Peavey Cirrus 5

2002 Peavey Cirrus 5 string, alder body with maple top. All other features are standard (see other reviews). My only complaint about this bass is the battery cover, which is a minor flaw.

This bass has a great tone and is very versatile. I've owned Ibanez, a Music Man, an American Fender Jazz Deluxe and went to Bass Central in Orlando Florida where I played Pedulla, Modulus, Roscoe etc. This bass spanks any bass that I have ever owned and sounds just as good or better than the basses mentioned above from Bass Central. I've played many high-end basses. The only basses played that are noticeably better are MTD, an Alembic (high dollar), Fodera and perhaps an Elrick. I have played bass in church for 14 years in addition to studio work and the thing that I like most about this bass is that it never gets lost in a mix. I've had many professional musicians comment on the tone of this bass. This sound review only pertains to the alder body with the maple top. I've played other Cirruses with different woods that didn't have the same vibe as this bass. And I forgot to mention that it has one of the best B strings in the business. If you don't believe me, go play one for yourself.

This bass plays like butter. Like I said before, I played many basses and none of them plays as smooth as this bass and I have witnesses. The paint job is a little sloppy, but I've seen worst and I don't play a bass based on how it looks.

I've been playing this bass for 5 or 6 years for at least 6 hours a week and have never had any touble. This bass is very durable. It can take a pounding a keep on sounding great not to mention excellent battery life.

Never needed it.

I've been playing for 14 years. I have owned an Ibanez Ergondine, an Ibanez BTB, a Music Man Sting Ray 5, a Fender American Deluxe 5 string and currently own an Amercian Fender P-Bass with a bartolini pickup. This bass beats them all even though the P-bass records well in the studio. I do plan on purchasing another American Fender Jazz Deluxe after hearing Sharay Reed play one. This guy is one of the better bass players that I have heard, including Victor and Marcus Miller. Anyway, the alder/maple Cirrus is the bass to beat for the money. If you want something that will cut through a mix and has a great tone, including slap tones (better than the StingRay) then buy this bass.

The Peavey Cirrus 5 that I have is a Walnut body with a Claro Walnut top. Walnut and Maple neck with a Pau Ferro fretboard. This is brand new never used 2005 model with warranty and everything. It has a 35" scale. Typical Volume, Blend, Bass, Treble & Mid knob selectors. It has a high gloss finish. The head stock is also Claro Walnut, not the standard black which is not very attractive to me. Gold hardware except the knobs which are black.

I must say that this sound really blew me away. I was a little hesitant to even try the bass out because of the Peavey name. But after playing this bass I am a believer now, for sure! This bass is awesome in sound. The low end is really solid and not muddy like on some of the other high end costing basses that are out there. It has a very punchy sound which I love in my basses. It also has a certain growl to it when the settings are dialed in corerctly.

The set up was great. It was low but not too low. No fret buzz on this one. Finish is really nice on this bass. No flaws that I noticed over the entire instrument.

Just received it a couple of days ago so we will see how it holds up but it looks like it is put together well.

Havent had to use it yet and hope I will never have to use it.

I've been playing for about 20 years now and I primarily play gospel and some jazz from time to time and this bass can cover it all and not get lost in the mix. For the price I am totally excited about my purchase. This bass has just about everything that I would want on a bass. The only thing I would add would be a passive/active switch.

I won't go into detail because it has allready been covered. All Cirrus USA standard models (not the custom versions) have the same features except when it comes to the wood configuration. This one is the Bubinga - Walnut model. The body is Walnut the top is Bubinga. It has a beautiful natural hand oiled finish. The neck-thru construction consists of laminated (for extra strength) Maple & Walnut. As mentioned before the neck is extremely comfortable to play. It has a very nice feel. Also the weight of this particular model will put a smile on your spinal cord.

This bass can generate some serious tones for fingerstyle and especially slap. The mids cut straight through the mix. The 18v preamp section is extremely QUIET and offers tone shaping options. The 35" scale makes the B string very tight and musical unlike many 5 stringers. It excels on stage and in the studio.

Very low action. No buzz. No finish flaws on this one. I would rather see gold preamp knobs to match the bridge and tuners so I give it a 9

Built solid as a rock like everything Peavey makes. Besides the fact that the neck is laminated it also has dual adjustable Graphite truss rods to offer the ultimate protection against bowing.

They seem to be very responsive.

One of the best basses out there in the $1400-$1600 price range bar none. It is right up there with Modulus, Alembic, Tobias, Ken Smith, Warwick, Etc. Do yourself a favor, forget that it says Peavey and pick one up and play it. You'll be glad you did.

