Peavey T Max Head

Loads of features but not at the be-hest of sound..They covered all the basses[ha ha],with d.i.'s and stuff .350 watts @ 4 ohms, 500 watts @ 2 ohms
EQ Low & High shelving, 7 band graphic, 30hz lowest
XLR out
Other Effects loop, DDT compression, crossover, footswitchable (graph, channel, effects), Two channels Tube and Solid State preamp

So so good..Iv used this at a venue in north holland once which was 5,000 seater and this baby had loads to spare.Bottom end is brutal and at no point breaks into that honky middle you get from trace/marshall.Is also superb for medium venues with split d.i./mic option.Recording wise iv done 4 albums on this,and for me it beat the ampeg b1 i own hands down..I paid around ??300 for this on a wim because i needed a modern sounding bass head;now i dont use anything else.

Look,the other reviews say it all.Im actually always looking out for these on ebay as im terrified if this gets nicked i wont be able to get another.Buy buy buy!!!!!!.

I don 't know how old it is, only that I'm interested since it's been introduced. So august 2007 I had the uppertunity to buy this used one.


It's all known: Jack inputs with active switch, 350 watts@4ohm and 500 watts@2ohm, Tube channel and solidstate channel, switchable and combinable, giving you three channels to work with. 10 bands EQ and low/high shelving controls. It has a crossover on board and the neccesary balance, but only one poweramp. So you need an external poweramp to bi-amp. There's also the DDT function at the master, but as far as I know it's not defeatable.

It has jack outs for speakers, a pre- post switchable XLR out and effect loop with level control at the back.

I use it with a TVX 410 4ohm + BVX 115 Black Widow 4ohm to get the full 500 watts speaking to me. This amp is extreme ! Very loud and very versatile in operation. It's one of the few hybrids that's able to make it's tube growl, thanks to the pre and post gain stages.

I use tree different basses on it: two Ibanez EDA 905's, one Yamaha RBX 800 fretless and one Yamaha RBX sixstring (John Myung sig I)

I drive the Ibanez's throught the tube pre-amp to make them growl, cause these basses are pi??zo driven. This makes them sound clinical. The tube preamp makes them sound dirty. Love it ! ;o)

The Yamaha's go through the SS pre-amp, the gain is set higher to compensate the lower output of these basses. It's a fast way to switch basses without losing time on tweaking !

I play energetic metal through it and love high gain settings. That what this amp is really capable of. I just have to push my string to see the speakercones move..

You can acually get every sound out of this amp: from tube drive down to boomy solidstate British sounds. And I never even started to use the EQ !
One downside the high gain pre-amp provides, is some noise when overdone. But you just have to search for the ideal signal-noise ratio.

It was about 15 years old when I bought it, so there was a problem with it. Sometimes it started to 'woble'. Like there was an interference of some kind. Took it to a tech and it's not totally gone. It's a strange fenomena that comes and goes.

It keeps on playing, though !

So I can 't say it broke down, nearly made my sound go bad. But the direct out keep sounding fine, so the crowd nearly noticed.

I E-mailed the tech people at Peavey US to obtain a users manual and received it an hour later on PDF. So nothing but good things to say here.

The repair guy (independant) says Peavey always provides scematics for their amps as long as they know you're a genuine trained tech.

I 'm playing for about 18 years now and owned to much to summurize. I also own a peavey TVX 210 (great cab for a very low price !) cab and did own stuff like Ampeg, Ashdomn, Hartke and SWR.

I my opinion, Peavey is unbeatable in price versus quality. My complete set-up costed me about 500 Euro's (700$) second hand and it beats many contemporary brands that cost a few times as much.

Currently, I'm getting really interested in the newer Pro 2000 head... tube and solidstate pre-amps, combined with dual 2 ohm 1000 watt poweramp in a 25 LBS head... gotta love it.

Tube/solid state hybrid, built in crossover, fx loop, eq, active/passive, this amp is incredibly versatile and sounds great with any bass I have played through it. This thing has power to spare, I play it through a 810-TX Peavey cabinet & have never had to turn it up to halfway in any club we have played in. Plus it still sounds full & warm at lower volumes also.

I usually play my Fender American Standard Jazz Bass, but have also used a Japanese made p-bass with Seymour Duncans, a Washburn cheapie that my teenage daughter uses, and a Dean with active pickups, they all sound great with just minor e/q adjustments. Sounds warm, full, and chest thumping punchy at any volume. We play mostly blues & jam rock & have been working very steadily at clubs & festivals for the last 12 years since I bought this amp & it has never let me down. I had the money to buy more expensive amps & could not justify it when they didn't sound as good.

