- Peavey Patriot Club -

[br1qbat]

Checked it out when I got home from work. The pickguard is ok. Its definitely a DIY job, a little wonky in a few of the curves. On the fence as to whether I like it or not.

Aside from REALLY REALLY needing a proper set up, the neck is great (jazz-like but beefier)and i dig the super ferrite sound: pbass-ish but with less low end "grunt" but more mid bark.

It came strung with d'addario flats, which i've never used before. I quite like them. Several others have said this bass can be a bit unruly in the highs but these flats tame it quite a bit. Its really a midrange monster, which is perfect for me as i tend to eq ala Jack Bruce with a "frowny face" shape.

It also plays really nice with pedals. I use an old 90s russian ehx small stone, a bad monkey, and a ehx big muff bass deluxe and the super ferrite sounds delicious through all of them.

The tone control doesn't have a lot of effect on the sound, but i presume its probably due to the flats that already tamed the highend on it. Think p bass with the tone at 50% for a similar sound of the patriot with the tone rolled all the way off.

Would definitely pick up another USA Peavey. Add me to the list of Peavey lovers. These things are a steal.

 

[westonc]

I know it's a long shot, but if any of you fellow Patriot owners happen to have saved & scanned your pickguard tracing, I'd really appreciate anyone sending a Patriot pickguard template my way.

My Patriot's pickguard was busted at the jack & covered with a hacked bit of white-plastic-painted-black before it came into my posession, so I don't have a complete template from which to make a new one.

Here are a couple of pics of my Patriot in its original state (one string, no pot knobs, broken pickguard, sloppy DIY stain job). I took these pics with my LG Dare phone shortly after I got my Patriot in a trade back in 2009.

 

[br1qbat]

I know it's a long shot, but if any of you fellow Patriot owners happen to have saved & scanned your pickguard tracing, I'd really appreciate anyone sending a Patriot pickguard template my way.

My Patriot's pickguard was busted at the jack & covered with a hacked bit of white-plastic-painted-black before it came into my posession, so I don't have a complete template from which to make a new one.

Here are a couple of pics of my Patriot in its original state (one string, no pot knobs, broken pickguard, sloppy DIY stain job). I took these pics with my LG Dare phone shortly after I got my Patriot in a trade back in 2009.

View attachment 2757904

View attachment 2757905

Pickguard heaven has replacements made to order. You wouldnt need a tracing.

 

[westonc]

Pickguard heaven has replacements made to order. You wouldnt need a tracing.

Thanks. I have priced them. If i wind up buying one, it would be from there (unless a used one comes up for a decent price).

As for tracing, I was going to compare the cost of getting a local shop with a CNC to cut a blank for me. I'm just planning on replacing the black-white-black broken one with the same scheme.

 

[br1qbat]

Thanks. I have priced them. If i wind up buying one, it would be from there (unless a used one comes up for a decent price).

As for tracing, I was going to compare the cost of getting a local shop with a CNC to cut a blank for me. I'm just planning on replacing the black-white-black broken one with the same scheme.

Id trace mine, but mines a metal one the previous owner must have made to replace the (probably) cracked old one. The pickguard is nice over all but less than perfect shapewise.

 

[br1qbat]

I'm going to be on the lookout for a neck and or another patriot.

My patriot came back from set up and theres a hump in the neck. Not worth the $ to fix obviously. The action is highish, but still very playable. The tech did a great job getting her as good as possible. A bit of a bummer.

 

[Lanesuzza]

I'm going to be on the lookout for a neck and or another patriot.

My patriot came back from set up and theres a hump in the neck. Not worth the $ to fix obviously. The action is highish, but still very playable. The tech did a great job getting her as good as possible. A bit of a bummer.

I have a spare Patriot Neck. It is the wider nut versions i.e., P.bass
PM me .....

 

[br1qbat]

Pm sent

 

[coheph]

Wow. Just picked up a 1985 Patriot today and don't think I've ever been so instantly smitten. Still needs strings and a setup but even with the semi-rusted strings on there I can tell it's a new favorite. Light weight, super comfortable, awesome neck (even though mine's wider than I typically like). I see what people are saying about not having the beefiest low end but it still sounds pretty good to me. I've noticed most of the pictures in this forum have 3-ply pickguards and mine is 1-ply. Does that mean it's not original? It's got a little crack by the input jack so I might think of replacing it.

 

[westonc]

From the looks of those headstock graphics, yours might be a later-model Patriot, so that could be a reason for the one-ply pickguard (just a guess).

 

[58kites]

Wow. Just picked up a 1985 Patriot today and don't think I've ever been so instantly smitten. Still needs strings and a setup but even with the semi-rusted strings on there I can tell it's a new favorite. Light weight, super comfortable, awesome neck (even though mine's wider than I typically like). I see what people are saying about not having the beefiest low end but it still sounds pretty good to me. I've noticed most of the pictures in this forum have 3-ply pickguards and mine is 1-ply. Does that mean it's not original? It's got a little crack by the input jack so I might think of replacing it.
View attachment 2792663

Yeah, the Patriots just seem to feel right, I really liked mine immediately.
Most of them get cracked at that spot, the shape of the pickguard makes for a weak spot there.
Peavey put single ply pickguards on a number of models over the years.
I think your Patriot is a later year bass also, I bet the pickguard is original, who would buy a single ply replacement?
That bass deserves a replacement pickguard, ...go for it!

