FTW! I love mine! And truth be told, I'd never use a trem equipped bass. But I would probably buy a cheap one.
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FTW! I love mine! And truth be told, I'd never use a trem equipped bass. But I would probably buy a cheap one.
Have you called Peavey? They might have the part you need, or be able to repair your old one. They recently supplied me with a set of pickups to replace some that had gone bad. The pickups were about 20 years old New Old Stock.
Well there you go. Just buy his.
And truth be told, there is nothing to that preamp electrically speaking. Someone could replace those caps and see if that fixes it. Beyond that, the op-amp chip. Should be an easy fix.
The person who designed that preamp is a member of this forum. Ask over in this thread and you can probably get some good advice.
Yes, you are a weirdo... JK!!
Not to drag you into too much non-related persona diatribe about me, but I just sold my house and moved our family of 6 in to as much larger of a house as I could afford so that I could move my folks in. They're approaching their 80s and just aren't long for needing to be in a place where they just can't live on their own any longer. - How this applies, is that we hall have "stuff" that just had to be scuttled to Craigs's list, Goodwill, Dumpster, as appropriate, given the item. At first it was pretty hard, but after a while, you start to realize, it's just "stuff". - Having set you up with my current mind-set, I'd say keep the Jazz and sell the remaining 2. If parting them out would make you more money, then by all means. If you really want to keep the 5, I can see it. I mean, sometimes it comes up that you need to have a bass that will make that e-flat and lower thing happen. If getting there, also brings back some fond memories, bonus!!
Either way, I'd part out the 4 and maybe even the 5 if you can bring yourself to do it, and being honest with yourself, see the utility of having it beyond sentimentality.
Not to drag you into too much non-related persona diatribe about me, but I just sold my house and moved our family of 6 in to as much larger of a house as I could afford so that I could move my folks in. They're approaching their 80s and just aren't long for needing to be in a place where they just can't live on their own any longer. - How this applies, is that we hall have "stuff" that just had to be scuttled to Craigs's list, Goodwill, Dumpster, as appropriate, given the item. At first it was pretty hard, but after a while, you start to realize, it's just "stuff". - Having set you up with my current mind-set, I'd say keep the Jazz and sell the remaining 2. If parting them out would make you more money, then by all means. If you really want to keep the 5, I can see it. I mean, sometimes it comes up that you need to have a bass that will make that e-flat and lower thing happen. If getting there, also brings back some fond memories, bonus!!
Either way, I'd part out the 4 and maybe even the 5 if you can bring yourself to do it, and being honest with yourself, see the utility of having it beyond sentimentality.
I do totally understand the concern though ... I have similar ethical dilemma all the time with vintage tube amps etc. I play keyboards and have several Hammond organs and Leslie cabinets. I've got Leslie cabinets that I could pull the tubes out and sell them for more than I could sell the complete cabinet for... and then I could pull the motors and sell them and the amp chassis without the tubes etc. But I hate to break apart a working classic.
My brother in law gave me an old tube amp he bought in the 50's to play his electric accordion thru. He told me it cost him a ton of money in the early 50's (I figured he must be nuts). The amp is an odd duck and not very valuable (not collectible) but it's full of virtually unused Amperex Holland tubes that I could sell for much more than the complete amp.
I know it's my stuff and I can do what I want with it ... but I just can bring myself to part it out (yet)
My brother in law gave me an old tube amp he bought in the 50's to play his electric accordion thru. He told me it cost him a ton of money in the early 50's (I figured he must be nuts). The amp is an odd duck and not very valuable (not collectible) but it's full of virtually unused Amperex Holland tubes that I could sell for much more than the complete amp.
I know it's my stuff and I can do what I want with it ... but I just can bring myself to part it out (yet)
In this case, I'd say you don't have to have many reservations about treating the 4-string like a junkyard car. Many an old classic has been sacrificed in order to keep others on the road. You can get your old bass going again, and part the thing out after that. Nobody will miss it, and you will likely break even or even make money, all while providing several other basses/bassists with the parts they need.
First, hello all! I've been a reader on here for a while, but I can't remember if I've posted before. I hope this is a good place to ask this, but if it's not, a moderator is free to move it or ask me to move it. I'm honestly not much of a player any more, but I'm 47 and started when I was 16 and still enjoy picking up the basses once in a while.
Short version:
Is it wrong to disassemble and part out a perfectly good (and somewhat vintage) bass to restore another one that has sentimental value to you?
Long version:
Anyway, here's my situation. My first "real" bass was a candy apple red Peavey Dyna-Bass 5-string with black hardware. I LOVED that bass back when I was 17 (1988) or so, bought it brand new and actually had to order it since my local shop in my small town would have been crazy to stock one. I played it a lot, lots of bar gigs, weddings, stuff like that. Eventually (like 25+ years ago) , the active pre-amp went bad. When switched on, it would distort (fart) like crazy. I should have taken it in and had it repaired at the time, but I was super poor. So, to get by, I just removed the whole board, soldered the bridge pickup to a volume pot, and played like that for a while. The band I was in broke up shortly there after and I kinda retired out of it at the old age of 25. The bass was put in its case and forgotten about for many years.
A year or so ago, I saw a listing for a 4-string Dyna-bass of the same vintage pretty cheap on Craigslist. I was going to buy it with the intention of using it for parts to restore my 5-string (I also needed the knobs.) Turns out the one I bought also has a Kahler Bass Trem on it, which is pretty cool. I remember being a kid in the 80's and looking at the pictures in Peavey Monitor magazine and thinking it would be amazing. The bass is very very used, but still solid, everything works fine, it does need a good setup though.