This thing has been rock solid, often when we play local festivals I will rent it to the promoter for the other bass players to save time between groups on set up. Every one who plays through this loves it. It has confirmed every thing I had ever said or heard about Peavey reliability with better sound quality than any of it competitors that I heard. I have played through it for 12 years of continuous gigging & it has never been serviced or even maintained. I just wish that peavey still made these so that when this one finally does die I could get another.

I had to order new wheels for the cabinet that I got with this amp & had no problems. The wheel design was lousy but the cabinet sounds great & that is much more important if you asked me. The amp has never had anything done to it, I haven't even cleaned it out after 12 years of smoky bars so I don't know about their customer service on this particular product.

I have been playing electric bassfor the last 26 years & this is my favorite amp ever. That is why I have owned it for almost half of that time. I compared it to Ampeg, Trace Elliot, SWR, and many others. They were two to three times the price & didn't sound any better, many of them didn't sound as good. I wish it had a new model of the same amp other than that I'm pretty happy. If this was stolen or broke down I would definitely try to find another on Craigslist or E-bay.

Soliod State and Tube pre. Line out, Post or Pre EQ , Effects loop, crossover. Excellent features.

P-Bass, J-Bass and 5 string Roscoe Beck. I play primarily roots and world music where I need clear big bass tones. This head is amazing and you can get them used nowadays for about $300. Really the best thing going for this price or anything under $1000 in my experience. Great headroom and with the tube pre you can get grind to sterile. Your choice.

I have 2 of them. Both are 12 years old. They look great and they have never ever busted down. It's a Peavey when Peavey made super heavy duty pro gear. It is the 'White faced' pro series.

I would buy it again. I am looking for a 3rd actually.
It is a brilliant head. Thanks Peavey.

2 channels and a power transformer that is no longer made buy peavey

it sounded pretty great when it worked .. REALLY DEEP

as long as one of your speakers doesn't cut out and cut your ohm's to 0.5 from 2 .. it'll be fine ..


yah i let a friend use my t MAX and his one 15 cut out .. and that blew the tranny ..

they stopped making the part because i think they stopped making rack mount bass heads .. with 2 channels .. (the transformer is short to fit in the head ..and it's 2 transformers in one .. because the tube channels needs alot more power then the solid state .. but yah they don't make it .. so it's not their problem i guess .. ah well everything else they make is gold

i miss it .. wish it didn't die .. i don't have the money to replace it, neither did the guy that blew it .. so i just got a bunch of garbage he didn't want .. love this amp, hate this transformer, love peavey ...

but wait there is hope .. my local amp hero says he should be able to hook the solid state channel up to a transformer .. and i could have just the solid state ... but i doubt i will do that ..

anyone wanna buy a peavey boat anchor>?

bought in 1998. very reliable and versatile sound. the ability to switch or combine tube & solid state channels is a bonus!!

it has been a very reliable amp up until a few months ago when the power transformer broke down.

i live in canada and there is no distributorship for peavey parts in canada. can you believe that?!?!?! i had the amp in for the repair at a local music store for 6 months only to find out the transformer i NEED (!!!) is no longer available!!! i will never buy another peavey product because of this fact and i will encourage others i meet to do the same, because if you have to wait that long to make repairs, the money spent is worthless. i also own 2 peavey cabinets - a 2 X 12 and a 4 X 10 which are still nearly new. i will be putting these cabinets up for private sale, because gos help if i have to replace any speakers or parts - i will probably wait a full year if not longer.

this was a really great amp. i really liked playing through it, the tone was there and it did carry a lot of power and the tubes sounded great!! overall it rocked!! but now it is a boat anchor because i cannot locate a part and i will never buy another peavey product because of that fact!!!

you want solid state? you got it

you want Tube? it is Tube

(god that sounds like a bob's furnature commercial) lol

you can combine the 2 channels and run it as both tube and SS at the same time. (killer tone you have to heard it to believe it)


this amp has everything you need.

