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Peavey T-40 Club Part 2

#1,161
Well, I made the Chip Todd remove-the-red-pickup-wire mod to my T-40. To be easily reversible, I unsoldered the red coil-split wires off of the tone pots rather than just snip the wires. I also left a note card under the bridge pickup telling of the mod and how to reverse it, in case I forget how to restore to stock or if someone else ends up with the bass (unlikely, as I bought this bass new in 1979 and it has a lot of sentimental value.

It certainly does give the sound some more humbucker heft when the tone pots are all the way up. Brighter than the tone-at-7 HB soiund. I like HB sound of this bass, but always felt it sounded a little dark because you couldn't turn the tone pots all the way up and preserve HB mode. This mod allows the HB's to become a little brighter than the stock configuration. I think I like it, but I've only had one day of bonding. I'll need to put it in a band situation to find out for sure.

Yes, this mod has disabled single-coil mode on both pickups, I don't think I will miss it much. I don't use my T-40 to attempt mimics other types of basses that would require a single coil pickup.

Ideally, the addition of a couple of toggle switches would restore full single-coil capability, but I'm not ready to try that yet.
 
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#1,162
bwildt said:
Well, I made the Chip Todd remove-the-red-pickup-wire mod to my T-40. To be easily reversible, I unsoldered the red coil-split wires off of the tone pots rather than just snip the wires. I also left a note card under the bridge pickup telling of the mod and how to reverse it, in case I forget how to restore to stock or if someone else ends up with the bass (unlikely, as I bought this bass new in 1979 and it has a lot of sentimental value.

It certainly does give the sound some more humbucker heft when the tone pots are all the way up. Brighter than the tone-at-7 HB soiund. I like HB sound of this bass, but always felt it sounded a little dark because you couldn't turn the tone pots all the way up and preserve HB mode. This mod allows the HB's to become a little brighter than the stock configuration. I think I like it, but I've only had one day of bonding. I'll need to put it in a band situation to find out for sure.

Yes, this mod has disabled single-coil mode on both pickups, I don't think I will miss it much. I don't use my T-40 to attempt mimics other types of basses that would require a single coil pickup.

Ideally, the addition of a couple of toggle switches would restore full single-coil capability, but I'm not ready to try that yet.
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A man after my own heart..careful loll..They are the sort of careful things I tend to do when making changes...notes on what I did. I gather your '79 bought bass is actually a '78 or '79 model with the toaster pups like mine. I'm considering the Chip conversion as well and the desoldering idea is what I would do instead of the snip.
Peavey T40 Swamp ABS Bass Case 1.jpg
 
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#1,165
Eilif said:
I've come to value it most as an instrument in it's own right with it's own very nice voice. It's a super flexible instrument to be sure, but counting on it to be primarily an emulator of other basses rather than it's own thing might set one up for just a bit of discontent.
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I don’t try to use my T-40s as imitators of other basses. For fun though, I will enjoy adding the split P and playing around with the sound possibilities. Will I ever use the bass to try to get a purely P bass sound? Maybe, since I’m in a cover band now. But, a straight up split P bass is my least favorite sound, and one I never look for when noodling or playing original music. But, I do LOVE a single coil P bass (51 style).

When I was playing original hard rock music, I used my white/RW T-40 w/ both pups in SC with the tones up, that was the sound I wanted. It was similar to a Ric, yes. But, I only realized that after finding the sound I wanted. I’ve built several basses with different pup configurations: a jazz w/ P/J setup, a jazz w/ P/MM pups, a jazz with model Js. One bass I’ve always wanted to put together was a Billy Sheehan style with a neck humbucker and a split P. Now, I’ll have that and more with the 3 pickup T-40.
 
#1,166
bwildt said:
Per what I can tell from the serial number, it is a '79, yes with the early toaster pickups.

My son borrowed it for a time and like it well enough to buy his own. It is a later model with the pole piece in each pickup.

View attachment 3061766
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Have you done an A/B comparison of the toasters vs blade pickups? I compared a natural ash bodied/maple with toasters to a poplar (is that right?) RW board with blades. So, my comparison had other variables. But, the toasters had less output and were more mellow.
 
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#1,169
Jedi Bass, I haven't done a serious a/b comparison between the two pickup models, but I understand that what you observed seems to be the accepted difference. I'm not one to split hairs on different bass tones. In my cover band one night I'll play a p-bass with flats. Another night it will be a Stingray or G&L L2500. Tone-wise they are all different, but they all fit. When I play a cover, I am fine with sounding like my band's version of a cover. I am usually not interested in a tribute-style note for note song or if the instrumentation sounds just like the record.
 
