WHY DO PEAVEY SPRING REVERBS SOUND SO BAD?(imo)

[David Griffin]

Don't get me wrong,I have played Peavey amps since 1977 & I love their products. I have a PV LTD400 that I bought in'77 & it's still going strong. It will part your hair @ 50 yds as far as volume goes. I also own a Session400,a Nashville400 & a tube Deuce & have owned a NV112 & Vegas400 amps in the past. IMHO: NONE of them had a decent reverb,I've always had to use some other outboard reverb to get a good sound. Why? What's different in construction in a PV reverb & say,a Fender reverb? Is it because the Fender is tube-driven in most cases? To me,the money Peavey spends on putting spring reverbs in their amps could be better spent on just having digital reverb built in.

[Eddy Scheepers]

Ken Fox advised me to use another type of reverb can. Great sound!

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=


Eddy

[Clyde Mattocks]

I always found the internal reverb in Session 400s quite usuable, but I agree the ones in NV112's are pretty bad and too noisy (hum) to be of much use at all. There is another thread here asking about which type reverbs are preferred. I like Lexicon's plate reverb for steel.

[LARRY COLE]

It is not the spring reverb that sounds bad, it is the design. There is a reverb mod for some of Peavey amps that makes the reverb sound a lot better. I think Ken Fox sells the parts and installs them. I used to use a Midiverb 4 until I done the mod. Now all I use is the reverb in the amp. Sounds great.

[David Griffin]

Thanks for the responses,guys.@Clyde:I agree about the Session400,it IS the best PV has made so far,but still far below the the sound of a good digital 'verb.@Larry & Eddy,I will defintely look into the mods.Thanks. I hope Ken & Mike Brown will chime in on this. My reason for asking about this is: I decided to just go back to the basics: an LDG,2 cables,Hilton VP & a Nashville400. The first gig I played w/ this setup,I was amazed how bad the reverb in the amp sounded. Luckily I had brought along my trusty old MidiverbII.I spent the first break putting it back in the loop. NO contest! The Midiverb blew the amp 'verb outta the water! It is an 18 bit unit that I bought in 1988. You'd think by now Peavey could have come up w/ something better.JMO

[Eddy Scheepers]

This is the link to the parts list for the session 400 mod. This mod is absolutely worthwile.

http://sites.google.com/site/robertllaw ... sion400mod

Eddy

[David Griffin]

Eddy:Thanks for posting the link. Do you know if anyone does the mod on a Nashville400? I didn't see it on the list. Like I said;I love the amp,just not the reverb.

[Eddy Scheepers]

Ken Fox, I presume...

E

[chris ivey]

most of my reverbs quit working long ago so i just use a little delay. now i prefer that sound as it is cleaner.

[Freddie Wooton]

David, I let Ken Fox Mod all of my amps. Just remove the amp and reverb from the box and send it to him.You will not believe what you hear when you get it back. You'll think he converted to a tube amp.I was gonna get all these Peaveys modded and then sell them,but I changed my mind and kept all of them and use them every week end. I love em. Fred W.

[rodger_mcbride]

Forumite Bob Metzger has the best reverb mod for the NV400.

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum11/HTML/006694.html

rodger

[Curt Langston]

My Nashville 400's reverb sounds excellent.

[Bob Metzger]

Thanks, Rodger,

I believe that Ken Fox uses my reverb mod as part of his overall mod for the Peavey Nashville 400. If you got a NV 400 and want a better, brighter reverb sound, try this mod. I think everyone that has installed it in their amp feels it really improves the amp and is quite happy with it. I posted the details of the mod for free on this forum for all to use - check the archives. If you're bad at sourcing non-standard value parts, I sell parts kits, inexpensively. Unfortunately, this mod only works with the Peavey Nashville 400 amp.

My next mod project is to improve the reverb of the Fender Steel King. Can I make it more Fender than a Fender? Time will tell.

Bob M.

[Bob Metzger]

Thanks, Rodger,

I believe that Ken Fox uses my reverb mod as part of his overall mod for the Peavey Nashville 400. If you got a NV 400 and want a better, brighter reverb sound, try this mod. I think everyone that has installed it in their amp feels it really improves the amp and is quite happy with it. I posted the details of the mod for free on this forum for all to use - check the archives. If you're bad at sourcing non-standard value parts, I sell parts kits, inexpensively. Unfortunately, this mod only works with the Peavey Nashville 400 amp.

My next mod project is to improve the reverb of the Fender Steel King. Can I make it more Fender than a Fender? Time will tell.

Bob M.

[Cartwright Thompson]

I did Bob's reverb mod on a Nash 400 and it was a huge improvement. There are so many great outboard reverb pedals available today that I only use an amps reverb when convenience is an issue, even on a twin reverb.

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

Nice new avatar, Carty. tell us how you really feel! haha!

[Erv Niehaus]

Let's not be bad mouthing Peavey, they can build a good reverb if they want to.
Just get your hands on one of their "Valveverb" units and you'll hear what reverb is supposed to sound like.

[Cartwright Thompson]

I agree Erv, the Valverb was one of the best reverbs I've ever heard. I just wish you could put the Valverb's guts into something more convenient than a rack sized unit (for those of us who don't have rack equipment).

[Erv Niehaus]

Cartwright,
Yes, agreed.
That's kind of the reason why I went with a rack setup, just a little more choice of components.

[Doug Palmer]

When I first got my NV-112 the Reverb sounded OK, but didn't blow me away. I bought a 2 button foot switch to turn the effect post loop on and off. I just left the reverb on. To my surprise the reverb sounds great with the foot swith plugged in. Does that make any sense?

Doug