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Wow-just picked up a Peavey Databass

#62
I was thinking of using an Eminence Kappa 15 (4 ohm version) to replace the BW. Supposedly the amp was designed around the BW, but oddly that seems to be the weak link. I've read several posts about BW in the Databass giving up the ghost suddenly. Some have opined that it was misuse of the low end control tied ito the microprocessor that caused the failures. Never been a BW fan, and the Kappa will take 450w, plus has high sensitivity and plenty of Xmax. Anybody care to comment on the idea?
 
#63
The other day A fellow TB'er sent me a link to a Peavey DataBass on Craig's list for $125 so today I brought it home. Good night this thing is heavy! Time to play with new toys:thumbsup:
image.jpg
 
#64
I just found one of these in the trash. I haven't fired it up yet. I checked out this thread and it's nice to see that it's worth messing with.

It does have some features that seem not common to others portrayed here: an IEC power input, a 1/4" jack on the back of the speaker box, and casters.
 
#68
After reading the thread, I'm considering yanking the head out of the cabinet and just using it standalone. The cabinet seems to be most of the weight and an underperforming. Just from a visual inspection, I think the speaker is shot. It looks like the whole things saw some liquid. It may be a casualty of the September 2013 Boulder floods that someone finally decided to unload (which I was able come out of practically unscathed thanks to 3 days of bailing and my wife sopping up the basement with towels while our 1 year old was screaming in his room. I fared a lot better than a lot of friends. One had 10 feet of sewage invade his basement home studio and another literally watched his neighbor's house float into his house and knock it off the foundation while a river came in the back door and blew out the front of the house. He saved his family and most of his instruments.).
 
#70
Well time to revisit the Databass thread. A couple pages back I announced that I had bought my Databass from a kind man in Florida. It arrived in mint condition. Well a couple years later I'm realizing I'm not using it as much as my other amps. It's not because it isn't powerful or loud. It's because of the weight. The amp is powerful, I mean really powerful. it gets very loud. I don't know what's changed from the 80s to now, but it seems that 1980's watts was so much more powerful.

Anyway, I'm going to go one of two ways. I'm seriously considering selling this amp because it's so mint and maybe someone younger will get some great use out of it. The other alternative is I'm considering pulling the amp from the box and building a lightweight speaker cab and case for the amp head. I wish I didn't have to consider these options but honestly as I get older the amp feels more and more like a big clumsy box of bricks when I move it.

I don't know how to calculate volume for a cabinet but at one time when I was young I built my own speaker cabs. I think someone said win-something to figure the internal volume. I would have to learn about ports too, as I want the cab to perform deep. I've kicked around the idea of buying a fEarful DIY flat pack, but I would want to add an ultralight bass speaker like a Faital or Eminence. I'm thinkg a fEARful and the head would be pretty portable and fairly light.

So, it's either sell the amp or break it up and rebuild. If I did break it up, would the basically brand new Black Widow 4ohm 18" be worth anything? Like everyone else has mentioned in this thread, the speaker and weight of the cab have been the biggest drawbacks of a once upon a time outstanding amp. I think for the time it was an incredible amp and way ahead of its time.

Thanks everyone for your input.
 
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#72
Klondike said:
There cant be a ton of places to move that DataBass in Baranof island. Shame to break up such a nice, imho, amp but sometimes a guys gotta do what a guys gotta do. Have you thought about rebuilding the can and also build a cab for the amp? Throw that on a two wheel dolly and roll it around.
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Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I agree, it's quite a collectible. I realized how stupid it would be to break it up. So it's now listed on TB. I'm not trying too hard to sell it, if it doesn't sell I might donate it to a bunch of young musicians who perform at a local church. Nice guys. But they better take care of it! I've never seen a used amp in such pristine condition. I'll visit it once a year with the guys at church LOL.

Rereading your post, there aren't a lot of places to move the amp, but I myself am moving to AudioKinesis Hathor ultralight cabs and either a Mesa Boogie or GK MB500 or Fusion. No more heavy cabs for this guy!
 
