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peavy amps

#41
Asking a question on what PeaVey gear to get. The persojn already has a strong cab.

If a person was on a budget but needed a high powerd SS head - what to get? Not something hard to find or expensive. Better I guess one that is made now or not so soon out of production. What should that persojn look at? Dual channel a plus but not required. Need SS but weight not a problem.

Does hartke fit in the mix?
 
#42
I've had three Peavey amps since 1979; a TNT 100 up to 1981, a Combo 300 1981 to 1998, and a T-Max from 1998 until this post. I blew the speaker in the TNT. The Combo 300 had this intermittent static for a few years. The T-Max hasn't falterted yet, but I've owned a few other amps during the same time as the T-Max so it has fewer hours.

My thought is that Peavey gear is reliable enough. I think the Peavey tone is more a speaker issue than an amp related tone issue. I set my T-Max on top of a friend's SWR rig and neither of us could tell any difference in the amps driving the SWR speakers.

I'm playing a 1980 Fender Studio Bass all Tube head into a new (got it on 9/7/11) Ampeg SVT410HLF. I carry the T-Max for backup, but the new Ampeg cab sounds real good being driven by the TMax, just not quite as "warm" as the old Fender head.

I will use the T-Max until I or it dies, and it wouldn't surprise me if my wife or son uses it for a sub amp at my retirement party (AKA funeral).
 
#43
Recommended Peavey heads? Well, Mark III through Mark VIII amps are workhouse serious amps that can often be found for $200 used. Newer, but similar, are the firebass heads. Solid, 2 ohm capable, fully featured amps.

Play through any Peavey you can get your hands on and see for yourself what you like. Craigslist is a great source for used, but new Peavey amps are decent and a good value as far as new goes.
 
#45
I am a big fan of the Peavey Bam 210. Great tone, Plenty of power. I run this setup in stereo and it has so many options I can tweek forever.
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#46
My favorite tones in the world came from Peavey(early FNM) solid state amps that distorted.

I recently discovered Shellac(esp the live tone) and now I'm also a fan of the solid state Traynor tone, too.

I actually prefer these tones over almost all tube tones by a long shot!

So let the tube snobs be whatever they like - I own a Mesa Bass 400, and have played through a Blueline SVT.

I preferred the Mesa b/c it sounded more "S.S." to me!:p
 
#48
Because mesa sounds sterile :hiding: I love tube and solid state and im not a mesa amp fan but i like their cabs. And love me some FNM!!!! My buddy just picked up the traynor used in the shellac stuff and paired it with an old fender oversized 212 for his rig. What was the amp Billy use in those days?? Mark 4 with 215's and 412's??
 
#50
ampegfuzz said:
Because mesa sounds sterile :hiding: I love tube and solid state and im not a mesa amp fan but i like their cabs. And love me some FNM!!!! My buddy just picked up the traynor used in the shellac stuff and paired it with an old fender oversized 212 for his rig. What was the amp Billy use in those days?? Mark 4 with 215's and 412's??
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Yep! He used old Mark 3's and 4's in the "Chuck" days. I think he still recorded with them around The Real Thing, but he definitely started using a T.B. Raxx live.(I have an old Bass Player article with an interview from that time)

Undertow(by Tool) was recorded with a Mesa Bass 400+. I don't think that album's bass sounded sterile.:)

But yeah, I've been chasing the "old Billy Gould" tone for a long time now. I record direct, so that makes it a little harder. I've had good results with a Tech21 Oxford, with my Ric. I'll probably try the Rusty Box(Traynor preamp pedal) sometime down the road, but I've been pretty happy with this setup so far.(I has clips, if you want to hear).

Sorry for the thread derail, btw.
 
#51
I've just played alot of Mesa amps and don't like the tone. Undertow did sound sic but I'm also pretty sure it was recorded with a ovation magnum but I will accept if I'm wrong :) My friend who bought the traynor used to own a 400+ and I never liked it, also never liked the newer Mesa stuff but it's just personal pref.
 
#55
I had a GREAT Peavey bass amp (I think 300 watts?) in the mid-'70's that was very, very nice. Loud as hell, too! Dang! I seem to remember it had a pretty nice spring reverb built in. Wish I could remember what it was, and I really wish I still had it. It came with 4x12 cab IIRC.
 
#60
FaithNoMan said:
...and yet some of my favorite bass tones came from them!

I trust your playing and judgement, and love some of the same music you do...maybe it was your personal experience with this equipment...
Click to expand...

+1!!!

I love the old Peavey gear. The new stuff is also incredible! If the amp is as old as me and still works, sounds great and looks cool then what more could someone ask for? I have a few Peavey bass heads and will be passing them on to my kids so that their kids can play them. I have never had an issue with anything Peavey that I own or owned. Heck, I'm playing two Super Festival 800b from about 1974ish? (still don't know how to read the serial numbers) and love them. The guys in the band laugh when I haul this big wood box in for practice, but they sure like the sound of it when we get rolling. It's the best of both worlds......reliable, fair price, and sounds great!
 

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