U.S. Peavey Club

[Runnerman]

This group is just the very best of any TB group. You guys are awesome.
In interest of general discussion and getting to know each other better....what was your first exposure to the Peavey brand????

For me it was a guitar player in my very first band that had a Peavey amp. This is probably 35 years ago. He had a Peavey amp...I don't remember which model but I do remember it sounded amazing and it defined for me the quintessential tube amp sound. It was probably a Classic but it stuck in my mind and I realized at that point that Peavey was a brand to be reckoned with. In the 80's and 90's Peavey amps and PA's ruled the roost and were held in high regard. For me they were considered to be near the top of the heap. I didn't get into Peavey basses until later on. But the brand always has had mad respect from me.

What is your first Peavey brand experience?

 

[AudioTaper]

What is the purpose of changing the caps ?

The caps can dry out over time and sound like crap. The factory caps on my Wenge 4 were cutting out when I first got it. I replaced them with audio grade parts and they sound fantastic! Factory parts were 'general purpose'

 

[AudioTaper]

Lmk if your making necks now LOL

Not necks. Not yet.

 

[kodiakblair]

It's also not hard to look at the neck pocket depth, neck heel thickness and bridge model that you intend to spec and make sure you've done it right to begin with.

It's not hard and it's something you do when building a bass from scratch.

It's sure as hell not something Jim DeCola overlooks . Jim's been at the top of his game for over 3 decades ; 12 year at Peavey as a designer , 12 as a Fender master builder and the last 10 as a Gibson R&D Mgr/ master luthier.

Instruments are designed to be usable by 99% of people not the 1%.

 

[kodiakblair]

Lmk if your making necks now LOL

The 2001 International necks fit US Grinds and Cirrus but only the 4 string models.

Correct title was "European Dynabass QT" , as the name suggests these were never sold in the USA. Few years back I could pick them up for £60.

 

[mb94952]

The caps can dry out over time and sound like crap. The factory caps on my Wenge 4 were cutting out when I first got it. I replaced them with audio grade parts and they sound fantastic! Factory parts were 'general purpose'

WOW !!! I will look into it....

 

[AudioTaper]

This group is just the very best of any TB group. You guys are awesome.
In interest of general discussion and getting to know each other better....what was your first exposure to the Peavey brand????

For me it was a guitar player in my very first band that had a Peavey amp. This is probably 35 years ago. He had a Peavey amp...I don't remember which model but I do remember it sounded amazing and it defined for me the quintessential tube amp sound for me. It was probably a Classic but it stuck in my mind and I realized at that point that Peavey was a brand to be reckoned with. In the 80's and 90's Peavey amps and PA's ruled the roost and were held in high regard. For me they were considered to be near the top of the heap. I didn't get into Peavey basses until later on. But the brand always has had mad respect from me.

What is your first Peavey brand experience?

The local music store was a Peavey dealer. I started taking lessons there at age 14 (1995) so when it was time to get an amp, I found a used 1988 Combo 300 for sale there. I was in there all the time, learning as much as I could from the salesmen and free brochures (Peavey Monitor!)
When I was 17, the manager offered me a job cleaning and general help, which turned into restringing and setups. I sucked at sales, but when I graduated college I started working in the repair shop as a Peavey Authorized tech. I was able to tolerate that job about 4 years before all the BS with the manager got to me and I got a better job.

I didnt care for a lot of the older (pre 1996) Peavey basses. They had some TL and even a BQuad here and there. I remember when the Cirrus was announced, then they finally got a Walnut/Walnut 4 string in. I loved it, but couldnt afford it. A really great customer named Tom bought it and beought it in for setups about every 6 months. (Basically a restring and check over,nit never really needed adjustments other tha to better suit his personal preferences)

When the Combo 300 wasnt enough, I bought a 410TX, then sold the Combo and bought a TMax. Great amp, but I eventually traded it in after I bought an Eden WT400.

My 'final' Peavey rig was the TMax powering a 210TFX and a 410TFX. Walls were shook.

I bought my first Cirrus in 2001, bbn ot was a 1999ish Peacock Blue 5 string. I still have it, its still in really good condition.

There have been 3 more Cirrus, and a good size PA (which has been sold off years ago)

Let's hear your story!

 

[Tubehed]

TL 5 for $300? RJ for $150? Are we going back in time 15-20 years? Man, I don't look or feel any younger, unfortunately . Those are STUPID low prices!

 

[Runnerman]

The local music store was a Peavey dealer. I started taking lessons there at age 14 (1995) so when it was time to get an amp, I found a used 1988 Combo 300 for sale there. I was in there all the time, learning as much as I could from the salesmen and free brochures (Peavey Monitor!)
When I was 17, the manager offered me a job cleaning and general help, which turned into restringing and setups. I sucked at sales, but when I graduated college I started working in the repair shop as a Peavey Authorized tech. I was able to tolerate that job about 4 years before all the BS with the manager got to me and I got a better job.

I didnt care for a lot of the older (pre 1996) Peavey basses. They had some TL and even a BQuad here and there. I remember when the Cirrus was announced, then they finally got a Walnut/Walnut 4 string in. I loved it, but couldnt afford it. A really great customer named Tom bought it and beought it in for setups about every 6 months. (Basically a restring and check over,nit never really needed adjustments other tha to better suit his personal preferences)

When the Combo 300 wasnt enough, I bought a 410TX, then sold the Combo and bought a TMax. Great amp, but I eventually traded it in after I bought an Eden WT400.

