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Topic: My Reno Saga. 2/10. Reno cab + Special 150 Chassis? |
Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 30 Apr 2021 5:18 pm |
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Tomorrow morning I'm heading out to pickup this Reno 400.
Craigslist pics:
https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/msg/d/victoria-peavey-reno-400-guitar-amp/7312344307.html
I want a cheap backup/practice space amp and it seems like (possibly after disconnecting the horn?) this could fit the bill. Certainly it should be better than the Ibanez acoustic amp I'm currently using when my duo practices at the singer's place. Pictures are cruddy but seller assures me it's like new and was purchased for a kid who went to Berkley music school and never took it.
For $100 I figure it's worth a shot.
In no rush at all, but maybe someday it will also be my first stab at amp upgrading as the the indications on the forum seem to be that there are some relatively easy chip upgrades that can be done.
Any additional advice you all can offer regarding the Reno 400?
What's the story with the giant shiny speaker frame?
Last edited by Karl Paulsen on 10 Feb 2022 7:00 pm; edited 11 times in total |
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Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
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Posted 30 Apr 2021 6:15 pm
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| That is a Peavey Scorpion speaker. It's likely to be a perfectly adequate amp, but one that I have never actually played through. Probably bulletproof like all of them from that era. |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 30 Apr 2021 6:20 pm
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| Doug Earnest wrote: |
| That is a Peavey Scorpion speaker. It's likely to be a perfectly adequate amp, but one that I have never actually played through. Probably bulletproof like all of them from that era. |
Thanks for the speaker info. How is the Scorpion for Steel?
If I can coax it up to "pretty good" that would be nice, but for the price I'm paying I'll be happy with "perfectly adequate".  |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 1 May 2021 4:42 am Reno
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| I use a Reno 400 chassis in a Nashville 400 cab with TT-15 speaker. My understanding is the only difference between Reno and NV400 is input number one, which is for an acoustic instrument with piezo pickup. Input number two works great for pedal steel. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 1 May 2021 4:50 am
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| Peavey used Scorpions in 12 in. and 15 in. configs. for some guitar and bass apps. several years back. I've no experience with those for steel applications, but who knows, it may be just fine. |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 1 May 2021 6:50 am
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Regarding the Horn... The first thing you should do is take a picture of how the Horn is wired from where the wires come out of the Head and connect to the Horn and Speaker (that piece that blocks your view of the back of the Horn easily comes off/on with 4 screws). You will want to be able to wire it back up correctly.
I like those amps. They work pretty good with most instruments and even vocals.
I would play it without disconnecting the Horn, first.
At low volume the Horn is barely working.
When you disconnect the Horn you can just run the Speaker connectors directly from where they come out of the amp-head to the Speaker.
I used to keep a set of Radio Shack alligator-clip wires in the back of the amp to help with quick connections. The Reno I had came with short leads coming out of the head.
That Scorpion should sound great. The one I had came with a Black frame speaker, I think it was an Emanance.
I like the sound of Input-1 with the Pre-Gain knob pulled OUT. Start with Post Gain at 12 o'clock (half power, you can crank it up for gigging), and the Pre-Gain at Zero (bring it up from zero to about 9 o'clock slowly cuz these are loud amps). Then Bass around 2-4 o'clock, Mid around 10 o'clock, Shift somewhere between 300 and 800, Bright and Presence around 12 to 3 o'clock depending on the instrument.
Here is the original Manual for that amp:
https://peavey.com/manuals/80370405.pdf |
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ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 1 May 2021 8:52 am
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To add to the suggestions from Pete Burak:
You could also try covering up the horn, or minimizing/regulating its effect.
There are a number of ways to do this. |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 1 May 2021 10:58 am
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Here it be.
Mine all mine!
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 1 May 2021 11:15 am
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So I bought it.
It's in fantastic shape for being stored for a decade. Just a pinch of corrosion on some of the jack washers and nuts. I might clean them up or replace them.
A few scratches in the rotation of a couple of the pots but nothing when they aren't moving.
The setting pictured above is what I used and was pretty happy with. I'll try you folks' suggested settings next time.
I was surprised much I liked the Bright switch engaged when plugged into input 2. Really livens up the sound. Going to leave the horn in for now. With the presence rolled off It doesn't bother me. I cranked the reverb and it was nice but I still goosed it further with a Marine Layer reverb pedal.
Really I'm quite happy with it. It's not anything like my Half and Half (currently out of commission) but its worlds ahead of the Dean Markley and Ibanez I've been using. Once the Milkman is fixed this will be an excellent amp to leave at my singer's place.
