Peavey DEP 800

This review is for the Model 1310, which appears to be a slightly different version of the standard. Ease of use - should be redefined - there are no patch settings... however I have found that this unit produced some fantastic sounds that can be accurately reproduced if you take good notes. In other words, results are consistent if you are careful about settings - a stable unit. The unit is highly flexible, allowing a lot of tweaking with too much detail for a lot of folks who are into effects.

The sound quality in terms of clarity is subjective. For example, if you are looking for some great Eno/Bowie sounds, you can easily get them here. 'Little Fishes' for example sounds as if the keyboard used to play the fish sounds is passed through this unit. I have also managed to get guitar synth sounds from a old Juno hooked up to this unit, using the pitch bend lever as a whammy bar - fanstastic sound! the ability to play with feedback and gain make this a great noisemaker for industrial artists as well... HOWEVER one should not that it is possible to overload the chip and fry it. You need to watch the gain and output level leds carefully, for the same reason as it is risky to lean guitars on a cranked amp... left unattended this unit has been also known to produced some interesting organic sounding ambience... I have worked on a product and left the unit on accidentally only to find that when I returned the ambient sound had been passing through the delay and developed some interesting textures... If you are interested in sonic experimentation, this device is for you. I wish I had one still... but it was in the production lab I worked in.

I think it is rather sensitive to use at a gig... I would use it to develop sounds or samples in the studio and then export those on the road to a sampler.

The machine at the lab (mind you this was 1994-5) had to be sent in to be repaired due to transitior overload caused by a regenration loop gone horribly wrong - overloaded the circuitry for an extended period of time. Got it back in a good amount of time. I think this model would be harder to get repaired now, however.

For folks who are looking for highly tweaked sounds and a soft ambient feel, this is a great machine in the studio for processing other tracks that are mising something. That being said, there are a few basic rules of thumb... 1. Be able to kill the input signal at any time. 2. Be able to bypass the effect regenereation at any time. 3. Turn the machine off when it is not in use (the last one is very important). Otherwise, this piece of equipment can provide a lot of the older 70's ambient and fuzz sounds that you are looking for.

Fairly easy to use. No LED display, just knobs.

It is 8 bit sound, but still O.K.. A little noisy and tinny sounding.

Cheesy but neat if you have one that works. I'll fill you guys in
below!

This thing is a literal hunk of shit. I bought two. One worked; one
didn't. I ordered the non working chip from Peavey and I got it working. I sold it, but before I went to mail it, I tested it out
to make sure it worked. Guess what? It didn't. I tried everything
to fix the Dep 800 but it just kept on making these wierd fucked sounds. F'in great. Now I have to send the DEP 800 I wanted to keep
and I am stuck witht he DEP that doesn't fricken' work. So guess what?

I took the DEP 800 outside to my driveway, threw it on the pavement
about ten times. Then I took my hammer to it and smashed its casing in.Really tough casing! Then I smashed the circuit board to bits which
took sometime. I'll give it to Peavey for making a strongly made case
and circuit board. Then I grabbed its power cord and swung the DEP 800
down again and again on the pavement. This really dented and warped
the body. Then I smashed it like 20 times with my hammer and parts
flew everywhere. Once it no longer esembled anything rackmountable,
I threw it in peices in a black garbage bag.

Well what the hell?! I paid 45 bucks for this hunk of shit
hoping I could fix it. I spent another 10 bucks on parts and shipping
to get the extras chips. And I spent a shit load of time cleaning it
up to showroom condition. I think I got zero enjoyment out of
it before. But now I think I got my moneys worth smashing the living
shit out of this piece of dog shit garbage Peavey digital effects
unit.

In other words, don't buy one unless you want to be dissapointed
soundwise and reliability wise. It didn't sound to wonderful when
it did work. Now the chips are impossible to buy, so once it
goes for the big one, you might as well have fun destroying it.

If I could rate this shit lower I would, becuase it didn't even work
once. It worked zero times except for that 1 time when I fixed it.



What garbage!!!

Peavey always has great customer support.

No one uses it unless they are high on crack. This thing was
origianlly purchased because I wanted something that made cheesy
effects. Screw it. I have a 24 bit effects unit that I can change
perameters on to make any sound good or cheesy.

Stay away from any of the digital stuff from the eighties because the
chips are not available for these things anymore. It's like buying
a stereo from a pawnshop circa 1981. Piece of shit!


I have never had such aggrevation except with the garbage E-Machine
computer I am on now. Stay away from old digital garbage unless
you have a BSC in Electrical Engineering, have a pile of chips at
home, and shoot up crack in some inner city backalley or 118th ave
in Edmonton.


Blaauachhhhhhh. I just puked on it. GARBAGE!!!!

Because of the 4 knobs with no markings, my pedal is extremely difficult to operate. However, I've had it for 7 years and have had the time to intuit what the darn thing does. I like it much better than my Boss DD-3 and can get a great echoplex sound with it. My advice is to tinker and learn to love this oddball device.

Since it's 8-bit, it sounds great into a tube amp w/ tube reverb. I call the sound "crapping out". The delay degrades and you get this amazing tubey, Neil Youngish delay sound that is anything but sterile. And great for surfish guitar playing. This is my moldy, beat-up secret weapon.

I've had it for six years, it has duct tape on the back, and it has always worked for me.

It has an amazing long delay time but sounds like a Roland Space Echo in its psycho mode. I just rotate the switch to go from the slapback sound to the big delay sound (three clicks to the right). This pedal is not rationally laid out. You must learn to harness the force and trust your intuition. I guess I've learned to play through this thing 'cause none of my friends have been able to use it(they prefer tap-style delays) but I love its warm sound and controlled chaos. If you see one, pick it up for one of those rainy days.

I don't know how it sounds just the specs. It is one of the first
digital 8 bit units for effects. It came out in the eighties. If anyone
knows anything about these units, post a review!!! Also: If anyone wants to sell their Peavey DEP 800, I'll buy it off you as long as it
works.


E-mail me at victoryplanet@hotmail.com

Who knows? But no very good. Remember it is 8 bit after all.

Probably if it is still working now (1999) then it probably will keep
on working another 20 years.

Great customer service and info for all your needs.

A neat unit I have read about and would definitely like to hear
about and check out.