Peavey Millennium 4 AC BXP

I have a 2003 model. Nice quilt top. 4 strings, 22 frets. Two volume knobs and a tone knob. Two J-pick ups that are hum canceling and are singal coil. String-thru body. Regular tuners. Maple neck, maple fretboard. No included accessories.

I am in a cover band called Easily Winded. We play classic rock covers (The Who, Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Phish and so on). I also use a '62 American Jazz Bass (not a re-issue), which also has great sound, but the Peavey doesn't have a big booming sound like the Jazz. It is better for studio, not a great stage bass. (I love my Jazz more). It has a very rich sound. The only thing I don't like, is my knobs don't work that well. Two keep falling off. Also several times when I turn down my knobs
they don't kill the sound.

The "out of the box" bass was awsome. Great action. After almost 3 years of having it, still not a single mm has gone up in the action. One flaw though, when I have to tune my A-string when it is sharp, I have to turn it a lot. For some reason it doesn't match up. The pick ups are aligned greatly.

This bass will withstand some live playing. Would I play it without a back-up? No. Is it my back-up? Yes. I can't depend on it, I just use the Jazz too much. I have never had to adjust the truss rod.

Never had to deal with the buggers.

I have compared it to the best bass in the world (in my opinion) a vintage Fender American Jazz Bass. The Peavey is a great back up bass. I could depend on the Peavey enough to play half a show if something ever were to happen to the Jazz.

"Each Millennium AC BXP bass features a basswood body, hard rock maple neck with rosewood fretboard and an attractive quilted maple cap. An active electronic system, driven by Peavey Cirrus? neck and bridge active pickups, provides an extra boost in volume and tone with more expressive sound control. These 21-fret, 34 inch scale basses also feature volume, pickup blend, bass, mid and treble controls, as well as the new Peavey headstock design" i quoted from the peavey site for the feature list.
i bought this as online as a 'factory blemish'. if it is an indication of their quality control, i inspected this bass top to bottom, front and back- the only possible blemish i could find was what appeared to be a pinhead size bubble in the finish behind the rear strap button that did not buff out completely. it came from the factory with intonation and action set up perfectly for a bass tuned to pitch. the action is low with no fret buzz- very easy an comfortable to play. the strings are through the body at the bridge. it looks like you could string it to the bridge conventionally, but the string through the body may provide mor sustain. the body is fairly light basswod with a quilted maple veneer top. the finish on the body is a high gloss, but the neck is a smooth satin finish. overall it is well balanced, not too heavy and comfortable to play. the tuners seem stable, operate smoothly and stay in tune. the bridge appears to be ajustable, but didn't require any adjustment. the five controls- volume, pickup blend, low, mid and high tone- operate smoothly, and provide great flexibility. the blend and tone controls have center detents in their rotation. at the price i paid... $219... i will call this bass a ten for features.

i am playing through a combo amp without any sound enhancement or effects. the pickups- 18V active- are dead quiet at any volume. the tone control on the active pickups act like EQ controls that cut or boost the signal- very flexible. they are somewhat microphonic, picking up incidental string noise from slides and hammers on the strings. probably good for slapping, but i don't go there so i will probably look to change to a smoother surface string like a flatwound or the like. i can hear a little scratch when i roll the volume pot up and down quickly, but it isn't enough to bother me. if it gets worse, i'm covered on warranty so i'm not worried. good sustain , and even sound from string to string. the three active tone controls are sensitive to small adjustments and will take you from deep smokey plunk to bright singing solo

action and intonation couldn't be better. i bought it as a blemish, but had a hard time finding anything wrong- i still can't believe they would set it aside as a blemish for the little pinhead imperfection i found. i may touch up the fet ends a bit... they could be smoother. i wouldn't call that a defect. i love the overall weight and balance, the satin finish on the neck and well designed scale length and neck radius. the quilted top is attractive, but i'm more impressed with the well contoured backside of the body. the shape and contour just feels good, both standing with the guitar strapped on and seated without a strap.

i already had two peavey amps. i buy peavey because the good quality and reasonable price make them the best value in my opinion. i have confidence with peavey that i have well made equipment without paying extra for a lot of hype. i don't expect to be disappointed with this bass, but it's too new to make a claim for durability

i've have gotten good support for general questions on the peavey website. i never had peavey equipment break, but i do have a warranty...extended at no extra cost for registering online. the only area lacking is the documentation for tghe bass- there was none. no warranty card, no instruction or care booklet. not a big deal for me, but somewhat unusual i think.

overall, considering the price (incredibly low), the fact that i was expecting a factory defect and could barely find it (i'm still not sure that it isn't 'b'stock, perhaps the victim of someone else's 'buyer's remorse),the great playability, flexible active pickups and controls, comfortable size, weight and shape... and did i mention that it's good looking also....i think it's a ten