My 'final' Peavey rig was the TMax powering a 210TFX and a 410TFX. Walls were shook.

I bought my first Cirrus in 2001, bbn ot was a 1999ish Peacock Blue 5 string. I still have it, its still in really good condition.

There have been 3 more Cirrus, and a good size PA (which has been sold off years ago)

Let's hear your story!

Peavey Monitor magazine was incredible. I don't know when they stopped publishing it but it was soooo good.

 

[AudioTaper]

WOW !!! I will look into it....

I used the Nichicon UFG series, Digikey has them. There are other brands that will work just fine. I forgot how many of each value you need... sorry.

 

[mb94952]

I used the Nichicon UFG series, Digikey has them. There are other brands that will work just fine. I forgot how many of each value you need... sorry.
View attachment 4423038

So, if I replaced the caps what is the end result ? Warmer ? Punchier ? I have no idea what a cap does. I'm sure there are a lot of us who don't know, either.

 

[mb94952]

This group is just the very best of any TB group. You guys are awesome.
In interest of general discussion and getting to know each other better....what was your first exposure to the Peavey brand????

For me it was a guitar player in my very first band that had a Peavey amp. This is probably 35 years ago. He had a Peavey amp...I don't remember which model but I do remember it sounded amazing and it defined for me the quintessential tube amp sound. It was probably a Classic but it stuck in my mind and I realized at that point that Peavey was a brand to be reckoned with. In the 80's and 90's Peavey amps and PA's ruled the roost and were held in high regard. For me they were considered to be near the top of the heap. I didn't get into Peavey basses until later on. But the brand always has had mad respect from me.

What is your first Peavey brand experience?

WOW cool !!! I love it !!! Maybe you should start a new group for a more comprehensive, yet distinguished thread from this one ?

 

[Bassinthemudd]

Obligatory mention that you can easily eek out at least 1/64th lower action by setting your witness points thoroughly

Thanks for the tip. I started doing my own setups about 6 months ago, and didn't know about this. I was able to notice the difference in the action right away.

 

[kodiakblair]

Peavey Monitor magazine was incredible. I don't know when they stopped publishing it but it was soooo good.

Went digital in 2008.

 

[AudioTaper]

So, if I replaced the caps what is the end result ? Warmer ? Punchier ? I have no idea what a cap does. I'm sure there are a lot of us who don't know, either.

Allows it to function. Haha
Most of them are coupling caps between stages in the preamp. Theres a larger value decoupling cap off the battery for noise.
Need stuff Invalid Link Removed

A better grade cap will allow a wider frequency through with less coloration, etc... more true signal flow when it comes to audio.

 

[Runnerman]

Allows it to function. Haha
Most of them are coupling caps between stages in the preamp. Theres a larger value decoupling cap off the battery for noise.
Need stuff Invalid Link Removed

A better grade cap will allow a wider frequency through with less coloration, etc... more true signal flow when it comes to audio.

Very cool....I never knew this.

 

[Bassinthemudd]

What is your first Peavey brand experience?

Mine was seeing some of my classmates, who had a rock band, play at a school talent show. The band was way better than me and my cynical friends thought they would be. I can still see, in my mind's eye, the Peavey logo on the guitar player's amp.

 

[Landsharks]

I trust you have already purchased it and are awaiting us to tell you about the preamp and bridge hack

If I lived in South Carolina, I would be all over it. I live in Mississippi. Need to get my Foundation S in order so I can sell it to try and buy an ash Foundy with P knobs I've found that is in state. Just haven't had a chance to list it and I need to replace pickup springs and screws on it that I stole for my son's Millennium build.

 

[Bassinthemudd]

If I lived in South Carolina, I would be all over it. I live in Mississippi. Need to get my Foundation S in order so I can sell it to try and buy an ash Foundy with P knobs I've found that is in state. Just haven't had a chance to list it and I need to replace pickup springs and screws on it that I stole for my son's Millennium build.

I messaged the seller to see if he'd ship it. FB messenger indicates that the message has been seen, but I haven't received a response.

 

[58kites]

This group is just the very best of any TB group. You guys are awesome.
In interest of general discussion and getting to know each other better....what was your first exposure to the Peavey brand????
What is your first Peavey brand experience?

I worked in the manufacturing end of the music business from the age 17 to age 32 at a start-up company Whirlwind Music who made guitar cables, mic cables, speaker cables, PA Snakes, splitters, combiners, impedance matching boxes, etc.
After several years, I was the person who did all the purchasing and inventory control for Whirlwind, I met Hartley Peavey while at the Summer NAMM Show in 1978.

He had a T40 and T60 there and I had the same bias that many people had... that they were a bit "country and western" looking and way out of line with the rest of the many guitars and basses offered by other companies at the time. I didn't look at Peavey instruments for many years after.

About 8 years ago, I saw a USA made Peavey Predator guitar that looked like a nice black Stratocaster on Craigslist and went and bought it for $40 dollars.
The neck on that guitar is better than the Pre-CBS Fender Mustang and Fender Stratocaster that I used to have, and I figured out that Peavey made great guitar necks.
A couple years later I saw a Foundation in a pawn shop and the neck was great on it as well, and I realized that Peavey consistently made great guitar and bass necks.

Since then I have bought USA Peavey basses for $40, $60, $75, $100, $150, $180, $235, $250, etc, etc, with the most expensive costing $300 and as we all know...
They are nice basses with great necks and often unique great sounding pickups!