350 watts @ 4 ohms, 500 watts @ 2 ohms
EQ Low & High shelving, 7 band graphic, 30hz lowest
XLR out
Other Effects loop, DDT compression, crossover, footswitchable (graph, channel, effects), Two channels Tube and Solid State preamp

it sounds amazing you can get jazz tones all the way to grindy tech metal sounds it is the shit i love this thing!!!!!!!

i have never heard of any problems with this amp nor had any :)

peavey knows whats up.

if u can find one of theese pick it up i will swear by its tone till the day i die the only bass amp u will every need

you want solid state? you got it

you want Tube? it is Tube

or you can combine the 2 channels and run it as both tube and SS at the same time. (killer tone you have to heard it to believe it)

Lots of features, More than I have been able to find a use for. Having two separate yet combinalbe tube and solid state channels is awsome. I run a peavey 8x10 cabinet with this. I have considered adding a second 2x15 cabinet for more low end and to take advantage of the cross over, I have blown out two of the 8 10" speakers. It has lots of power. The The eq is great, can tune everything perfectly. I used to play mostly realy heavy stuff, but recently I have been playing with our worship team. I had to set master volume to 2 in order to keep from overpowering every body else. I have no need for a PA. (we have found many loose peices of hardware in the sanctuary when I hit their resonant frequency) So i would say that this is very versatile.

I use a Peavey T-40 bass with it, with passive electronics. I have been thinking of getting a newer 5 string with active pickups, but this amp realy makes the active/passive debate kind of irrelivent. When I play hard, this has lots of punch, and the solid state channel combined with the the tube chanel allow for all sorts of variation in sound. If I turn the tube preamp way up it has pretty sweet overdive sound to it. When I play with the worship team the sound is smooth, deep, clear, spiritual in fact.

I loaned this to a guy for one show he played a style kind of a cross between punk and reggae if that makes any since. Much more slapp that I use. He liked it so much it took me three months to get it back, and he tried to buy it from me.

The only thing I dislike is the fan on the back is a little loud. It is not worn out though, it is just loud. When you are playing very hard and you hold your hand in front of it you can feel a warm brezze coming out the front of the amp. Sometimes I have felt this breez and thought the heat or air kicked on and I was near a vent. I have thought about taking it out and putting a quieter one in, but have never done it.

Yes you can depend on it! Mine is mounted in a hardshell case that the front and back that lock on for travel. I think this was something a previous owner did to it, but it works great. I have never had a single problem with it and I think it still has the original tubes in in it. I dont know how old it is, maybe 10 years, maybe more. I sold my other amps, so I always play with this now.

Never need support for the amp. I did get a couple of reconed speakers for the cabinet and had no problems at all.

I have been playing for about 9 years. I dont own another bass amp I sold the old ones, I used to have a nice crate, but it didnt compare with this, and before that a vintage Traynor tube amp. If it were stollen I would try to find another at a decent price, but their arnt too many of them around. I am not sure what other amp I might replace it with. I have said lots about what I like, I dont like the noise from the fan and it is pretty heavy to lug around but in the case it is fairly portable. I got this used from a local guitar shop just before they went out of business. I had been looking to upgrade for a while previously, and they had this and the 8x10 cabinet at the same time. I had no idea how good it was when I bought it. I realy dont think 10 out of ten is overdoing it even with the Noisy fan, after all who wants a bass amp that is quiet, as a bassist I want to be heard loud and clear.

Tube/Sold state, effect loops, 7 bands EQ, x-crossover frequency, active/passive input, and a bunch of stuffs at the back which I never use. More features than I ever need. Basically has everything except headphone jack, but I only use this for band practice and gig, so not a problem for me.

I can pretty much get any kind of sound out of this thing by playing with the tube/solid state, gain, and EQ. And with 500Watts, I can turn it very loud without any distortion at all.

I have had this amp for 5 years. Not a slightest problem. But I dont' think the amp can actually take much abuse coz it doesn't have a protecting case and it very very heavy.

No idea..

I am using a Fender 4x10" and 1x15" cab with the t-max.
Similar amp I have rented before: GK 800RB, Trace Elliot AH350, SWR350.
In term of versatile sounds and power, I think the T-Max is the best.
For warm sound, the Trace Elliot is a bit better, but I brought the T-max instead becoz I needed more power.
The 800RB and SWR350 look very good and sound "OK", but nothing suprising, but they are WAYY underpowered compare to the Trace AH350 and T-Max.

Just an amendment to my TMax review:

The internal link is cut when you plug into the poweramp in, not the preamp outs. Sorry for the mistake.

Also a small update; I am now running full crossover into both bins, as the Transition from low to high frequency was too noticable, and the Hartke bin has a really tight bottom end when not driven to hard.

Now back to the regular programing....

Ok the entries below pretty much sum up the features, but the crossover part must be clarified. You can use the pre amp and power amp independant of each other, and do it using the crossover or just full frequency. You do need other gear though. My setup is as follows:

From instrument into active tmax input (active jap bass), through the pre amp & eq etc., then out through the crossovers like this: (plugging a lead into the crossover or line out jacks on the back cuts the internal link between pre amp and power amp)

Out from low crossover into a BBE 383 Bass pre amp/maximizer, out of that into the tmax line in (power amp in), from the 2 tmax speaker outs into an Alumabass Bullfrogger cab with 2 solid cone 15's, and;

Out from the high crossover into a Crate B150 Bass head and from that into a Hartke 4x10 solid cone cab.

