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U.S. Peavey Club

#15,341
Chuck M said:
I shipped a bass USPS from San Antonio to MT. In two days it made it to Billings, MT.

Basses shipped to me from close by take much longer and are still not here.

Makes one wonder.
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Off topic: I live in New Zealand and a good friend of mine has an old Ford schoolbus he bought from Billings. He retained all the kids Sharpie names on the ceiling, but it now has a Chev 454 engine and running gear. Still has the Billings signage etc.
 
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#15,342
This is going to be Peavey bass week for me. I have an older and not much loved Foundation and a Palaedium out for delivery. The claro walnut Cirrus 6 which shipped from North Carolina on the 2nd is still "Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility."

Just to make things interesting, today is the only day this week that I don't have a gig so I won't be able to hang around for late deliveries. We'll see how this goes.
 
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#15,343
Chuck M said:
This is going to be Peavey bass week for me. I have an older and not much loved Foundation and a Palaedium out for delivery. The claro walnut Cirrus 6 which shipped from North Carolina on the 2nd is still "Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility."

Just to make things interesting, today is the only day this week that I don't have a gig so I won't be able to hang around for late deliveries. We'll see how this goes.
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Good Luck! Waiting to see some Pics!
 
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#15,344
I have some observations about this pair of TL 5's.

IMG-3449.jpg


IMG-3450.jpg


The one on the left is a typical Generation 2 TL5....generic bridge and flat top PUs. The one on the right is one of the very last ones built and has the ABM bridge and the curved top PUs as used on the Cirrus. The wood in the older one was a bit more figured although both have very nice flame. The body on the earlier bass was about 1/4" more narrow across than the later bass and it weighed 8 ounces less.

Both basses play great and sound exactly alike. Different PUs but they sound the same. The neck PU is quite a bit louder than the bridge PU on both basses and I suspect there is something about the preamp that is the reason for the volume difference. Odd, but doesn't really matter to me because I loved the tone with the blend control centered.

The condition of the early bass is somewhat better than the later bass since the later bass has a big ding on the tip of the headstock.

I recently sold the early bass to a Facebook friend simply because I now have so many Peavey basses. He should receive it today and I believe he will love it as much as I did.

It was interesting owning two of the same model basses with variations in hardware. Build quality was fantastic on both. Both play and sound wonderful. Both were bought for less than the cost of a MIM Fender J or P bass.

If you have not owned one, I advise you to watch for one to come up at a nice price. I don't think you will be disappointed.
 
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#15,345
Chuck M said:
I have some observations about this pair of TL 5's.

View attachment 3665871

View attachment 3665872

The one on the left is a typical Generation 2 TL5....generic bridge and flat top PUs. The one on the right is one of the very last ones built and has the ABM bridge and the curved top PUs as used on the Cirrus. The wood in the older one was a bit more figured although both have very nice flame. The body on the earlier bass was about 1/4" more narrow across than the later bass and it weighed 8 ounces less.

Both basses play great and sound exactly alike. Different PUs but they sound the same. The neck PU is quite a bit louder than the bridge PU on both basses and I suspect there is something about the preamp that is the reason for the volume difference. Odd, but doesn't really matter to me because I loved the tone with the blend control centered.

The condition of the early bass is somewhat better than the later bass since the later bass has a big ding on the tip of the headstock.

I recently sold the early bass to a Facebook friend simply because I now have so many Peavey basses. He should receive it today and I believe he will love it as much as I did.

It was interesting owning two of the same model basses with variations in hardware. Build quality was fantastic on both. Both play and sound wonderful. Both were bought for less than the cost of a MIM Fender J or P bass.

If you have not owned one, I advise you to watch for one to come up at a nice price. I don't think you will be disappointed.
Click to expand...

Awesome summary Chuck. I will keep my eyes open and see if I can find one. The only thing that holds me back on most acquisitions is (1) finish and (2) condition on most used vintage instruments. I did end up pulling the trigger on the green Millennium that was on Ebay. I was able to convince the seller to ship the bass and now I'm patiently waiting hoping that it looks as good in person as it did in the pictures.

