Oh I know, I didn't mean Super Ferrites. I wasn't clear. I meant the newer Foundations, maybe 2nd Gen, don't know what to call them. They had what looked like VFL's, but were single coil passive.
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U.S. Peavey Club
- Thread starter Soundchaser11460
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I have no idea. Like I said, someone here WILL know the answer.
Palaedium pickups are Humbucking Quad Coil
Luckily for us, Peavey has a large archive of original product manuals on their website
Invalid Link Removed
and here is the Palaedium manual:
https://peavey.com/manuals/80301450.pdf
Luckily for us, Peavey has a large archive of original product manuals on their website
Invalid Link Removed
and here is the Palaedium manual:
https://peavey.com/manuals/80301450.pdf
The Palaedium PUs are unique to that bass and are quad coil. They are said to be designed by Bartolini. The single coils in the VFL shells as used in late model Foundations are wonderful but not the same as the PUs in the Palaedium.
My last model Dyna 5 has humbuckers in it that sound a lot like the PUs in the Palaedium. I prefer to use that bass in passive mode. Active mode is great sounding but there is a richness to the tone in passive that seems to be minimized by the preamp.
Peavey has used some great PUs through the years.
IMO that beautiful Palaedium on Reverb is overpriced. $700 would be about right IMO.
My last model Dyna 5 has humbuckers in it that sound a lot like the PUs in the Palaedium. I prefer to use that bass in passive mode. Active mode is great sounding but there is a richness to the tone in passive that seems to be minimized by the preamp.
Peavey has used some great PUs through the years.
IMO that beautiful Palaedium on Reverb is overpriced. $700 would be about right IMO.
The batteries are wired in series, so the buffer embedded in the pickup and the preamp run off of 18V.
The VFL part has to do with how the string passes through the magnetic flux of the pickups. Here is the traditional style pickup
And here is the VFL
Sorry for the crude drawings.... the string is represented by the red line.
There are other pickups that use similar setups. The Nordstrand Zen Blade is one, I have one set aside for the 'neck' position on my FrankenCirrus project.
I had a photo somewhere of the old Cirrus literature on why this is beneficial. I'll have to dig it out.
Very cool, AudioTaper ! I don't know how engineers think up this stuff. I guess that's why they're engineers. I didn't know other companies use the similar setups. All I know is that the VFL's sound fantastic and every string has the same strength. ALso, there's almost a built in compression. I'm SURE your FrankenCirrus will be phenomenal. Would love to hear it when "she's alive".
Just got my USA Cirrus! Need to restring this bad boy but it already feels really comfortable. Nice companion to my US Milly!
EDIT: Any idea from the pictures what the woods are?
EDIT: Any idea from the pictures what the woods are?
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Very nice, Persona.
The wood on yours looks very similar to my Bubinga USA bolt-on.
The wood on yours looks very similar to my Bubinga USA bolt-on.
I just realized that it looks basically identical to Josh Fossgreen's Cirrus. Must be a pretty standard wood selection. I think you're right about the bubinga; maybe the runners are maple? I can't think of any other body woods that are that light in color. Maybe korina?
The top is Bubinga, back and the dark neck parts are walnut. The light colored stringers are maple.
Cool bass! You can email Peavey customer service with the serial number if you want to know the ship date.
Join us at the Cirrus club
The Official U.S. Peavey Cirrus Club
It's taking me forever between work and the kids.... I'm working on the wiring diagram to make sure I dont mess anything up. I ditched the huge rotary switch and bought some shallower rotary switches. Both MM and Zen Blade pickups will be able to be switched neck/series/parallel/bridge. It's going to be insane....
I have to decide if I want the control plate to be powdercoated or Type 3 anodized.... tough decisions. I have to wrap up the CAD design and see what prices the supplier will do.
I need a photo credit for that Bubinga Cirrus bolt. That's my Dyna Unity Koa and TL-FIVE Koa flanking it. Just sayin.