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#1,170
JEDI BASS said:
I don’t try to use my T-40s as imitators of other basses. For fun though, I will enjoy adding the split P and playing around with the sound possibilities. Will I ever use the bass to try to get a purely P bass sound? Maybe, since I’m in a cover band now. But, a straight up split P bass is my least favorite sound, and one I never look for when noodling or playing original music. But, I do LOVE a single coil P bass (51 style).

When I was playing original hard rock music, I used my white/RW T-40 w/ both pups in SC with the tones up, that was the sound I wanted. It was similar to a Ric, yes. But, I only realized that after finding the sound I wanted. I’ve built several basses with different pup configurations: a jazz w/ P/J setup, a jazz w/ P/MM pups, a jazz with model Js. One bass I’ve always wanted to put together was a Billy Sheehan style with a neck humbucker and a split P. Now, I’ll have that and more with the 3 pickup T-40.
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Have you done the mod yet? If not, I've got a mahogany body that's already routed for a T-40 neck and a pair of Darkstars (should fit T-40 pups in the T-40 positions. Might be worth trying before you carve up a T-40 and I'll knock a few bucks off the price they're at in the classifieds right now...
 
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#1,171
Eilif said:
About what?
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Eilif said:
but a P-tone is pretty dependent on having a P pickup in the middle position. II'd go one step further than Jedibass and say that you specifically need a P-style split humbucker. That's why even as I've moved on to other basses over the years my (much upgraded) MIM P has stuck around. Nothing else sounds like a P-bass
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This
 
#1,172
bwildt, I relate. I don’t make it a priority to match bass tones when playing 50-ish songs from different groups/artists. But, there are a handful of songs, where the bass is prominent, that I do enjoy recreating the tone. Higher Ground by RHCP is an example. I wouldn’t want to try that one on a P with flats.
 
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#1,173
Toolmybass said:
A lot easier than routering out a vinage instrument to achieve the same tone on a finished product or a live scenario.
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You must’ve missed my other post about wanting to have a bass with neck position humbucker + split P pickup (Billy Sheehan-ish). It’s going to be a lot of fun building it, and playing around with all the pickup options/sounds.

I can always buy another pickguard for pocket change and revert it back to stock, but I won’t.
 
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#1,174
Eilif said:
Have you done the mod yet? If not, I've got a mahogany body that's already routed for a T-40 neck and a pair of Darkstars (should fit T-40 pups in the T-40 positions. Might be worth trying before you carve up a T-40 and I'll knock a few bucks off the price they're at in the classifieds right now...
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Thanks. I’ll keep that body in mind while I’m thinking this build through.
 
#1,179
JEDI BASS said:
Have you done an A/B comparison of the toasters vs blade pickups? I compared a natural ash bodied/maple with toasters to a poplar (is that right?) RW board with blades. So, my comparison had other variables. But, the toasters had less output and were more mellow.
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That is generally observed, though I think some folks slightly overstate the difference especially in regards to output. The output difference isn't as much if you raise the pups a bit, but they are still going to be deeper sounding and a bit mellower compared to the brightness associated with blade pickups . Some folks forget that the toasters actually have blades under the plastic also and they are actually twice as thick as the blades in the "blade" pickups.

One other factor to consider is the metal nut. I don't know how many instruments had blades and metal nuts, but the metal nuts can contribute a bit of brightness and they were phased out around the same time as the toasters were replaced by blades.
 
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#1,180
Eilif said:
but a P-tone is pretty dependent on having a P pickup in the middle position. II'd go one step further than Jedibass and say that you specifically need a P-style split humbucker. That's why even as I've moved on to other basses over the years my (much upgraded) MIM P has stuck around. Nothing else sounds like a P-bass
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Eilif said:
You're stretching credulity here and I'm not sure why.
Why would JPJ argue with me about getting a P-bass tone out of a bass that is not a P-bass? I'm willing to be proven wrong but don't think I've ever heard him quoted on anything close to that topic.
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Credulity? I could give you a list of 10 songs as an example from just this one particular bassist. As far as him being quoted on the topic of your quote above, im sure the examples of his recordings is the reason why he isnt quoted anywhere on the topic. Its very obvious.
I'm not sure how much studio/recording experience you have, or what it would take in evidence for you to be "proven wrong" but the fact that so many people with an experienced ear were so sure for years he used a P on some recordings, only to find out years later it wasnt a P bass at all, is the point im tryng to make.

So yea, im sure im not the only one that would agree that JPJ would completely disagree with your above statements.
But, these are just my opinions and im sure my audio engineering experience has nothing to do with my "Credulity"

I can go on and provide lists of audio examples, but at this point there is really no need to on my end.
We can agree to disagree.
 

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