NBD: Peavey Foundation rescue project.

[ATLbassist]

I have a thing about rescuing beaten-down USA-made Peaveys. I think they're underappreciated, and as a Mississippi native I saw Peavey equipment everywhere. When I saw this 1987 mahogany Foundation bass on shopgoodwill.com, I decided to take a swing. Peaveys seem to take a lot of abuse, but mahogany (or what Peavey said was mahogany) was a premium option. Hopefully this one was treated better. It looked dingy on the site, but seemingly saveable.

I got to dig into it this weekend, so let's see what we're working with.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

The body has a lot wear and schmutz in general. I like a little bit of relicing, but this is a bit much. Fortunately, my sister-in-law is a hobbyist woodworker. She should be able to do something fun with this. The bridge is rusty, but I replace the oversize barrels with standard size brass barrels to lower the action without using the dreaded Peavey micro-tilt (more on that later). Finally, one of the pot splines is broken. However, I'll be starting fresh with CTS solid-shaft pots once I figure out what knobs I want.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

First big problem: The neck pickup ring is broken. In a stroke of luck. a fellow member of a Peavey enthusiast group on Facebook has a replacement.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

The output jack isn't stock, but it has some personality. It's part of the bass's story, so I think I'll keep it.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Now we get into the neck. First sign of trouble: Cracking near the heel. The big risk in any old Peavey is previous owners who cranked the micro-tilt screw without loosening the neck bolts first. These are bilaminate necks, so the screw becomes a log splitter the seam. Combined with the odd shape of the truss rod, the heel area can crack and/or sit higher than the middle, making a bad ski jump even worse.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

There are also slight cracks around the truss rod adjustment. They seem superficial, thought. More important, there's still adjustment left on that screw.

Over the weekend, I've tightened up the truss rod about as far as it will go. It's just about to my preferred .013 relief but we'll see if it holds. If not, I have two choices:

1. Send it to the WarpedNeck guys and get it straightened out (they did wonders on a previous Peavey Fury rescue)
2. Look for a replacement neck. There's actually a 32" Warmoth Warhead neck in the classifieds. A TB member figured out these will fit without throwing off the intonation.

I'll make updates as refins and parts replacements happen. I'm also thinking about TI Jazz Rounds for this bass for something different. Or maybe D'Addario tapeounds - anything to keep the neck tension down.

 

[SpyderX]

When you say refins - are you planning to refinish the body? To my eyes, htat old Peavey has a lot of character. A shame about the neck. Hopefully you can save it.

 

[MNAirHead]

I owned one... I made the mistake of tung oil.

 

[ATLbassist]

When you say refins - are you planning to refinish the body? To my eyes, htat old Peavey has a lot of character. A shame about the neck. Hopefully you can save it.

You have a good point – it's only going to look this way once. What's more, even though I cleaned up the neck (see more below) it's still pretty patina-heavy. It would look odd to have a slightly banged up neck and a fresh-looking body. Let's see how the body looks after I get the gunk off in a few weeks.

 

[ATLbassist]

I owned one... I made the mistake of tung oil.

What happened? One option I was thinking of was Tru-Oil.

 

[ATLbassist]

Today was spent on some initial teardown and cleaning up the neck. I tried adding more tension gradually throughout the week to keep the neck at my preferred .013 relief. Unfortunately, every time it went back to bowing within a day. There's no hump near the heel, so I think it's still salvagble. It will just take a heat treatment. Here's how it everything went.
Every old instrument has a story. I really wonder what happened to this one for the E string to end up strung by its core. (And what led it to getting into its current grimy state?)

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Yum, dig those saddle screws. I'm pretty sure there are bug parts in there. Also see the contrast between what was under the bridge and everything else.

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

None of my other Peaveys have numbers stamped into the neck or body. What's up with that? (I'm also going to replace that disc with a nickel or a penny to ensure a flat surface against the neck.)

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

The neck pocket is tight, yet filthy. I might sand this down (and the neck heel underside) during reassembly.

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Interesting - none of my other Peavey tuners are held in only by the screw-in bushing. They'll need a polish, too.

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Some painter's tape and steel wool, and we're on the way to shiny frets.

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

And with some Simple Green to remove the gunk, we're looking good again.

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey mahogany Foundation rescue continued by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Next steps: The neck goes to Warpedneck for a look-see. I'll also remove the electronics and give the body a good cleaning to see how it looks without the gunk. As stated above, I'm starting to think that keeping the patina look might be the way to go here. I also need to find solid shaft knobs. I'm thinking black so it ties back to the original speed knobs. No luck in the classifieds yet, though.

 

[GKon]

I have a thing about rescuing beaten-down USA-made Peaveys. I think they're underappreciated, and as a Mississippi native I saw Peavey equipment everywhere. When I saw this 1987 mahogany Foundation bass on shopgoodwill.com, I decided to take a swing. Peaveys seem to take a lot of abuse, but mahogany (or what Peavey said was mahogany) was a premium option. Hopefully this one was treated better. It looked dingy on the site, but seemingly saveable.

View attachment 7337742

I got to dig into it this weekend, so let's see what we're working with.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

The body has a lot wear and schmutz in general. I like a little bit of relicing, but this is a bit much. Fortunately, my sister-in-law is a hobbyist woodworker. She should be able to do something fun with this. The bridge is rusty, but I replace the oversize barrels with standard size brass barrels to lower the action without using the dreaded Peavey micro-tilt (more on that later). Finally, one of the pot splines is broken. However, I'll be starting fresh with CTS solid-shaft pots once I figure out what knobs I want.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

First big problem: The neck pickup ring is broken. In a stroke of luck. a fellow member of a Peavey enthusiast group on Facebook has a replacement.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

The output jack isn't stock, but it has some personality. It's part of the bass's story, so I think I'll keep it.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Now we get into the neck. First sign of trouble: Cracking near the heel. The big risk in any old Peavey is previous owners who cranked the micro-tilt screw without loosening the neck bolts first. These are bilaminate necks, so the screw becomes a log splitter the seam. Combined with the odd shape of the truss rod, the heel area can crack and/or sit higher than the middle, making a bad ski jump even worse.