I run the crossover at about 750 Hz so I don't destroy the Hartke with to much low frequency power. The crossover balance is neutral (12 o'clock) because I control the balance with the volume level on the BBE and Crate amps.

I have configured this setup in other ways, like with BBE in the effects loop of the tmax so both low and high crossovers got processed by the BBE, and putting the high crossover straight into the power amp in on the Crate, but found the current setup to be best as the highs are more natural and less tinny, and I have more control over them and the sound in general.

My main gripe feature-wise is that I have no control over the built in limiter (DDT or whatever Peavey calls it) so I have to control it upstream with the built in compressors/limiters on the BBE and Crate amps. An effects-loop blend knob would have been better than the 'effects level' switch on the back, but its no biggie.

I play metal and go for a clean punchy sound (it stands out well from the 5150 stacks my guitarists use.). It gives me something close to the sound I am ideally looking for when playing loud by myself or with drums, but when the guitars are added it could do with a little more volume I guess. It is still a great sound, I am very happy with it. I have had it for only a couple of months and am still tweaking it a bit, but it is pretty much how I want it. More volume will come when I get more powerfull speakers for the 2x15 cab.

You can get a pretty decent range of sounds with the tmax, but punchy and clean is were it shines. The EQ is very responsive and effective, you can really shape it with the addition of the shelving knobs. If you drive it to the point where the limiter is really coming on you are at its usable max volume, any more just muddies the waters. Running a crossover seems to let you get away with a fair bit more.

The friend I bought it off ran it for years hassle free, and I have had no problems with it. The only thing I have noticed is that with a long session the power amp gets pretty hot. The fan keeps it cool over most of it (you can feel it blowing through the EQ slider slots), but on the right hand side panel near the front it gets very hot after a couple of hours of high power use. Whether this is cause for concern or not I don't know, but I like to keep gear cool if I can.

Basically a trouble free unit.

Dunno.

If it was stolen or lost (yeah right) or hit by a meteorite I would buy another if: I was looking for a bass head, and if I could find one. However, I think that I would probably go with a power amp and another pre amp.

It compares well with other stuff, I work in a music shop and nothing there gives me a sound I like as much.

I am not going to mention most things others have said allready. What is really unique in my opinion: it features thus a tube and a solid state channel, which you are able to combine. Further stuff: great EQ, cut or boost even 15 dB, plus a shelving function. (High/Low) X-over (cross-over) frequency etc.. (I have to admit: I have no idea where it is used for, some people will laugh now, I know it!)
Enough power: 500W, by 2 ohm. I use a Eden 210MBX cab (8 ohms) so I think the power will be about 250/300 W in my small room of 15 square metres... I think you should be playing on a really big stage, where you'd be needing more of it.

I only use a Aria Pro2 TSB350. It is a bass from 1983 I believe which really sounds great and has a large output. An enormous pickup (like a precision, but then bigger and reversed) which 'rocketeers' the lows quite well. ;-) I only tried a J-bass on it, and I was asthonished. A former reviewer mentioned the SWR 350, and I share his opinion. With the SWR, you can't get a distorted sound, because of the limiter. With the T-max it's possible.

Sounds: It is a huge sound, which comes alive. It's not too tiny, but also not too bassy. The balance between both is good, and with the tube preamp you can get every grade of distortion you want. From a smooth edge, until a heavily distorted sound. It's all possible.
(in a bass way of talking, by which I mean, you'll never be a van Halen on your bass right?) The second channel is the solid state one. I allmost never play through it, because of the SWR like 'limited' sound. I love tube sound, hence I am not really using this one. I prefer a sound, which is alive. The EQ simple, but sufficient. Great sound, simple to get.

At first I thought I would dump the bass, because I had never tried it on a proper amp, but now I will be customizing it. That means to me: adding the Seymour Duncan Vintage Jazz bass pickups (I was lucky to be able to buy them for not too much) on it, a mix and a push pull one for the P-like element.

Only problem: in small rooms, the fan at the back is f*cking noisy, that would be it I think.

It has to be admitted: I really liked the sound and have tried for almost half a year every week different amps, but this one: I had to buy it. And it was cheap then!
Other thing: If you think, you're sound is not good, then you own a bass which is the problem. Definately not the amp. (See second review) Personnaly I think you should throw your bass away and stop writing garbage. :-)

It has never been broken, it's a second hand and I play it now every day for half a year I think. As you can read I can't give a good opininon about it that way. It is said that my amp since 1988 or something has never had problems and is used on stage. So in that way it will be OK.

