Peavey MiniMega 1000

[CL400Peavey]

Wow, this is a quiet thread it seems, with all the talk leading up to the release I would think now that they are out it would be hopping with reviews.
Practice last night gave me an opportunity to tweak and fiddle while playing. Liking it even more now, though still only have use for the basic pieces of its design - gain, comp(sparingly), eq and master. Everything else just seems to clutter things up. I even used a smaller cab and feel I can get a better tone without the Cosmos knobs - this of course is just based on my tone goals, I am sure they are handy for folks needing lots of flexibility. But at this price point who cares, I will just leave them turned off and move forth.

I have had mine for 6 months and I still love it.

 

[Mr. Business]

A fellow tber noticed I was using the new peavey micros and asked my opinion. Since I already wrote it out, I thought I would share.

I REALLY like the new peavey micro amps. SVTs were my go to amp for about 15 years. Then my back went south with degenerative disks and I started looking at micros. I settled on an orange tb500 and it was pretty impressive and one of the only micros I have used that came close to having the power slam of the peaveys. It blew up on me at practice one day and in orange's defense, they fixed it, but I was skeptical after that. I'm glad I started looking again. The new peaveys do exactly what I'm looking for. I've tried or at least played through just about every major manufactured micro over the last couple years and the peaveys win hands down for me. Shortly after getting the minimega, I ordered the minimax. After I got it, all my other amps disappeared. They just sounded thin in comparison. I like to feel every note I hit and the peaveys deliver. Before I got into SVTs I was using peaveys, so I've come full circle and back to my bass amp roots.

 

[Gab124]

^ Awesome Mr Business! I am a different story, I have never played a real tube SVT or any Peaveys (only used their PA gear). My closest to the "feel every note" amp is my DB751. But, that amp is also heavy and is not as open in the top end. The mM seems to have the heftiness all the way up the scale but much more open up top. I really like amps that you can setup to where it seems like you are just on the verge of losing control of each note they have so much power, not boomy mind you; I would much rather control things like that then feel like I am digging in too hard to get the presence and support I am looking for. I have found you can only do this on amps with a lot of power on tap.

Here is an example of the tone I have always shot for, The Delta Saints with David Supica on bass
Company Of Theives Live

 

[CL400Peavey]

I have tried a few pretty hefty amps in terms of tone/volume/sound experience. My favorite amp is my Peavey Classic 400, so much so that I have two of them. It is really an amazingly versatile, but rock centered amp. I also love my Reiner amplification pre and Crest ProLite 3.0. Immensely powerful, and the best pre amp section I have ever heard. The MiniMega doesnt sound like either of them. But I would say that it is very open, and has the right heft to its sound. Its Eq is responsive, and I never feel like I am giving up on the quality of the tone with the amp. It for sure is a different sound than my other amps, but in a good way.

 

[GBass001]

Has anyone found a decent bag for this yet?

Yeah, I'm using the BRLDIGITAL by Odyssey Gear. It works great.
Normally I use this bag for my Mackie DL1608 but since the new band's singer carries his own PA (yes, you read that right) I use this bag. It's highly protective and no worries "dropping it." Added bonus: fits extra cables, goodies, etc. Not to mention these guys are down the street from my work. Easy dockside pickup.
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[Mr. Business]

I've been using this one. I think it was $40. I put the mega on one side, my zoom b3 on the other, and I put a piece of foam in between.

 

[StuartV]

Yeah, I'm using the BRLDIGITAL by Odyssey Gear. It works great.
Normally I use this bag for my Mackie DL1608 but since the new band's singer carries his own PA (yes, you read that right) I use this bag. It's highly protective and no worries "dropping it." Added bonus: fits extra cables, goodies, etc. Not to mention these guys are down the street from my work. Easy dockside pickup.
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That looks cool! Do you have a picture of it open, with the mM in it? I'd like to see how good of a fit it is.


As for reviews, I'll update what I've said before.

Prior to getting my mM, I had never played an actual gig with anything other than an all-tube amp. Well, except for a very small number of very informal deals where I took my Promethean 1x10 combo, which has a 500W Class D SS amp built in.

