The Peavey T-60 and T-40 story, as told by Chip Todd.

[tgriley62]

Found a T-40 today at a pawn shop for $116. Natural wood with maple neck. The body seemed to be in fair shape, kinda dry looking and the neck seemed straight. Now for the problems it is missing 3 of the four V & T knobs & by looking at the T-60/T-40 manual on the Peavey site the shaft for either the Volume or Tone bridge P/U has been broke off. Also there is no P/U selector switch or phase switch but, I dont know if the T-40 has these as the Peavey manual shows the T-60 as the photo. So is this a fair price? How hard would it be to find original control knobs? and does the T-40 have a P/U selctor and phase switch? and if they do is it worth it to have to replace both switches along with the broken V or T shaft

Thanks

[BuffaloBass]

Originally Posted by 96tbird

Truly pretty basses. I wish I had bought my buddy's back in about 84 when he wanted 100 bucks. At the time I thought it looked too "country", lol. Kids. It had the pinstripe, natural. Olive the SB tho'.

Ha, and was a young punk at the time who happened to get a long term gig in a C/W band, and the T40 ft right in. Plus, not for nothing, but at the time, I thought it blew my Fender jazz away!

[johnson79]

Originally Posted by tgriley62

Found a T-40 today at a pawn shop for $116. Natural wood with maple neck. The body seemed to be in fair shape, kinda dry looking and the neck seemed straight. Now for the problems it is missing 3 of the four V & T knobs & by looking at the T-60/T-40 manual on the Peavey site the shaft for either the Volume or Tone bridge P/U has been broke off. Also there is no P/U selector switch or phase switch but, I dont know if the T-40 has these as the Peavey manual shows the T-60 as the photo. So is this a fair price? How hard would it be to find original control knobs? and does the T-40 have a P/U selctor and phase switch? and if they do is it worth it to have to replace both switches along with the broken V or T shaft

Thanks

From what I've seen a nice used T40 goes for $300 - $400.
Seems like a deal, even if you need to spend some cash on new parts. Although, I don't know how available those pieces would be.

But $116 for a T40 in playable shape is a deal.

[tgriley62]

Originally Posted by johnson79

From what I've seen a nice used T40 goes for $300 - $400.
Seems like a deal, even if you need to spend some cash on new parts. Although, I don't know how available those pieces would be.

But $116 for a T40 in playable shape is a deal.

Thanks. I assume that I could use any one of the various brands to replace the V or T shaft & both the phase & selector switches but finding original knobs may be a problem

[Johnny Crab]

I had to get a replacement knob for the volume on this one($25). I got the knob off of eBay(not from the seller I got the bass from.....)

Yet to get:
Pickguard(to replace the warped one) ~ $40
Phase Switch(to wire in and put in the new pickguard) ~ $15
Pickup toggle switch(to replace the slide switch someone butchered into the warped pickguard) ~ $15

AND the schematic.

[iriegnome]

The original flat paddle phase on/on switch are going for up to $20 each!! There are only just a couple of places to get them. For the V/T pots, Switchcraft is the best. As for the actual knobs, they are crazy expensive. Buy them here and there as you can find them, but I have seen them for much more than $25 each!! Pic's please!!

[bootsox]

Originally Posted by tgriley62

Found a T-40 today at a pawn shop for $116. Natural wood with maple neck. The body seemed to be in fair shape, kinda dry looking and the neck seemed straight. Now for the problems it is missing 3 of the four V & T knobs & by looking at the T-60/T-40 manual on the Peavey site the shaft for either the Volume or Tone bridge P/U has been broke off. Also there is no P/U selector switch or phase switch but, I dont know if the T-40 has these as the Peavey manual shows the T-60 as the photo. So is this a fair price? How hard would it be to find original control knobs? and does the T-40 have a P/U selctor and phase switch? and if they do is it worth it to have to replace both switches along with the broken V or T shaft

Thanks

original knobs are easy to find, but are on the expensive side at around $25 each after shipping. they did have phase and selector switches.

[bootsox]

Originally Posted by iriegnome

The original flat paddle phase on/on switch are going for up to $20 each!! There are only just a couple of places to get them. For the V/T pots, Switchcraft is the best. As for the actual knobs, they are crazy expensive. Buy them here and there as you can find them, but I have seen them for much more than $25 each!! Pic's please!!

radioshack actually sells the same flat paddle on/on switch that was used throughout most of the production run, and it's dirt cheap to buy

I got mine from radio shack about 6 months ago to replace my broken phase switch

[cdef]

This dealer in Holland has NOS Peavey knobs at €14.95 per... not cheap, but may be worth it to you. They sometimes turn up on eBay from $20 up.

http://www.vintagegitaar.nl/vintageg...mart&Itemid=68

[Hobobob74]

You have my attention sir...

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Johnny Crab

Greetings from south Texas!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THIS UP!!!