2001 Peavey Cirrus 5, Flamed Maple Top, same features as others. The 18v electronics are fantastic. I play a lot of slap with a gospel group and also standard jazz in a 17 piece big band. Without changing my amp settings, I can tune in whatever sound I need just using the bass knobs. The Cirrus comes with a hard case that is pretty heavy and cumbersome and sits in my attic. It is not practical if you play locally often. It should come with the option to buy a nice gig bag instead. Reading all these reviews, I'm wondering how all these bassists can afford to own 5 or 6 basses. I thought most musicians like myself were struggling financially. I played 4-string basses for 10 years, but then finally upgraded to a barely mediocre 5-string Hamer for 3 years before I finally convinced myself to upgrade to the best bass I could find and put it on credit card. I was willing to pay a couple grand. I played a couple Warwicks, expecting from the hype to fall in love, but did not. I did, however, fall in love with the Cirrus from the instant I touched it. It brought back my love for playing that the Hamer was slowly destroying. It feels perfect and plays like a dream. The distance between strings is not too wide for quick multiple string jumps, but not too close for slap/pop.

With the neck through design and the maple top on this Cirrus, the bass sounded great without even plugging it in. I played it though a crappy little Crate at the music store and was still immediately convinced that this bass was worth my going into debt. Great lows and great for slapping.

Really clean lines between the maple top, alder back, and purple heart and maple neck. Very smooth, fast neck. Unbelievably low action. It gave me a chance to relive my Billy Sheehan tapping licks I learned in the 80's with ease. In 2 1/2 years, the intonation has remained perfect. The only problems I have had is that the gold hardware wears off pretty quickly, especially on the tuners(1 year of normal use) and the volume knob occasionally comes loose regardless of how tight I crank it with a allen wrench.

This bass survives accidents really well. Every time I dropped, banged, or breathed on my 4-string Jackson bass, it would be a major dent. The Cirrus handles my clumsiness with tons of forgiveness and sometimes no sign of a ding. The finish is great and shows no signs of wear. Strap locks have been great.

I never have had to deal with them. I suppose that's a good thing.

I have been playing for 23 years. I own a 5-string Hamer and a 4-string Charvel/Jackson. I have wanted to move to 6-string for a while, and am looking for a used 6-string version of the Cirrus Maple top to upgrade. I can't afford new. I was deciding between a Warwick, Music Man, G&L, Carvin, and high-end Ibanez bass, but they couldn't hold a candle to the Cirrus. If you've played this bass before, you know how great it plays/sounds, if you haven't, then you have to try one.

My Cirrus, Claro Walnut 5 string was made in the good ole USA in 2001. It's a 24 fret 35" scale low end monster! It features Claro Walnut (a very grainy and gorgeous wood) body wings on a Walnut neck-through construction that features Maple strips along the sides and middle secion of the neck. The fretboard is Pau Ferro and the frets are jumbo in size. This bass also features matching Claro Walnut laminate on the headstock instead of the traditional peice of graphite. This makes for a more attractive bass. The active 18 volt preamp with Peavey VFL humbucking pickups are quiet and VERY high output. I've recorded with this bass, direct and via amplifier and it's a beauty! The ABM milled bridge is an extremely cool bridge. It helps with the sustain like the neck through design does and can be intonated perfectly. The tuners as the bridge are all gold hardware and are extremely fast and accurate. The case is very durable and features all the tools needed to do the neccasary adjustments. However I've not done a thing with it since it left it's case. The action is low, the way I like it and features and extremely comfortable spacing.

I play a multitude of musical styles on one gig and the Cirrus lives up to them all. I play the bass live through only a Peavey Max preamp, Peavey CS-800s power amp and two Peavey 410TXF cabinets. The sound coming from the speakers is out of this world! It has a bright sound with plenty of punch, just the way I like it. The only time I've noticed any noise is if the high end eq on the bass is cranked to full. Which most players know the best way to run an active bass is to leave the preamp settings at flat and adjust on your amp, then, and only then boost or cut on the bass as you need during the gig and you shouldn't need to boost or cut very much. As I've said the bass is equally good in the studio as it is in live situations. I love everything about this bass!

The bass was set up so well at the Peavey plant that I haven't had to do a thing with it since purchasing it. I've even put it on a Conn tuner a few times to test the intonation, and it's always been right on. The pickup height was high, which would bother some players, but not this one. I like the pickups right up against the strings. With the VFL's you don't run the risk of the magnets pulling it out of tune. I saw no flaws on the bass upon inspection at the store. Since I've only put two small dings on it, but nothing that affects playability or beauty!

