Speaking of pickguards....has anyone ordered a T-40 from Pickguard Heaven? Is the outside edge beveled as it should be? I've asked on their site but a response seems to take a while. Any other source of known quality?
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Peavey T-40 Club Part 2
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
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I know some folks have gotten T-40 pickguards from Jeanne's, but I don't know the details.
That's lovely! An excellent addition to your stable.
I few possible corrections. I don't think the one-year theory for white is correct as mine was dated to 1980. As for the nut, '82 is around the time that they switched over to plastic/nylon nut so it may be original. The switches might also be original, but I really don't know. A rounded top switch did replace the previous design in the second half of production. Unfortunatley, I know that alot of T-40's had their switches replaced so I can't tell you for sure. You might have to open it up to find out.
Regardless a very nice score on a bass that, while probably not as rare as you thought, may turn out to be be more "original".
I had a similar bass that actually ended up loaded with darkstars for a while. What's the weight on yours compared to the ash models? Painted T-40's were made with Poplar (excepting a couple early alder examples) which is supposed to be lighter than northern ash, but my self and others have found that they often seem heavier than their natural brethren.
Crap, forgot message. I have an 83' identical to yours, mine has the plastic nut and a couple of non original screws around the pick ups. Mine weighs at least 2-3lbs less than the 78' i had and has a much thinner neck. Pictures to follow then maybe i can get a number.
Interesting notes about the weight. Remember also that there are at least 2 different styles for T-40 bodies For folks with the lighter bodies, i'd be interested to know if are they the original slab backed style with hard edges or are they the later style that had a more cutaway/conto.ured back and slightly rounder edges. A difference in body styles might help account for Unicorn's weight differences.
Of course that still wouldn't explain why my white '80 (presumeably poplar) T-40 was as heavy or heavier than my Ash '79 considering they were both slab bodies.
Of course that still wouldn't explain why my white '80 (presumeably poplar) T-40 was as heavy or heavier than my Ash '79 considering they were both slab bodies.
I'm pretty sure sure it wasn't. Unfortunately the reason I'm so sure is that before selling the bass body (sans pickups) back to the guy that originally sold it to me I dremeled (calling it routing would imply more skill than I have) away as much wood under the pickguard as I could in an effort to lighten the body. There's a very slim chance it could have been ash, but IIRC the wood I cut away was a weak-grained, wood much more in keeping with poplar than with ash.
Luckily I didn't damage the body outside the guard and I ended selling it back to the original owner who put the original pickups back in it, gave it a spare T-40 neck and sold it on to a new owner. The original neck, tuners and neck plate live on my T-40/Decade'ish Frankenbass.
I think you nailed it, Eilif! I don't know that I ever corroborated Scott Groves' "one-year-only" assertion. Perhaps it was the fact that his had a rosewood fretboard, rather than the maple board on mine. I looked it up, and the serial number on my new-to-me T40 reads as a 1983 model, according to the Peavey charts. So...it would seem that my plastic nut is stock for this bass. I intend to open it up and see if the toggle switches date back to there and may also be original. I would definitely trade some exclusivity for a 100% ORIGINAL White T40!
As to the weight......I just stuck it on my digital postal scale, and it reads: 11.7 pounds. Is that heavy for a poplar-bodied T40? I know that the all-ash body on my 8M-prefix slab body '78 helped that one weigh in at 13.75.
On another note, I had the good fortune to watch Roy Mitchell-Cardenas rock his T40 for at least a third of the night when MuteMath came and blew up the Houston House of Blues on Feb. 23. It was a magnificent concert, and that T40 was able to cut right through the Synth-Heavy atmospherics that are a hallmark of these guys. Anyway, Roy's a real stud for being one of the precious few who still play one of these onstage with any regularity.
It looks like a heavier Slab-Bodied model as well!
I couldn't say as regards the poplar-bodied instruments, but both of my natural ash T's are under 12 pounds.
Alright, i picked up this tip from Dan Earlwine's book. It was originally for Strats that had tuning slippage. I have since used this on all my basses. Once i have done the initial stretching my instruments almost never need re tuning. The other benefit on non tilt Fender style head stocks, is that you can get a very consistent string angle due to being able to control how many turns to wind on the post. It may seem funky but it works for me.
Ah, i don't string down through the posts. I pull the string taut, wrap as needed for a 12-15 deg angle, bend the tag end 90 deg through the slot then bend another 90 in the opposite direction forming a sharp "Z" then trim. I find it gives me no slip tuning.
Thanks for clearing that up. I seem to remember reading that tip from Dan in the same book guitar repair book (the Guitar Player one right?), but I'm not sure I've seen it applied to bass. I'll give it a try sometime.
I have to do something a bit simlar on my Uke bass with the Poly strings to keep them from slipping. Similar in that it gets a wrap first, but in that case, I'm doing a reverse loop to almost put a knot through the tuner slot. Those strings both slip and stretch!
I have to do something a bit simlar on my Uke bass with the Poly strings to keep them from slipping. Similar in that it gets a wrap first, but in that case, I'm doing a reverse loop to almost put a knot through the tuner slot. Those strings both slip and stretch!
I have a '79 natural that has had some wonkiness with the neck pickup electronics, took it apart a few weeks ago to find that one of the coils is dead. Any way to fix one of these bad boys? I have some experience with electronics but not with wiring pickups.
If this thing is toast, what replacement pickups could I drop in without routing? I was thinking a rick neck toaster or a single coil P would work well. This T-40 is beat to hell and missing several original parts anyway so I dont mind turning it more into a project.
Also, eldoryder, my black '87 has the same switches, I'm fairly confident that they are the originals.
If this thing is toast, what replacement pickups could I drop in without routing? I was thinking a rick neck toaster or a single coil P would work well. This T-40 is beat to hell and missing several original parts anyway so I dont mind turning it more into a project.
Also, eldoryder, my black '87 has the same switches, I'm fairly confident that they are the originals.
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