 

[Kenova]

Patriot is still with me and still kicking !!!!

 

[westonc]

Pickguard heaven has replacements made to order. You wouldnt need a tracing.

I finally bit the bullet & placed an order with Pickguard Heaven. I went with the glossy black-cream-black 3-ply because I can always use some sandpaper to dull the pickguard if it's too new/shiny-looking. I'm thankful the lady I placed my order with suggested cream because it will match the aged white of my original pickguard much better.

Before I ever owned it, the bass body itself was refinished/stained by an amateur to where the backside of the body has visible runs/drips of stain. So I can't tell if mine was ever originally a natural finish or the non-glossy mahogany that I've seen. I can't honestly tell whether it's mahogany or ash or something else.
If any of y'all want to speculate on the species of wood (or gasp at the shoddy excuse-for-a-pickguard I've been putting up with), here's a couple of close-up shots of the bass as it has looked since the day I got it...
...Well—except for the knobs. It didn't have either knob when I got it, so I found some Gibson Speedknobs on fleabay that seem to look the same as the OEM ones. I like the look of the Radio Shack knobs I had on it before the speedknobs, but those Radio Shack knobs don't provide much info at a glance.

 

[Kenova]

Nice man, honestly I can't see the wood well. Hope you will restore it because it's beautiful bass

 

[MtManiac]

My Peavey Patriot was my first "real" bass at age 15 back in 1985. I'd been playing a Sears Harmony P bass prior to that which my folks had found in Sear's bargain basement in a bin. The finish used to crackle on the fretboard, and the body was super thin. I also had used the school's Ampeg Big Stud with their Traynor YBA 50 watt amp, thing used to break up and fart out past 4 on volume.

My Dad was so proud to buy me that Patriot, and the next year a little Traynor Bloc 40B amp. I played both in school band, as well as with buds in my metal band, then two years taking jazz at university, then with a gigging country band at the age of 20 with a bunch of "old men" in their 40s, then another metal band, and then just some jamming here and there until at age 30 my oldest son was born. Seven years later my (now ex) wife told me I needed a hobby, so I got back into playing, and buying gear, and still had the Peavey and the Traynor. Neither had been touched in about seven years, and the amp blew something shortly after at a rehearsal, but now ten years later again, the Peavey is still going strong. I'm told the truss rod doesn't have much adjustment left in it, however.

It's occurred to me to sell it here and there but at my age of 47 and it's age of 32, I've known it longer than most people I know on earth except my family, so it's value to me is always greater than what the used market will give me. I'll never sell it. I'll happily pass it on to my youngest at some point, who's now playing guitar at age 15 and picks my basses up here and there, or maybe a grandchild if I live that long and one of them is interested.

White, maple neck, black pickguard. Has the usual crack at the input jack.

 

[58kites]

It's great you've kept your Patriot through all the years, cool to be able to pass it down.
It's interesting how some white instruments stay white and some yellow with age.
Don't know if that is paint type or purely light exposure.
My '92 Fury has obviously seen some UV rays, ..don't think the original owner had a case for it.
Has your Patriot been kept in a case when not being used?

 

[MtManiac]

It's great you've kept your Patriot through all the years, cool to be able to pass it down.
It's interesting how some white instruments stay white and some yellow with age.
Don't know if that is paint type or purely light exposure.
My '92 Fury has obviously seen some UV rays, ..don't think the original owner had a case for it.
Has your Patriot been kept in a case when not being used?
View attachment 2848953

Until recent years, where it's out all the time, yeah. The white is still pretty brand new. Original case, too, but the foam has all disintegrated.

 

[MtManiac]

It's great you've kept your Patriot through all the years, cool to be able to pass it down.
It's interesting how some white instruments stay white and some yellow with age.
Don't know if that is paint type or purely light exposure.
My '92 Fury has obviously seen some UV rays, ..don't think the original owner had a case for it.
Has your Patriot been kept in a case when not being used?
View attachment 2848953

BTW, that's very pretty. How like a P does it sound? The Patriot is in the same ballpark, but a little more mid-rangey, I think.

I also sanded the gloss off the back of the neck with a mild grit about ten years ago. I like a satin finish much more than gloss, I wish I'd done it earlier. It also used to have some stickers on it, from 1994- to about 2011, and luckily after that long they came off with no issues and no damage.

 

[58kites]

This blue 1987 Fury and the creme/white 1992 both have the great sounding passive EMG Geezer Butler pickups in them, my blackout Fury below has the stock Peavey pickup and sounds like a good P Bass as well.
My two favorite P Bass pickups are the Dimarzio Model P and the EMG GZR.
I think the Patriot sounds awesome, different from any other bass, love the neck, the weight...everything.

 

[MtManiac]

This blue 1987 Fury and the creme/white 1992 both have the great sounding passive EMG Geezer Butler pickups in them, my blackout Fury below has the stock Peavey pickup and sounds like a good P Bass as well.
My two favorite P Bass pickups are the Dimarzio Model P and the EMG GZR.
I think the Patriot sounds awesome, different from any other bass, love the neck, the weight...everything.

View attachment 2849681 View attachment 2849682 View attachment 2849683 View attachment 2849684 View attachment 2849690 View attachment 2849693

I've never seen or heard of a blackout Fury, that is beautiful!!