- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
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- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
I'm about to head to the shop and give the MM a test drive 
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Peavey MiniMega 1000
- Thread starter Stev187
- Start date
The MiniMega definitely does NOT lack heft that's for sure. Every note up on down the board slams.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Finally got a chance to fire my MiniMega up!
I keep my Mesa M9 at the shop. The cab is just a sealed 218 I threw together for the fun of it and the bass is a First Act custom shop hollowbody with a Kent Armstrong humbucker in the bridge and a Dark Star in the neck position.
I've only played for about 20 minutes going back and forth between the Mm and the M9. Disclaimer- I LOVE the Mesa M9 in many ways. Great amp.
First impressions of the MM. The power section is no joke! Very authoritative and solid sounding. All the eq's are clean and responsive. I kinda wish the low mid went a little lower, but engaging the 'punch' button seems to get that bit of chest bump I was looking for. The crunch setting didn't do anything for me, but I haven't really messed with it enough to say that for sure. Same goes for the onboard compression and Kosmos stuff. Seems more like cute Parlour tricks for bedroom practice than something I'd find useful on a gig.
Build quality seems pretty great. Larger and heavier than say my MB800, but that doesn't bother me a bit. I like the feeling of a solid build like this as it gives confidence it'll hold up to the rigors of the road.
Gonna play for awhile longer to get a feel and really compare it to my M9. Would love to compare it to my MB800 but that'll have to wait. May do it on the gig tonight since we're doing 4 one hour sets and I'll be playing upright and electric
I keep my Mesa M9 at the shop. The cab is just a sealed 218 I threw together for the fun of it and the bass is a First Act custom shop hollowbody with a Kent Armstrong humbucker in the bridge and a Dark Star in the neck position.
I've only played for about 20 minutes going back and forth between the Mm and the M9. Disclaimer- I LOVE the Mesa M9 in many ways. Great amp.
First impressions of the MM. The power section is no joke! Very authoritative and solid sounding. All the eq's are clean and responsive. I kinda wish the low mid went a little lower, but engaging the 'punch' button seems to get that bit of chest bump I was looking for. The crunch setting didn't do anything for me, but I haven't really messed with it enough to say that for sure. Same goes for the onboard compression and Kosmos stuff. Seems more like cute Parlour tricks for bedroom practice than something I'd find useful on a gig.
Build quality seems pretty great. Larger and heavier than say my MB800, but that doesn't bother me a bit. I like the feeling of a solid build like this as it gives confidence it'll hold up to the rigors of the road.
Gonna play for awhile longer to get a feel and really compare it to my M9. Would love to compare it to my MB800 but that'll have to wait. May do it on the gig tonight since we're doing 4 one hour sets and I'll be playing upright and electric
Where I find the crunch and compression come in to useful play is with them set low. I am not specifically looking for a ton of grind out of the amp, but if you engage the crunch and compression, and set them at the point where you only hear them working when you dig in hard, they give a pleasing warmth to the sounds I am getting.
One thing I'll admit about the compressor is that it's pretty much optimized for slap as far as attack/release, and the way the side chain detector circuit is set up to slightly favor higher frequencies. That has thrown off some players I've demoed the amp for who are expecting an across the board compressor like some other amps have. It's done that way because the only time I would ever use a compressor live is to control the top end when switching from fingerstyle to slap.
I never use Kosmos C live. I find it most useful with headphones.
I use Kosmos A live every now and then to liven up the dance floor with some sub bass...example would be playing a song like Billie Jean. The funny part to me is that most of the people dancing start gravitating to my side of the stage!
Can you get a decent scooped sound if you want it? On my Gk mbf800 I tend to have contour between 9-12 and bump the low mids a bit. I find my dingwall fairly middy to start with. Or maybe just really clear and my playing isn't up to par 
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
I can see that, for sure. The crunch feature seems to take away a bit of punch for me, and I won't trade punch for anything. I'll have you school me on some settings and maybe I'll figure it out
As a rule, I want a great power section with great eq. The rest I wish manufacturers would just leave off. If I feel I'm missing something I'll find a pedal or something specialized to deal with it. The 'Swiss Army Knife' thing has never appealed to me. There's no way to predict every player's tastes. Doesn't bother me a bit though. At the price point, the power section and eq make this amp a steal even without any built in bells and whistles
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
One thing I'll admit about the compressor is that it's pretty much optimized for slap as far as attack/release, and the way the side chain detector circuit is set up to slightly favor higher frequencies. That has thrown off some players I've demoed the amp for who are expecting an across the board compressor like some other amps have. It's done that way because the only time I would ever use a compressor live is to control the top end when switching from fingerstyle to slap.
I never use Kosmos C live. I find it most useful with headphones.
I use Kosmos A live every now and then to liven up the dance floor with some sub bass...example would be playing a song like Billie Jean. The funny part to me is that most of the people dancing start gravitating to my side of the stage!
I want to be clear that I'm not dissing in any way. So far it's very impressive... Just most likely has a few features I'll never need
Though I haven't tried it on upright yet, from what I'm hearing so far this could be a great amp for loud upright players. The eq section sounds very clear and open with a huge amount of range, which is critical to the moving target that is getting a good upright tone live
Can you get a decent scooped sound if you want it? On my Gk mbf800 I tend to have contour between 9-12 and bump the low mids a bit. I find my dingwall fairly middy to start with. Or maybe just really clear and my playing isn't up to par
If I were going for a GK-ish sound, I would set the LO-MID frequency to about 600HZ, apply a little bit of cut to taste with the eq level control, eq the highs to taste, and maybe hit the punch and/or bright voicing switches too. Whether or not you would like that...YMMV.
