Peavey T.B. Raxx Preamp

Couldn't be much simpler..all the other reviews have the features listed, I won't run through them again...

If I could give mine a 20, I would. I'm running a Tobias Killer B 5 string--->Audio Technica wireless--->Sabine rack tuner--->T.B. Raxx--->Carvin power amp--->Peavey 1x15 and 2x10.

I play mostly with a pick, but fingerstyle the preamp sounds amazing as well. It adds a ton of fullness to my bass sound, and i've never cut through a mix so easily(no small feat considering i'm up against a Mesa Triple Rec and a Peavey XXX).

I also ran the preamp through a DI and then directly into a PreSonus Firepod on a recent recording, and the results were incredible.

If I needed to play bass while jumping out of a plane with no parachute, this would be the preamp i'd be playing through on the way down.

Never had to deal with Peavey on the thing.

I play mostly metal/punk rock stuff(www.myspace.com/86charley-shameless self plug), but i've switched just as easily to funk, blues, and the like without touching a thing. This preamp has some pretty kickass dynamics.

If I ever lost it or it was stolen, i'd pay double what i did for another one. I think i'd curl up in a ball and die if mine broke down, but I don't think it ever will. I know it's heavily used, and it still has the original tubes in it.

The only downside is that I wish the gain boost was variable, and a footswitch for that would be cool, but I can use a distortion pedal if need be. I haven't had to yet...this thing has gain for days.

This pre is easy to use and to get lots of great tones out of it. I can easily dial in fat, growly, clean, dirty, twangy or whatever I want. I can dial in a vintage thump or a modern slap tone, truly anything I can think of I can get with the twist of a few knobs.

This thing gets HUGE bonus points for flexibility: With the high and low in and out, you can use it in front of another preamp, directly into the house, or into a power amp and speaker. You can use it like an effect or like a DI. I have used it in most possible configurations, and its flexibility has saved my life from time to time!

I use this beast with a hot-rodded MIM Jazz bass or a G&L SB-2, into whatever I can get my hands on-cheap crate combo or the house PA, usually.

THIS PRE IS MY SECRET WEAPON!!! (not so secret anymore, I guess)

Its tone is warm, rich and full of fat, funky character. With my G&L, my tone has been described as sounding "like a tree trunk" and with my jazz it sounds "intense"

Quite simply, with this pre I have found "my tone" and it's just so flexible and awesome that you'll find your tone with it too!

As I was about to plug a "10" in for sound quality, the menu suggested that 10 meant "pristine sound quality" My T.B. Raxx does not have "pristine sound quality," but what it does have is a whole range of solid, thick and juicy tones that are PERFECT for my style, so I STILL give it a ten!

Like all things peavey... the cockroaches will be rocking out with my preamp after the nuclear holocaust. Enought said.

N/A

For rock, funk, blues, disco, jazz, this thing is awesome. It took me ten years of bass playing to really find my style, and this guy helped me find my tone.

This is one of the true bargains in bass equipment. I would recommend it to anybody. It just has tone from here to next tuesday, and the price is unbelievable.

This is a simple device with 2 gain stages (4 really, 2 identical valves) with EQ on both. A couple of push switches, 2 inputs, 2 out puts - high and low gain inputs, outputs to amp or line level device (console) -

I loved it right off. It's been a long time since I've owned a tube anything (last tube amp I owned was a used 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb in 1970). But, I played quite a few amps at the local shops, some buddies gigs, too and I couldn't get the (low level) tone out of them that I could out of this pre-amp plugged into PV Audition Plus. Has the original Peavey 12AX7's in it. Fantastic job of matching and biasing these babys. Fronted with a Tele->MXR Distortion+ (197something)-> Dunlop Crybaby 198something -> Bad Monkey -> Raxx -> PV Audition Plus (with an added speaker bypass) -> Peavey 112H and I'm suprised beyond...

I'd say it's reliable considering I'm the 3rd or 4th owner and it doesn't appear to have ever been serviced. I'd take it on a gig with out a backup but I'd bring a pair of spare tubes. Anything else, it just wouldn't matter, then.

I emailed tech support for a schematic and they emailed a PDF back. No charge. Even though the website claims it's $5 if it's not on the site.

