Product Review of the PEAVEY NASHVILLE 1000
By Danny Hullihen
The Nashville 1000 is rated at 300 Watts via a digital power amplifier (AKA Switchmode) which
provides for a cleaner & faster response than the standard analog amplifier.
The Nashville 1000 comes equipped with the Peavey 1501-SB (shallow basket) Black Widow
Speaker, which can handle a lot of power. This speaker has been specifically voiced for steel guitar
applications, and we've discovered that it also performs well for violin and jazz guitar applications.
Originally, Peavey had plans to use a neodymium magnet which would have resulted in being a bit
lighter than alnico type magnets and would have provided an additional 3Db. of gain.
Unfortunately, neodymium (a rare earth material) is very expensive to manufacture, and it wouldn't
have been cost- efficient to use given the benefit to dollar comparison. In the best interest of the
player, Peavey ultimately opted for the 1501-SB instead, which is a time-proven design and has
been the industry standard for many years in steel guitar amplification.
Although the Black Widow 1501 is indeed capable of handling a great deal of power, I feel that I
should caution those who are using this amp that the awesome power of the Nashville 1000 is
capable of driving the speaker out of its gap when played at maximum volume levels. This is not to
say that the speaker isn´t capable; moreover, the Nashville 1000 is an amplifier that is capable of
delivering awesome power beyond any other combo-type amplifier ever built for steel guitar
applications.
The cabinet design of the Nashville 1000 is made of void-free plywood, which provides for better
tonal response throughout the entire spectrum of the steel guitar, violin and jazz guitar range. In
comparison, most other amplifier cabinets were made of particle board material. Although durable,
particle board produces more of a boxy sound compared to the tone spectrum capabilities of a
void-free plywood cabinet. As many have now discovered, the Nashville 1000 is different than any
other amplifier in its class. Whatever kind of tone you´re looking for, the Nashville 1000 is capable
of producing it. Whether you want to peel wall paper with screaming highs, break glass with
thundering lows, or play at low volumes, the Nashville 1000 will produce the sound you want at
any level.
With regards to weight, the Nashville 1000 weighs in at 57 lbs., which is approximately 10 lbs.
lighter than the Nashville 400. Although this may not be an extreme reduction, this does make a big
difference to a lot of guys.
The Front and Back of the Amp
There are 2 input channels on the Nashville 1000. This was done to accommodate the many
different kinds of steel guitar pickups being offered on the market today. The high gain input is
primarily for passive type pickups and/or factory installed single coil pickups. The low gain input is
designed for active pickups, or hot pickups such as the Bill Lawrence L-710 Series pickups. This is
not to say that these inputs cannot be used vice-versa, but the option is there for you to experiment
with either way. No matter what your pickup of choice might be, you'll discover that the Nashville
PEAVEY NASHVILLE 1000