Deep down, I really wanted one in a green finish with a maple neck. Did they ever make the TL's in green? I've seen a few Cirrus and TL's in green but, I don't know if they were custom colors. I know I would jump on a red, blue, or gray one in a heartbeat but, green is my favorite finish.
 
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#15,346
Raw N Low said:
Awesome summary Chuck. I will keep my eyes open and see if I can find one. The only thing that holds me back on most acquisitions is (1) finish and (2) condition on most used vintage instruments. I did end up pulling the trigger on the green Millennium that was on Ebay. I was able to convince the seller to ship the bass and now I'm patiently waiting hoping that it looks as good in person as it did in the pictures.

Deep down, I really wanted one in a green finish with a maple neck. Did they ever make the TL's in green? I've seen a few Cirrus and TL's in green but, I don't know if they were custom colors. I know I would jump on a red, blue, or gray one in a heartbeat but, green is my favorite finish.
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I saw that last night and was going to tell you but then it was gone. was wondering if you grabbed it. Nice!!
 
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#15,347
TinIndian said:
I saw that last night and was going to tell you but then it was gone. was wondering if you grabbed it. Nice!!
Click to expand...

It was a tough decision but, I decided to go ahead and pick it up late last night. I primarily play rock and my Tiger Eye Mill is way too nice for some of my cover projects. My alternative projects are sometimes a bit more mellower and it fits the "vibe".

Like my G&L's, the Peavey GV and Green Mill should be good all-rounders for rock.
 
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#15,348
Raw N Low said:
Awesome summary Chuck. I will keep my eyes open and see if I can find one. The only thing that holds me back on most acquisitions is (1) finish and (2) condition on most used vintage instruments. I did end up pulling the trigger on the green Millennium that was on Ebay. I was able to convince the seller to ship the bass and now I'm patiently waiting hoping that it looks as good in person as it did in the pictures.

Deep down, I really wanted one in a green finish with a maple neck. Did they ever make the TL's in green? I've seen a few Cirrus and TL's in green but, I don't know if they were custom colors. I know I would jump on a red, blue, or gray one in a heartbeat but, green is my favorite finish.
Click to expand...
You got that for a great price. Looks very clean...plastic still on covers too. You won't be sorry.
 
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#15,353
TinIndian said:
Yeah the other was just like it but had a Bartolini setup in it (why) and those cool knobs.
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I read a thread somewhere (not on this forum) where somebody didn't think that Peavey's preamps were high end or detailed compared to other well-known names. I think it's a classic case of "what does the headstock" say syndrome. I've played US Barts and found some examples to be rather dark and almost muddy. Although I have a bass that has EMG's, I've played examples that were sterile and ice picky.

I've also seen examples where people will change pickups without giving the stock set a chance at all. Looking at the circuit boards and layout it's apparent that Peavey when through painstaking lengths to get their stuff tight. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner that changed the Mill's electronics to Barts did so to make a double profit since the preamps are so sought after.

I played my GV at rehearsal last Friday and was very happy with the results. Very comfortable to play and very natural feeling. I paired with my EBS T90 and a single Baer 12. Good stuff!
 
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#15,354
Raw N Low said:
I read a thread somewhere (not on this forum) where somebody didn't think that Peavey's preamps were high end or detailed compared to other well-known names. I think it's a classic case of "what does the headstock" say syndrome. I've played US Barts and found some examples to be rather dark and almost muddy. Although I have a bass that has EMG's, I've played examples that were sterile and ice picky.

I've also seen examples where people will change pickups without giving the stock set a chance at all. Looking at the circuit boards and layout it's apparent that Peavey when through painstaking lengths to get their stuff tight. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner that changed the Mill's electronics to Barts did so to make a double profit since the preamps are so sought after.

I played my GV at rehearsal last Friday and was very happy with the results. Very comfortable to play and very natural feeling. I paired with my EBS T90 and a single Baer 12. Good stuff!
Click to expand...