I bought this thing way used - even though I was pretty sure I might be paying to much and did. I didn't realize just how old it was.
I've been playing a stringed instrument, ukele, guitar, bass since I could get my hands around the neck of a ukele. 40 years. Whoa....
I play everything. I love music. Did a stint at Berklee '78-'80 and got into electronics (thanks to Anderton) and was minoring in audio recording then went to electronics engineering school-stopped playing everyday for way to many years. This thing sounds great - don't think I'd go looking for a used one, if it went missing - I'd build one. I'll fix if it goes breaking. I wish it had a footswitch for bright and thick, which it will, soon. It's great in the studio.

Easy to use. Best sound IMO is when not overdriven in pre and post stage. I don't like the sound when it begins to distort either on the pre or post volume knobs. I usually crank the bass EQ from a little to allot.

My other bass preamps are a Focusrite Trackmaster which is a class A device, much "cleaner" and sharper, with parametric EQ. At lower levels it sounds great. And a Focusrite ISA series pre-amp (428) which sounds great, articulate and lively, sometimes it sounds like a live baritone horn which I used to play. I hear Sting runs his bass through a Focusrite ISA 220, also in the ISA series.

ON THE OTHER HAND, this Peavey sounds different, whether better or worse depends on the situation. With an old Yamaha BB1200 with active pick-ups and smooth strings (the kind Jamerson used to use) through this Peavey preamp at moderate levels, not distorting, through a AB 400 + watt amp, the kind they use for PA systems, through an Eden 2x10 cabinet, at a volume loud enough so that the hair on your skin jumps with each note, this thing funks in a way that the Focusrites do not. It like riding in a convertible car... fun.

For me, it boils down to the Focusrite ISA for recording (wide frequency response range) and gigs where accurate articulation is important. And the Peavey for a (loud) live, thumping, dancing good time.

Thank you to the reviewers on this page for giving this unit good reviews. Cause of them I bought this unit.

For what this does... i.e. loud, thumping and slapping, it does well. Once the whole rig reaches a certain "loudness", this thing is fun to play. At lower levels, it sounds muddy in comparison the the Focusrites. But I would only know that from direct comparision. When I first started comparing the two sounds, each sounded so good, I didn't want to switch over to the other pre-amp. Then, once I switched, I didn't want to switch back. But now that I've had both units for a while, I have developed a preference for when to use each. For the price ($75), this Peavey is almost a "must" buy. I paid $400 for the Focusrite Trackmaster and $1,500 for a rack of four Focusrite ISA preamps (on top of which I use a Speck parametric EQ and vintage Altec compressor with the ISA preamp).

When I'm setting up a stage in "festival" situations, where ease of use by strangers is important, I like using this Peavey unit. I just make sure the bass player keeps the pre-amp at moderate gain levels and uses the amp to get the high volume level. Really there is just one knob to turn to taste, and that's the bass EQ which, by the way, is good and "responsive" for a tube unit.

Very easy to get a great sound from this unit. No manual required, but you can download one from Peavey.com.

Most people may not realize this, but the TB Raxx and TG Raxx units are one in the same! Peavey maximized their R&D and production costs by producing a single preamp they coulod market to both bass and guitar players without alteration. The only difference between the TB and TG units are the labels painted on the front panel! Read the schematics...they are identical! When used with guitar you can get very, very close to a Fender clean tone. Moreso than any other preamp I've found, including various Mesa Boogies. Cranking the gain get's in Marshall JCM900 territory, with slightly less gain. I use a Blues Driver in front of it and it sounds awesome! The EQ sections are both very responsive.

This unit really shines when used a bass preamp. You can dial in a full, clean tone and add just enough distortion to help you cut through, like a Geddy Lee, slight distortion or crank it up like RATM or Faith No more. These are really awesome, versatile units especially if you play both bass and guitar like I do.

Peavey gear just doesn't break.

Peavey has the best support in the business. They set the standard by which other manufacturers are measured.

Been playing for 27 years. I play Rock, Progressive, funk, fusion, blues...whatever. This sounds good with all of my instruments, but needs extra distortion for use with guitar. Best when used in a bass rig. It's a single channel and that's probably why it sounds great, but it would be nice to have channel switching. it's great for what it is though. Buy one and use it in the studio for everything from Vocals to keys. Very nice, full, round, warm tube tone, with great EQ.

Amazingly simple unit. Front panel reminds one of a Demeter. Tube replacement (one 12AX7) is pretty simple (just have to get past several screws in the case). Took me about a half hour to tweek my sound (took me two weeks to get the right sounds out of my Marshall Valvestate guitar rig).