I want to be clear that I appreciate honest opinions. I have thick skin--I work for Peavey.
True.
True.
Really this should punctuate almost every post here on TB. Course when it doesn't things get interesting.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Kinda settled. It's coming along to the gig tonight
EDIT!!!
I should point out that my current doubling rig is a Grace FELIX pre for upright, an Aggie TH pre for electric, into an ABY switcher, into a GK MB800 set as neutral as possible. It makes it easier to be able to switch quickly because we don't make set lists so I need both instruments ready to go and already eq'd. I'll set the MM right on top of the MB800 so I can compare between sets
EDIT!!!
I should point out that my current doubling rig is a Grace FELIX pre for upright, an Aggie TH pre for electric, into an ABY switcher, into a GK MB800 set as neutral as possible. It makes it easier to be able to switch quickly because we don't make set lists so I need both instruments ready to go and already eq'd. I'll set the MM right on top of the MB800 so I can compare between sets
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I'm still waiting for mine. I ordered it in April.
The dealer isn't pleased either... they asked their Peavey rep why others have gotten theirs, but they haven't. They were told "we haven't shipped any minimega units".
Um... yeah, ok. Ya'll give your non-existing/never-shipped MiniMegas a nice pat on the head for me, K?
The dealer isn't pleased either... they asked their Peavey rep why others have gotten theirs, but they haven't. They were told "we haven't shipped any minimega units".
Um... yeah, ok. Ya'll give your non-existing/never-shipped MiniMegas a nice pat on the head for me, K?
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
While I wish I working in the context of putting a MiniMega through its paces, my current foray into another realm has me enjoying a different Peavey mini head:
Well done, Peavey!
Well done, Peavey!
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This does look like a nice head. I am liking amps that are a little more substantial than the teeniny litttle micros. This fits the bill in a big way with a product that leans a little more toward the medium size than itty bitty.
I'm like dukerock I don't like a lot of things on an amp that I never use, I'm OCD that way. I would like to see an amp built that has substantial power like this one, a great EQ section, and an extremely extremly nice over built feature laiden compressor built in and also has a true transformer based DI.
Bells and whistles I can do without and I'm still waiting on one of these heads that has a USB charging port, does this one have one? I like simple bass amps for the most part not complex creatures and good warm and powerful tones with plenty of snap. I do like that the compressor is geared towards slap. I use a compressor most all the time these days, = I never turn it off.
I'm like dukerock I don't like a lot of things on an amp that I never use, I'm OCD that way. I would like to see an amp built that has substantial power like this one, a great EQ section, and an extremely extremly nice over built feature laiden compressor built in and also has a true transformer based DI.
Bells and whistles I can do without and I'm still waiting on one of these heads that has a USB charging port, does this one have one? I like simple bass amps for the most part not complex creatures and good warm and powerful tones with plenty of snap. I do like that the compressor is geared towards slap. I use a compressor most all the time these days, = I never turn it off.
Now I'm genuinely curious, what would you use that for?
I do everything possible to separate my amp/bass/etc from my cellphone to eliminate distracting noise.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
First gig on the MM. I had four one hour sets. Sat the MM right on top of my MB800 'just in case.' Glad I did
I liked the MM at the shop on electric just fine. The gig was another story, sadly. First set was all upright. I don't know what to say other than I'm used to the liveliness of the MB800/Felix at this point. The MM sounded kinda dead and wooden by contrast. Just couldn't seem to get anything I liked without being too loud.
Second set was mostly electric. It sounded 'fine' but lacked the punch and liveliness of the MB800/TH.
Third set started on electric and I switched back to the Aggie/MB800 and was much happier. Got my punch back and Id swear the MB800 responded more favorably to hand dynamics.
Fourth set, mostly upright. I'm not totally in love with the MB800 on upright, but I did prefer it over the MM. Better snap, thump and punch
I may have some time this weekend to really dial things in, but the first gig with the Peavey was a bit frustrating.
It wasn't all bad, btw. When I first fired up the MM the guitarist thought it was more open and clear sounding. He doesn't love too much low end and the MB800 can get a bit much in that department. It could be an eq thing because I just couldn't cut through in a band mix (no PA support) without being too loud. Maybe it's just that the MM isn't quite as plug and played as I'd hoped
I liked the MM at the shop on electric just fine. The gig was another story, sadly. First set was all upright. I don't know what to say other than I'm used to the liveliness of the MB800/Felix at this point. The MM sounded kinda dead and wooden by contrast. Just couldn't seem to get anything I liked without being too loud.
Second set was mostly electric. It sounded 'fine' but lacked the punch and liveliness of the MB800/TH.
Third set started on electric and I switched back to the Aggie/MB800 and was much happier. Got my punch back and Id swear the MB800 responded more favorably to hand dynamics.
Fourth set, mostly upright. I'm not totally in love with the MB800 on upright, but I did prefer it over the MM. Better snap, thump and punch
I may have some time this weekend to really dial things in, but the first gig with the Peavey was a bit frustrating.
It wasn't all bad, btw. When I first fired up the MM the guitarist thought it was more open and clear sounding. He doesn't love too much low end and the MB800 can get a bit much in that department. It could be an eq thing because I just couldn't cut through in a band mix (no PA support) without being too loud. Maybe it's just that the MM isn't quite as plug and played as I'd hoped
