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Peavey T-40

#4
Well....
The t-40 has been discussed ad nauseum on this forum (do a search), but I love mine so much that I will indulge your curiosity. I have a 79 natural ash w/ maple neck T-40, It is in near new condition. It still had the pickguard film/control labels on it when I purchased it 3 years ago. It took over for my modded MIM pbass, as favored 4 string, and is now narrowly competing with my homebuilt Fender Jazz (all Fender USA parts except body and pickguard) for favorite 4 string. The Jazz is lighter and nails the Jazz tone better, but the T-40 is more ballsy and more versatile.

It looks beautiful and sounds awesome. The bilaminate neck is extremely stable, and the two oposing grain halfs (that's why it is so stable) don't look uneven at all. The hardware is very solid , with a metal nut, good tuners and a massive bridge. The body is satin finished multi piece ash that is very well matched on the front, not quite as well matched on the back.

It has the ability to produce quite a few very good sounds. From a thicker pbass sound, to a bright jazz sound. The controls are a bit quirky, (do a search for full explaination) but make for a very versatile instrument. Also, it can do the closest aproximation of the rickenbacker sound of any non-ric instrument I have played, which is probably due to the wierd old pickups and their placement.

Yes it is heavy, in fact it is very heavy. If weight is a consideration, don't buy one. Usually selling between 200-350 dollars The T-40 is definatly one of the great under appreciated bargains in well constructed, quasi-vintage, American Made basses.

Now if only I could justify geting a sunburst w/rosewood T40.....
 
#5
+1 to the quirky controls. Once you figure them out, you can get some great "thick and chunky" bass sounds though.

Mine was at least as heavy as my Warwick Streamer 6 is. If you get it think about getting a wide strap. Having said that mine suffered from no neck dive thanks to the body weight. It's a great rock bass that's a natural for pick playing.
 
#7
My first bass. I had a black one. I'd love to play one again. I remember the tone being dull, muddy, and boaring. At the time I really loved the bright punchy tone of my friend's jazz copy (Washburn "Lyons" or something like that?). I was just a kid then, and I was not a good player. It may have been a great bass, but I wouldn't have known. If I were to get another one I would either put flats on it and thump away, of use as a boat anchor!
 
#12
I absolutely LOVED my T-40, although the weight did prompt it's demise for me. Mine also had some neck issues, so that didn't help. I really did dig the sound, but when I started playing my '75 reissue, my band told me that they hated the sound of "that big ugly thing" that I had been playing. I really did dig it, great feel!

:bassist:
 
#15
I played one today, and was very impressed. The hardware is all top notch. Good tuners, monster bridge, microtilt neck joint, good fretwork, nickel nut. I wasn't able to figure out the tone controls, but I did manage to get a decent Larry Graham impression, and a decent p-bass. I couldn't get the Ric tone that others have mentioned, but that may have been due to the 6-year old strings. It was hefty, for sure, but honestly, I think there is some bandwagon jumping going on in this department. It didn't seem any heavier than my BTB405. Very sturdy, though... seemed like you could run over it with a truck.

Anyway, I thought is was a solid axe, which is almost too bad... I was hoping to cross another bass off my gas list.
 
#16
My first "real" bass!! I was 10 or 12 at the time. It weighed a ton!! Great bass for the money. You can get some great sounds out of it if you work with it. The switches always broke on mine. Learned alot about guitar repair with this one.

The original ash body instruments were VERY heavy and thicker than later models. I think a year or so into production a change came to make the instruments lighter. I still think about get one again... Don't know how often I would use it...
 
#18
I just boought an 1979 Ash T-40 last week on Ebay. I've been A-B'ing it with a couple of my Carvin B4's and it sounds great. MANY sound variations. I went to the Peavey site and downloaded the manual, which explains the pickups and switches.

I have a Gig next week outdoors ( A block party) and will play my B4 and T-40 through My Carvin BRX212 combo. I'll let you know how it sounds then.

Regards,

Mike
 
#19
My memories of my T-40, which I owned from the time I bought it new in 1983 until 2004, when I literally gave it to charity:

Heavy
Bulky
Dull
Warped neck
Broken electronics
clumsy
stiff
not-so-bitchen

I'm 100% glad I don't own it anymore, even though I only got a tax write-off for it. It did nothing for me.
 

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