Peavey Grind™ Bass 4 BXP NTB

MSRP: $500 (I was able to haggle mine down to $405 including Louisiana State, Lafayette Parish and Lafayette City taxes).


Pros:

• Neck-through construction
  


• Outstanding action across all 24 frets
  


• Nice combination of body/neck woods
  


• Electronics easily interchangeable with higher quality products
  


• CHEAP!

Cons:

• Ghetto pickups and electronics
  


• Serial number stickered onto headstock

Review:

LAWRDY! A bass review on a guitar site? Well, folks, you never know when you might find yourself filling in on the four string or helping a buddy, relative, or even the spawn of your own loins pick one out. Better to have the info than not, right?

I have never been much of a fan of Peavey's guitars and basses. While they are ruggedly constructed and more than fairly priced for what they are, I for some reason, have never felt comfortable with either the finish or shape of your average Peavey neck. There are some notable exceptions (such as the Cirrus and EVH signature guitars), but by and large, I ignore their guitars and basses in favor of used Fenders, higher end Dean basses or what ever else that seems cool may be kicking around the shop.

However, when you inadvertently find yourself staring at a brand new, $500 neck-through bass made with beautifully finished exotic woods, you forget the brand and take that beast for a test ride.

First thing I noticed upon picking it up is that for a small bodied bass, it's got some mass to it (8.5 lbs according to Peavey's web site). This is good. Once settled into my lap, the body was nicely sculpted, both pickups serve as comfortable thumb rests and the action is low and fast. The string spacing is identical to that of a Fender Jazz Bass both at the nut and the bridge, however it feels a bit narrower for some reason -- my guess is the neck shape. Regardless, all 24 frets are very easily accessable, it's quite cozy (especially for finger style playing) and I can see the neck being very agreeable to somebody with small hands. The only playing style I have trouble with on this bass is slapping -- specifically, popping the G and D strings. If I don't use this one regularly, it takes me a while to get used to the scoop in the lower bout again, but that's likely a malfunction of my own playing technique.

The unplugged tone of the bass is excellent; warm, clear and resonant with the ample sustain one would expect from a neck-through instrument -- single notes, chords, you name it. So far, all of the fixing of a versatile, punchy, kickass bass are there.

Once plugged in, a few of my issues with this bass start to emerge; first, the pickups take a lot of the highs out (easily eq'd out on the amplifier, but it's nice not to have to, especially if you use more than one bass), and for some reason one of the tone knobs had to be turned to about "9" because at "10" it was starting to trim out the trebles again. Some good news here, though: the control cavity is VERY spacious and the pickups are the exact dimensions of any EMG-40 pickup. Even in spite of this, it's very easy to get a variety of good tones out of the instrument. I've used it for a multitude of genres and styles including Rock, Funk, Jazz, Ska, Punk, Country and Metal; it does them all and it does them well. I've even played slide solos on it and had them come out well, even in spite of the low action.

For a complete listing of the specs, you'll want to check out Peavey's website.


Summary:

For a low budget, high performance bass guitar, you can't go wrong with the Grind NTBs. Out of the box, it kicks much more expensive Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, ESP and Ibanez basses squarely in the teeth and with a small investment in better pickups, this instrument becomes a true tone machine.

is that bass neck heavey or pretty balanced? I'm looking for a decent cheap (isnt' that almost an oxymoron?) bass for recording, and just because I like messing around on the bass, but every one I've played is very neck heavey. Also, what kind of wook are the wings? They look kind of like a mix between rosewood, wenge, and walnut(not grayish brown enough though).

Originally Posted by: PRSplayais that bass neck heavey or pretty balanced? I'm looking for a decent cheap (isnt' that almost an oxymoron?) bass for recording, and just because I like messing around on the bass, but every one I've played is very neck heavey. Also, what kind of wook are the wings? They look kind of like a mix between rosewood, wenge, and walnut(not grayish brown enough though).

It's fairly balanced, I think. If I set it down on my lap and let it rest against my body, it eventually drops to the neck a bit, but I've never felt it was neck heavy.

I think you'll find any bass with an offset waist is going to feel less neck-heavy than otherwise because of all that extra mass on the bridge end of things.


As to the wings, they're Imbuya -- has a good, "growly" tone. The neck/central core is Mahogany and Maple.


For the price, it's really quite the instrument, but I would caution you to make sure you play the one you're buying... I've seen a more recent one that aren't as heavy as mine is and I don't think it sounded nearly as good. Then again, the five string Grind sitting next to it was stellar.

I've never heard of Imbuya wood, much less a guitar made with it :confused: . Either way it's a beautiful looking wood combination with the mahogany and maple. One of my main problems deciding on a bass is whether or not to go with 4 or 5 strings. I like the idea of having the extra low's, but with my guitar the lowest I ever go (and only on occasions) is 1 whole step down drop C (drop D whole step down) tuning. Normally I'm I'm half a step down. So, do you think I would be better off with a 4 or 5 string? And what kind of bass pickups are the most versatile?

If these questions need to be started as a new thread, just let me know and I'll edit it into context.

Eh, it's probably kosher. If not, these posts can be moved someplace else accordingly.


I've found that it's best to have both. For me, four strings are easier to get around on and a bit more fun to play. I tend to do more inventive things on them.

That said, a B string is damn handy, even if you're playing in a "normal" guitar key -- if you're playing up the neck, it can be a pain to have to go all the way down to the nut for an F or F# then back up again.

My advice is to try both and see what inspires you most; I think either will do what you're looking for, though.


As to pickups, I really like EMG's bass line. In guitars, I hate active pickups but I really feel that they help out the bass frequencies. Of all my basses, my EMG equipped Jazz bass has the lowest output level and yet cuts through a mix the best. If I'm playing with distortion, it resists feedback but when it does, it's a very smooth, "musical" feedback. In the case of the Grind (and a lot of Dean basses), they're an ideal choice because the correct hole is already routed.

Again, see what's out there. Bartolini makes some excellent bass pickups and preamps, Basslines' pickups seem to be selling well, and I see even Rio Grande has a series of bass pickups out.

Well, I just splurged and got me one. Only, mine is the 6-string version. I thought it would be a lot harder to play, but it really isn't that hard. It's just different getting used to the extra strings. I'm really diggin it though. Got it for $315, so I just couldn't pass it up.