Neck swap on a Peavey T 40-- Can it be done?

allfiller · #1 01-06-2009, 06:36 PM

So, I recently bought a Peavey T 40 bass, and man is this thing awesome. It gets crazy tones, has a great feel, but the neck is just entirely too big for my tiny little-man hands. little man-hands. littlemanhands.
anyway.
I got to thinking earlier today and came up with a crazy idea: a fender jazz-style neck mated to the t-40 body. I compared the neck to that on my Schecter and though the Schecter was much thinner at the nut, both were the same width at the 19th fret (though the Schecter has 24 frets).
I can't see any reason why this wouldn't work and I think it might make some kind of super-bass.
Does anyone have experience with this kind of thing?
-addison

bassguitarded · #2 01-07-2009, 11:18 AM

i would say no... only because the t4o has neck angle adjusting something er rather built into the neck joint... you can down load the manual here: http://www.peavey.com/assets/literat...s/80370017.pdf

sgtdemeo · #3 01-07-2009, 11:32 AM

hey, i also have a t-40! and an extra body. if you aren't going to use it.. would you be interested in selling the neck to me?
thanks!!!

allfiller · #4 01-07-2009, 02:28 PM

That was a concern I had, as well. Couldn't I just nix that option, though? Other basses do fine without it, I can't imagine that it's completely necessary; though it is pretty awesome.
I did some measuring, and it seems that my neck is slightly narrower at the pocket than Fender necks. Maybe a custom job is in order?
I'll let you know if i can't find anything to do with the neck, demeo, though I am considering de-fretting it as it's got pretty severe fretwear as it is.
But maybe not.

Eilif · #5 01-07-2009, 02:41 PM

I would say that as long as the jazz neck is the same size, or a bit bigger than the t-40, you should be fine. The t-40 neck route could be enlarged, or the jazz neck heel could be shaved down a bit. You will have to do a bit of work on the end of the neck heel or pocket however, as the t-40 neck is flat ended, and fender necks are round ended.

That said, I know a fellow who did this conversion and it worked out fine. As for the neck tilt, you can nix it altogether, or you can route a small groove and inset a nickel in the base of the jazz neck in the same place that the peavey has a small slug. That slug is the only part of the neck tilt feature that is part of the peavey neck. Take the t-40 neck off, and you'll see what I mean.

One thing to note. If some enlarging of the neck route on the Peavey body is necessary, you run the risk of devaluing a USA made bass that while not too expensive, has been increasing (and will likely continue to increase) in value. I have a worn white t-40 body that you might be interested in, that you could experiment on without risking damaging the body you have. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

dmusic148 · #6 01-07-2009, 02:44 PM

You do realize, don't you, that it won't sound the same if you do it? Probably will still sound good, but different.

allfiller · #7 01-07-2009, 03:06 PM

Yeah, I realize the tone would change a lot if I changed the neck out, which is why I don't want to modify the body at all. The bass sounds killer as-is, but until I can really shred on it there's no use in having good tone, ya know?
I like white a lot. PM sent.

BigOldHarry · #8 01-07-2009, 03:09 PM

Another alternative: Take the bass to a GOOD luthier and have him defret and work the neck. It's just wood, you know... so shave 1/8 off each side, re-shape, re-finish, refret... Yes, it would have to be someone who knows what he's doing - If no one in your town, then you could ship it to someone that TB recommends... But from what I've known about the T-40, a neck swap is a non-starter.

If you really dig this instrument, this is the way to go, if you ask me.

2x4strgkramers · #9 01-07-2009, 03:29 PM

This is good advice. I would recomend lowering the string tension as well or using lighter gauge strings. I would try lighter strings first and see if that mobility improvemtn is enough to bypass screwing with the neck. If you have to change the neck or modify it then Luthier modifying your existing neck is the best option IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigOldHarry

Another alternative: Take the bass to a GOOD luthier and have him defret and work the neck. It's just wood, you know... so shave 1/8 off each side, re-shape, re-finish, refret... Yes, it would have to be someone who knows what he's doing - If no one in your town, then you could ship it to someone that TB recommends... But from what I've known about the T-40, a neck swap is a non-starter.

If you really dig this instrument, this is the way to go, if you ask me.

bassmanrocke · #10 01-07-2009, 06:52 PM

I don't see why you couldn't put a jazz neck on it. Both are 20 fret 34 inch scale necks. You might have to do some work , but you could pick up a cheap used squier jazz or precision special, and make the mods on the neck rather than the body. This would mean all you were risking would be a cheap squier neck. Also, the only thing you should need to do to use the tilt is to route the heel of the neck and put the disc from the T-40 neck on it. This way you have the bass you want, and you can keep the original neck so you can revert it to original if you do chose to sell it later.

Additonally, the tone of the bass will be altered only slightly by changing necks. The basic tonal qualities of the T-40 will remain with very subtle differences. I don't think I would even consider that as an issue.

One slight difference between the Peavey and a Squier will be the shape of the heel. The Squier's is more rounded and you will have to sand it flatter to fit in the cavity, but since the truss rod adjustment on the Squier will be at the headstock this shouldn't be an issue. Have fun.

allfiller · #11 01-07-2009, 10:30 PM

Man, you guys are all really helpful. I've heard that setting proper intonation on the T 40 as set up with a Fender neck is impossible, so I'm going to shop around and see what a custom neck would cost first, as I want it to be a quality piece with a maple fretboard (maybe even block inlays!) I've found a few places that put be in the 200 ish range, which wouldn't be bad considering I only payed 200 for the bass. If that plan doesn't work out then I may end up getting the neck re-worked at a local luthier's shop. whatever I end up doing, I'll definitely post pictures. Thanks again, you guys!
-adison

**iriegnome** · #12 01-09-2009, 09:40 AM

Actually it is simple. Measure the heal of each neck. If they are the same, then you can use one for the other without many issues at all. Simple thing to do.

202dy · #13 01-09-2009, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriegnome

Actually it is simple. Measure the heal of each neck. If they are the same, then you can use one for the other without many issues at all. Simple thing to do.

It's not as simple as measuring the heel widths. What about scale length and bridge location? Or neck thickness?

There's a little bit more to it than that.

Eilif · #14 01-09-2009, 11:12 AM

Check this guy out http://www.talkbass.com/forum/member.php?u=105441 I've not played any of his necks, but I've seen some of his bass bodies in person, and he's building me a replacement mahogany body for my t-40 right now. A new body for my darkstarred t-40! .

I think he's mated a fender neck to a t-40 body before, and could probably tell you more about it. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out, either with advice or building you a neck.

tbonuss · #15 05-14-2011, 09:15 AM

Just put a P-Bass replacement neck on a T-40. Guess its a P-40 now. Took about 3 hours to work the neck properly. Did not want to modify the body as this is the more "valuable" piece to me. Piece of cake. Intonation is dead on. Action can be adjusted across a range of nice settings.

I registered on this site just to post this. Will try to remember to check back if you want details. Please don't comment negatively if you are just being hypothetical; I've done it, and its a solid, playable musical instrument. The replacement neck was $50.00 so temper "destroying" the neck comments as well. I may sound like a jerk with this, but I'm trying to help people with a very practical and successful approach and I don't want anyone to be confused.