So, here's my dilemma. I have begun to have second thoughts about gutting this bass. There's literally nothing wrong with it other than cosmetics. It feels wrong somehow, like killing someone for their organs. I definitely don't need it though, cool as it is.
The thing is, I know these basses aren't worth a lot of money, I figure in the condition it's in $200-300 TOPS, and that's probably being optimistic. However, the PARTS of the bass would easily be worth more than than. Used trems can go for nearly $300 alone. Completely disassembled, I'm certain the parts would be worth over $500, and that's after keeping the pre-amp and knobs. But I having difficultly getting past the fact that I'd be ruining a perfectly good instrument that someone else could play.
If I could just order the original replacement parts, I would do that and just sell this bass to make up the money. I love my old 5-string, but I'm not willing to go into a lot of money to fix it since I won't play it much. When I do play, I usually pick up my US Fender Jazz bass (that was a life long dream to own, I do love being an adult.) The Peavey pre-amp looks fairly simply (I still have it), maybe a guitar tech could just repair it? My solder skills are pretty weak, and my diagnostic skills even weaker, but I do have access to good shops, including Elderly Instruments in Lansing, in my area. I would prefer NOT to replace the pre-amp with something more modern, my goal is to make it all original, even though I know the original really wasn't that great.
If you've read all this, thanks! If you have advice, thanks for that too!
SO, am I a weirdo or what?
Scott
Taking the preamp out of the four string to put in the five string won't destroy the four string. You can wire the four string passive, or even get one of the many cheaper preamps, but return it to stock later. So use the preamp.
Cannibalize and part out the 4-string, and don't lose any sleep over it! You will restore the bass with sentimental value, recoup the $ spent by selling the parts, and those parts may help a number of others in positions similar to yours restore toys from their youth too! Win-win-win IMHO...First, hello all! I've been a reader on here for a while, but I can't remember if I've posted before. I hope this is a good place to ask this, but if it's not, a moderator is free to move it or ask me to move it. I'm honestly not much of a player any more, but I'm 47 and started when I was 16 and still enjoy picking up the basses once in a while.
Short version:
Is it wrong to disassemble and part out a perfectly good (and somewhat vintage) bass to restore another one that has sentimental value to you?
Long version:
Anyway, here's my situation. My first "real" bass was a candy apple red Peavey Dyna-Bass 5-string with black hardware. I LOVED that bass back when I was 17 (1988) or so, bought it brand new and actually had to order it since my local shop in my small town would have been crazy to stock one. I played it a lot, lots of bar gigs, weddings, stuff like that. Eventually (like 25+ years ago) , the active pre-amp went bad. When switched on, it would distort (fart) like crazy. I should have taken it in and had it repaired at the time, but I was super poor. So, to get by, I just removed the whole board, soldered the bridge pickup to a volume pot, and played like that for a while. The band I was in broke up shortly there after and I kinda retired out of it at the old age of 25. The bass was put in its case and forgotten about for many years.
A year or so ago, I saw a listing for a 4-string Dyna-bass of the same vintage pretty cheap on Craigslist. I was going to buy it with the intention of using it for parts to restore my 5-string (I also needed the knobs.) Turns out the one I bought also has a Kahler Bass Trem on it, which is pretty cool. I remember being a kid in the 80's and looking at the pictures in Peavey Monitor magazine and thinking it would be amazing. The bass is very very used, but still solid, everything works fine, it does need a good setup though.
So, here's my dilemma. I have begun to have second thoughts about gutting this bass. There's literally nothing wrong with it other than cosmetics. It feels wrong somehow, like killing someone for their organs. I definitely don't need it though, cool as it is.
The thing is, I know these basses aren't worth a lot of money, I figure in the condition it's in $200-300 TOPS, and that's probably being optimistic. However, the PARTS of the bass would easily be worth more than than. Used trems can go for nearly $300 alone. Completely disassembled, I'm certain the parts would be worth over $500, and that's after keeping the pre-amp and knobs. But I having difficultly getting past the fact that I'd be ruining a perfectly good instrument that someone else could play.
If I could just order the original replacement parts, I would do that and just sell this bass to make up the money. I love my old 5-string, but I'm not willing to go into a lot of money to fix it since I won't play it much. When I do play, I usually pick up my US Fender Jazz bass (that was a life long dream to own, I do love being an adult.) The Peavey pre-amp looks fairly simply (I still have it), maybe a guitar tech could just repair it? My solder skills are pretty weak, and my diagnostic skills even weaker, but I do have access to good shops, including Elderly Instruments in Lansing, in my area. I would prefer NOT to replace the pre-amp with something more modern, my goal is to make it all original, even though I know the original really wasn't that great.
If you've read all this, thanks! If you have advice, thanks for that too!
SO, am I a weirdo or what?
Scott
if it would help - I think that I have a set of knobs from my old Dyna-Bass (volume, pan, and (3) EQ knobs) if that would help you.
Take what you need from the 4 and make the 5 whole again. Then, wire the 4 up passive, put some cheap knobs on it and sell it for what you paid for it...hype up the trem as worth your asking price for the whole bass. Now you have what you want for maybe no money (only a little time and effort).
Just my opinion, or what I would probably do in your position.
Just my opinion, or what I would probably do in your position.