One downside is the weight. It's kind of ridiculous, and not something I'd enjoy carting to gigs as-is. Needs casters ASAP. |
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Paul Wade
From:
mundelein,ill
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Posted 2 May 2021 6:34 am reno 400
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oh karl,
i was going to jump on that in mundelein great amps
have one to i would disconnect the horn... let me know
if you need help with settings...
p.w
mundelein,ill |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 4 May 2021 8:47 am
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Quick question,
I want to clean out a couple of the scratchy pots. I've only done this on guitars, not amps. I assume I need to pull the head. Should I put a rag under/around the pots as I spray them out with contact cleaner to collect the dirty fluid?
Anything else I should check or do while the amp is open? I figure I'll hit it with compressed air and vacuum if necessary but beyond that I don't know.
_________________
Nickel and Steel. Sad Songs and Steel Guitar.
https://www.facebook.com/NickelandSteel
Chicago Valley Railroad. Trainspotting and Bargain Hunting...
https://chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com/ |
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Paul Wade
From:
mundelein,ill
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Posted 6 May 2021 6:18 am amp settings
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karl,
here what i used on the reno 400. and shobud super pro
PRE 3-4
POST5-6
LOW7-8
MID2-3
SHIFT 300-500
HIGH 5-6
PRSENCE 6-8
REVERB 2-3
P.W |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 6 May 2021 7:01 am
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| Karl, you should try to prevent as much as possible. You can use 91 proof rubbing alcohol and a swab to mop up any residue on the circuit board with a q tip. |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 6 May 2021 7:05 am
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Thanks Larry,
Will do. The contact cleaner I have comes out pretty quick but I'll try and keep it clean.
Another question for you all. If I'm going to disconnect the Horn, is there any reason not to just remove it entirely?
With an amp this heavy it seems like a not-bad idea to save weight where you can.
_________________
Nickel and Steel. Sad Songs and Steel Guitar.
https://www.facebook.com/NickelandSteel
Chicago Valley Railroad. Trainspotting and Bargain Hunting...
https://chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com/ |
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Paul Wade
From:
mundelein,ill
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Posted 7 May 2021 3:43 am Reno400
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Karl
You could go to a Tommy huff light cabinet
Here is one I had
Paul
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 7 May 2021 4:37 am
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| I've got that one now (thanks Paul), and it sounds awesome with a TT-15. The neo mag speaker and solid pine cab make it much lighter than a stock 400. |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 7 May 2021 7:18 am
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The new red cab does look nice and I'm sure it sounds great with the new speaker. Is that a whole new speaker or a neo Magnet? It looks like My Scorpion.
Is there a Neo Mag you can put in a Scorpion?
I'm trying to be deliberate about how much I want to invest in this one, especially since it has the less-desirable Scorpion speaker in it and it is a rehearsal/backup amp.
Currently I've got $100 in it.
For $40 I can give it new chips
For $20 I can get some grill cloth if I were to pull the horn.
Both of those will probably get done at some point but after that a new speaker or a cab are $100-200 upgrades each at which point I'm probably better off just looking for a used Nashville with stock BW right? There's a US NV112 on classifieds right now for $200 that I'd probably snap up if I were in Michigan and I'd put the Reno back on Craigslist.
I'm thinking I may play the long game and see if over time I can source a new speaker or cab cheap, used and local. Maybe even a junker of some sort I can grab the chrome hardware off of.
Anyone want to trade their chrome hardware for my black hardware?
_________________
Nickel and Steel. Sad Songs and Steel Guitar.
https://www.facebook.com/NickelandSteel
Chicago Valley Railroad. Trainspotting and Bargain Hunting...
https://chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com/
Last edited by Karl Paulsen on 7 May 2021 7:23 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 7 May 2021 7:23 am
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| Karl, I might have some hardware to trade. Let me check and get back to you. |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 7 May 2021 7:44 am
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Thanks Tommy,
I appreciate it. My black hardware isn't perfect, but as seen in the pics it's in pretty good shape.
I could toss a few bucks in by way of equalization if your hardware is minty-fresh but perfect chrome is not a necessity on my end so some wear is fine.
_________________
Nickel and Steel. Sad Songs and Steel Guitar.
https://www.facebook.com/NickelandSteel
Chicago Valley Railroad. Trainspotting and Bargain Hunting...
https://chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com/ |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 7 May 2021 10:41 am
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| I was wrong about hardware, all I have is an empty NV400 cabinet. |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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Posted 10 May 2021 4:13 pm
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What do you do when you don't like the look of a horn (bypassed) on your cab, and your Peavey Logo is broken?
-Black plastic cut from a CRT TV case.
-Broken Peavey Logo
-Bits cut from an even more broken Peavey Logo
-Superglue, solvent glue and patience...
Sanding and painting underway now...
_________________
Nickel and Steel. Sad Songs and Steel Guitar.
https://www.facebook.com/NickelandSteel
Chicago Valley Railroad. Trainspotting and Bargain Hunting...
https://chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com/ |
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Karl Paulsen
From:
Chicago
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