Peavey Zephyr 4

Made around 1995, in Vietnam. 4 strings, 24 frets.
The construction is quite original : sandwich of dark wood, (probably an african wood) and clear wood, body and neck.

2 humbuckers, 2 volume and 2 tone controls, passive. Natural finish.

Good bridge, bigger than the bridges you can find on Squiers and even on Mexico Fenders.

34" scale neck, bigger than a JB but thiner than a PB.

Heavy bass guitar but very well balanced.

With the humbuckers, it sounds "rock", obviously...Slapping is hard (for me, perhaps i'm too bad a player ;)) because there's no space enough for my fingers (humbuckers are big)

A rich warm sound with a lot of basses ; made for rock/blues/reggae. You cannot get a slappy sound as with a JB, for sure. Turning the tone knob offers more treble but not enough to play a percussive style.

i used it with the fabulous Fender BXR 300 combo + GK Backline 2x10

All was OK when I bought it.

I've never had such a solid instrument. Not the slightest problem in 10 years.

The neck never needs to be adjusted. Perfect ! I just clean it with lemon oil each time I change the strings. No more !

This bass seems to be built to last for years and years...I used it on stage, in studio and it was always reliable.

Never deal with Peavey.

I'm playing bass guitar for 20 years. I played with a lot of cheap instruments (squier, vantage...) and this one has the better sound (for Rock) and the better reliability.

Ideal for a nomad musician who plays everywhere and who doesn't want to take a risk with an expensive guitar during a concert or a gig.

I love the sound full of basses and the great solidity.
What I hate ? Nothing at all, for the price...Well, it's not a Fender. Snobbery ;)

If it was stolen, i would probably try to find another one but it's not so easy. Or another Peavey.

Made in Vietnam but I don't know what year. It is a fretted 24-fret 4 string. The body is 3 pieces deep, and has a 7 piece thru-neck. I had 2 volume and 2 tone controls, but I have since had it replaced to a master volume and a pickup switch and 2 tones. The pickups are 2 of the standard passive Peavey soapbars. I don't know my woods so I cant tell you! The finish is natural though, and very nice at that. I think the body shape is a rough P-bass style, but only vaguely. The typical Peavey shape! The bridge is a very straight-forward string through bridge style. As are the tuners. I got it as it is, with strings from the shop. Nothing overly special, but nothing missing.

This bass has gone through my Punk, Nu-metal, Classic Rock, Funk Rock, Straight out Funk, Jazz and heaven knows what else phases, and it has coped excellently. fits right in. I use a Trace Elliot AH300-7 head with a Laney 2x10 and 1x15, and it all sounds good, but maybe a bit lifeless at times. Always better with new strings. I can get some buzz every now and again, but nothing too audible. You can get a wide range of sounds by changing the pickups and the tone so you'll find something you like. I generally have everything on full, and often set to the bridge pickup for some bold harmonics. I love this bass's voice, but it could do with a bit more juice to it at times.

I bought the bass from my local shop (Spectre Sound in Bingley) and they had set it up well. This is my first bass and I can't remember how it was when I got it. It is very hard to get a noticable scratch into this natural finish. Ive not had to have anything changed because of how it was when I got it, so I think it scores pretty high.

I've had no problems on stage with this bass, aside from snapping a few strings (slap bass for ya!). The hardware is built solid, and in 5 years I've still had no problems. I don't know wether it was before, but the patch of finish around where I put my hand most is shinier than the rest, but to no great extent. I advise strap-locks. I've had a few near misses with my straps falling off. I only get this baby set up when I change the gauge of strings. I normally use it without backup, but if I ever take another it is purely incase of string snappage.

---

This is a perfect budget/begginers bass. I'm not biased towards it, but honestly - go for it. If I lost it now I would cry for days, then use the OLP MM2 that I won until I can afford a pro-bass. I love this bass's versatility, and the feel. It's well weighted around the centre, and not at all too heavy. I didn't choose it myself, but I think I would have done! I think that this has all the requirements of a begginers bass, but nothing more. Perfect for the price. I hope you get one on my word.