Your Peavey Session 400 Preamp Pedal Review

[Dennis Detweiler]

The shipment is being dispersed. I'd like to hear your review, settings, power amp you are using, etc. I just got mine today and gave it an initial test run. The gear and connections: MSA U-12 with Telonics X12 PU. Freeloader to pot pedal to Ibanez analog mini delay to TC Electronic HOF reverb, to Session 400 Preamp pedal to Quilter Tone Block 201 with the dial set on EQ (no amp model setting), EQ is set flat (no added tone setting), The 201 gain set at 8:00.

The 400 Preamp pedal settings (for now) volume 6, Sensitivity 6, Bass 8, Treble 2, Shift 6, Middle 3, Presence off.

Review: The 201 gain is set very low to dial out white noise from the 400 pedal which seems to put out a hot signal. With the low gain setting on the 201 and the Session 400 pedal volume and sensitivity set at 6 I can run the master volume up to 200W and it gets plenty loud.


I tried a 12 inch Eminence bass speaker (BP122) and couldn't quite get the good balanced tone I wanted. Then I tried a BW 1501 flat magnet and I got what I was wanting. Then I tried an Eminence Wheelhouse 200 and it had a slight edge over the 1501 speaker.

Conclusion: I'm happy with the clarity, punch and broad tonal range of the Session 400 pedal when combined with the proper speaker. The Quilter Tone Block 201 adds a little more tube replication to the sound. Since I had no tone settings added with the Quilter 201, the Session 400 pedal is producing as a stand alone preamp and does it perfectly.

[Dennis Detweiler]

The first band job is this afternoon. I'm trying the 400 pedal with a Peavey 50/50 Stereo tube power amp. The weight of it kind of defeats the purpose of lightening my load, but I also have the a 200 and a 201 Quilter Tone Block power amps, Carvin 400 rack power amp to try also. A review and band response to follow.

[Tron Standridge]

I tried my peavy session 400 preamp last night all I can say it’s the best pedal that I’ve ever used for pedal steel guitar the string separations is great and the preamp is clear. And it does sound like the old peavy session 400 amp because I own one of them too. I tried it with the peavy Nashville 112 and the Nashville 1000 amp and the peavy Nashville 400 and it makes the amp come alive. A big shoutout to peavy for a great product!!! Keep on making them !!!

[Brooks Montgomery]

Has there been a comparison done anywhere of the Peavey session 400 preamp vs. the TC Furlong Sesh 400 pedal?

[Tron Standridge]

Guys here 2 pictures how to hookup the session preamp this was hookup through a peavy Nashville 400 it should hook up the same on the Nashville 112 and 1000 amps

[Tron Standridge]

[Tron Standridge]

[Tron Standridge]

[Tron Standridge]

You will still have control over your reverb once you get it hooked up write and you will still have control over your pregain to on the amp the other knobs will not work as the preamp will have control over the board it’s self. Hope this helps guys!

[Rhino]

Hi Dennis, Rob here from Eastern Washington State.

I received my Session 400 preamp and after plugging it into my pedal board, had horrible loud white noise. The fix to cleaning up the noise is a regulated noise isolated wall wart. On Amazon I purchased a Donner DPA-100 9V power supply that worked beautifully.

I also play an MSA U12 and use the same settings as you except my Bass = 3, Mid = 8, Shift = 8. These settings are more favorable toward the C6th voicings. My test included both the Quilter Steelaire and a Quilter 101 mini head using both a PF350 12 inch cabinet and the 15 inch Eminence EPS-15C cabinet. I had excellent results with both speakers! Although I will admit the Steelaire does sound better using the PF350.

The Quilter 101 blew me away and cannot imagine what the 202 Toneblock can achieve.

[Brooks Montgomery]

Following….I’d love to hear more reviews, and especially settings using the Toneblock 201, (with 10-string E9) with this Peavey pedal

I’ve been using my TB201 a lot lately because of the DI out capability, and the 201 has very limited EQ ability, so this small pedal could be the answer….anyone else have a setting review?

[Dennis Detweiler]

I tried it with a Peavey 50/50 on a Sunday job and wasn't totally happy with the sound I'm wanting. I am now trying it with the 201 at home and will be taking it to the job Tuesday evening. So far, the 201 is the winner. 201 is set on Full EQ (no amp modeling needed). I set the two EQ controls flat. The 201 is just for power. The Gain control at 8:00 (barely cracked open). Control the volume with the Master. Session pedal setings: Volume 7, Sensitivity 10, Bass 8, Treble 2.5, Middle 3, Shift 8, Presence 3. Guitar is 1975 maple body U-12 with Telonics X12 pickup. Speaker is Eminence Wheelhouse 200, which is very close to the 1501 BW. I'm sure anyone would have to tweak the pedal settings for their guitar, pickup and speaker.

[Dennis Detweiler]

Hi Rino, I received white noise (hiss) from mine also. Using the settings I posted, I was able to eliminate nearly all of it. However, I have a Moskey Isolated power supply ordered and should get it next week. I use an Ibanez analog delay and Nux Damp reverb pedals with it. I eliminated those two pedals and the hiss was still there using a One Spot supply which is not isolated. So, we'll see. Otherwise right now, it works well and I have plenty of power with very minimal noise. It's a matter of running the Peavey pedal hot and cutting the input gain control down on the amp.

[Fred Treece]

I would think Tron’s signal path (pedal straight into power amp) would produce a cleaner and more true transparent representation of what the 400 pedal sound is. On the Quiltaire 201, maybe try plugging into the fx return instead of main input? Is the TB201 “Hi Q” or “Full Q” setting somehow supposed to neutralize the preamp? Even so, gain is being added to the 400 when using the 201 main input.