PEAVEY
VOID 4 PXD
Just about any working
bassist will tell
you that finding
the perfect bass for
their style of music can
be a long, arduous, and
frustrating journey. The
available options are still
miniscule compared to how
many guitars are out there, but
the gap has been steadily closing
the past few years. One company
that has regularly succeeded in
targeting this market is Peavey, with
its versatile and popular Cirrus and
Millennium models. Considering the suc-
cess the company has had with the metal
crowd (for example with their legendary
6505 series amps), it’s not surprising to see
the company again set its sights on head-
banging bassists with the new US-designed
Void 4-string. It aims to be the go-to tool
for bassists looking to put a bit more meat
on their low-end muscle—and at an afford-
able price.
Into the Void
The 34"-scale Void was an intimidating-looking beast when I pulled it out of its
custom Coffin Case gig bag. Its wild stylings are certainly tailored to the modern
metal crowd—it would fit right in on, say,
a Bullet for My Valentine album cover.
Our review model weighed 10. 15
pounds, and its maple neck-through
design is coupled with two basswood
wings. The deep-hued rosewood fretboard
features 21 jumbo nickel frets and a classy
aluminum shark-tooth inlay at the 12th
fret. Each of the Void’s strings runs from
die-cast, enclosed tuners on the ominous-
looking headstock to a die-cast bridge
with saddles that are adjustable in three
directions. It can also be strung through
the rear or top of the bridge.
Una-Void-able Tone
The Void was obviously crafted for bassists
on the heavier side of rock and metal, and
it scored high points in almost every area
that’s important to those types of players.
Through a TC Electronic Classic450 head
and matching 2x10 cabinet, I was able to
easily coax some of the gnarliest, most ruth-less-sounding metal bass tones this side of a
Down album. I had unprecedented control
over the tone from the conveniently placed
EQ knobs. Each note sounded crisp and
big, with sturdy lows no matter how high I
had the instrument’s Bass EQ set.
I have a habit of fiddling with an amp’s
controls to the point of obsession, but due
to the Void’s EQ section, I never found the
need to alter amp settings. If I wanted a
less-present low end for faster-paced black-metal riffing, I simply dropped the Bass
knob down below its middle notch, upped