Peavey Foundation rescue by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

There are also slight cracks around the truss rod adjustment. They seem superficial, thought. More important, there's still adjustment left on that screw.

Over the weekend, I've tightened up the truss rod about as far as it will go. It's just about to my preferred .013 relief but we'll see if it holds. If not, I have two choices:

1. Send it to the WarpedNeck guys and get it straightened out (they did wonders on a previous Peavey Fury rescue)
2. Look for a replacement neck. There's actually a 32" Warmoth Warhead neck in the classifieds. A TB member figured out these will fit without throwing off the intonation.

I'll make updates as refins and parts replacements happen. I'm also thinking about TI Jazz Rounds for this bass for something different. Or maybe D'Addario tapeounds - anything to keep the neck tension down.

Enjoy the rebuild, and best of luck!

I'm looking at buying one in somewhat similar condition (although thankfully, looks like no cracks in the neck) that comes with the original hard case. I made an offer, let's see what they say.

I've never owned, played, or repaired one of these, so reading through your posts is going to be helpful.

 

[ATLbassist]

I'm looking at buying one in somewhat similar condition (although thankfully, looks like no cracks in the neck) that comes with the original hard case. I made an offer, let's see what they say.

I've never owned, played, or repaired one of these, so reading through your posts is going to be helpful.

Be sure to check out the US Peavey Club thread. Tons of great information in there.

 

[GKon]

Be sure to check out the US Peavey Club thread. Tons of great information in there.

Thank you.

 

[MNAirHead]

When you say refins - are you planning to refinish the body? To my eyes, htat old Peavey has a lot of character. A shame about the neck. Hopefully you can save it.

What happened? One option I was thinking of was Tru-Oil.

tung oil got shiny and wore inconsistent... didn't look aged.. just wierd...

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Agree with the Tung Oil result if the wood is multiple pieces or is poor quality. I attached a picture of Kiwi shoe polish stain under Tung Oil finish, the wood is Okume. Just so happened that this was the look i was after.

 

[ATLbassist]

It's been a few weeks, but I finally had a chance to work on the Foundation this past weekend with lots of cleaning work.

Scrubbing time

First, the body. Using my trusty surgeon's brush and a microfiber cloth, some Goo Gone took care of the nasty (what I assume is) sticker residue, while Simple Green got rid of the general grunginess. A few scrapes of a razor blade, and the caked-on weirdness in the neck pocket was gone.

Peavey Mahogany Foundation cleaning by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

There's still a lot of wear, but I'm digging it more. I think I'll keep it as-is for now and maybe use some furniture repair polish. The top layer finish is gone, so this is basically bare wood. Fortunately I don't gig out enough for this to be a problem.

Peavey Mahogany Foundation cleaning by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Next, the hardware. All metal bits (including disassembled tuners) went into an apple cider vinegar bath to take care of the remaining rust. They soaked about 36 hours with a good shake every 12 or so.

Peavey Mahogany Foundation cleaning by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

After a hot water rinse, quick dry with a cloth, and a long dry in my kitchen's plate warmer, everything is looking good! Some screws are still a bit grungy/sticky, so I'll load them into an electric screwdriver and rotate in some steel wool.

Peavey Mahogany Foundation cleaning by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Next steps

The big thing is the neck came back from Warpedneck, so we should be in business. On the parts front, I have a replacement pickup surround, 3 CTS pots, and a set of black knobs. I also found chrome knobs in a drawer, so I have options. I'll reassemble what I can and then set up an appointment with my tech to replace the electronics.

I also need to decide what strings to get. I might go round, but there's a set of LaBella tapes in the classifieds that could be interesting. (My other Foundy wears GHS Pressurewounds.) TI Jazz Rounds would also be nice, but very pricey.

More updates post-Turkey Day!

 

[UNICORN BASS]

If you use tapes you might have to mod the nut to fit the extra diameter of the strings.

 

[ATLbassist]

It's been a minute, but the rescue is complete! After replacing the bridge saddles with normal sized versions and refitting the neck (back to flat thanks to WarpedNeck), the Foundation went to the shop to Intown Guitar Repair to get the replacement parts installed and generally set up. They made an angled shim with tape and glued the minor cracks in the neck. It came back great!

I initially fitted some DR Hi Beams I had lying around, but they were just too bright for this bass. Fortunately, I scored a set of TI Jazz Rounds from the TB Classifieds. They arrived yesterday and I fitted them this morning. Now everything is just where I want it - and a little less tension on the neck.

Photo dump time!

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Peavey Foundation rescue finished by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

I was hoping to try it out at my cover band practice this afternoon, but bandmate illness and the impending ice storm conspired against it. Soon!

 

[ATLbassist]

I'm looking at buying one in somewhat similar condition (although thankfully, looks like no cracks in the neck) that comes with the original hard case. I made an offer, let's see what they say.

Did you end up getting this bass?

 

[GKon]

Did you end up getting this bass?

No. The seller and I kept not being able to coordinate meeting at a time that suited us both (she works early mornings, I work nights), and then my impulse buy impulse wore off.

It still shows up for sale. I realize she was asking more than I wanted to pay for the condition it was in. I'm still considering reaching out and making a lower offer.