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Peavey Sarzo bass question

deedub72

deedub72

Sep 23, 2009
386
5
S. Texas
#1
I was wondering if anyone out there knows about the original Peavey Rudy Sarzo basses?

I have a few of them and I noticed the other day that one of them has a different logo and pickups than they usually come with.

I called Peavey's customer service and they had no idea, they also told me that they did not keep very good records either.

Here are some pictures of the basses, notice the top Sarzo has Bartolini pickups and a different headstock logo:

100_2377.jpg


Close up of the headstocks:
100_2378.jpg


Pickups appear stock, as it is routed for the tabs on the Bartolinis and the wiring appears stock:
100_2379.jpg


This is the typical Sarzo:
100_2380.jpg


If anyone can help shed some light on this for me I would really appreciate it.
 
#8
Classickbass said:
I had a Peavey in high school back in the 80's and it did not have Bartolini pickups in it. I think those in your bass were added aftermarket. But I cannot be sure as I am no expert.
Click to expand...

Did you have a Sarzo? I am not new to these, but out of the 5 that I have this is the only one that has Barts and that headstock logo.

Also, as I mentioned in the OP the pickup cavity is routed to fit the Barts. The mounting tabs are larger than the stock pickups, the route is painted not bare wood and there is no sign of aftermarket alterations.

100_2382.jpg
 
#9
deedub72 said:
Did you have a Sarzo? I am not new to these, but out of the 5 that I have this is the only one that has Barts and that headstock logo.

Also, as I mentioned in the OP the pickup cavity is routed to fit the Barts. The mounting tabs are larger than the stock pickups, the route is painted not bare wood and there is no sign of aftermarket alterations.

100_2382.jpg
Click to expand...

No, sir, mine was not a Sarzo model. Nor was it my intention to imply that you were new to Peavey. HOWEVER, if you look at the cavity the Bart's are resting in you will notice a clearance around it that the other does not have. It would appear that they were added aftermarket by a qualified luthier who painted the wood after the routing. But again, I am not an expert. Do let me know what you find out as this is all very interesting.

Edit: My luthier added Bartolini M34C's to my ESP a couple of years ago. He had to route the wood as the stock pickups were slightly narrower. He painted the wood so that it would not stand out.
 
#10
Classickbass said:
No, sir, mine was not a Sarzo model. Nor was it my intention to imply that you were new to Peavey. HOWEVER, if you look at the cavity the Bart's are resting in you will notice a clearance around it that the other does not have. It would appear that they were added aftermarket by a qualified luthier who painted the wood after the routing. But again, I am not an expert. Do let me know what you find out as this is all very interesting.
Click to expand...

I did not take it as I was new to Peavey, what I was trying to convey is I have and have had several of these and this is the first I have seen like this. From the headstock logo to the pickups. I see the gap you are talking about and I questioned that myself. Upon closer inspection, I did not see any evidence of a pickup swap....from the paint in the cavity to the clear which would most likely crack had it been routed.
 
#15
Since the one with the barts was likely a custom order, I wonder if it might have been ordered by Rudy himself?
I suppose there's no way to be 100% sure without asking the man himself but you've got to admit-its at least a possibility!
 
#17
No Neck Shrek said:
There was a Verdine White signature that had the Bart pickups - but that doesn't explain the headstock. Verdine White signature basses were also red.
Click to expand...

The things that have me the most confused on this bass is the headstock logo and the shape, the style of the logo is more modern Peavey and SARZO in small letters under it, every single one I have seen or owned has had Sarzo in script and Peavey on the tip of the headstock.

The shape of the headstock is slightly different too, the scallop is slightly smaller and the cut coming off of the scallop is more of a point than a curve unlike the others, they are more rounded.
 
#18
Those pickups are clearly aftermarket. Otherwise, the route would actually fit the pickup. Rudy had a few modded peaveys, and I wonder if this could be one. I have one with a Kahler, and based on the route, you would swear it was original.

As for the logo, I'm thinking this is how it looked towards the end of this model's life, right before it turned into the RSB model.

Awesome collection. You couldn't pick a better bass to have a bunch of.
 
#19
wvbass said:
Those pickups are clearly aftermarket. Otherwise, the route would actually fit the pickup. Rudy had a few modded peaveys, and I wonder if this could be one. I have one with a Kahler, and based on the route, you would swear it was original.

As for the logo, I'm thinking this is how it looked towards the end of this model's life, right before it turned into the RSB model.

Awesome collection. You couldn't pick a better bass to have a bunch of.
Click to expand...

Thanks, they really are great basses. The one in question is my favorite...I do not know if it is the Barts or what? It sounds amazing and playslike a dream. This bass is one of my favorites,it does not go to bars for gigs, that is why I have the others...this one is just too nice and clean to gig with.
 

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