bassmayhem

There are good cheap basses, a lot of them. But - when the companies first introduce an expensive domestic model and then start to manufacture them overseas in low cost countries and lower the prices, then the more expensive models also will follow the fall. As happened with Peavey. Peavey has tried to play in all different series, but will forever be associated with entry level. Check music stores; what brands sell the cheap stuff and expensive stuff? Fender, Yamaha, Ibanez and Warwick. Here in Sweden it is close to impossible to sell a Warwick bass for more than coffee money. Ibanez, well, you have to almost give them away. Peavey: you have to give them away. Fender: you can sell Am basses för Chinese prices. Anyway, the Millennium USA is the real deal for nearly no money...

Well, I find this beast being a real beauty... Tom Clement Anne - the prototype...

[quote name='Tubster' timestamp='1469115634' post='3095903'] I currently have a blue 5 string and it is magnificent. Interesting to note that Peavey's top of the line Cirrus ended up with the Millennium preamp as most players preferred it. Had a white 4 string and let it go - very foolish. Balanced well, played great and recorded magnificently. In addition, when I lived in the USA, I owned a Sarzo and a Cirrus and a T-40 - all of them just great. If I recall, the Millennium is a 35" scale. Peavey USA offerings are all excellent but their value is affected IMO by the plethora of cheap basses they produce and lack of endorsers and players. If you check the used section at Guitar Centre, they usually have a few USA and prices are going UP! [/quote] Yes, it is 35". One of the very few four strings out there with that scale. Here is the one I sold some time ago. I really liked the beautiful fingerboard, but the golden one is in much better condition. [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/20140625_211652_zpsfa1c5b89.jpg[/IMG] Peavey has unfortunately devaluated their own brand by "polluting" it with cheap Asian models with almost the similar model names and appearance. The same with Yamaha. From 10 feet away you can not tell the difference between an entry-level model and a professional. Which one is $3520 more expensive? No wonder they have NO status...

Hair spray...? Then, there is that thing in Sweden called Fy Spray that makes cats not like and avoid things sprayed. Don't know what it is called in English though.

This bass - cool or not - is a very well built instrument with pristine tone and feel. Just - wow!

The Mex sounds more... gnarly and middy. (All other dirt uncounted...)

...and the late Mike Porcaro.

The first P-bass I got was a Mexico Standard, a rather OK bass for the money. I bought it just to learn to like the P-bass, since I hated the tone of it. No pic's though... The next one was this MiM Classic '57, a rather stiff bass to play. Never liked it - let it go. My third was a 2006 Am Standard with S1 circuit gone and a Seymour Duncan pup installed. I loved this one, but got an offer I couldn't refuse. Have missed it ever since... OK, time to get another one to replace the missed black one. This old '78 showed up so I got it. A HEAVY s.o.b! Totally unplayable, so I sold it... I replaced it with a Japan Vintage '62, but that sucker sucked full time. I sold it expensive to a guy who appreciated it. Then I fell in love with this one, just because of the colour: jade pearl metallic! It was never as good as the black '06. I swapped it (and some other stuff) to get... ...this beauty: a US Lakland Bob Glaub PJ. It has been owned by one or several BassChatters before it arrived to Sweden where I got it. I have it equipped with a D-tuner... Here is my newly acquired 2007 '57 reissue... And I call myself a Jazz Bass guy. I own one, a precious '78, and that sucker is original from neck up with exception of refret and new saddle...

I bought a bass just because I couldn't resist it. I've had one before and really regret I ever let it go. Well, now everything is as it should be... This Peavey Millennium USA was for sale a LONG time home in Sweden; the price went down and down, and at last I couldn't resist buying it. Such a treasure is just criminal to let pass. I've had a bunch of Laklands, the five string 55-94 and 55-02 series, and this bass is as close as it gets without the Lakland name, minus one string. The only real practical differences are: - no passive bypass mode, - no coil switch on the MM pup, - no compound radius and - 35" scale on a four string. Other than that it is more or less the same bass. Say I, who have/had them both. Another significant difference is the second hand market value. This bass is barely unsellable, and Lakies sell easily. Well, here is the beauty. Really, it was the colour that made I couldn't resist it; the most flamboyant night clubbish looking bass I've ever seen or owned... [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/20160715_130308_zpsj2fktswn.jpg[/IMG] I paid £265 for this bass in MINT condition, with original hard case in immaculate condition, and a new set of D'Addario strings. (!!!) Anyone out there who share my opinion on these basses?

