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Posted a few pics as parts of other threads, but let's do an official NBD
I've been after a vintage foundation for a few years now, but with the prices climbing (dammit), I haven't pulled the trigger on one. I've also been picky...I wanted an early one, and only super-ferrites, no VFLs.
I've pulled some in over that time when I saw what seemed like a bargain, but I've had an odd run of bad luck with necks: ski jump due to auto-tilt abuse, truss issues, and even more serious stuff. Weird.
I'd kind of given up on the foundation thing when this one popped up on EBay, from the Seattle Goodwill. They called it "sticker bombed" and they weren't kidding. It also had paint all over it from the somewhat cheesy IMO attempt to punk/grunge it up. It had a sticker covering the serial so I couldn't determine for sure what year it was, but it had the hallmarks of an early one: triangle string tree, and Made in the USA on the headstock.
The few parts not covered in stickers looked to be in good shape. The case was in pretty good shape too and I had a good feeling about it. Plus I'll admit to being a sucker for an interesting bass that just needs some cleanup and TLC so I was able to get it for $233, $290 out the door with shipping and tax.
It arrived and I was somewhat shocked to find that the stickers largely came off by hand(I was expecting to have to soak them in Naptha). I had the thing cleaned up in about 90 minutes, and Naptha, miracle of nature that it is, had all the adhesive munge and paint off of it pretty quickly.
With the serial # revealed I found that I had a first year foundation, 1983.
And I mean it looked GREAT. It almost seems like the coating of stickers protected the original finish. There weren't even any uneven wear patterns that I could find. It's not perfect but it's definitely one of the better-preserved vintage Peaveys that I've seen. The case even has the original key.
So the neck: definitely bowed and these have that Gibson-type nut in there that requires a special wrench. I order one and am just barely able to get the truss rod turned before my wrench no longer reaches. So I take it to my guy(Peter Skermetta, the RockIt Science wizard), he has the nut off and a couple of extra washers in there in about 5 mins and all is well. I finally have my vintage foundation with great action and those super ferrites that I love. Looks like it came to about $350 with the setup work, so feels like a great deal.
Pots are scratchy, and one cuts out a bit when dimed, so I'm going to get some cleaner in there and see if that takes care of it. If not, that can be worked around for the moment and I'll deal with that down the road.
Before and after pics, enjoy!
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I swapped out the knobs (cheap replacements anyway, in my case) for T-series knobs on my ‘92 Fury, too
I swapped out the knobs (cheap replacements anyway, in my case) for T-series knobs on my ‘92 Fury, too
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