Peavey Session -LTD 400 pedal

[Bryan Gearry]

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with a Peavey pedal called a Session LTD 400? Evidently this is supposed to emulate a Session 400 amp. I'm a newby and playing my steel through a Fishman Loudbox. This is for home use only. I'm not giging with this. Am not ready to invest in a big amp...yet. Thanks, Bryan

[David Higginbotham]

It's a decent preamp and does emulate the EQ section of the original classic amp reasonably well. But you'll need an effects unit and power amp of some type.

Only drawback sound wise is it does produce an audible amount of white noise. I found the best option to minimize it was to run into an effects unit first then into the preamp. Others will likely chime in with some helpful tips and there's a few threads with some good info if you want to use the search option here on the forum.

Happy playing...
Dave

[Bryan Gearry]

Thanks Dave

[Mike Sweeney]

I have one of the prototypes. I've been using it for a year now for direct recording and I don't experience any white noise.
The only time I got any noise with the pedal was when I used a 1spot power supply. I've also heard some guys got white noise when they turned the sensitivity up high.
I have also used the pedal going into the power amp in jack on the back of a Nashville 112 without any noise.

[Bill Ferguson]

I have sold over 125 of these units and only 2 complaints. One was defective and the other was about the white noise.
As I stated in the owners manual, the Sensitivity affects the white noise, just as it did with the original Session 400 amp.

This pedal is NOT a copy of the original Session 400 preamp, it is the original Session 400 preamp in a pedal.

The pedal has distinct purposes such as:
- To get the original Session 400 sound (or close) from most any high quality combo amp,
- To use when playing direct and want the original Session 400 sound through your earbuds
- To use with a rack system as your tone controls

And I am sure there are many other ways to utilize this product.

We have found that a D'Addario power supply seems not to insert any hum.

And yes, just like with a combo amp, your effects should be in front of the preamp pedal for the best results.

I will be happy to send a copy of the owners manual to anyone. Just drop me an email. bferguson1947@gmail.com

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[Doug Taylor]

I am using my Session pedal for a silent stage at church. I run it into the effects loop of my hx stomp which I use for reverb and delay only.

I am using the exact settings in Bills manual and it sounds fantastic! I could not be more pleased with this pedal!

[Darrell Criswell]

I have a quilter travis troy amp (Toneblock 202). Can anyone describe the difference I will hear in my amp with this? I am not really familiar with the LTD sound just know many love it. I bought the Quilter because it seem to come closer to a twin reverb. Thanks so much and excuse my ignorance.

[Peter J Birch]

I think that some people maybe get confused with the difference between, say a TB-202 and a Peavey Session 400 pedal.
The TB-202 you have to think, like most guitar amps, it is split into two parts. The pre-amp and the power amp stages.
The pre-amp section has the boost to the input signal and the tone controls. The power amp really only boosts that signal to be able to drive speakers.

The Peavey range of pedals (and a lot of pre-amp pedals, e.g. ToneKing UA etc ) are ONLY the pre-amp stage. Not a power amp.
So with the Peavey S-400 you can play with the tone and boost but you then have to boost that output with a power amp.
This does NOT mean plugging it into a guitar amp input which would be pre-amp into pre-amp into power amp - which at best would give you a lot of hiss and noise!

So you would plug the Peavey pedal output to the return input on the TB-202. Which bypasses the pre-amp + control knobs and only feeds the power amp stage, the output volume of which can be controlled by the Master knob .

I have the TB-202 and by playing around with the settings have found a very pleasing sound. Then the Peavey pedal come out, so I got it and after a lot of knob twisting got a very pleasing sound.
Then I thought yes the pedal did sound a bit better than the TB-202 side by side. However not that much as to want to set up the pedal, extra leads added power supply etc. So I went back to the TB-202 as the main sound.
I set up a separate pedal board with built-in power-amp supply 150W with the Peavey pedal, dc power supply, tuner and various FX pedals as a test rig.

[Dennis Detweiler]

Peter, that's how I have my Session Pedal. I have it along with delay and reverb pedals on a pedal board with the power supply. Quick and easy plug into the Quilter 201 return jack and into the speakers. I found that the 201 into the return also keeps the amp modeling selector active. A nice surprise.