If there ever will be an olympic gold medal for packaging technique, Raslee's wife truly deserves it. The Skyline Decade arrived safe and sound. I've never seen such amount of bubble plastic wrap... Nice guy (or couple) to deal with. Highly recommended!!! Thanx for a swift affair! //Roger the Bass Mayhem

I quote myself from another thread: "[i]I got a cheap but very good plywood doghouse I bought to start playing rockabilly on. It has Innovation Silver Slaps (they cost more than I paid for the bass) and my old Realist Copperhead. I plug it into my Fishman Platinum Pro Eq, and it makes wonder![/i]" A cheap bass CAN sound good, but if you stack "cheap stuff" you might end up sounding cheap, and then it won't be fun to play. My expensive bass sounded like sh*t with the Realist, so I get another pup for that one. The Realist is easy to use; if you have adjustable bridge there is also the Realist LifeLine...

I got a cheap but very good plywood doghouse I bought to start playing rockabilly on. It has Innovation Silver Slaps (they cost more than I paid for the bass) and my old Realist Copperhead. I plug it into my Fishman Platinum Pro Eq, and it makes wonder!!! You have the high pass filter, the notch filter to eliminate feedback and howling wolf notes, as well as a phase switch that makes a good deal of sense. A good thing with the Platinum is that you have built-in tuner and compressor. Also a four band eq with sweepable mid. A nice pedal that makes my cheapo Mickey Mouse upright sound good. Not just ok, but really good. I have my all wooden bass that I don't take out to rock gigs, but it has no pickup right now. I am certain it will sound fantastic when I equip it with a Realist Lifeline, since its acoustic tone is big and full with a firm nice bottom(!)... Try the Platinum Pro if you have the chance! I have the Basswitch too, another really good preamp, but it has no notch filter.

My new Temple Audio board with the pedals mounted. No cables yet... [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/20160312_230318_zpso9pyqwao.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1459611192' post='3018089'] Lots to consider, but I'd second the TKS 12's or 2x12. [/quote] I totally agree. But - I'd rather have two S112's than one S212 for mobility's sake...

[quote name='Urban Bassman' timestamp='1456585846' post='2990513'] How did the Magellan perform? [/quote] Very well! Clear as an icy sky and loud as a freight train. I just say: I like it!

The Purple Menace has arrived: I like...

Thanks for all feedback! I forgot to say, I use the new Fishman Platinum Pro Eq wit notch filter, phase switch and high pass filter, but none of these could cope with the "howling barking dog" midrange produced. I have moved the Realist to another bass; if the tone still sounds as horrible, then there must be some pickup malfunction. The story will continue...

The tone gets very... burpy and ugly with the Realist. The bass - a solid tonewood bass - has a big, full and rich tone acoustically, just like what you (read: I) like to hear from a bass used in jazz music. Nice attack and nice growl! A tone to die/kill for! The only thing I can think is that the pickup is malfunctioning in some way. To my question: anyone out there who can recommend another type of pickup? (I have a non adjustable bridge.) Or - is there a good microphone I can use that won't make so much problems in a live situation? The bass is a relatively new - just four years - Kremona Masterbuilt that was custom made for the previous owner: 4/4 scale on 3/4 body. It takes some stretching, since the scale is 110 cm (43.3"), but the tone is worth every stretch... I have Evah Pirazzi "Weich" on the bass now...

Can you adjust the bass high enough if you are 6' 2" ? I got the impression the bass will hang too low. (Nut at "just above eyebrow" height...)