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Peavey - is there something wrong with the company?


Jenny_Innie
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I watched the Undercover Boss programme this morning. It didn't paint a good picture of how Peavey is run, especially at the very top.

I really did feel sorry for the two employees they filmed at the US factory. Micheal in particular, what an appalling way to reward the man's loyalty and commitment to the company.

I've never liked Peavey gear to begin with, they've been sitting on their past success too much. 3 years ago they came out with some bass combos whose aim seem to be to compete to be the heaviest thing on earth. As for what they've done, or not, to Trace...I shan't be buying their gear.

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I tried to watch it but gave up after 10 minutes. The whole thing was so blatantly fake that it made my toes curl.

It's hard to be undercover when you're not only trailed by a very obvious camera crew but also the people you interact with have to repeat (scripted?) comments for the sake of the cutaways.

Unreality TV at its most insincere.

You should now watch out for Ajay's sudden reemergence as a panel guest on daytime quiz shows ... he's a celebrity, dontcherknow?

:mellow:

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I think one of the bits the company need to pay attention to most was when they set up that show and all the equipment was malfunctioning. Everyone was basically saying that it was to be expected because Peavey gear is cheap and it sucks. It seems that their reputation has come to that in recent years.. whereas they've always been known historically for being affordable but bulletproof!

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I think PV's problem was that is was better than it was supposed to be.
I never really liked the sounds coming out of the stuff but it was very
unbreakable. Lots of other stuff came along which was more immediately
appealing and cheaper so PV were caught between two stools.
If they wanted to maintain a U.S manufacturing base, you are going to
have to justify that premium..like Aguilar and Berg have done.. but PV
had the repuation of being cheap and cheerful..and were quite good at that..
but could never get that message across in a every increasing competitive
market. I think PV is better than a lot of cheap tat but they never put any distance
between what people perceived as their competition. PV up against Blackstar, for
example.. and the wrong one will win hands down in a lot of ppl's eyes, IMO..??

Maybe they are looking at the Carvin model..

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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1424946692' post='2702147']
I tried to watch it but gave up after 10 minutes. The whole thing was so blatantly fake that it made my toes curl.

It's hard to be undercover when you're not only trailed by a very obvious camera crew but also the people you interact with have to repeat (scripted?) comments for the sake of the cutaways.

Unreality TV at its most insincere.

[/quote]

Yeah. Sorry for going OT, but I only managed a minute or so before I had to skip to the end. Shows like this are the equivalent of being force-fed sugary water. Bleargh.

Just give me the facts and I'll make up my own mind how to interpret 'em without prompting from the background music.

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The thing that bugs me about the whole Undercover Boss thing is the way they reward the three people who have appeared - I'm sure the rewards never used to be so generous on the episodes I watched, but now it seems the main focus of the show is "Company X is doing badly, so we've disguised a senior manager in a wig in an attempt to learn the Tragic Life Stories of three employees plucked apparently at random, ultimately rewarding them with [b]gifts of sufficient value to really cheese off their co-workers[/b]. Look how they cry! Post-script: The board rejected all suggested improvements and Company X is no more. "

Edited by wingnutkj
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The last 15mins was the telling part from where it went from the 'tv show' and entertainment to the raw truth. It went from the COO sitting down, individually, with the staff who had appeared in the show and basically throwing money at them. Money to pay off college debts, help with getting work visas etc. The guy from the main production plant, Micheal, had been convinced to stay at Peavey, despite being offered a better paid job elsewhere, this guy was absolutely shafted.

In that way it was the most real of unreality shows, because what it demonstrated is that the company and management had, as is the case in so many struggling companies, paid lip service to the concerns of its employees.

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I was so disappointed by the last bit. [s]They shafted that guy. Uncool. This has put their company in a dim light as far as I'm concerned. I'm surprised that we even got to know about it if I'm honest.[/s]

EDIT: as usual, there's more than one side to the story and it seems that some spin might have been put on this for the sake of entertainment. Until there are more facts, I retract most of the above statement.

Edited by neepheid
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[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1424952070' post='2702227']
Anyone else read this:

[url="http://peavey.com/news/index.cfm/id/816/Peavey%20Responds%20to.html"]http://peavey.com/news/index.cfm/id/816/Peavey%20Responds%20to.html[/url]
[/quote]

I watched the programme the other night and did wonder what the outcome actually was once the TV crew had departed.

As with most reality TV, the reality shown isn't as realistic as the genre would suggest.

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On the YT clip of the film I watched of the programme the part about Micheal taking up a new position and fulfilling what was offered regards AJ's visa etc was made very clear. What was not made clear by either the film or the company is what job he now has, the conditions and compensation for it...considering his confessed 'disappointment' he seemed less than pleased.

What was also striking though was that all through the film references were made to how the workforce were kept in the dark and that the COO and CEO very rarely showed their faces at the plant. This was a major complaint, So, when it came to laying people off, rather than turning that around, they got other managers to do the unpleasant task of saying to people they hadn't a job anymore. If such a simple thing hadn't changed then it doesn't bode well for the company as a whole.

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[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1424952070' post='2702227']
Anyone else read this:

[url="http://peavey.com/news/index.cfm/id/816/Peavey%20Responds%20to.html"]http://peavey.com/ne...ponds%20to.html[/url]
[/quote]

Yes, saw that before I saw the episode. Doesn't take away the fact that they messed up the handling of the redundancies weeks after they had been getting all misty eyed about not communicating well with the workforce.

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I'm keeping my Max160 head, (same as the Deltabass), and I don't think I'll ever change it. Looking inside it is very well engineered & repairable being a discrete component layout. The reputation of Peavey's being built like a brick outhouse is I think well deserved.