This bass will withstand a fall from a 7 story building I think! It's build solid. I do notice that with time the gold hardware will tarnish, but what gold hardware doesn't? The poly finish on the Claro Walnut is like armour. It takes a hit very well and doesn't leave a mark. The straplocks that come standard with the bass are solid and well built. They haven't needed tightening as nothing on the bass has. Most instruments I've owned in the past have needed to have tightenings done after the first 2 weeks and every week afterwards. This bass holds up nicely. I have to depend on this bass as it is the only bass I currently own. But I do see myself owning many more Cirrus' in the future in 4, 5, and 6 string models.

In my lifetime I've owned numerous brand name basses and amplifiers and I've dealt with all of the companies at one time or another. I've never had to deal with Peavey regarding this bass, but on other products they make I have. The reason I'm so sold on Peavey is because of their customer service. They are the coolest musical instrument company in the world! These people care about their customers. I have 5 years to worry about warranty troubles on the bass, but I had a CS-800s that the warranty was past on and I sent it into them. They took a look at it and understood that it was a problem of the amp that took 5 years to show up. They rebuilt the entire amp and put it under another 5 year warranty! Now that's service!

I have been playing for 27 years and own nothing but Peavey gear. I'll never change brands again. I'll die owning nothing but Peavey. If my Cirrus or any of my Peavey gear were stolen, I would find the exact model and purchase it. I'll never drift from the company from Meridian, MS again. I compared my Cirrus to 2 other basses prior to buying. In third place came the Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray 5. Great bass, but the B string on it just felt to floppy. Second place came the Peavey Millenium Plus 5 string bass. I WILL own one of these someday. It's a great bass and it actually was a difficult choice between it and the Cirrus. But I know the Cirrus bass and was more the happy to own one again! The only thing I can thing that I hate about having a Cirrus is that in the 80's it wasn't around. I bought 3 Alembic Series 1 basses back then costing me more then any sane man should pay for a bass. The Cirrus is everything those basses were and 1/4 of the cost. Had they been around in the 80's I wouldn't have had to spend all that money!!! I think that if you want a top quality bass, one that will stand the test of time, but you don't have the money to buy and Alembic or Warwick or those high dollar boutique basses, then the Peavey Cirrus bass is the one for you. You can't go wrong with Peavey. Top class stuff at a fraction of the price! Just like American companies should be! Check one out at your local Peavey dealer!

Mine is 2001 Flame Maple w/ Maple neck and gold hardware. I won't bothere repeating the features, they're all pretty much covered above. What I will say is that I am pretty upset at Peavey for making this darn thing because I had to give up a perfectly good Roscoe when I made the mistake of playing the Peavey. I loved my Roscoe, it was an absolutely flawless work of art, every inch of it drop dead gorgeous, played like a dream and sounded sublime. The problem is that the Peavey simply plays better and sounds MUCH MUCH better. So much better that I didn't even bother keeping the Roscoe because there is no situation I could ever justify playing it instead of the Peavey, except maybe to pose for a picture. Roscoe makes one of the finest instruments in the world at any price and even so I had to give mine up for this darn Peavey.

This is overall the best sounding bass I personally have ever played, including pretty much every boutique brand you can name. This instrument puts out usable, highly musical and entertaining sound through the entire range of the pickup sweep, from full neck to full bridge pickup and everything in between, I have NEVER seen or heard any other bass capable of that. The active tone controls work exactly as you would expect and there is ZERO noise, ZERO hiss even with the treble fully cranked. None. Nada. Incredible! This thing has a slap tone that would make a Stingray run for cover with it's tail between it's legs. Fingerstyle? Run and hide Warwick. Grinding rock ? Sweet Jazz? Heavy metal? It's all right here, I swear to God. B string is tight and focussed, no flubbery blubbery stuff here, it's all good from top to bottom. 10+++++++++++++!