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#73
Klondike said:
The other day A fellow TB'er sent me a link to a Peavey DataBass on Craig's list for $125 so today I brought it home. Good night this thing is heavy! Time to play with new toys:thumbsup:
View attachment 537387
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Good score on your part! Don't forget, there are two IMPORTANT round ports on the bottom of the cab that do two things: First they allow the release of bass energy for the speaker. Second, they are ports so they help to deepen the bass response. So you really need to get four really tall rubber feet, and second, get some really large wheels to move the amp around. Believe me, this will make moving easier. As a matter of fact, if you look at my amp, you'll see I have both large feet and large wheels on the amp and rarely take the wheels off. This gives the bottom round ports excellent clearance to develop that excellent bottom end.

Hope you enjoy as much as I enjoy mine! The amp you will find is a killer rig. Count yourself very lucky you found such a good deal! These guys are very rare, and getting more rare. Especially if they're in good condition.

Here's pic of mine:

databass1-jpg.jpg
 
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#74
I removed mine from the combo cab and mounted it in a 2-space rack bag using the original mounting holes (on top). Also had a speaker jack installed. However, there are three main flaws with the original design:
1) Spec'ing a 300 watt speaker for a 450 watt amp that has an unusual and counterintuitive EQ. Recipe for disaster.
2) The small but very heavy enclosure. The "small" part of the equation relates mainly to the speaker choice and cab tuning.
3) Not sure if it is just my amp, but it doesn't like anything but a 4-ohm load. Plugging into an 8-ohm box causes unpredictable hiccups, pops and dropout/cutout. It's happy with any 4-ohm load though.
 
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#75
lowend1 said:
I removed mine from the combo cab and mounted it in a 2-space rack bag using the original mounting holes (on top). Also had a speaker jack installed. However, there are three main flaws with the original design:
1) Spec'ing a 300 watt speaker for a 450 watt amp that has an unusual and counterintuitive EQ. Recipe for disaster.
2) The small but very heavy enclosure. The "small" part of the equation relates mainly to the speaker choice and cab tuning.
3) Not sure if it is just my amp, but it doesn't like anything but a 4-ohm load. Plugging into an 8-ohm box causes unpredictable hiccups, pops and dropout/cutout. It's happy with any 4-ohm load though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I've entertained the idea of replacing the BW with a 600 watt Eminence or Faital. So am I right-- the head is about 19" wide? I don't have my amp at home, it's at my office.

i saw another Databass head out of the cab and it looks pretty straightforward for building a lightweight plywood box around it. As far as a 4 ohm load I was thinking of a 4 ohm ultralight cab build, maybe a fEARful 12/6 or something like that. And yet.... when I look at the photo, the dang thins is so pristine and mint condition. I'm so torn sometimes..... :confused:

EDIT; I did read elsewhere on TB that using an 8 ohm load would cause unpredictable issues. You've proven it. Thanks.
 
#77
alaskaleftybass said:
EDIT; I did read elsewhere on TB that using an 8 ohm load would cause unpredictable issues. You've proven it. Thanks.
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That was probably me, complaining in another thread:roflmao:. Those more learned than I have said that it shouldn't be a problem, since the amp says "4 ohm minimum load", but every time I try it, the amp flips me the bird at some point.
I agonized over what to do with the configuration myself - 15" vs 12" with an adapter ring, head only, pretty much every variable you can think of. Since I had a couple of 2-space rack bags sitting around, I took a chance. Look at it this way - you can always go back to the combo if you ultimately hate the way it works for you.

BTW, there is a PDF of all the schematics and a service bulletin for the DataBass. If you're interested, PM me and I'll send it to you.
 
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#78
lowend1 said:
That was probably me, complaining in another thread:roflmao:. Those more learned than I have said that it shouldn't be a problem, since the amp says "4 ohm minimum load", but every time I try it, the amp flips me the bird at some point.
I agonized over what to do with the configuration myself - 15" vs 12" with an adapter ring, head only, pretty much every variable you can think of. Since I had a couple of 2-space rack bags sitting around, I took a chance. Look at it this way - you can always go back to the combo if you ultimately hate the way it works for you.

BTW, there is a PDF of all the schematics and a service bulletin for the DataBass. If you're interested, PM me and I'll send it to you.
Click to expand...
Thanks lowend1!
 

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