maxoges Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 (edited) I sold my Cirrus since I have a hard time playing 35" after a stroke 2 years ago. I really miss it! I figured this would be almost like it, but 34". I really like the playabllty and looks of the bass. Construction wise it like it more than my old Cirrus, but i liked the cirrus electronics more. It somehow felt more solid. Great sound though. My main bass right now. I thought about installing a more modern preamp and keep the pickups, but I changed my mind. I'll keep it as is! Edited January 15, 2023 by maxoges 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 I've owned a couple myself. One In that colour too. The other was a dark finish Wonderful bass. This was one of mine and a sound sample 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 (edited) Just because, here's the other 2 colours Peavey issued for that model I think the dark one is called T-Black, though it was really some kind of nice burgundy/brown. Cant remember what they called the light red model. It'll be on the web somewhere. Edited January 15, 2023 by fleabag 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 I'd say that like most American Peavey basses, these are underrated, but that wouldn't be the case. Have a read anywhere on the internet and you'll quickly see that these are very highly regarded, high quality instruments. Rudy Sarzo may be a slightly obscure player, being always in work but hardly remarkable, but these basses have stood the test of time and garnered a good rep over the years. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mastodon2 Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Awesome bass. One of the models I wish I'd owned before I moved back to my rightful place playing electric guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Always liked these. Stylistically a little bit influenced (especially those inlays!) by the Aria Pro SB-Elite II Sarzo played: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 (edited) i have one as well! i defretted it years ago and dropped in Bart MM pickups and a bart harness when the original preamp died on me. it's the best fretless tone i've heard. i'm currently trying to source pickups rings for it. i just made a thread about that yesterday. i canibalised one of the barts for a project bass, but i like the malcolm young look Edited January 15, 2023 by lidl e 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 1 minute ago, Bassassin said: Always liked these. Stylistically a little bit influenced (especially those inlays!) by the Aria Pro SB-Elite II Sarzo played: a little bit? it's basically the same bass! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Really lovely basses, high end and built to last. Great score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxoges Posted January 15, 2023 Author Share Posted January 15, 2023 (edited) I traded it for Sterling ray34 HH with a roasted neck. The Sterling was a good bass. But I can't say I miss it at all. Edited January 15, 2023 by maxoges 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 I never got a tone I liked from mine, happily the next owner reported no issues on that front 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 On 15/01/2023 at 20:52, kodiakblair said: I never got a tone I liked from mine, happily the next owner reported no issues on that front 🙂 It’s more than good for me, which just illustrates how we’re all different, with different tastes in tone. Mine has a Glockenklang 3 band preamp, which is very different to the DynaBass preamp originally fitted. Very high shelving on the high EQ (18khz) so it’s more like a presence control but I find it very usable, and unlike the typical Dyna preamp it’s completely quiet, even with the highs boosted. I can’t really decide which I prefer, the Sarzo or the RJIV. I think the RJIV just has it, if only because it’s more ergonomic (for me, at least) and probably more versatile tonally. It’s a close call though.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 The colours were called Transparent Black, Transparent Red and Transparent Violet, btw. I’ve got the violet one.... Because I had an active/passive switch going spare I used it to coil tap the neck pickup - well worth doing.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 26 minutes ago, Andy R said: The colours were called Transparent Black, Transparent Red and Transparent Violet, btw. Thanks, yeah that's them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Those inlays are AWESOME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 On 15/01/2023 at 20:27, lidl e said: i'm currently trying to source pickups rings for it. Sorry didn't see the thread you made on this but I'd recommend Gig.Ink they have made something similar for me to hide some butchering I did around a pickup route. I've also had custom guards off them etc, top notch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisK1975 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Excellent purchase, I Always wanted one of these - When I first started playing at 14/15yrs old, The Whitesnake album Slip of the Tongue came out around the same time and I remember seeing Sarzo playing one in the 'Fool for your loving' video. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 The Sarzo bass does pretty much it’s own thing and does that well but I wouldn’t say that it’s the most versatile bass around. It obviously owes a lot to the Aria SB-LTD, which Rudy Sarzo used, but that had Alembic Activator pickups - no filter type eq or anything though. According to RS, in an interview, he would have liked Peavey to use the same pickups but Hartley Peavey decided to do what he frequently did and use designs and hardware that he already had. Hence the use of the Dynabass preamp..... So, the pickups are basically T40 humbuckers, underwound to make them a bit more scooped and less mid-heavy and fitted in a different housing. They are genuine four wire pickups so that opens up a multitude of wiring options ( one or both coil tapped, one or both in series or parallel etc. etc. ). I’ve only experimented with coil tapping one or both and found that the most useful was to have to ability to run the neck p/up coil tapped and blended with the bridge p/up - it opens the sound up a bit more. I could easily do this because the active/passive switch was redundant as the Glock pre has a pull A/P switch on the volume control - also there’s a shed load of space in the control cavity without the big Dyna circuit board... Whether RS himself ever had one with Alembic p/ups I don’t know - he certainly had a five string version that *did* have Alembics p/ups and, by the look of it, Alembic preamp too. There’s a fretted version on a few tracks on the Whitesnake live in St Petersburg video (which looks to have the Dyna pre) and a lined fretless version in this photo which doesn’t and which is probably Alembic. There, that’s bored the hell out of you..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbass6 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Very nice indeed. I always wanted one of these. Still look cool. Enjoy 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassManGraham Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 (edited) Peavey Rudy Sarzos are great basses, superb build quality, far better than Gibson, Fender, Ricky contemporaries. Criminally underrated IMHO and therefore usually underpriced, despite their rarity. Beautiful neck thru body design. Great range of tones and wonderful playability. Quality Schaller hardware. I owned two until a week or so ago, now just the one, as I need to reduce my gear. They are quite "Alembicesque" and quite similar to high end Aria Pro II SBRs. Aria also made a Sarzo signature model. I have Alembics, Aria SBRs & Aria SB Elites, and Cliff Burton models. The Peavey is comparable to the Arias but obviously not in the Alembic league, and doesn't have that distinctive Alembic tone, or exotic woods, but when the comparative prices are considered the Sarzo is one hell of a bass for the money. Edited January 26, 2023 by BassManGraham 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassManGraham Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 37 minutes ago, BassManGraham said: Aria also made a Sarzo signature model. I have Alembics, Aria SBRs & Aria SB Elites, and Cliff Burton models. Aria's Sarzo sig (the SB-RSZ) appears to have been a Japan-only rebranding of the SB-ELT, from 1989-ish. Pretty sure RS himself never played one, all the pics of him with an Aria look like a Matsumoku-era SB Elite II. I have an ELT and an '83 SB Elite B&G - the later bass is quite different when you compare them side-by side - slimmer neck, thinner body horns, different proportions. Electronics are completely different too - a simple v/v/t layout + 2x microswitches, as opposed to the stacked pots & rotary selector of the SB-Elites & SB-Rs. The RSZ & ELT definitely appear to be the same bass - can't be 100% but it even looks like the same image in both brochures. Anyway, I'll stop cluttering up a Peavey thread with gratuitous Aria guff! Lovely pair of Sarzos, @BassManGraham! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merello Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Thoroughly enjoyed this thread. Thanks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 I have a transparent black Peavey Sarzo. Love it! As others have said, amazing build quality and finish, looks great.... and sounds great too! If anyone is seriously looking for one PM me as I may be persuaded to let it go for the right price.... not sure.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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