and she was good to go. If you take the cover off and take the fan out, you can take the blade assembly off, and can get to the bearings easily with WD-40 to lube them. This will now be a procedure I do every 6 months from now on.
Just thought I'd pass that on. If anyone is interested, I can make a step by step guide with pics on how to do this.
I'm not familiar with the grundig case, but the megabass amp runs less than 200.00 normally. I'd say 200-250 would be a good price if it's working good. As I stated the amp is amazingly powerful for a 200 watt amp. The weak point is the preamp, which really isn't weak, but does lack a modern sound. I pair mine with a sansamp RBI and it really brings the sound to life.
Just wanted to mention again you will often see them listed as a 400 watt amp. This is not the case. There are two 200 watt amps under the hood, but no way to bridge them that I know of.
Regardless of the fact the 200 watts seems low, hook them up to a couple 410 or 212 cabs and be prepared to be amazed at the wall of sound it produces.
Regardless of the fact the 200 watts seems low, hook them up to a couple 410 or 212 cabs and be prepared to be amazed at the wall of sound it produces.
Here is a shot from a month ago where I used the megabass to power a GK 212 and 410 cab when opening for a national act. I like the two cabs combined, and the megabass allows me to dial in the exact amount of each cab that I want. I use the 7 band eq to quickly tweak to the room saving me messing with my preamp. It's truly one of my favorite rigs for live sound