Since I got the mM, I have played every rehearsal and, I don't know, 4 or 5 (or 6?) gigs with it. I haven't really even thought about taking one of my tube amps. Most rehearsals, I've been playing it with my Aguilar GS210. And the gigs, I've been playing it through my Bergantino NV610.

I use the Compressor and, sometimes, the Punch and/or Bright effects. No Crunch or Kosmos. The best part, though, it the 4-band EQ with dual sweepable mids and switchable Q factor. I feel like that has really been letting me dial in a good sound in venues that I've never had a good sound before. E.g. a school cafeteria where I am up on a wooden stage at one side. I've always felt like I was super boomy in certain places. The mM EQ has let me play with the lows and low-mids to actually dial in something that ends up not sounding boomy, but actually punches through. Something I have not succeeded with before with a 3-band EQ, even paired up with an fDeck HPF 3 (which, by the way, I have not felt a need to use since I started using the mM).

At my last gig and at last night's rehearsal, I noticed a sound I didn't like every now and then. Last night, I finally decided it was from having the Gain turned up a little too high and, on notes with a harder attack, I was getting some clipping from the preamp. I think, anyway. I turned the Gain down and turned up the Volume and it seemed better.

That got me to wondering. Hopefully @BbbyBld will chime in here. Is there any downside to running this amp with the Volume all the way up and just using the Gain to control the output? That's how I run all my tube amps. But, I haven't tried it with the mM. I'm a little leery of doing it, actually.

 

[BbbyBld]

Here is an example of the tone I have always shot for, The Delta Saints with David Supica on bass
Company Of Theives Live

Thanks for posting that. I've never heard of this band. I'm usually not a fan of this kind of blues rock, but these guys are tight.

That got me to wondering. Hopefully @BbbyBld will chime in here. Is there any downside to running this Invalid Link Removed with the Volume all the way up and just using the Gain to control the output?

There's nothing wrong with doing that. The only downside that I can think of is that you end up with a worse signal to noise ratio, but I think the mM preamp is really low noise, so I don't think it would be noticeable. I don't do it personally because I always found that I got a thicker tone on just about any amp by running a higher gain setting, but that's what works for me. Doing what you are talking about increases headroom in the preamp.

 

[StuartV]

That Odyssey bag? $95? Ouch!

Anybody found anything else?

 

[DerekW]

That Gator bag is $40

 

[Gab124]

It costs much more, but I like these boxes for my expensive gear. Water proof, drop proof. I have too many dollars wrapped up in gear and feel skeered with just a nylon bag and a little bit of padding. I have this one that can hold all my micros, and a smaller one that fits my REDDI in like a glove.

 

[Deadsound]

Wow, this is a quiet thread it seems, with all the talk leading up to the release I would think now that they are out it would be hopping with reviews.
Practice last night gave me an opportunity to tweak and fiddle while playing. Liking it even more now, though still only have use for the basic pieces of its design - gain, comp(sparingly), eq and master. Everything else just seems to clutter things up. I even used a smaller cab and feel I can get a better tone without the Cosmos knobs - this of course is just based on my tone goals, I am sure they are handy for folks needing lots of flexibility. But at this price point who cares, I will just leave them turned off and move forth.

Agree fully with your take - the extra "features" are not usable for me, this amp is all about the eq, relatively neutral preamp voicing, and the power section. The latter blows away any other micro I've tried

 

[GBass001]

That looks cool! Do you have a picture of it open, with the mM in it? I'd like to see how good of a fit it is.

Here's a few pics. Like I said it's very padded. I've actually tossed it into the back of the car without even flinching. To me that's worth it cost wise.

 

[StuartV]

Here's a few pics. Like I said it's very padded. I've actually tossed it into the back of the car without even flinching. To me that's worth it cost wise.

Thanks! It looks like it has a fair amount of room to move around inside there. A couple of inches, side to side, and at least an inch, front to back. Am I seeing that right?

I was really hoping the padding system would let you make a somewhat snug fit. I don't like cases that let stuff move around inside, no matter how good the padding is.