After seeing both Journey and Louisisana LeRoux(Leon Medica) with T-40's decades ago I always wondered what they were like(sounded great recorded and LIVE up-close). BUT I was in a rock/metal-ish band then. 2 weeks ago I got a T-40 that has been somewhat abused(rewired with only a selector switch, the phase switch removed and 1/4" jack put there, and pickguard warpage). It cleaned up nicely and plays & sound amazing(especially in a live setting). I had one question:

Can you supply a link to a Chip-approved schematic?

I've run across a few on the internet and some say "Chip said this one or that one was not right". I'd like to replace my warped and butchered pickguard, put in NOS switches, and rewire it to original configuration. Wiring's not a problem(EE degree), getting the exact schematic would be best.

Thanks again!

[giacomini]

Those Peaveys look great! I've seen only one T40 down here, but all pics in TB make me drool

[CrewsControl]

Originally Posted by iriegnome

For the V/T pots, Switchcraft is the best.

CTS made custom tone pots for the T-40 and T-60, called "S" taper. From 70-100%, they fade one coil out so that at 100%, the pickups are working in single coil mode. From 0-70% they act like normal tone pots. The volume pots are standard vintage-style.

Peavey parts still has NOS CTS "S" taper tone pots.

Hello,

I have the information listed for you below.

PN Description Price
75065005 POT CONTROL TONE 250K SPL 4.56

Thanks,
Demetrius

The pair of tone pots I bought from Peavey have the "S" stamped on them to indicate the type of taper, just like the originals.

[Boot Soul]

I tried a used T40 years ago in a music shop and liked the tone and feel of it a lot, sitting down anyway. But it weighed over 13 pounds! I'm uncomfortable enough with my 10.5 pound mahogany G&L L2000e and my 11.3 pound Travis Bean, even when using a wide Neotech strap.

Were any of the T40s made any lighter than this? Was there a broad range of weights with these like on 70s Fenders? I have a '72 alder body Fender P that weighs 8 pounds, 3 oz. A friend of mine has a '75 Fender P with an ash body that weighs over 12 pounds. It is hard to believe how heavy his P bass is to me when I play it.

Anyone own, or seen a T40 or T60 that's less than 10 pounds?

That red T40 in the OP's photo looks great, really pops!

[bootsox]

Originally Posted by Boot Soul

I tried a used T40 years ago in a music shop and liked the tone and feel of it a lot, sitting down anyway. But it weighed over 13 pounds! I'm uncomfortable enough with my 10.5 pound mahogany G&L L2000e and my 11.3 pound Travis Bean, even when using a wide Neotech strap.

Were any of the T40s made any lighter than this? Was there a broad range of weights with these like on 70s Fenders? I have a '72 alder body Fender P that weighs 8 pounds, 3 oz. A friend of mine has a '75 Fender P with an ash body that weighs over 12 pounds. It is hard to believe how heavy his P bass is to me when I play it.

Anyone own, or seen a T40 or T60 that's less than 10 pounds?

That red T40 in the OP's photo looks great, really pops!

There was some variation, but I don't think it was a whole lot. Lightest stock T40 I've seen reported weighed in at 11.5 lbs, mine weighs in at a good 14.5 pounds. mine is definitely on the heavy side.

back when these were coming out, light basses were shunned because people thought they didn't have a whole lot of sustain. From what I've heard Chip Todd wanted it chambered to make it reasonably lightweight, but Hartley Peavey told him that since Peavey was still a small-time brand they should play it safe and release it as a high-mass instrument.

[dbd1963]

Here's a T-60 in Northern VA if anyone is looking to get one:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...558077768.html

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by CrewsControl

CTS made custom tone pots for the T-40 and T-60, called "S" taper...

That's interesting.

It's an unusual instrument.

I've seen a few T-40s locally in the $175-$275 range in the past couple of years, but the weight thing was just a deal-killer.

[lug]

Originally Posted by Boot Soul

I tried a used T40 years ago in a music shop and liked the tone and feel of it a lot, sitting down anyway. But it weighed over 13 pounds! I'm uncomfortable enough with my 10.5 pound mahogany G&L L2000e and my 11.3 pound Travis Bean, even when using a wide Neotech strap.

Were any of the T40s made any lighter than this? Was there a broad range of weights with these like on 70s Fenders? I have a '72 alder body Fender P that weighs 8 pounds, 3 oz. A friend of mine has a '75 Fender P with an ash body that weighs over 12 pounds. It is hard to believe how heavy his P bass is to me when I play it.

Anyone own, or seen a T40 or T60 that's less than 10 pounds?

That red T40 in the OP's photo looks great, really pops!

Your best bet is a solid colored one. These were often made with poplar or alder (though there is no guarantee) and weighed less than the heavy northern Ash used in the wood grain finished ones.

[MTMTEX]

If its ok with the OP I will post some pics every now and then I took when I visited him at his house near Austin. Exceptionally nice guy and very patient while I asked him a million questions.

[Hobobob74]

Originally Posted by MTMTEX

If its ok with the OP I will post some pics every now and then I took when I visited him at his house near Austin. Exceptionally nice guy and very patient while I asked him a million questions.

Odd to see an epiphone in there