Peavey T-40: Neck Replacement, But Not W/ T-40 Neck?

[HubbardsFate]

Hey Guys,

Just looking for a bit of guidance here.

A number of years ago, I purchased a Peavey T-40 in the sweet siennaburst finish. The body/electronics were, and are, fine; what's not so fine is the neck, which is basically unplayable, pretty serious bow, with a maxed truss rod.

A few years ago I actually posted the bass on here for sale (with full disclosure on the neck), but then backed off on the sale, and was gonna go with finding a T-40 neck to replace the original with. As I discovered, T-40 necks are far and few between, so then my plan was to get someone to build a neck for me, but that plan died too.

I'm just a bedroom bassist, but just the same, it kills me that a cool ol' bass like that is collecting dust. Plus, I've always though it would be kinda cool to make a hybrid anyways: the body and electronics mated with a completely different neck. My biggest obstacle is that I don't know what, if any, necks out there, that aren't actual T-40 necks, would slot into the neck pocket with minimal (or no) work. I'm no luthier/woodworker; I mean, I think I'd be fine tackling a bit of sanding for the right fit, and drilling the bolt holes, but beyond that...

So here I am, appealing to the vast wealth of knowledge on TB, and here's my criteria RE: what I am looking for in a neck:

- I am open to fretted AND fretless. I have been wanting to try my hand at fretless for years...my ideal fretless neck would be unlined ebony with dots or lines on the top edge of the fingerboard, in the positions where frets would be. Fretted, I'd prefer maple with inlays, dots or blocks preferably.

- More of a "D" profile versus "C"

- 34" scale or more (I am not a short-scale guy)

- Back of neck finished in something that ISN'T sticky

That's basically it. If anyone has any suggestions, it would be appreciated. There's a number of necks for sale here on TB, and I'd prefer to give my business to someone on here, so yeah...even if you aren't selling one, if you're seeing a neck on this site (or somewhere else) that you think would work for me, let me know!

 

[bobomatic]

EGC aluminum. Do it for me.

 

[gregmon79]

I'm not that familiar with T40 necks or Peavey basses for the most part. But have you considered a Peavey replacement? Like from a different model from that same time period. I want to say their necks are pretty squared where they sit in the pocket? A Peavey neck could be the best fit. But again, just a thought. I'm not familiar enough with Peavey basses to seriously recommend anything short of getting the neck you like/want and mod away.

 

[HubbardsFate]

I'm not that familiar with T40 necks or Peavey basses for the most part. But have you considered a Peavey replacement? Like from a different model from that same time period. I want to say their necks are pretty squared where they sit in the pocket? A Peavey neck could be the best fit. But again, just a thought. I'm not familiar enough with Peavey basses to seriously recommend anything short of getting the neck you like/want and mod away.

I wouldn't doubt that a neck from a T-20 or Patriot would be a direct fit, but I doubt they're much easier to find than a T-40 neck.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I remember a while back comparing the T-20 and one of the T-40s I have and noting that they aren't swappable. I can't remember why, just remember thinking to myself that they are different

 

[gregmon79]

I wouldn't doubt that a neck from a T-20 or Patriot would be a direct fit, but I doubt they're much easier to find than a T-40 neck.

You may be better off just looking for a full Patriot bass. But those may be spendy these days.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I can recommend you to Jeremy Kirsch, known as @Freekmagnet here on TalkBass. He's an expert at building custom replacement necks and rebuilding existing necks. And he personally likes Peavey basses, and has done several Peavey necks in the past year. He can either rebuild your existing neck, or build you a new one with whatever changes or features you want. He has experience at both.

His own thread over in Luthier's Corner is:

Thread 'Sirena Instrumentos Musicales - Expositions and Aspirations Regarding Luthiery in Fillmore, CA'

Jun 5, 2021

After completing my last build, the Sirena Pistolera, the universe had aligned itself in such a way that it had become clear to me that I should perhaps take this build up another rung on the ladder of luthiery. It was the middle of COVID and the advertising place where I worked had basically closed it's doors for good. For a long time prior, Bruce had been encouraging me to take some of my designs past the prototyping stage and into the realm of production. A space opened up across the hall from Bruce's shop in the Packing House. He suggested I move some of my stuff over there and...

• Freekmagnet
• bass design luthier luthier tools
• Replies: 1,908
• Forum: Luthier's Corner

• 

Send him a PM.

Technical note: If the truss rod isn't broken, your existing neck may be able to be repaired with heat-straightening and fret leveling. No major surgery. We do know how to do those things.

 

[HubbardsFate]

I can recommend you to Jeremy Kirsch, known as @Freekmagnet here on TalkBass. He's an expert at building custom replacement necks and rebuilding existing necks. And he personally likes Peavey basses, and has done several Peavey necks in the past year. He can either rebuild your existing neck, or build you a new one with whatever changes or features you want. He has experience at both.

