Enter the Peavey Cirrus 5 (stage left) and the dream is history. This is a rock solid neck thru instrument that plays smooth and has the sustain that neck thru's are known for as well as some punch to move some pants. It is a very beautiful instrument, and those who prefer natural finishes that show the beauty of the construction material will love the tung oil finish. The walnut is of excellent grade and the bubinga is very nice too.

The other HUGE + is the pickups and the 18v Preamp. This instrument is very responsive. And that just comes naturally. The sound is that of the wood. You can actually hear it, well, maybe not. But if you know good woody sounding bass and can appreciate it, this one is for you! It has a 35 inch scale, so the B string is strong and punchy, as well as articulate. Vol, P/U pan, Bass, Mid & Treb controls are another plus. Leaving the treble and mids flat and rolling up the bass may be the only adjustment you need. No lie, believe everything you have heard about these basses. They are that good.

Pau Ferro fingerboard with no dots, only on the side for the player to see, a nice "C" at the 12th fret in abalone, comes with StrapLock connectors, a somewhat chintzy case, but good strings. (Warning, all strings don't fit due to the 35" scale length. Any nickels of similar gauge and adequate length should do. Peavey strings are a little hard to find.)

Customer support is great via the Peavey Guitar Forum website. A Peavey rep checks the board every other day and responds to your questions. The site is great.

Finally, I play this monster through an Eden WT 800 and an 8 Ohm 410 XLT. The only addition is a BBE Sonic Max. in the FX loop. THIS IS THE BOMB!!! My bass friends gave me lots of crap to see me show up at a gig with a Peavey Bass going through top of the line Eden. But I out thumped every last one of them there. (No, I'm not saying that this instrument will make up for a lack of playing ability and technique, but if you've got good ability and technique, this thing will literally dance in your hands!!!) Those that I allowed to play it were astounded and placed orders for one themselves. Maybe it's the novelty that "It's a Peavy" and Peavey isn't always known for exotic type stuff. Peavey is the name that comes to mind for garage bands and lesser impressing church PA systems. But the company has come a long way in product improvement. And the affordability factor enables the masses to get their hands on their gear. I'm also going to do a review on the Peavey Firebass 700, which is a KILLER head. TRY IT!! Don't knock Peavey until you try some of their more recent efforts. I think you'll be pleasantly suprised.

Construction	95%
Playability	98%
Appearance	99%
Sound	99%
Value	99%
Cust. Service	100%
Overall	99%