I spent a lot of time comparing bass heads--Rumble 500, Genz Benz, Bugera, Trace Elliott, Hartke (all "nice")--so after about two months of auditioning amps, the one that sounded the best for my purpose (and the "sound" of the band I'm playing in), the Peavey MiniMega was the winner. When I applied the Crunch circuit, it sounded MUCH better than what/how Steve's demoing here, but I didn't apply it with any of the other enhancement buttons. Though I prefer a simpler amp, its versatile and diverse tones won me over, and sealed the deal. fwiw I paired the MiniMega with Fender, Peavey, Ampeg, Hartke and Bugera cabs; it sounded best, to my ears, with the Bugera twin 10" cab (which surprised me no end!).
The amp overall sounds great, and I love how you can push everything "a little too far" .. a lot of amps always feel like they're missing out because you can't quite push it far enough, so having the ability to go into insanity and then dial it back is really nice. The KOSMOS and crunch are both a bit weak though, but that's okay.
Peavey's are good and durable amps! Both guitar and bass these amps has been around longer then some of the folks commenting, this is a proven product. I've owned all type of amps but I am back to owning another one, I have owned all sorts of Bass amp's: Acoustic 370, SWR SM400s, Eden, GK and Ampeg
To those who don't like the crunch...listen through that crap you're hearing....it's digital clipping. ou can hear the crunch sounds great behind that.
it's kind of funny, I've seen reviews where the drive sounds like trash and then ive heard a couple where it sounds completely different and different. Must be something with mixing/micing
Sam Klotz most definitely, and the compressor has a lot to do with the drive circuitry and overall tone. I don’t own this amp but I used one on the road for almost a month and although not audiophile fidelity its pretty diverse and very stout. I found for me that I liked the subharmonic or “cosmos” feature in small amounts to dial in a bit of growl rather than actually driving the preamp hard. I was able to get a good tone fairly easily after a few hours of getting familiar with it and it sounded good in small indoor venues as well as large outdoor festival stages. I would definitely recommend this amp to anyone who just needs a well built, sturdy powerhouse that’s very portable. And the price is hard to beat for the build quality, power and features.
I feel like the kosmos is like the dod bass enhancer or the meatbox (I have both) because it's not necessarily an octave or making the bass louder but pushing more sympathetic frequencies
I'd say a harmonics effect. If I play a low note and its higher fifth it usually sounds even lower than playing the note by itself. I think it's the same thing.
The crunch channel on this is one of, if not THE, worst I've ever heard. So I'd definitely use a 3rd party pedal/preamp to get my driven tone. The clean signal sounds very good though. Which is what matters most, honestly.
No PV patented the Kosmo it was a Rack unit $400 at the time Jimmy Page used it on the last transfer from Tape to a DAW they found that it was the Kosmo that worked to bring back the low end. Beringer lol
The most important factors with ALL amps... RMS and damping factor...actually DF is more important...!!! By the way Peavey speakers have always sucked.
He's not trying to wow you with his skills, he's showing you an amp. If you want to hear what sort of sound you can expect to get from this amp, I think he does a good job of it. If you want to hear what sort sound you likely won't be able to achieve, look for a virtuoso showing off the amp.
I know in this video it says the Kosmos doesn't push your speakers, but here's from the manual it'self: peavey.com/ItemFiles/Manual/118729_34229.pdf "KOSMOS A: Kosmos A is a sub harmonic synthesizer that tracks bass notes and then generates a sub harmonic one octave below to enhance the overall bass presence by adding extreme low frequency content that can be felt. HINT: Kosmos A is fantastic for musical styles that require smooth, deep bass such as Reggae, Hip-Hop, R&B, and Electronica. CAUTION-Kosmos A works best with larger bass cabinets such as 410’s. Be careful when using Kosmos A because it can damage the speakers. Listen carefully to your speaker cabinets to make sure that there are no indications of mechanical stress or cone breakup distortion." I think on larger speakers you're obviously safer, but you have to be considerate anyway.
very underated bass head. for me is the king of the class d amps.
been using Peavey rigs for over 20 years of shows and touring and never any problems..this amp is next on the agenda..Nice!
Great review. The only feature I wish it had would be the ability to run bi-amped like the original MegaBass head.
i really like this guy xD
he looks real and looks like he is just enjoying hisself and i like his humor
also great review
I spent a lot of time comparing bass heads--Rumble 500, Genz Benz, Bugera, Trace Elliott, Hartke (all "nice")--so after about two months of auditioning amps, the one that sounded the best for my purpose (and the "sound" of the band I'm playing in), the Peavey MiniMega was the winner. When I applied the Crunch circuit, it sounded MUCH better than what/how Steve's demoing here, but I didn't apply it with any of the other enhancement buttons. Though I prefer a simpler amp, its versatile and diverse tones won me over, and sealed the deal. fwiw I paired the MiniMega with Fender, Peavey, Ampeg, Hartke and Bugera cabs; it sounded best, to my ears, with the Bugera twin 10" cab (which surprised me no end!).
Peavey has always been my standard
Same here :)
Great review...and a reviewer who actually plays bass rather than slap..
Ikr lol
absolute banger of an amp for the price holy cow!
The amp overall sounds great, and I love how you can push everything "a little too far" .. a lot of amps always feel like they're missing out because you can't quite push it far enough, so having the ability to go into insanity and then dial it back is really nice. The KOSMOS and crunch are both a bit weak though, but that's okay.
Thanks...one of your best great reviews. Very grateful for your sharing.