Kudos to you, BassikLee! You not only have amazing taste in basses, you are also a damn fine photographer
As you may recall, a couple of weeks ago I bought a Super Ferrite/Mahogany body Foundation off GC's website. It was listed as good condition for $199 with the case. Hey, a bargain!
The bass arrived and had very bad ski jump in the neck. Someone had cranked on the micro tilt to lower the action when the neck itself had forward bow and needed a truss rod adjustment. The neck was toast and the condition of the body such that calling it "fair" would be generous. It was certainly not "good".
I returned it to my local GC and they refunded all my money including shipping charges. Nice. Then they immediately put it back up for sale listed as "good" condition. Someone bought it right away.
Earlier today that same bass again showed up on GC's website, no doubt returned the second time, and again was $199 and listed as good condition. Guess what? It sold right away. Someone is in for a disappointment.
Now I have scored some nice basses for great prices of GC's website but this is the third time they are selling the same bass that is unplayable. When I returned it I showed the guy why I was returning it and he agreed that the neck was bad. I am a good guitar tech so I know that nothing short of some serious work on that neck could have corrected the problems it has.
The good news is that if you buy a lemon bass from them you can return it to a local GC for a full refund. Hey, I got a shipping box out of the deal.
The bass arrived and had very bad ski jump in the neck. Someone had cranked on the micro tilt to lower the action when the neck itself had forward bow and needed a truss rod adjustment. The neck was toast and the condition of the body such that calling it "fair" would be generous. It was certainly not "good".
I returned it to my local GC and they refunded all my money including shipping charges. Nice. Then they immediately put it back up for sale listed as "good" condition. Someone bought it right away.
Earlier today that same bass again showed up on GC's website, no doubt returned the second time, and again was $199 and listed as good condition. Guess what? It sold right away. Someone is in for a disappointment.
Now I have scored some nice basses for great prices of GC's website but this is the third time they are selling the same bass that is unplayable. When I returned it I showed the guy why I was returning it and he agreed that the neck was bad. I am a good guitar tech so I know that nothing short of some serious work on that neck could have corrected the problems it has.
The good news is that if you buy a lemon bass from them you can return it to a local GC for a full refund. Hey, I got a shipping box out of the deal.
That is one good thing about buying from GC used online .....Now during covid19 GC has a 180 day return policy too ! Just brought back super clean bass to my local GC after I had it for over 2 months deciding whether or not I really wanted and/or needed it - Buy-Try-Return-get refund - Not a bad deal .....
I bought a yamaha in similarly bad shape from GC,and returned it. It was not even in fair shape,much less the advertised “excellent”. I got lucky with the next one, a GL JB2 that turned out to be as advertised.
(I called and talked to the store manager first with that one). I do like that they stand behind their policy for satisfaction guaranteed.
How would you guys describe the difference in sound between a Cirrus and a Milly? I have both, but it’s hard to put the difference into words.
Well, they are like chocolate and strawberry ice cream...both wonderful!
I play a Millennium and really appreciate the tone. It can go from a bright slap tone to old school thump. I appreciate the mid sweep and almost never use it.
I play a Cirrus and really appreciate the tone. It is more modern sounding in some subtle way. The highs are very sweet sounding to my ear and the lows are beautifully clear. I usually cut some of the mids and highs and slightly boost the lows.
It just happens that I have two basses on stands in my rehearsal room...a Cirrus 5 with a Bubinga top and a Millennium Plus 5. Both have Pau Ferro fingerboards but the Millennium has TI flats on it and the Cirrus has D'Adarrio XL's. They can sound similar but the Cirrus seems to have more push in the highs and high mids. Could be the woods in that one or the neck thru as opposed to the bolt on Millennium.
Comparisons are usually done in some effort to make a choice. My recommendation is that you own and play both if you can afford it. These are magnificent basses.
As you said: "It is hard to put the difference into words."
