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MGR/BASSFACE!!! « Peavey Milestone I »
Published on 01/27/04 at 15:00This bass was my first bass, a birthday present from my parents. This bass was sold for something in the neighborhood of $200. Nice and cheap.
This bass has served me well for quite a while. I bought a Fender Standard Jazz Bass V (Made in Mexico) in '02, so I use that more a great deal as well, but my Peavey still has a special place in my heart. So let me tell you some of the things I really love about this particular bass...
After some very small adjustments of the bridge, my Milestone gets some wicked action. My Fender doesn't play as smooth as this thing. The neck is nice and slim, I like the J Bass pickup configuration (cheap pickups, but who cares, it's two hundred bucks!). This bass is EXTREMELY playable, I have been able to get the action absolutely perfect, something I simply can't manage on my Fender. It was a pleasure to learn on, and I continue to enjoy it. I don't know if every Milestone plays this well (and I doubt they do, every instrument tends to be different), but from my experience with this bass, I would HIGHLY recommend it as a starter bass in the $200 price range. the key here, though, is playability, and that can vary from bass to bass, so as always, look around for what's right for YOU.
Now, for the problems I've noticed with this bass.
The input jack has a tendency to come loose. It's an ongoing struggle, but I don't really mind taking some time to fix it every now and again. No big deal, many basses in this price range have the same problem. If you get lucky, you may never have this problem. If you don't, well, get a washer from the hardware store and don't cry about it, it's a cheap bass.
The hardware is cheap, but once again, this is usual for basses in this price range. Cheap hardware is what makes the bass cheap. The pickup control dials are finally coming loose on me, after a total of four years of abuse. This will be no problem to fix. Almost anything that has happened with this bass has been simple to fix, much to my liking.
The construction of this bass is allright. One thing I don't like, where the neck is bolted on, there is a slight gap on the back, upper side. Sure, that isn't really a good thing, but if I'm getting the kind of action and playability I want out of this bass, I could care less about it. The pickups may or may not like to hum a little with too much tone and turned up all the way. I solve this problem by not turning the pickups up all the way, and I leave the tone somewhere around three quarters of the way up. Simple solutions make the world go 'round, my friend. This bass is pretty tough, it's been dropped a bit, it's been tossed around haphazardly, and it's still alive and kicking. The thing is solid, as a whole, although the wiring and the input jack are a little sketchy.
Nice, cheap unit, plays quite well, highly recommended as a starter bass. If you're looking for somethind decent to learn on and have a good time playing, check this one out. But please, do that at your local music shop rather than just take my word for it. Also, I personally would implore you not to buy anything other than accessories and etc from Musician's Friend, if that's where you may be ordering from. They totally screwed me just recently, and I'm still waiting for my money back (it's been about a month, so I'll never buy anything from them again). And remember, all the catalog pictures and descriptions in the world don't compare to what you can learn about an instrument just by picking it up and taking it for a "test drive". I'm giving this bass a 3, as it is a cheap bass. Decent value, decent price, a decent bass. What do you want for $200 bucks?
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
This bass has served me well for quite a while. I bought a Fender Standard Jazz Bass V (Made in Mexico) in '02, so I use that more a great deal as well, but my Peavey still has a special place in my heart. So let me tell you some of the things I really love about this particular bass...
After some very small adjustments of the bridge, my Milestone gets some wicked action. My Fender doesn't play as smooth as this thing. The neck is nice and slim, I like the J Bass pickup configuration (cheap pickups, but who cares, it's two hundred bucks!). This bass is EXTREMELY playable, I have been able to get the action absolutely perfect, something I simply can't manage on my Fender. It was a pleasure to learn on, and I continue to enjoy it. I don't know if every Milestone plays this well (and I doubt they do, every instrument tends to be different), but from my experience with this bass, I would HIGHLY recommend it as a starter bass in the $200 price range. the key here, though, is playability, and that can vary from bass to bass, so as always, look around for what's right for YOU.
Now, for the problems I've noticed with this bass.
The input jack has a tendency to come loose. It's an ongoing struggle, but I don't really mind taking some time to fix it every now and again. No big deal, many basses in this price range have the same problem. If you get lucky, you may never have this problem. If you don't, well, get a washer from the hardware store and don't cry about it, it's a cheap bass.
The hardware is cheap, but once again, this is usual for basses in this price range. Cheap hardware is what makes the bass cheap. The pickup control dials are finally coming loose on me, after a total of four years of abuse. This will be no problem to fix. Almost anything that has happened with this bass has been simple to fix, much to my liking.
The construction of this bass is allright. One thing I don't like, where the neck is bolted on, there is a slight gap on the back, upper side. Sure, that isn't really a good thing, but if I'm getting the kind of action and playability I want out of this bass, I could care less about it. The pickups may or may not like to hum a little with too much tone and turned up all the way. I solve this problem by not turning the pickups up all the way, and I leave the tone somewhere around three quarters of the way up. Simple solutions make the world go 'round, my friend. This bass is pretty tough, it's been dropped a bit, it's been tossed around haphazardly, and it's still alive and kicking. The thing is solid, as a whole, although the wiring and the input jack are a little sketchy.
Nice, cheap unit, plays quite well, highly recommended as a starter bass. If you're looking for somethind decent to learn on and have a good time playing, check this one out. But please, do that at your local music shop rather than just take my word for it. Also, I personally would implore you not to buy anything other than accessories and etc from Musician's Friend, if that's where you may be ordering from. They totally screwed me just recently, and I'm still waiting for my money back (it's been about a month, so I'll never buy anything from them again). And remember, all the catalog pictures and descriptions in the world don't compare to what you can learn about an instrument just by picking it up and taking it for a "test drive". I'm giving this bass a 3, as it is a cheap bass. Decent value, decent price, a decent bass. What do you want for $200 bucks?
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com