Thoughts on a USA-made Peavey Millennium?

Persona87

Persona87

Dec 4, 2012
918
589
4,826
DFW, Texas
#1
There's a guy near me that's selling a 4-string Peavey Millennium (I think it's a Plus model) USA-made with the original hard case for $400. I've been casually looking at a Lakland 55-02 for a few months now, and this seems to be pretty close at a much lower price. It's only a 4-string, but it's got a 35" scale and a D-tuner, so I can down-tune if I really need those low notes (though I rarely use lower than a D). I've also been really curious about the J/MM setup for a long time. Does anyone here have experience with this model? Is this a good deal? Is there anything I should be aware of with regard to older Peaveys?
 
  • Like
Reactions: mb94952
#3
I have one. It's a great bass. The 35" scale can be a bit harder to get around on if you're used to 34" scale. The bulk of the sound is coming from the bridge pickup. The single coil doesn't have the same amount of output but is useful for rounding out the tone. I usually keep my balance knob right in the middle. The preamp makes the bass very versatile, mainly because of the stacked mid sweep knob. It would be nice if the battery compartment was a quick change flip out compartment, but not a deal breaker for me. I tend to bump the high mids just a bit too help give the bass some bite in a dense mix. The hipshot bridge and spoke wheel truss rod adjuster at the base of the neck make for easy string changes and setups. $400 is a tough deal to beat for a bass that nice IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Riff Ranger and Dr. Cheese
#4
I have a 5 string and I echo what the others have said- they are VERY nice basses, especially for the $$$ you can get them for used. I have never played the 4, so I'm just going by my 5.

Here's a link to the manual, so you can get an idea of the specs. The neck j pickup is a stacked humbucker, so you can solo it no problem. One difference between the Lakland though is that the MM pickup is not coil-tapped, but the Peavey does have sweepable mids.

https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/Millennium4_5PlusEnglish.pdf
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Cheese
#8
$400 with the original Hard case. I think this is a no-brainer tbh - you can get a Lakland any time, you can't often find a US Millenium especially at that price. Heck if you don't like it, you can sell it for more and be that much closer to buying a Lakland although once you try the Millenium you may not want to part with it. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: mb94952 and Dr. Cheese
#9
My only memory of these that gave me some pause was that the neck was a little on the shallow/narrow side. I tend to prefer a J neck to a P neck, but I also like just a little substance under the fingerboard. I have a Warmoth J neck on a passive Jazz that's a great fit for me - 1.5" at the nut, but a little more chunky than some J style necks that are just a bit too sparse.

I kicked myself some years ago for not grabbing one of these US Millenniums I found in a 2nd hand shop, but I'm pretty sure that the neck had a little less than I like for my very best fit. I slept on it, but the bass was gone when I went back for another look.

So I guess try it if you can before you buy it, just to make sure the fit is okay for you. If it's right, the deal sounds decent.

EDIT... and my coffee has apparently quit. Didn't notice how old this thread was until after...

I do recall the weight being nicely light, perhaps a little under 9 lbs.
 
#10
I had one. At that price it is definitely a buy. Keep it if you like it. Up sell it if you don’t.

Solid construction and felt great to me. If you do not like the sound, routes are standard MM and long jazz neck position (so there are a ton of options). I have never been a big Peavey VFL pickup/preamp fan (though they do have a ton of fans),so I swapped mine to an Audere/Bartolini setup with a coil tap on the MM. I loved it and would still have it if it was a 5. I will probably eventually pick up a 5 string one.
 
#11
Persona87 said:
There's a guy near me that's selling a 4-string Peavey Millennium (I think it's a Plus model) USA-made with the original hard case for $400. I've been casually looking at a Lakland 55-02 for a few months now, and this seems to be pretty close at a much lower price. It's only a 4-string, but it's got a 35" scale and a D-tuner, so I can down-tune if I really need those low notes (though I rarely use lower than a D). I've also been really curious about the J/MM setup for a long time. Does anyone here have experience with this model? Is this a good deal? Is there anything I should be aware of with regard to older Peaveys?
Click to expand...
ALL OLDER anything be aware a bass refret runs around 300- 350 and basses played much over 5 years only dont need one if we are lying to ourselves. Factor that into the cost value
 
#12
Loudart said:
ALL OLDER anything be aware a bass refret runs around 300- 350 and basses played much over 5 years only dont need one if we are lying to ourselves. Factor that into the cost value
Click to expand...

The OP posted this 3 years ago. He either bought it or he didn't. As for refrets, depends on how much the other guy played it, how hard, etc. I recently had something refretted with SS jumbos, which was a huge improvement. I have another from the year before and the frets are pristine, although I like the SS jumbos enough to pay for them.
 
#13
I just got one last week. Absolutely PHENOMENAL bass in every way. Mine is very lightweight (my lightest bass out of 7). Incredible tone with a very versatile eq. I’ve never owned a bass with a 35” scale and had some reservations buying it online but honestly I don’t notice much of a difference at all and I’m pretty sensitive to small differences. It’s a total stunner of an instrument! Boutique quality construction and wood/hardware/electronics are top notch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Cheese and Prof.Dr.Metz
#14
tindrum said:
I just got one last week. Absolutely PHENOMENAL bass in every way. Mine is very lightweight (my lightest bass out of 7). Incredible tone with a very versatile eq. I’ve never owned a bass with a 35” scale and had some reservations buying it online but honestly I don’t notice much of a difference at all and I’m pretty sensitive to small differences. It’s a total stunner of an instrument! Boutique quality construction and wood/hardware/electronics are top notch.
Click to expand...
I owned several back in the day. They were incredibly nice basses.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tindrum
#15
Persona87 said:
There's a guy near me that's selling a 4-string Peavey Millennium (I think it's a Plus model) USA-made with the original hard case for $400. I've been casually looking at a Lakland 55-02 for a few months now, and this seems to be pretty close at a much lower price. It's only a 4-string, but it's got a 35" scale and a D-tuner, so I can down-tune if I really need those low notes (though I rarely use lower than a D). I've also been really curious about the J/MM setup for a long time. Does anyone here have experience with this model? Is this a good deal? Is there anything I should be aware of with regard to older Peaveys?
Click to expand...

A U.S. Millennium's quality blows a Skyline out of the water.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tindrum
#17
tindrum said:
Absolutely!
Click to expand...

I shared this story before, but in 2006, I met Dan Lakin at a TalkBass GTG at Bass Club Chicago. I had a Peavey Millennium at the time. Mr. Lakin told me that he came out with the 55-02 to keep Peavey from taking his market. That said, the coil splitting feature of the Laklands gives them a versatility that the Millenniums don’t have. If a miracle were to happen and Millenniums went back into production, I would either add a coil splitter to the humbucker or I would put it in the true Stingray position so it deliver that tone instead of the sort of bridge pickup tone it has.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tindrum
#18
spade2you said:
The OP posted this 3 years ago. He either bought it or he didn't. As for refrets, depends on how much the other guy played it, how hard, etc. I recently had something refretted with SS jumbos, which was a huge improvement. I have another from the year before and the frets are pristine, although I like the SS jumbos enough to pay for them.
Click to expand...

What metro are you in? Tough finding anyone who will work with SS frets in TN. I would love some
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back