Since Peavey doesn't make them any longer, I should pull mine out and try to build a copy. Most likely a different form factor. Probably only a two layer PWA so it should be fairly simple. Have to look at it.
 
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#15,355
Yeah, the few times I have played the more modern Peaveys, the preamps and pickups were spot on. No need to change.

I am quite impressed with the preamp in my 85 Dynabass. Usually older preamps have some shortcomings, but that one is really spot on. No changes necessary, and it does it all: 3 band EQ, active\passive with tone control and gain trimmer to keep the levels consistent. Plus, the pots and parts are all nicely executed. It's like Peavey knew exactly what most everyone would want from a preamp and got it right the first time. Smart!
--The preamp in my 83 G&L El Toro needed a small mod to tame it's inherent, overly bright tone in active mode. It was just adding a resistor to the input stage, but it had to happen.
--The classic, 2 band Musicman preamps (that I also love) are pretty straightforward and great sounding, but have no option to do active/passive and no way to adjust gain. I totally get that they were mostly designed to not alienate players who like simple basses.
--My '98 Carvin BB75's 501B preamp also needed a small mod to change the frequency of the mid control. Stock, the bass was at 80Hz, and mids at 160Hz, which was really just another bass control. A cap and resistor change got the mids up to around 400Hz, where I like 'em. Not the best preamp and pickups on that one, but it has perfectly usable H50N noiseless J pickups and the preamp does have active/passive modes and a gain trimmer. Modded, it's fine. Finding out how to mod that preamp is what brought me to Talkbass, as the google search pointed me to a thread that detailed lots of 501B mods.
 
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#15,356
TinIndian said:
Since Peavey doesn't make them any longer, I should pull mine out and try to build a copy. Most likely a different form factor. Probably only a two layer PWA so it should be fairly simple. Have to look at it.
Click to expand...

You could probably make a little pocket change if you could replicate it. The Cirrus is still in production and I'm sure folks would like upgrade the existing Millenniums as well.
 
#15,358
bigtone23 said:
Yeah, the few times I have played the more modern Peaveys, the preamps and pickups were spot on. No need to change.

I am quite impressed with the preamp in my 85 Dynabass. Usually older preamps have some shortcomings, but that one is really spot on. No changes necessary, and it does it all: 3 band EQ, active\passive with tone control and gain trimmer to keep the levels consistent. Plus, the pots and parts are all nicely executed. It's like Peavey knew exactly what most everyone would want from a preamp and got it right the first time. Smart!
--The preamp in my 83 G&L El Toro needed a small mod to tame it's inherent, overly bright tone in active mode. It was just adding a resistor to the input stage, but it had to happen.
--The classic, 2 band Musicman preamps (that I also love) are pretty straightforward and great sounding, but have no option to do active/passive and no way to adjust gain. I totally get that they were mostly designed to not alienate players who like simple basses.
--My '98 Carvin BB75's 501B preamp also needed a small mod to change the frequency of the mid control. Stock, the bass was at 80Hz, and mids at 160Hz, which was really just another bass control. A cap and resistor change got the mids up to around 400Hz, where I like 'em. Not the best preamp and pickups on that one, but it has perfectly usable H50N noiseless J pickups and the preamp does have active/passive modes and a gain trimmer. Modded, it's fine. Finding out how to mod that preamp is what brought me to Talkbass, as the google search pointed me to a thread that detailed lots of 501B mods.
Click to expand...

6 months after I bought my Foundation S the music store got their 1st Dyna Bass in. I was so annoyed I bought a Dimmarzio active system for my Foundation. Came with pups and Preamp. The preamp was more similiar to a G&L in that it was more boost and it only used the 3 holes like stock. You had a Volume with active passive push pull control a blend and a tone knob. Coolest thing was it looked stock but put it in active mode and it was pretty beastly. Still didn't have the tone shaping but that was ok.

When I started playing again the preamp had died so I rewired it back to stock but kept those Dimmarzios in it. According to the guys at Dimmarzio they are basically the same as the Model P and Model J but slighty less hot. So it does have a little different sound to straight up regular Dimmarzios.
 
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