 

[GBass001]

Thanks! It looks like it has a fair amount of room to move around inside there. A couple of inches, side to side, and at least an inch, front to back. Am I seeing that right?

I was really hoping the padding system would let you make a somewhat snug fit. I don't like cases that let stuff move around inside, no matter how good the padding is.

Yeah, what you're looking at is the setup (inside) for my Mackie DL1608 mixer. I haven't taken the time to reconfigure the padding on the inside. These bags give you extra inserts to keep your particular gear snug. Been too busy learning songs and playing 4 out of 8 days lately.
After I catch up I'll post a pic.

 

[Mr. Business]

I was expecting to leave the extra features off all the time, but I'm liking most of them. The crunch is nice and subtle warmth and sounds good to me. The punch does just that and with authority. The compressor is one of the smoothest I've ever used and I think done tastefully. Bright is not my taste, but that's just me and it does what it's supposed to. I don't use them all the time, but I think they are handy tools to have. I agree that preamp, eq, and power are amazing.

 

[StuartV]

Yeah, what you're looking at is the setup (inside) for my Mackie DL1608 mixer. I haven't taken the time to reconfigure the padding on the inside. These bags give you extra inserts to keep your particular gear snug. Been too busy learning songs and playing 4 out of 8 days lately.
After I catch up I'll post a pic.

Ah. Cool. I would definitely like to see it if you can use the supplied padding to snug it up in there.

 

[Razman]

Question for users - how is the mM's initial note attack (any metal players that use a pick??) I recently tried out a Mesa D800 and while I loved the tone, the initial attack felt compressed (like all other class D's I've tried). Right next to the Mesa was a GK Backline 600, and upon hitting the first note I found the attack that was missing from the Mesa. Some tube amp users have posted; I normally play through a Mesa 400 and love it (also has a huge initial kick) but having something more portable (i.e. easy to carry with one arm) would be a nice change. Thoughts on comparison/contrast between them?

Raz

 

[ErnieD]

@Gab124, not really a slow thread here just needs bumping now and then from more new MM users. I come and check every couple days to see if there is any movement here. A lot of us same MM users have already posted our likes/dislikes here often. But new owners help move this thread along when they post replies/questions.

I'm still using my MM as my #1 gig amp. I really like it with my Gen 2 BF BT-T but most my gigs lately have been much lower volume gigs. So I end up taking my GB NeoX 112T or Ampeg 112AV with the Peavey MM1000. Works great for those restaurant patio gigs. Now bass-wise for those same gigs, I've used my Fender '08 P5, Carvin SB5000, MIM ADJ-V and Godin Ultra FL-5. This amp just works great with all my basses and cabs.

I spent a good week at home when I first got this amp running it thru all my cabs, using all my basses before I gigged it. Getting to know the EQ features and all the feature buttons. So I had a good idea what worked when I began to use it for gigs. I get a lot of use of the different buttons so I use them as needed for certain tunes, very helpful for me. With all the new amps out Megallan 800, Mesa D-800 and quite a few more, it may take time for folks to come around to trying the Peavey MM1000.

I imagine the long thread of this amps' slow release may have turned some folks off. And just the (unwarranted) stigma of playing Peavey gear may keep some from trying this amp or reading threads on it to learn more of it. Too bad, as many of us know here, their loss. Enjoy your MM1000, quite a few of us have already been doing just that and thinking more will "get it" in time. peace, e.

 

[ErnieD]

OH AND, awhile back, I posted a reply saying if one needed more grind they could just add their favorite tubey-grindy pedal to get there as the MM stays very clean. WELL, recalling my reply, I set the Gain knob up around 2:00-3:00, added more mids/highs and dialed the Volume knob back at a gig recently.

AND DAYUM!! The Mini-Mega was grinding like a drunken pole dancer at a low rate strip club. **

I had never tried to get that tone before and I was totally wrong about this amp staying too clean and needing a pedal to get tubey-grind. Just really blew me and band away at what I was getting out of this amp. I don't use that tone often but it's nice to now know, if I want that..........it's in there.

**As for strip pole dancing not that there's anything wrong with that; its' a paying gig right.