Action is a little subjective but anyone who likes a fast neck and low action knows it's hard to find in a 5 string bass, and that's where the Peavey shines. My initial reaction was that the action was actually TOO LOW, which I previously wouldn't have thought possible, but there is no buzzing, rattling or dead spots so what the heck? I raised the b string just a tad so I can really thump it, that's it. The neck is very fast and effortless, they got the fretboard dimensions and radius just right, it's basically perfect as far as I am concerned. I have an old Robin Machette I used to consider the best playing neck I've ever run across, the Peavey is the first bass I've found that can match it, maybe a Pedulla is in the same league but unfortunately those things all sound like total crap.
Fit and finish? I'd give it a decent rating except for the following problems: The flame maple top on mine is nice, but it runs out of flames about 3" short of the full length of the body. For some reason they decided not to sand it flat so there are big ripples at each spot where the wood grain transitions from the flame to the regulr maple and these are magnified by the laquer finish. The net effect is it looks like a really bad spray can clear coat of something when the light hits it from certain angles. Not good. One of the top inlaid fret markers is already MIA and the "gold" tuning pegs are the cheap kind that are going to wear out for sure. Why anyone would put black plastic knobs on an instrument with gold tuning pegs and a gold bridge is beyond me, it looks stupid. The black headstock does not compliment the flame body, on most instruments in this price range and above they would natch. It's too bad they have action in the same category as fit and finsh, it really makes no sense, so I give a 10+++++ for action and a 6 for fit and finish.

Overall seems pretty solid, not as tight as my Roscoe and not as beefy/indestructable feeling as a Warwick. The gold hardware is definately not going to last very long and as I mentioned above one of the fret markers has already popped out. It's a solid neck-through though so I doubt anything major will be a problem.

Haven't had to deal with them, hope I never have to find out.

This thing is a solid 10++++ for sound and playability. It's a 7 for overall quality and workmanship. If you can live with not having the most gorgeous boutique bass with stunning exotic woods and sparkling inlays then there is no choice, this thing outplays and sonically outperforms anything I have ever picked up. The day I made my decision I had my Roscoe, a really nice Lakland, Warwick Thumb, Dolphin & Streamer, Pedulla Thunder and Pentabuzz and a Modulus all right there and nothing even came close to touching the Peavey. It bugs the hell out of me but it's true. If you can get over the name then this is THE bass to have, especially if you gig, it will replace 3 or 4 basses easily and can do ANYTHING you need except sound like a fretless. Don't mind people laghing at you when you show up with a "cheapo" Peavey, they will shut up damn quick as soon as you plug in and hit a few notes, and anyone around with a megabucks exotic bass will probably break down and cry.

The Peavey Cirrus 5 I bought was made in the USA in 2001. All access 24 fret neck with a satin finish (hand-rubbed oil.) The control features include volume, pickup blend, treble, mid, and bass. The pickups use 18V active electronics(very punchy, very clear sound). My bass was the walnut with walnut. The satin finish is ver smooth(a little sticky when your hands are sweaty). OH, the body is beatiful, just plain awesome. The horns are mean looking, and the cut-away is great for bass solos on the really high frets. The bridge was an ABM bridge with multiple adjustments...very nice. The neck on this bass is where it shines. Although thicker than my previous Ibanez neck, it has proved to be extremely comfortable and slick. Straight from Peavey comes a hardshell case, with straplocks, straplocks, and an owner's manual. Look at the features and the price! When you add two and two together you get 8! Love this bass.....

Wow, what can I say about the sound? It's very punchy, and the tone is super clear. The sustain is amazing. If you dont have your hand on the strings the bass will start to get feedback....The only bad thing about the sound, is there is NO WAY to make it muddy. Maybe flatwounds would help. Perfect tone for slapping and popping, and finger style. I usually never use a pick, so if you need an opinion on that I cant help you. This bass has a really tight tone found on the many high range basses( Warwick, Ernie Ball, Modulus) I've never used it is a studio, but at high volume the bass does not buzz..very quiet. The only reason this sound does not get a ten is, some people might find the ear-piercing punchy sound hard to get around. If you like the vintage Fender sound with flatwounds...this is probably not your bass.

When I first opened the case, I was in heaven. There was no need to adjust the intonation, the action, truss rod, etc. Your fingers can just glide over the fretboard effortlessly! The bridge pickup was up too high, and when I would slap and pop it would click loudly. Fixed that in two minutes...The finish and wood is absolutely beautiful. No flaws, the finish is smooth, hardware is nice, virtually perfect from what i can see! This would be an 11 if it was a rating.

I can't really say Ive had any problems with it. I know you need to keep a few 9-volts in your case, because when your active electronics die they die! The jack seems to be high quality. And yes, this would be my one and only bass to take to a gig. =)

The warranty is a "one year limited warranty". Ive never had to deal with Peavey, but I did e-mail them about tung oil and the satin finish. I havent gotten a reply yet.

