Peavey T-40 pickups replacement.

Part of the reason for the cost is the fact that they’re no longer made.

But yeah, they’re pretty kickass pickups.

(And frankly, $125 isn’t particularly expensive for a really good pickup.)

 

Dark stars or the new bisonic darkstars from Curtis Novak drop straight in

 

I loved how my T-40 played, but after 6 years I sold it just because I could never get the sound that I wanted. I tried countless strings and all the many settings on it, but they always felt either too boomy or too brittle, and never had the tone in my head. They weren't played on any well known records (that I know of), so they probably won't sound like your favorite bass players. If I were in your position, I'd be looking at other pickups other than the originals. I've never played Darkstars on a solid body, but I'd be more interested in those than the originals.

 

do you have a neck?

if not, you got took; there ain't nothing else gonna fit besides another t-40 neck

 

Not better or worse, just different. The reason the price is so high is because they sound great, and many many many people use them in custom builds and in other basses due to their sound. Add that to the fact that they are no longer made, that makes the price go up significantly. I have a T-40 and would never consider changing the pickups. The ability to go single coil or humbucker is nice as well. If you ever intend to sell it, I believe the value will be highest in the original configuration.

 

Only your ears can answer that.

 

@Tigerclaw_x
Couple of problems with using Grind pickups. 1st is the same soapbars in a Grind get used in both 4 and 5 string models so they're much wider than the T40 ones. VFLs are also wider and they're active too so you'd need to power them from a battery. MM type pickups are another set that are wider than T40.

Your options are kinda limited. Best bet is either just buy the pickups you want,rout the body to take them and get someplace to make you a pickguard. Or buy T40 pickups.

 

A complete T40 is worth roughly 450. Do the math and you know why you got the body for150.

 

The Super Ferrite pickups in the T-40 have their signature sound just like most good pickups do.

Considering how the pickup(s) and strings make up better than 90% of the sound you hear coming from a solidbody, if you radically change the pickup you end up with a different bass.

If you’re not particularly enamoured of the T-40 sound, there’s lots of good pickups with interesting characteristics you can explore. There’s Darkstars, Guild and Curis Novak BiSonics, Thunderbuckers, the TV Jones Thunder family, etc.

It all comes down to what you like. If you want the T-40 sound, get the T-40 pickups.

Luck!

Oh yeah - I think the T-40 pickups are worth what they’re going for most times. But that’s me. YMMV.

 

I don't think the T-40 used what are commonly referred to "Super Ferrite" pickups. The Super Ferrite tag usually refers to the single coil pickups found in Foundation and Fury basses of the same era, whereas the T-40 pickups were humbuckers. The early T-40 pickups had plain black "coil covers"; later models had a visible blade in those covers.

All that said, for the OP, I may still have a pair of original pickups stashed somewhere. I'll PM you if I can find them.

 

The reason i stick to MIM J basses is i suffer from terminal tinkeritus so i tend to use whatever platform allows for the simplest modding and modding is all about availability of options.
That said, i would love to have an old 5 string Dyna Bass but i shy away from the ones i’ve seen because they all needed something that was going to require research and high prices. When i find one that is still ready to tweak to my liking and play, i’m prolly gonna own it if the price is anywhere near reasonable.

 

You are correct. I was thinking of the single magnet blade design (late 1982 and later) as opposed to the dual magnet “toaster” (1978-82) version.

 

Here are a few that sold (as opposed to being presented for twice what they're worth)

PEAVEY T40 BASS EARLY 80'S WITH HARD CASE IN GOOD CONDITION | eBay
Vintage 1980s peavey t-40 bass wood finish | eBay
1983 Peavy T 40 Bass | eBay

There are cheaper ones but they tend to come with issues.
Prices went way up on these though. Not even 10 years ago you could get them for 250-300

 

If you want the T-40 to sound and operate like a T-40 I'd stick with the original pickups. It was a well designed package. I think going elsewhere would be like swapping pickups in a Cirrus, Ken Smith or Alembic. Haven't seen that work yet.

Scarcity affects price.

 

Just know that whatever of those you install, the value of the instrument might end up less than a stock one.

 

None of these Imho.
Electronics and pickups both are very peculiar on the T40 if you want to get this tone they are pretty much mandatory.
This kind of tone is not in today's fashion at all
The only pickups I can think of that come close are the Schaller 232 and the Di Marzio X2NB. I think they're both discontinued.