[Peter J Birch]

Dennis, this is why I really like this BB. Just when you think you know everything along comes a useful fact.
I didn't know this. In fact I found it hard to believe because that switch is tied to the input by a white line on the front panel.
Therefore part of the tone section of the preamp.

So I just tested it for myself and you are 100% correct, it does indeed come after the return input. Well Spotted.

[Dennis Detweiler]

Peter, the amp modeling control connected to the effects return input adds to being able to match the speaker to the Session pedal. Nice feature.

[Dale Rottacker]

Well, I don't know if I learned something from this thread or not, but then stranger things have happened.

I'd been hooked up with the LTD>Flashback, and generally happy with it, but after reading here about putting fx in front of the LTD, I tried that and was surprised a how quiet it was. It wasn't noisy going LTD>FB, but with FB>LTD its DEAD quiet. So THANK YOU!!

[Jon Jaffe]

I was at the Pedal Steel Jam in Fort Worth this weekend. In the Peavey room, I spoke with John Fields, one of the engineering managers at Peavey. He admitted that some of the early pedal releases had a hiss. Had I brought it, he would've swapped it out for a new one. I was told to talk to Chris Goodwin at Peavey and see what he can arrange.

[Larry Dering]

My session pedal has the white noise and I bought the Donner filtered power supply like some suggested. It's better but still pretty noticeable. I'm going to try the D'Addario 9v supply suggested by Bill Ferguson and try but I not holding my breath. The pedal sounds great otherwise going into the power amp in on a Session Limited amp. Not as good on the Tonex FRFR 12 powered cabinet.

[Jon Jaffe]

I talked to John Fields of Peavey at the Ft Worth Jamboree. He said some of the early releases had this problem. I play it through a TONEX Cab. It is not noticeable in a stage mix. But with IEMs it is. John said I should contact Chris Goodwin at Peavey, and he will rectify the problem. I contacted him once, and he didn't reply. I am pretty busy, and I'll contact him again next week. The phone number John gave me is. 601-486-1213. Maybe if we both notify him (complain) we will get an answer.

[David Higginbotham]

Larry, the white noise issue was precisely why I decided to part with the pedal. I use D'Addario plugs on anything requiring 9V adaptors as they've been very reliable and seem to produce better clarity. I also keep the sensitivity level down on any amp/preamp that has that option including Webb and LTD amps/preamps. I have a tendency to pick harder than I should and the higher the level the greater accentuation of my personal flaw.

Jon mentioning the same issue and that the earlier models had inherent white noise (defect if you will) and Peavey offering to exchange the pedal had he brought his with him would indicate Peavey is aware of the issue. I've had two friends locally who have the same issue and I'll pass Jon's info to them as well. Hopefully, the issue can be remedied as the pedal is fine otherwise.

I prefer to run into a preamp first then to an effects unit, such as any rack system I've used. When tapering off the volume pedal this allows the effects to linger briefly and give a much better sound. My experience has been when the effects are placed first in the chain it cuts off more abruptly when tapering back the volume pedal. The LTD pedal doesn't allow this unless you're prepared to contend with the higher white noise level. It just wasn't acceptable for me, personally.

I kept the TC Furlong Sesh 400 and parted with the LTD pedal. Apples and oranges, IMHO. TC is well known for the high level of quality and support of any of the products he's produced and the Sesh 400 is no exception. No white noise and excellent tone controls. I can also run the Sesh 400 first and then into the Nux effects. The sound remains clear regardless of settings. This is my personal preference with a side by side comparison. Your mileage may vary. I hope Jon and yourself are able to receive satisfaction with Peavey regarding the issue mentioned.

Dave

[Larry Dering]

Thanks Jon and David. I know the Peavey products made in the USA were bullet proof but their overseas production may not be the same. I hesitated to buy the new amp Peavey is building to give it time and work out the kinks. I have long supported Peavey and have a multitude of their stuff and it's been solid. Time will tell about new stuff.