I get one year warranty of the shop. (feedback utrecht, NL) No further comments, because they don't apply to me.

I have been playing guitar for 12 years now, bass for five years. In bands I mostly performed as a guitarist, once in while as a bass player. I have played a few amps, but not too good to mention. Only a Bassman 50, which (of course) sounded great (don't slap on a low powered tube amp!) I love it's sound! I hate? Don't know, except the fan at the back. But that's not really a problem
I would buy it again, but it's not easy to get one. I don't believe it is sold to many. It's cheap and sounds awesome...

The rating is relative the the price! (not absolute, which it never is I think)

I have had this head for 3 years. I've used it in clubs for the past two years. It has plenty of power for stage sound. I run the XLR out to PA for larger venues. Features that I use include a tube preamp section as well as a solid state preamp. You can even choose to utilize both preamp sections at once. The amp seams to handle all my playing styles quite well. From blues, funk, metal, and classic rock I can get all the styles of music to sound the way it should. The front panel includes 1 1/4" jack switchable between passive or active inputs, preamp channel selection, high and low shelving nobs, eq section, high and low crossover points and master volume. The back section includes XLR output (pre or post EQ), power amp in, 2-speaker outs, crossover outs, foot switch input and effects loop. (I really wish it had a tuner output.)

The sound is great. I play a American Std. J-bass with my fingers. Slap and plucking are my playing styles. I have it running with a Peavey 2-10" cab w/ tweeter and a 1-15" black widow. At MAX volumes the amp does seem to peater out and get thin in tone, but I never need to run it that hard. For nice fuzzy distortion I can overdrive the Tube preamp section, however I never run heavy distortion in my blues band. I am able to get the amp to sound anyway I want it to. When I purchased it I was ready to spen what ever it took. The music store had a SWR 350 and the T-MAX. Playing side-by-side with my guitar and speakers, the T-Max had a smoother sound that I was looking for.

I have been gigging solid with my band Blue Onion (www.blueonion.net)for the last two years and have not had one single problem with this amp. I haven't even needed to replace the 12AX7 tube.

I have never needed it.....

I have been playing bass since '88. When I bought this amp I was upgrading from a Mark VIII Peavey head and have loved my journey with the T-MAX. Again, if it only had a tuner output. If it were stolen I wouldn't replace it with another T-Max. For one, peavey doesn't make it any more, secondly I have been keeping my eye out something different (and I don't know what).

I've had my t-max head for about 2 years now, I bought it because it was powerful and cheap - it also has both valve and solid state pre-amps. Using two 4ohm cabs I can run this amp at 2ohms(rated 500w) - that is quite adequate even against my guitarists marshall 100w/100w dual mono power amp. It has an effects loop which can be footswitched along with the pre-amp channel and g-Eq, although I've not managed to get hold of a footswitch. It is also capable of bi-amping - BUT ONLY WITH AN EXTERNAL POWER AMP!! - this seems totally pointless, as it simply renders the power section redundant. If you want to bi-amp look at the Max preamp Peavey also make.

I play a five string Tobias (a Gibson one unfortunately), mainly heavy music hardcore/metal, with allsorts in between. The eq section on the amp can make up for any misgivings on your bass, e.g. mine has no low end grunt/decent string tension on low B. There's a low and high dial and a 7-band graphic - plenty of manipulation there.
I don't like the valve pre-amp - too trebly and no warmth, but that could just be my bass as I haven't persevered with it. Solid state side is superb, punchy, ballsy a basic "solid" sound - don't expect any individual kind of tone, its just a nice neutral sound. I added an 18" speaker to it last year, which made a good difference.

Have used this head very regularly at high volumes/temperatures (at least 4 times a week + gigs). Over the last two years I have not had to touch it. Solid as you get - but mine is rackmounted, get a rackcase otherwise I can see some knobs and switches being vulnerable. There is no fuse - just a handy reset switch, although I haven't even had to use this.

Never needed it - although peavey dealers in UK never want to order stuff for you (like the footswitch). But that goes for any shop here they're all poor in my experience.

overall - this is a good amp, nothing special - but the price tag is good. If it took a walk, then I doubt I would replace it because I'm looking to upgrade anyway for reasons of flexibility and a less generic sound. Peavey could have made it cheaper and dropped the crossover section - or just made it fully bi-amp capable, WHY BOTHER SITTING HALF WAY?!!! Despite my gripes, this will be loud and reliable night after night and it doesn't cost the earth.