Peavey's are good and durable amps! Both guitar and bass these amps has been around longer then some of the folks commenting, this is a proven product. I've owned all type of amps but I am back to owning another one, I have owned all sorts of Bass amp's: Acoustic 370, SWR SM400s, Eden, GK and Ampeg
SWR & Eden 👍
@@jackshittle Wow 4 years ago hahahaha Happy New Year!
Thats a beautiful Yamaha BB bass that i have wanted for a long time but am never going to get cause they are now discontinued..
love this bass head amp!!!
To those who don't like the crunch...listen through that crap you're hearing....it's digital clipping. ou can hear the crunch sounds great behind that.
Very, very nice amp. The drive is horrible, but otherwise, one of the greater bass heads I've seen.
Completely agree. The distortion is horrible! However, either way the amp sounds dope!
it's kind of funny, I've seen reviews where the drive sounds like trash and then ive heard a couple where it sounds completely different and different. Must be something with mixing/micing
I'm willing to bet that drive sounds much, much different if you're actually in the room with it.
i think when he was demo-ing the drive, the gain was too high and it just squashed the signal.
Sam Klotz most definitely, and the compressor has a lot to do with the drive circuitry and overall tone. I don’t own this amp but I used one on the road for almost a month and although not audiophile fidelity its pretty diverse and very stout. I found for me that I liked the subharmonic or “cosmos” feature in small amounts to dial in a bit of growl rather than actually driving the preamp hard. I was able to get a good tone fairly easily after a few hours of getting familiar with it and it sounded good in small indoor venues as well as large outdoor festival stages. I would definitely recommend this amp to anyone who just needs a well built, sturdy powerhouse that’s very portable. And the price is hard to beat for the build quality, power and features.
I feel like the kosmos is like the dod bass enhancer or the meatbox (I have both) because it's not necessarily an octave or making the bass louder but pushing more sympathetic frequencies
Great review 🎸
Great review on the head but you didn't really talk about the cab!!!!
So the Kosmos thing is just an octave effect?
I'd say a harmonics effect. If I play a low note and its higher fifth it usually sounds even lower than playing the note by itself. I think it's the same thing.
Good demo, this amp just isn't my cup of tea. Very helpful, thanks :-)
Nice review on the Peavey MiniMega! by the way, which Yamaha Bass are you using? Thanks!
awesome! can you guys do TC electronic heads too?
Still rocking peavey ProBass500 and yes I run it at 2 ohms and sounds way better at 500 watts then this mini mega
How loud is the fan esp as compared to the MiniMax 600?
Nice bass
Can I use a 410 and 115 with this at the same time
thanks for the review. the compressor sucks though
is it just 4 ohm or minimun 4 ohm?
2/4/8
The kosmos stuff is just an octaver?
Overall it sounds good but the “crush” sounds more like buzz or fuzz. ☹️
Not a fan of the crunch.
The crunch channel on this is one of, if not THE, worst I've ever heard. So I'd definitely use a 3rd party pedal/preamp to get my driven tone.
The clean signal sounds very good though. Which is what matters most, honestly.
me e cogido una igual y e mirado el manual pero no acabo de saber como se camia el color de los potenciómetros no encurto botón como se hace
Take your time my man. Slow it down. We have all the time in the world. It's not like life is short.
Geez
So basically disable the compressor, midrange "frequency sweep", and the Kosmos knobb and you have yourself a nice bass head.
This does it for me.....1,000 watts RMS!!!!!...............Half the price of the GK 1,000 watt...[ , Gk's 1,000 watts is Peak. lol}....!!!
I have been around Peavey stuff for years and years....I think they over-rate ALL their amps..!!
Tiñe alguna entrada para conectar un móvil o un mp4
When watts are more important than tone, pick up a mini mega!
Psycho? Kosmos? Seriously?
Hablas mucho y tocas poco
Nice, but Kosmos = ULTRABASS by Behringer! Nothing new really sub-harmonic enhancer. Ultimately useless!
it's ok the crunch sounds better when the bright is engaged and more mid control. It seems the sound isn't as round as it should be.
edward welsh
It is VERY hard to get GOOD, full sounding overdrive on bass!
Not many amps or OD pedals succeed!
I've got this head and I 'suspect' the Kosmos might be useful at very low volumes.. coffee shop type gigs. Besides that, I agree... useless.
No PV patented the Kosmo it was a Rack unit $400 at the time Jimmy Page used it on the last transfer from Tape to a DAW they found that it was the Kosmo that worked to bring back the low end. Beringer lol
Watchman4u
I see. Behringer is nothing to laugh at. They have designed a lot of good stuff too.
The most important factors with ALL amps... RMS and damping factor...actually DF is more important...!!! By the way Peavey speakers have always sucked.
Dreadful bass playing
He's not trying to wow you with his skills, he's showing you an amp. If you want to hear what sort of sound you can expect to get from this amp, I think he does a good job of it. If you want to hear what sort sound you likely won't be able to achieve, look for a virtuoso showing off the amp.
I know in this video it says the Kosmos doesn't push your speakers, but here's from the manual it'self:
peavey.com/ItemFiles/Manual/118729_34229.pdf
"KOSMOS A:
Kosmos A is a sub harmonic synthesizer that tracks bass notes and then generates a sub harmonic one octave below to enhance the
overall bass presence by adding extreme low frequency content that can be felt.
HINT: Kosmos A is fantastic for musical styles that require smooth, deep bass such as Reggae, Hip-Hop, R&B, and Electronica.
CAUTION-Kosmos A works best with larger bass cabinets such as 410’s. Be careful when using Kosmos A because it can damage
the speakers. Listen carefully to your speaker cabinets to make sure that there are no indications of mechanical stress or cone breakup
distortion."
I think on larger speakers you're obviously safer, but you have to be considerate anyway.