I've been playing bass for a little under 5 years now. And I must say, this is my favorite bass EVER. The pure brightness is my favorite feature of this bass. I was looking at the Ibanez SR3005 (very nice), but the Cirrus bass kills it in tone and features. If this bass was stolen, I would first off cry, then hunt someone down. This bass has a very similar feel to Warwicks...also very awesome basses. TO some things up, I will tell you this. If you love punchy tone, nice features, and good looks.. you cant go wrong with this bass! IMO this bass is a hidden value in the vast number of unstruments, go try one!

im just posting this for the first person's post, his email address isnt listed. it sounds like your batteries need replaced if it "fuzzes" like you say. mine did it too for a while then i tried new batts. and it was good as new! H-C, please post this for the rest of the people with the same problem

made in 2000 in the usa,24 fret,5 string,walnut/wenge laminate with a walnut/maple 5 piece through the body neck.5 sticky knobs-v/bal/bass/mid/treb,alleged 18 volt active(i see 2 9-volt batteries)pre amp. 2 soap bar pickups,oiled finish(my formby's tung oil melted the stickey knobs a bit)abm aluminum?(gold plated) bridge with gold schaller look alike tuners.35" scale neck,real thin and real fast. came with a tkl "almost fit" case(if the d string tuner is vertical it hits the bottom of the case.

most people say they play every style of music, i don't. i'm pickey. i play primus,jaco,stu hamm,white boy funk and my own style. i play(right now) through a carvin r600 600w 2x10 combo and a single 18"(got rid of a gk 800b and a hartke 410xl for it, don't actually regret it too much) the bass is very quiet when amplified.my kubicki factor's are 18 volt pre amp and they "clip" the hell out of any amp i play through but the peavey doesn't, unless i crank the mid knob on the bass up(then it soundslik a bad distortion pedal. it has almost every tone you could want. almost-"for the price"

the bass is very well made. in world of almost perfect fenders and korean tobias', peavey has them beat. the only flaws i could find are the 23 and 24th fret were not filed down on the palm side of the fretboard(actually pretty sharp). the bass was well set up. it needed tweeking(i'm sure from handling not from peavey setting it up) i set the neck relief and string height and all is well. the only cheezy thing about the bass beside the peavey name is, the gold tuners do not match the gold bridge. 2 different colors of gold. but it's ok "for the price"

this thing seems like a tank, but time will tell.it came with dunlop strap locks, which are strong. i never play a gig with out a back up because things always happen(try to find a fuse to go in a marshall at 1:00am).first impression is it's not a solid as my kubicki's. it seems great "for the price"

e-mailed them once about the formby's tung oil melting the stickey knobs a little(the owner's manual says to oil it with tung oil)and peavey said they never had any problems with any finishing oil.(why would i lie about the stickey knobs melting?) they were at least nice while blowing me off.

i've been playing for 17 years. my first bass was a hondo p-bass copy,then a fender j-bass and for the last 12 years i've been playing kubicki factor basses(with few bad purchases in between-spector-ibanez-ect.)i wanted a warwick thumb 5 neck through and couldn't afford it. so i bought the peavey cirrus 5(a great comprimise)"for the price", but it will never be a warwick,kubicki or old tobias.but, at half the price it shouldn't be.

The cirrus 5 string I bought has two active humbuckers with volume, blend, bass, mid, and treble controls. The body is bubinga/walnut with a walnut neck finished in urethane oil. The bridge is a massive ABM which is gold as are the tuners. The neck has a 35" scale with a 12" radius and has 24 frets. This bass was built in 1999 and it is made in the USA.

I have a P basss and a jazz bass which I use very little any more. I play in a country band and also in a R&B band and this is a bass that can cut any gig. I play it through a Ampeg SVT 350H using a 1 x 15" and 2 x 10" cabnets. The electronics are very quiet. I used it for recording a couple of weeks ago and it sounded great direct to the board. The controls give a great range of sounds.

This is the first bass that didn't need a good set-up before I played it. It was great right out of the box. The only flaw I have been able to find is a small chip at the imput jack.

I play this bass live two sometimes three times a week and so far so good. I've never owned a bass with gold hardware cause I've seen too many that had the gold finish wear off and looked crappy. So far the finish on the hardware and the body are fine. I've been playing it six months and the neck is still fine, the graphite reinforcments in the neck must reeally help. Although I have not had any problems and likely won't I still have a backup on most gigs. This is me though cause I've never had a bass with active electronics and kinda still don't trust 'em.

Have had no reason to deal with the company.

I've been playing bass 29 years. I also own a P-bass and a jazz bass. I waited a long time before I jumped to the 5-string and played quite a few before I bought the Peavey. If something happened to this bass I would really want another just like it. This bass looks great and sounds as good as it looks but,play ability really sold me on it. This is a high quality bass that can stand up to anything out there. Those folks that still bash Peavey should try some of their products, they would be plesently suprised.