peavey cirrus

[mro]

I recently played a Cirrus 4 at music store and loved it. I don't know how reliable they are. Do they stand up to everyday abuse or are they fragile, being a neck thru. It has a lot of sounds. I don't slap very well but this does get a decent slap sound. It's got a flamed maple top over alder with maple and purpleheart stringers. Should I trade my Stingray in for it? Just thinking out loud. I did not come up with anything in the "search". Who owns them and how do you really feel about yours vs your other bass or basses? Thanks..

[Phil W]

I have a borrowed Peavey Zephyr at home which I think is an even cheaper model and it is very well constructed. It's strong and I'm sure it would stand up well. I've only used it on a few gigs as the sound is inferior to my Wal and my ABG as I see it but it's great fun to play hours of manic slap bass on at home.

 

You can hear it here

http://media.putfile.com/Free-Thang (not slapped though) in a duet with a 6 year old!

 

and the chordal and slap parts here

http://media.putfile.com/Searching-43

 

The melody is the Wal

[Phil W]

You can see the bass on stage here in the corner:

 

http://usera.imagecave.com/feilik/AnnaBengo/southwark030.jpg

[Phil W]

Here's a Cirrus review on Talkbass

http://www.talkbass.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=76

[mro]

Thanks Phil for ALL the replys. That Wal is nice. Never seen one. The Talk bass review you linked, the guy paid $650., not knowing new or used. The one I am interested in is new although dated 2005 is selling for $1200 marked down from $1500. I love the low action. I'm into punk and rock. Is this a good Stingray replacement? 2 members of the band dislike the Stingray sound. They prefer the P bass,which I just sold, and the J bass. The J bass has 1/4 pounders in it. I play thru Ampegs. I wish I could test drive it at a band practice.

[...]

I have played several Cirrus basses and I've always been impressed with them. Great bass for the money in my opinion.

 

I'd buy/play whatever bass you like.

[kenfxj]

...I'm into punk and rock. ...

...the P bass,which I just sold...

IMO these two things don't go well together.

[rumpelstiltskin.]

i couldn't disagree more. the P bass is a phenomenal bass for punk and rock. one of the many things i love about my cirrus is that i get a great rock tone using only the neck pickup. it is very P-like with snarl and growl.

 

granted, i have a cirrus BXP, so it's not exactly like the USA cirrus. however, it's kind of a special BXP and not the ones you buy in the stores. and i've played something in the range of a million cirrus basses and can attest to what a great bass it is.

 

now, with all that said, i don't know that i'd want to trade a stingray for a cirrus. i mean, if you're going to unload the stingray anyway, you may as well get a cirrus. but i'd kind of miss the stingray a lot. i love my cirrus, but it is no replacement for the sterling i've been lusting over for years. it's not that it's inferior in any respect -- build quality, tone, and price are relatively equal -- but it's just different enough that one can't mimic the other.

 

play it some more, especially through your ampeg. have the shop put some stainless steel strings on it and tell me it's not amazing.

 

robb.

[mro]

In my defense,the p bass was not a Fender Precision, it was a frankenstein p bass made from various parts thrown together. My jazz with the quarter pounders sounds very good. That is also a frankenstein jazz.I would trade or sell my Stingray only for finacial reasons to fund the cirrus.Don't get me wrong, I like my Stingray.

[kenfxj]

i couldn't disagree more. the P bass is a phenomenal bass for punk and rock.

Yes. Of course.

 

the P bass,which I just sold

It's the which I just sold part that I considered a bad idea.

[rumpelstiltskin.]

the P bass,which I just sold

It's the which I just sold part that I considered a bad idea.

 

naturally.

 

mro -- i understand that you'd need to sell the stingray for the cirrus. i suggest caution because you can't really mimic the stingray with a cirrus. if the cirrus could get a good stingray tone, then it'd be an easy choice. that said, i know you can get a lot of tones with the cirrus, a P-like tone among them. i just have trouble selling a bass that is good for another bass that is good. sometimes patience is needed.

 

robb.

[Phil W]

Thanks Phil for ALL the replys. That Wal is nice. Never seen one.

 

Yes, there's a nice secondhand fretted Wal for sale in a London store right now - £2000.

 

I realise that I was referring to a hugely cheaper Peavey model; I just wanted to reassure you that if the cheaper version is very well put together and good value for money, no doubt the Cirrus is.

[yourlord]

The cirrus basses I have played have been exceptional basses. They're Peavey so I never questioned their durability..

 

Dismiss the nay-sayers in this thread who think a P-bass is the end all be all of Rock bass. I play Rock and Metal on a Smith custom fretless 4 string I bought new for $4000 that goes for $5000 new today and get nothing but accolades for my tone when I play out..

 

We had another band over to watch a rehearsal a couple of months ago and the drummer just ran around the room giggling and yelling, "Oh My God the tone of that bass is just friggin unbelievable!"

 

I wouldn't pee on a p-bass if it was on fire.. That's just my opinion..