This is the main pre-amp in my rack system. The rest of the system includes a Peavey Bass-Fex for effects, a Peavey PV1200 amplifier for power, and (2) Peavet 410TX cabinets. Surprisingly, it does have a little bit of scratchy noise in the background, but it's impossible to hear in any conditions other than dead quiet. Absolutely deadly bottom ( a little muddy, but incredibly loud). Gives the kind of volume you would expect from The Ramones, The Who, and Spinal Tap when coupled with my PV1200. One of my guitarists who runs a Marshall half-stack asked me to turn down constantly. Doesn't give me the"perfect" sound on either my P-Bass or Jazz Bass (both American), but dollar for dollar it was a steal at $65.00 (US) used. Paid $140 for a used Pierce that didn't have quite as good of a sound, and SWR's, Demeters, Alembics, and the like go for HUNDREDS of dollars more.

Like every other piece of Peavey equipment I own, this thing is absolutely bulletproof!!

Peavey has outstanding customer service. Always get through to a real person, and their technical guys are top-drawer. Web site is full of good information and most manuals are downloadable.

I've used this for classic rock, punk, metal and adult contemporary. Gives my Fenders good, solid, loud sound. If I could find another one, I'd definitely replace this unit if necessary. For the price, you couldn't ask for better sound. I'd trade it for a Demeter, but not at the price difference. A guy with a Demeter or Ampeg might get a little better sound, but, with my current rig, he'd have a hard time hearing his over mine if we had a volume contest (and he'd be a few hundred dollars lighter in the wallet). CAUTION: Warn you neighbors (or anyone standing within a mile of your amp) if you are going to depress the "gain" switch. It's gonna get REAL loud!! I can't push the volume knob above 2 or 3 (with the "gain" switch depressed) before stuff starts falling off of shelves and windows and light fixtures rattle across the street.

The unit is exceptionally easy to use. A straight ahead EQ and Voicing system, with standard pan pots for all controls except bright, gain boost and shift, which are push buttons. I never had the manual, but it's not really needed.

For the past ten years I have been a firm believer in running my basses (Rickenbacker 4001 & 4003) direct into a console or live sound board. I picked up this unit used for a rediculously low price, and really didn't expect anything from it. Long story short, I WAS AMAZED BY WHAT THIS PRE DID FOR MY SOUND!! I thought my tone was good before, but the T.B. Raxx elevates my bass tone to a completely different level. Strong lows, tight mids, and crispy highs, with a great rounded tube sound. When I purchased the unit, it had two 12AX7 Groove Tubes in it. I'm still playing with those two tubes, but I have a hunch that if I stick some new ones in there, the sound's gonna get even better. The band I play with is now releasing it's second album nationally to college radio, and I can't tell you how pissed I am that I didn't have this unit for the recording sessions. When I go back and A/B the direct sound (through a transformered DI box) to the sound I get with this pre, I am truly shocked by how incredible the tone is with the pre. My standard setting is pre gain at 4, bright on, gain boost off, low eq at 5, mid eq at 9 1/2, high eq at 5, shift off, post gain at 9 1/2, voicing bottom at 11, voicing body at 6, voicing edge at 9. The unit is also very quiet, as long as you don't get your pickups close to the pre. Step a few feet away from it, and not even a hiss (and I did this in a studio control room!). If you get your axe close to the box, it does start to hum pretty loudly, but my guitarist has the same problem with his Marshall JMP-1.

When I picked up this unit, it looked as if it had gone through a couple of world wars, and it's still working like a trooper! I'd use it without a back up, but I'd probably carry a set of spare tubes just in case.

Never dealt with them; Never had to.

I play in a Rock power trio, and anything that I can find that's gonna help give my sound some distinction is welcomed. The tone I'm getting from this unit will be a huge asset with Rock as well as with some of the more mellow tunes. I'm now pondering whether or not I should try one of the Ampeg or Aguilar pre's but this unit sounds so good, I don't know if anything is really going to sound any better! If anyone's done an A/B with this guy and other bass pre's I'd be really interested in what you had to say. I've been playing for 18 years, and I'm making my critical judgements in my studio which consists of, in part, 24 tracks of Adat Digital, Neotek Series console, Hafler Trans-nova amp, KRK K-rok monitors.