Peavey Max 126 Heavy Duty Bass Amplifier Review – Thumbs Up for This Tough Little Bass Amp

The Peavey Max 126 Heavy Duty Bass Amplifier is the perfect choice for at home musicians that need a practice amp for their bass guitar.  This 10-watt amp has enough power and features that you can play for hours, and never run across the same tone twice.

This amp features controls for volume, gain, high and low eq, as well as “vintage” switch, which allows you to change between modern and vintage amp modeling modes.  It’s got a 6.5″ Peavey speaker and will push enough sound for you to hear yourself clearly during practice.

This is definitely a practice amp, or an amp that would be well suited for a beginner.  If you live in a house with others, or an apartment, this little guy will fit in your bedroom without taking up too much room while serving its duty well.

The nicest feature, and the one that makes it so versatile, is the vintage switch.  This switch activates the amp’s Trans Tube circuitry.  Basically, they’ve stuffed two amps into one.  Changing this setting give the gain and eq knobs completely different feels.  If you’ve ever played any of Peavey’s amps with this feature, you know what I’m talking about.  It really does open up a boat load of other tonal possibilities not available without this setting.

You can usually find this amp on sale, and makes a great gift for your child or significant other.  You’re not going to have to worry about disappointment, return, or regifting either.  Even pro’s with high end musical equipment will appreciate this little beast.  I recommend this amp to anyone who needs a practice amp or for any beginner looking to get into playing the bass. A++

Fender Stratocaster Strat Pack – A Good Choice for the Beginning Guitarist

If you’re looking into buying the Fender Stratocaster Strat Pack, then let me give you my honest review of this instrument.  In short, if you’re a beginner, this is a great guitar for you.  If you’re a professional, depending on your use, this could actually compliment your line up as well.

I bought this setup about three years ago, and have been pleased with it since my initial purchase.  I had complaints about the tuners not being accurate, though they stayed in tune with no problem, and the overall finish and look of the guitar said value priced.  I was not, however, disappointed with the sound or the playability of the instrument.

I’ve read other people complaining about the frets being rough, which wasn’t something that I had trouble with, but they said they were able to file the ends and smooth everything out.  Other complaints I’ve read about were the amplifier having a hiss or click, but that wasn’t a problem for me either.  I assume that was an isolated incident.

As for the tone of the guitar, it was comparable to any strat style guitar.  In fact, though they don’t have the same hardware, I’d say it compares to the Highway One Strat that I own now.  That guitar, of course, has a few other bells and whistles, and the pickups have a saucier tone, but to the untrained ear, or the beginner, there is little difference.

The 10-watt Squier amp supplied was a fun little workhorse that I enjoyed playing.  It had volume, 2 band eq, and a gain control.  I don’t think I ever had to turn it over half way to get the sounds that I wanted.  The whole package comes with picks, strap, strings, stand, earphones, tuner, amp, and guitar.  You can get one of these Fender Stratocaster Strat Packs for under $200 from Amazon, which is a great price for that package.  Piecing together a setup like that can easily run you over $300, even from discount merchants, and you won’t be getting the Fender name on your guitar either.

All in all, I have to say that if you’re looking at buying one of these guitars, for yourself or for someone else, you’re not going to be disappointed.  My experience was positive, and even those that I found complained admitted that for the price, the minor problems they had wouldn’t keep them from making the same decision again.

My Music Jam Room

I’ve been piecing together my music jam room for years now.  It’s a collection of all the instruments and equipment that I’ve bought.  I’ started with some bargain priced instruments, and over the years have slowly upgraded to high end music equipment.

Currently, I have a Fender Highway One Stratocaster – Sunburst, a Fender Highway One Telecaster – Honey Blonde, a Gibson Les Paul – Black, A Gretsch Electromatic Junior Jet Bass Guitar, an Alvarez RD8, an Epiphone Acoustic, and a Pony acoustic guitar.  To go along with that, I’ve got a Marshall MG100FX amplifier head, with the matching MG412A and MG412B cabinets, as well as an Ampeg Reverberocket 1×12 Combo Amp.  For effects I have a single BOSS GT-6 which serves me well.

I also play the piano, and have a Yamaha P-85 digital piano.  It’s a middle of the road digital keyboard.  The features are nice, weighted keys and natural sound.  I’ve played the piano since I was four years old, so I use this one a lot, as it’s in competition with my guitars as my favorite instrument.

There are a lot of factors that have gone into the decisions I’ve made about my gear.  It can be tough to get a good setup, with the price of mid grade equipment being around $500, it’s often hard to part with the cash required to get into a setup like the one I have.

There are a lot of things that constitute the quality of an instrument.  Cost is always a strong indicator.  It costs more to produce quality instruments.  Especially products that aren’t digital.  The best guitars and pianos are still hand-made.  The hardware for each are designed with longevity and performance in mind, and are produced with strict standards.

There is a silver lining to this ominous cloud:  cheaper instruments have definitely improved in quality over the years.  Ehen I first started playing, if you weren’t getting the higher quality instruments, you could expect to rebuy within a couple years, and the experience with those instruments was often disappointing.  It isn’t that way today, and I see lots of good value priced guitars, pianos, violins, horns, etc all coming out of manufacturing plants ready for long term use.

When you’re out shopping, you still want to look at quality, as longevity isn’t the only concern.  Playability and tone can both be effected by manufacturing and material, so you want to know what your needs are and what the instrument you’re looking at provides.  A good rule of thumb is:  if it sounds good to you and feels good while you play it, it’s probably a good purchasing decision.  If you’re unable to get your hands on one, you’re going to want to get the specifications and read up on the instrument before you make the decision to purchase.

I’ve got a number of reviews that I’ll be posting about a whole range of instruments.  At the time, my setup is middle of the road, but I’ve been playing for years so I know the difference between quality and bargain basement equipment.  I’ll be reviewing only instruments that I’ve had the chance to play, so you can be sure that you’re getting honest and accurate information.

Any questions, leave me a comment. I appreciate you stopping by and wish you luck on your quest!