 

 

[mcbn]

I'm into punk and rock.

 

A Cirrus will just plain look wrong for punk. Stick with your Jazz or Stingray, get another P or maybe even a Danalectro Longhorn (ala Fat Mike).

 

Of course, you are talking about punk rock, so maybe telling everyone to go fondle themselves is the right approach.

[...]

Play/buy whatever bass you like. Seriously.

 

I'll also echo robb.'s comment about not being able to emulate a Stingray sound on a Cirrus - or on any bass for that matter. A Stingray (or a Sterling) has a very unique sound that is pretty much all its own. During my recent instrument fire sale one of the only things that survived was my Stingray 5. Reason should be obvious... nothing else sounds even remotely like it. My Alembic can sound like a P bass or a Jazz bass with a few twists of some knobs - it also obviously sounds like an Alembic (which nothing else can do) and it can make all kinds of other wonderful noises happen. It's a very diverse instrument but it can't sound like a Stingray/Sterling.

 

And for the record I think a none-more-black Cirrus would be bad as all hell in a punk band.

[rizzo9247]

2 members of the band dislike the Stingray sound.

That to me is ludicrous. Have you tried to tell the drummer that there you can twist those knobs-things to change the sound? Back in the old days people were being stoned to death for less.

 

Anyway,

 

Every Cirrus I played I liked.

Every Stingray I played I liked.

Would I like to have both, yes.

 

When people usually trade in instruments for others, it is almost always to upgrade. I don't think you'll be doing that going from a 'Ray to a Cirrus. Price-wise yes, but sound, I'm not too sure. Just my opinion.

 

[mro]

[

 

A Cirrus will just plain look wrong for punk.

 

If you look at our myspace page, we are middle age. I am 52 (the oldest)and bald and gray. WE don't look like punk anyways.We are just having fun, nothing serious about our band.I'm not worried if the cirrus doesn't look the part, I can't even spike my hair...haha

 

Thanks to everyone's comments. I might visit the cirrus this weekend and bring the stingray.If I get what I want, I may trade. If they insult me, I'll buy used and keep the Stingray. Our CD that's out has the Stingray on it but ya wouldn't know it was a Stingray.

 

[...]

Yeah. You're right. It's all about image isn't it?

[Tom Capasso]

Bump, I think mro's last post had a mis-formatted quote...

 

You've gotten answers to lots of your questions. My problem is when you said

or are they fragile, being a neck thru

I've never heard that neck-thru basses are more fragile. While there are more bolt-ons in the world, that has to do with ease of construction and sound as much as anything else. Carvin and Ken Smith and Tobias basses (Mike Tobias' first company) haven't had a history of falling apart. Neither will a Cirrus.

 

I found the 35" scale a bit much, but the necks feel wonderful.

 

Tom

[_Sweet Willie_]

Even though my S'Ray5 is no longer my primary bass, you will have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

 

I like Peavey Cirrus basses. My kids like the "build your own Cirrus" webpage at the Peavey site.

 

I particularly like Peavey Millenium basses -- certainly one of the best bass-for-the-buck buys out there right now (if only they'd offer a regular finish, and not the faux figured wood).

 

By the way, the Rezidudes sound like they're having a good time with those cover tunes.

 

Peace.

--SW

 

[...]

You're a Peavey site.

[Juancarlin]

Well, my experiences with a Peavey bass are relatively small, but very fruitful. I Bought this Peavey Foundation S from eBay, in a pretty bad shape. With a bad (and Purple!) paint job, missing the "j" pickup, and with an ugly bridge... for about 40$

http://www.radiogato.com/store/pics/barneybefore.jpg

 

Then one day I decided to buy a "grizzly" bridge from Amazon, a PJ set of Bartolinis from eBay, and took the paint off (to discover that before being purple, "Barney" (as I named it since day one) was white before, and Black even before that, nobody told the guy to take off the previous paint before adding up coats of other colors...)

 

The wood below was quite a surprise to me. Absolutely beautiful, and now able to breath some more, and with better electronics and a stabler bridge, is one of my preferred basses (Has that old "P" bass punch!) to use where a heavy basement is needed. Here it is now (early pic wihout the Bartolinis) http://www.radiogato.com/store/pics/barney2.jpg

 

With the Bartolinis on, newer pic, bad angle:

http://www.radiogato.com/store/pics/jcbarney.jpg

 

I must say I am very pleased with the construction and craftmanship. I assume mine is from the early 90s, even late 80s, and to be honest, for the price I paid, I think it has been much more than worth it. Now, if you can KEEP the Stingray AND get the Peavey... would be the best of both worlds.

 

[kenfxj]

http://www.radiogato.com/store/pics/barney2.jpg

 

Wow. That is a nice looking bit of wood to have been buried under a Good 'n' Plenty paint job. Nice find and nice work!

 

I've been playing a lot of Peaveys in the music stores lately. I have to say I've been quite impressed. There's this one Cirrus BXP that is sorely tempting me. Maybe after Christmas if it's still there...