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U.S. Peavey Club
- Thread starter Soundchaser11460
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Yep. The metal knobs were replaced with the plastic ones in 1985. The early Foundations (83-86) are my favorite. I had a killer 85 fretless Foundy Custom, sort of regret selling it. (Oh, I put metal knobs on it)
Slow start to 2025 but I said goodbye to the RJ-IV this week 
Spotted a "wanted" ad on a German forum last December yet it took until last week to coax the buyer round, and that was with not only having the desired pink burst finish but throwing in the SKB case and adjusting price to allow for tax.
So Long Mr Jackson
Spotted a "wanted" ad on a German forum last December yet it took until last week to coax the buyer round, and that was with not only having the desired pink burst finish but throwing in the SKB case and adjusting price to allow for tax.
So Long Mr Jackson
It should do but I wouldn't go buying one.
Tip from our dear departed brother Mech, just cut yourself another one from thick black polythene
If you don't have an original to use as a template then leave it with me. I'll trace one in the morning and stick the PDF up here
There are sellers on Ebay and Reverb that will make you one, just about any way you want
I have also modified the Gibson truss rod cover to work. Cut the wide end flat and reshape the narrow end to remove the screw hole. Heat it up and bend it to shape.
What is the best replacement preamp for a Cirrus without the Millenium midrange controls.
Doc, to my knowledge, the only preamps that will work with the stock VFL pickups (because the pickups themselves are active) are EMG preamps like the BQS.
I am lucky... I have never had a stock Cirrus preamp go bad in any of mine.
The Doc could always just go passive.
The RSB paired it's VFLs with a simple Vol, Blend, Tone circuit. If he did that, fine tuning could be done by a preamp or graphic EQ pedal.
I am asking because I came across an extremely nice Cirrus four, but I had the preamp on my Forum AX five die on me and there no more Peavey spare parts. I may buy it, but I am a bit leery about these basses because they are getting old.
Unless the pickups are really odd in some way, like extreme high or low output, I can't see any real reason why they wouldn't work with lots of aftermarket pres. It might require some soldering and adapting connectors etc, but not a difficult job I would think, and this is coming from an EE who's repaired and modified a lot of MI electronics over the years. If I'm wrong for some technical reason, I'm sure someone will point out the issue with doing this.
@Snert I am sure you are correct but I do think they are Low impedance pickups, like EMG's.
But as @kodiakblair pointed out, there were some 90's Peavey's that were passive like the RSB, or switchable between active/passive like the 2nd Gen Dyna Bass.
I just have never seen any Cirrus's for sale that had ONLY the preamp switched out (or seen it discussed here on TB)...normally the pickups have been switched out as well...which is always a let-down because no other brand of pickups actually "fit".
I know @PeaveyPlayer has had some experience with replacing the preamps in his...maybe he will drop in.
But as @kodiakblair pointed out, there were some 90's Peavey's that were passive like the RSB, or switchable between active/passive like the 2nd Gen Dyna Bass.
I just have never seen any Cirrus's for sale that had ONLY the preamp switched out (or seen it discussed here on TB)...normally the pickups have been switched out as well...which is always a let-down because no other brand of pickups actually "fit".
I know @PeaveyPlayer has had some experience with replacing the preamps in his...maybe he will drop in.
It's not a problem for low impedance pickups to work into the high input impedance of a preamp, it's actually how most analog circuits are designed.
Fear not, Doc! Clearly there are options out there! And out of the 10 Cirrus I have owned, including the six I currently have, not one preamp has gone out on me....yet
I don't see a "new topic" box on this new forum, just "post reply". If this is wrong, mods can change it. I just picked up a '94 Milestone bass and liked it because of the old "P bass" body. Not being familiar with this bass, I assumed all Milestones had this body style until I began to check other sources for price comparison and found that everyone I looked at had a new "long top horn" look, which I don't care for. When, and why, did this change take place on these basses? For my money, you can't beat the old P bass style. Just wondering.....
Thanks...Bob
Thanks...Bob
The preamps are also easy to repair if....IF..one should fail. I have owned perhaps 20 Cirrus/Millennium basses and have never had a preamp fail. The only electronic attention the basses have needed is cleaning the occasional noisy pot and replacement of the output jack. Those barrel jacks are known for failures even though Peavey used Switchcraft jacks that are known for their quality.Fear not, Doc! Clearly there are options out there! And out of the 10 Cirrus I have owned, including the six I currently have, not one preamp has gone out on me....yet
The only thing I have had fail regularly on USA Cirrus basses is the tuners used on regular production. They are junk copies of Gotoh tuners. That is the one thing that Peavey should have upgraded while the basses were in production. Of course, the tuners are very easy to replace and replacement tuners are readily available.
Short response
Get Emg BQS If you want stock plus extra features or modify the original
Or if you don’t want a variable mid
get the OBP3 if you want like I had in my cirrus 4
* Long post!*
Ive had
Emg bqs
Bart
Audere
Obp3
In various peavey basses
Like the bquad
Cirrus
Gv
My personal opinion was
Obp3 was thick and subdued treble but not a whole lot while still being pretty veristile
The Bart was super dark and only got airy with the treble cranked- I had that in my GV when I bought it and switched the millenium which was MUCH better
Then the Emg BQS which was like taking a blanket off the amp
TONE!!
I got bored and tried audere but it imparted this metallic tone/ edgyness I didn’t like
If you don’t want the sweepable mid for ease … my first choice would probably be the Obp3
And at 18V it sounded great
A little goes along way too
but the Emg is king for me it was clear and adjustable treble was awsome along with the defined bottom end.. it never got muddy.. or boomy or was like a stupid clean DI
I had a Delano with emgx in a yamaha RBX JM6 and it sounded great! But i felt output was low
I also have a bunch of sound clips
If you want i can take some new ones too with certain eq settings you want
I currently have my b quad 4 with an OBP3
G bass with stock preamp modified
Forgot about that…
I’ve modified a ruined a few preamps lmao
But I have one for my G bass that works and I have graphed it (slapping the e string and then taking the first snapshot of the second the eq moves on the visualizer)
And there’s a HUGE difference in the bass extension treble extension and mids
It was a single 47UF 50V i belive
And five 25UF 50V
@AudioTaper did it first and has done a Nordstrand preamp in his
I also swapped the old TL072 preamp for a TLE2072ACP
Newer and lower noise
I know he also put a burr brown opa2132 I think but that needs a socket I believe as it’s Stupid tiny
I bought one in attempt to do it but it was too small… and
Well with fine motor skill issues… my hand shakes soldering
Also
I got someone to re create it and I have the schematic but I know nothing on this
He couldn’t find a stacked pot for his idea with solderless design
I got some pcb guys on fiver to do it but they want 100 and somthing if we want to a group buy maybe ?
I got someone to re create it and I have the schematic but I know nothing on this
He couldn’t find a stacked pot for his idea with solderless design
I got some pcb guys on fiver to do it but they want 100 and somthing if we want to a group buy maybe ?
Also considering letting my g bass and peavey randy Jackson silver burst
With Emg PAX and JVX victor wooten set along with the original preamp modified caps
Still have the battery cover in good shape
And I had Hipshot service the drop D tuner. It was bent and need some new parts so factory tuners
Again if anyone wants sound clips
I’d prefer to trade for a5 if anyone’s interested
With Emg PAX and JVX victor wooten set along with the original preamp modified caps
Still have the battery cover in good shape
And I had Hipshot service the drop D tuner. It was bent and need some new parts so factory tuners
Again if anyone wants sound clips
I’d prefer to trade for a5 if anyone’s interested