His own thread over in Luthier's Corner is:

Thread 'Sirena Instrumentos Musicales - Expositions and Aspirations Regarding Luthiery in Fillmore, CA'

Jun 5, 2021

After completing my last build, the Sirena Pistolera, the universe had aligned itself in such a way that it had become clear to me that I should perhaps take this build up another rung on the ladder of luthiery. It was the middle of COVID and the advertising place where I worked had basically closed it's doors for good. For a long time prior, Bruce had been encouraging me to take some of my designs past the prototyping stage and into the realm of production. A space opened up across the hall from Bruce's shop in the Packing House. He suggested I move some of my stuff over there and...

• Freekmagnet
• bass design luthier luthier tools
• Replies: 1,908
• Forum: Luthier's Corner

• 

Send him a PM.

Technical note: If the truss rod isn't broken, your existing neck may be able to be repaired with heat-straightening and fret leveling. No major surgery. We do know how to do those things.

Thank you, Bruce. Generally speaking, when building a neck from scratch, does that involve having to ship the body of the bass to the luthier? I ask this because I am hoping to do this for as cheap as possible. If I'm getting into shipping, well...

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Thank you, Bruce. Generally speaking, when building a neck from scratch, does that involve having to ship the body of the bass to the luthier? I ask this because I am hoping to do this for as cheap as possible. If I'm getting into shipping, well...

It's generally not necessary to ship the whole instrument. You can ship Jeremy the neck only, and he can either rebuild it, or make a replica of it. Or make a replica with a few changes. I'm not going to quote for Jeremy, but to give you a general idea of the cost: Heat-straightening and re-leveling your existing neck will cost around $350. A complete rebuild with new truss rod, fingerboard and frets will be around $600. A new replica neck will be around $800.

 

[Alembic83]

You could always send the neck to Erik at warpedneck.com (he’s in Denton, TX) for heat treatment and see if he can straighten it out for you. I’ve sent him several and I’ve been happy with the results. I had the same problem: bowed neck with a maxed out truss rod. It’s $75 plus shipping of the neck. I’d say that’s worth a try before buying another neck.

Hey Guys,

Just looking for a bit of guidance here.

A number of years ago, I purchased a Peavey T-40 in the sweet siennaburst finish. The body/electronics were, and are, fine; what's not so fine is the neck, which is basically unplayable, pretty serious bow, with a maxed truss rod.

A few years ago I actually posted the bass on here for sale (with full disclosure on the neck), but then backed off on the sale, and was gonna go with finding a T-40 neck to replace the original with. As I discovered, T-40 necks are far and few between, so then my plan was to get someone to build a neck for me, but that plan died too.

I'm just a bedroom bassist, but just the same, it kills me that a cool ol' bass like that is collecting dust. Plus, I've always though it would be kinda cool to make a hybrid anyways: the body and electronics mated with a completely different neck. My biggest obstacle is that I don't know what, if any, necks out there, that aren't actual T-40 necks, would slot into the neck pocket with minimal (or no) work. I'm no luthier/woodworker; I mean, I think I'd be fine tackling a bit of sanding for the right fit, and drilling the bolt holes, but beyond that...

So here I am, appealing to the vast wealth of knowledge on TB, and here's my criteria RE: what I am looking for in a neck:

- I am open to fretted AND fretless. I have been wanting to try my hand at fretless for years...my ideal fretless neck would be unlined ebony with dots or lines on the top edge of the fingerboard, in the positions where frets would be. Fretted, I'd prefer maple with inlays, dots or blocks preferably.

- More of a "D" profile versus "C"

- 34" scale or more (I am not a short-scale guy)

- Back of neck finished in something that ISN'T sticky

That's basically it. If anyone has any suggestions, it would be appreciated. There's a number of necks for sale here on TB, and I'd prefer to give my business to someone on here, so yeah...even if you aren't selling one, if you're seeing a neck on this site (or somewhere else) that you think would work for me, let me know!

 

[walterw]

Generally speaking, when building a neck from scratch, does that involve having to ship the body of the bass to the luthier? I ask this because I am hoping to do this for as cheap as possible.

then give up all hope now

"cheap" and "scratch built neck" don't go in the same sentence. also, T-40s are neat and all for the time but they're not great, you probably don't want to spend a lot of money trying to rehab one

+1 to the faint hope of fixing the existing neck with heat-pressing and maybe some fretwork instead

 

[Tim Skaggs]

A lot of Peavey bass necks from the same era will fit. I know a Foundation neck will fit on an T40, and I know Foundation, Fury, & T20 necks will swap between those three models.
I know that first hand, I’ve had all three and had the necks switched at one time or another. I think the nut width is smaller on Foundations and Fury’s. I don’t remember the nut width on the T20. It’s been a long time since I had the one I owned.