Peavey T-40 Club Part 2

[Minirehak 212]

The dots were definitley decals or paint at first. The story (don't know how true it is) is that Russ Valory of Journey or some other T-series endorser came to the factory and was horrified to see that the side dots were drawn or decaled. Supposedly then Peavey started doing them as inlays. If memory serves, the Rosewood neck on my T-necked-Frankenbass which is a later model has inlayed dots (I sanded the finish mostly off and redid it and they're still there) but if you look closely at my '79 Maple neck it looks pretty clearly like they are painted or decals.

But this is an aftermarket neck. I could see them being inlayed on an official peavey neck but since this is a custom I think it was made with the metal side dots,

 

[ba55i5t]

So good news the adjustment worked. Bad news action is a bit high for my taste. Since it's just this one area should I be adjusting truss rod?

Basically I just want to know when it's appropriate to use the neck tilt function.

 

[Charley Umbria]

But...WHY?

Vintage Peavey T-40 1980s Rare White As Is Or Easy Project Comes With Case

 

[RadioactiveGuy4]

But...WHY?

Vintage Peavey T-40 1980s Rare White As Is Or Easy Project Comes With Case

That's Savable.

 

[redstrand]

Might be savable but its worth 200 tops

 

[UNICORN BASS]

I have the same bass in perfect stock condition. I'm not sure that turd is worth even $200.

 

[redstrand]

If the body and neck are straight, sure. Even a bad case is worth 40-50 or so

 

[kodiakblair]

With original knobs going for $20 each on eBay and SF pickups around $100 each it's a close thing
to restore Vs buying a whole one,even for $200.

 

[mech]

Pickguard, control harness, knobs, pickups......$325-$400 at buy it now prices. $200 + shipping for the rosewood neck, bridge and case would be a taste steep for me.

 

[CGremlin]

$200 + shipping for the rosewood neck, bridge and case would be a taste steep for me.

Likewise. I'm pretty picky about T-40s, and am willing to pay more for an instrument that is unusual or has some verifiable historical provenance, but this one would take so much in work and parts to get back into decent shape that I frankly wouldn't want it if it were given to me.

 

[eldoryder]

IMHO, some judicious shopping and $500-plus dollars should net you a museum-quality original T-40, not this complete disaster:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It is missing both pickups, a wiring harness, all four controls and knob$, in addition to the correct pickguard. Many hundreds of dollars of parts, easy. This is not even a good project...it's just a few T-40 parts bolted together!

 

[ba55i5t]

Might be useful for a rosewood/maple fretboard switch-out, or you could defret a neck. Hmmm....anyone selling fretless T-40 necks?

 

[CGremlin]

It is missing both pickups, a wiring harness, all four controls and knob$, in addition to the correct pickguard.

I'd be afraid to look under the pickguard to see what anguish lies beneath.

 

[Eilif]

What a monstrosity!
If the neck is strait, I can see it being worth $200, but only for someone who has a trashed body or neck or a line on a loaded pickguard. Too bad the bridge is so nasty also. White is not actually all that "rare" and I'm not sure what possessed the seller to think that this is worth the price of good-condition unmodified example.

All that said, I'm a fan of neck pickups. and it just might sound amazing!

 

[redstrand]

Mine has chrome rings and a pearliod pickguard, also its red. I paid 550 for mine, put deep talking flats on it and it just kills. Plus the case is in great shape.

 

[JIO]

I have posted my recent retro build on the Luthiers Corner section but not sure if anyone over here in the T-40 Club would have seen it there. So I want to share some T-40 (related) love, actually more like T-45 love, as I've learned that is the designation of the 1 pu version. I've always admired the T-40 from afar and now after hearing that beast of a hum-bucker I'm sold on it! This bass weighs 7lbs/15oz so it's like having a blown Hemi-powerplant in a '65 Plymouth Valiant.

details here: Winter 2017 Build Off - TeiscoT45bird

 

[alack]

I have posted my recent retro build on the Luthiers Corner section but not sure if anyone over here in the T-40 Club would have seen it there. So I want to share some T-40 (related) love, actually more like T-45 love, as I've learned that is the designation of the 1 pu version. I've always admired the T-40 from afar and now after hearing that beast of a hum-bucker I'm sold on it! This bass weighs 7lbs/15oz so it's like having a blown Hemi-powerplant in a '65 Plymouth Valiant.

details here: Winter 2017 Build Off - TeiscoT45bird
View attachment 1061945

details here: Winter 2017 Build Off - TeiscoT45bird

Great concept and execution. That's the first time I've seen a TBird neck on a bass I could see myself playing. I bet that would just kill with flats on a blues gig.

 

[JIO]

Great concept and execution. That's the first time I've seen a TBird neck on a bass I could see myself playing. I bet that would just kill with flats on a blues gig.

Thanks! My inspiration was my short scale '65 Teisco Del Rey (brown) which does have flats and sounds great! The lower bass is my 60's Teisco Del Rey/Silvertone-bodied Teiscobird that led to the TeiscoT45bird. Although both necks used are from the Epi Goth T-bird series, they are both different from each other in a few ways. Mainly, the lower one has more of a 'baseball bat' neck and the upper one more of a (slimmer) '63-'65 T-bird-esk neck. Both of my builds are 34" scale.

 

[Eilif]

Good lord, that's gorgeous! Really tastefull combination of vintage visuals.

I'm curious how you like the position of the T-45 pickup as compared to the Darkstar which appears to be positioned closer to the bridge. I tend to gravitate toward mid pickups that are a bit toward the neck, but that's just me.

 

[JIO]

Good lord, that's gorgeous! Really tastefull combination of vintage visuals.

I'm curious how you like the position of the T-45 pickup as compared to the Darkstar which appears to be positioned closer to the bridge. I tend to gravitate toward mid pickups that are a bit toward the neck, but that's just me.

Thanks! The two I built are similar but very different sounding for a few reasons. The Teiscobird (it looks black but it's a colour called "hand rubbed bronze metallic") body is mahogany from the mid 60's (original MIJ Teisco or Silvertone), the RI Guild Darkstar is a single-coil and the bridge is top-load. The TeiscoT45bird has a basswood body, is string-thru, and has the T-40 pu in the original Gibson T-bird II position. (4" to center from the neck-butt) Everything else (necks, tuners, electronics) are the same. The Teiscobird pu position is more like a Stingray or G&L L-1000. So they both are big sounding, but the T-40 has that thicker hum-bucker tone and the single cuts through more in the mid-range and has the hum with the treble up. To my ears I like them both, but the T-40 gets a bit boomy on its own and needs more volume to fill its place in the mix. For my particular playing style - I'm playing right over the Darkstar where as I'm playing below the T-40. Another player will find their right hand closer to the neck and over the T-40 pu. Both basses weigh about the same (light!) but the basswood TeiscoT45bird is more resonant unplugged. This is partially due to it being string-thru, but the basswood was just more naturally resonant when I did the knuckle-clunk test on both unassembled suspended bodies. Add in a natural difference between mahogany and basswood - the 50yr old mahogany is a softer wood than the (recent) denser basswood. Both necks are maple/rosewood, both basses are strung w/medium rounds, both basses have 500k pots and .047f caps. It's been cool having two basses so similar but due to subtle differences are so different.