I had a Max450 but traded it in as I never needed the extra power. I hope Peavey survive, they have made good durable products.

The Max160 is about 110 Watts into my 8 ohm Ampeg B115E and I tend to run with the gain and master volume around 5ish and the eq flat-ish.

But this amp, along with myself, belong to the previous century. The choice today of amps, cabs and basses overwhelms me at times into a resigned, "I think I'll stick with what I've got". I enjoy reading all the reviews & opinions on BC and get tempted.

My present temptation is not amps or basses though but different strings, a less expensive path to forage.

P.S. Couldn't view the programme on my PC but read the response. Another victim of labour costs I think.

Edited by grandad
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I watched the programme on Youtube. It wasn't the best idea hiring their son/stepson as a Chief Exec was it? It is rare that a family member is the best person for the job. The fact that he didn't know that amps were tested in 73 seconds says a lot. He should have department heads who report to him and report key indicators and performance - and he should know what they are.

He should know what goes on in his showcase shops and the fact that their first in-store gig (which he said was crucial the the brand) was a disaster - is actually his fault.

Not surprised they are restructuring. It's very rarely bad luck that companies hit on hard times.

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[quote name='Jenny_Innie' timestamp='1424962068' post='2702374']
The fact that he didn't know that amps were tested in 73 seconds says a lot.

He should know what goes on in his showcase shops and the fact that their first in-store gig (which he said was crucial the the brand) was a disaster - is actually his fault.
[/quote]

I wouldn't expect a chief exec to know those details in such a big company but both are ludicrous situations.

Testing electronics requires either a more realistic target time or the process should be investigated to see if it can be made more efficient.

The in-store gig was a total mess, I'm still getting to grips with live sound equipment but there's a bunch of obvious solutions. 1) If the microphone is busted get a new one off the shelf. 2) Experiment with positioning of the microphones and monitors, for a venue like that most of the staff should be clued up on live sound and have tested the systems thoroughly beforehand. 3) Use a graphic equalizer, noise gating and even Peavey's own 'feedback ferret' (feedback detection system built into the FX2 mixing desk I've got or available as a stand alone rackmount unit) to reduce feedback.

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[quote name='molan' timestamp='1424853938' post='2701087']
They really are a 'gold standard' distributor. Superb service, great stock control, fast delivery and solid back-up for warranty issues and spare parts.
[/quote]

Absolutely! We do a lot of trade with them, because they're good to deal with, and they offer good products.

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Haven't had a chance to watch the video yet and TBH I probably won't bother. I've never been impressed with Peavey - I always felt that the equipment rarely compared favourably with the competition. My big concern is that they own Trace Elliott - I spoke to Paul Stevens (CEO) at Trace and he was trying to develop a lightweight Class D amp to bring the equipment into the 21st Century - this will probably be sidelined now so the likelihood of anything new coming in the near future from TE seems unlikely. Does anybody know whether TE will be part of the "downsizing"??

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[quote name='wingnutkj' timestamp='1424965535' post='2702415']
The in-store gig "disaster" was pretty obviously staged/selectively edited.
[/quote]

I think selective editing in the name of cheap entertainment is quite obvious throughout the programme, american TV irritates me a lot.

If the producers had any real interest in the company they'd do a better job of convincing the American consumer to keep their spending on home soil and supporting local business. Peavey have probably done a fair job to keep manufacturing going in the USA and continue to do so with some of their high end products

I think the whole format of chief exec going under cover then gifting a few employees with ~$50,000 each to absolve himself of guilt is really contrived and glib too. It supports people's fantasies of lottery win / divine intervention etc. improving their lives rather than taking a company decision to invest in staff education / welfare schemes and showing a pragmatic approach to improving the company as a whole.

Rant over.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1424967570' post='2702440']
My big concern is that they own Trace Elliott - I spoke to Paul Stevens (CEO) at Trace and he was trying to develop a lightweight Class D amp to bring the equipment into the 21st Century - this will probably be sidelined now so the likelihood of anything new coming in the near future from TE seems unlikely. Does anybody know whether TE will be part of the "downsizing"??
[/quote]

When I went to the Peavey UK auctions the staff there mentioned talk of revamping the whole Trace Elliot line at some point in the future although the designer (might have been Paul Stevens, can't remember) had been working on other products. When a big company is undergoing massive changes like that I wouldn't expect anything in the next year or so.

It would play to their strengths to have TE as the premium bass brand like they have Budda as a premium guitar brand, the average musician isn't going to buy a Peavey badged amp for bragging rights.

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[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1424801635' post='2700637']
sadly I was never impressed with their bass amps
[/quote]

One of the places I practise at has a Peavey combo with a 15" Black Widow, grapic eq, chorous, etc. Sounds pretty damn good although I generally switch out all the eq settings and use my own FX.

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[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1424968261' post='2702452']

This is - selective editing in the name of cheap entertainment. I am the average musician who has bought a Peavey badged amp for bragging rights.
[/quote]

I do agree that making TE their premium bass brand is a great idea.

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Ha ha, nice one ! :D

Plenty of people buy gear based on the company badge, I got a pretty strong impression that Trace was top dog for a lot of people in the 80's.

I was tempted by the Trace AH1200-12 amp heads they had in the auction but I needed to buy different music equipment at the time.

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[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1424980121' post='2702626']
Ha ha, nice one ! :D

Plenty of people buy gear based on the company badge, I got a pretty strong impression that Trace was top dog for a lot of people in the 80's.

.............
[/quote]

They were as they were a dedicated bass manufacturer at first. They lost out to SWR and Eden who really upped the ante with dedicated bass monitor systems in the late 80's early 90's

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