RBX4 A2 or Peavey Palladium

[30hrz]

RBX4 A2 new at $430
used Peavey Palladium for $500 (with Badass bridge)

RBX4 A2, surprisingly nice sounding and playing bass. Punchy, excellent for slap, funk, R&B. Light in weight too. seemed like a good value for the money. Don't like the (***?) plastic knobs though.

Peavey Palladium, used but in very good condition. Superior quality over the RBX4 A2. Nice sounding bass, warm humbucking tone, not as punchy as the RBX4 A2 though. $70 more but comes with case.

Main primary use is rock, secondary use would be funk and anything that got my fancy. Not really sure which way to go. Any help?

 

[Bongolation]

Sounds like a LOT of money for either of them. I bought a new RBX4 A2 for $229, as did dozens of others here when they were discontinued. $500 for a modded, used Peavey sounds like an even worse deal.

Are things really that bad up in Canadia?

 

[smcd]

Yeah, I've seen Yamaha RBX 4's going for around $200, and Palaediums selling for $300.

Given the choice, I'd pick the Palaedium any day.

 

[number11]

Palaedium for me too
Never see them going for sale anywhere.

 

[MKoby]

Palaedium is my choice.

Do understand the neck p/u is close to neck, there may not be enough clearance to slap well.
Very high output for a passive bass. Does very well with light strings. Wasn't the Badass bridge standard on the bass?
If in good shape with a case, $500 may be a reasonable price.

 

[smcd]

Here's a recent auction on ebay for an RBX4-A2. It went for $132. Which is a great price.

The last couple Palaedium's I saw went for $330.



The RBX's I've played sounded ok, but felt kinda cheap. The Palaedium's, on the other hand, play and sound much better and are very well made (in the US).

 

[cioppo]

I'll go for the Peavey, I tried a RBX one time and it sounded very cold

 

[giacomini]

I just bought the 5 string version of the RBX A2, and it doesn't feel or look cheap to me, actually, hardware, fretboard and finish are flawless. It had a small issue, the pickup covers were loose but it was a quick fix. Pickups are great sounding, lots of output, but don't be fooled by the sound of the stock yamaha stainless strings... As said before, the bass can sound cold and sterile, but once I switched to nickels I got the tone I wanted. Oh, and the bridge and the pots are aluminum; pots are not plastic as stated before...

 

[RickC]

I agree that those prices are high.

I currently own examples of each of these, and will probably never sell either one. Tough to pick one over the other. The Yamaha has incredible punch and slaps like crazy (as you already know); the PV is smoother. The Yammie might be a slightly better choice for your application, but the PV would not be a mistake.

/rick

 

[Philbiker]

The Badass II bridge was standard on the Palaedium, it is not a mod. I think the going price is about $300US, but a very good used version could be worth more. Tough to tell on such an unusual instrument.

 

[MNAirHead]

used value is currently $400-600 depending on condition.. perioidcially you'll find someone who doesn't knwo what they have.

I'd take the Palladium..

 

[30hrz]

Hey thanks for the replies. It was just a matter of what I saw at a particular Guitar shop. The Yamaha was new (remaining stock) the Peavey was just on the wall nearby. Just looking for a budget bass that has the most bang for the buck factor. Saw the Yamaha bass go on eBay for $200 not too long ago. That seemed like a good deal.

 

[dustoffdoc]

RBX4 A2, medium Vs long scale. My instrument was bought NOS in Baku Azerbaijan, sans any paperwork. The factory sticker refers to the model#, with a letter "M" as a suffix. Off the shelf strings are hard to come by here, the original worse for wear time-wise / getting duller by the gig.

Should I stay with Yammie strings, or would this passive beast benefit from through body taper-wounds? I can't even find the recommended gauge requirements. Any thoughts?