When I was at Peavey school in the early 90s in Meridian, Hartley also said "Peavey will always be made in America" -- times change and people change....
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Peavey?
- Thread starter Chatdawg
- Start date
When I was at Peavey school in the early 90s in Meridian, Hartley also said "Peavey will always be made in America" -- times change and people change....
They put out a new high end Cirrus and no one bought it. It was made in Indonesia, but I played one and I'm telling you, it was really nice. If they put out a new T-40, a couple people would buy it. Idk, maybe a lightweight short-scale T-40 would sell, but who knows. Very few people really want a Peavey.
Freekmagnet
Commercial User
That sounds like something that would be likely to come from a company like Eastwood. But, that bass would come from overseas.
The T40 is a good sounding pickup, and aside from the metal cover, I don’t think there’s any special tooling involved. It’s fairly simple medium output ceramic humbucker. I’ve thought about developing my own “replacement” T40 PU with a resin cast body and an improved nickel silver faceplate, but there’s only so many hours in a day.
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3d printing could probably reproduce the cup that the blades sit in and the cap. Would be an interesting project...
It was truly a very nice bass.
I've got no proof, but my suspicion is that it was tough to sell a thousand dollar Indo Cirrus when your could get an American original for $1200 or so. It's a tough value equation.
Lakland makes that equation work because USA models are still in production keeping their name and value up so an Indonesian Skyline represents good value compared to paying 2-3 times as much for an American version.
Here's a neat video about Peavey from better times than the Undercover Boss thing.
I'd never seen this video and it introduced me to somebody who I had no idea existed....Joe Peavey, Hartley's son. Looks like he's no longer there and works at QSC now. I'd like to know that story, as you'd think the company would have eventually been his.
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_60-676t1nwt
I'd never seen this video and it introduced me to somebody who I had no idea existed....Joe Peavey, Hartley's son. Looks like he's no longer there and works at QSC now. I'd like to know that story, as you'd think the company would have eventually been his.
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_60-676t1nwt
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A few years ago there was a big commercial auction in Meridian, Mississippi. Peavey sold off all of their manufacturing equipment and all of the wood they had stockpiled for bodies and necks. They laid off most of their Mississippi workforce. They no longer have the capability to manufacture gear or instruments in the United States.
Yeah, I don't know. I've got an early 90's US made red Fury in near perfect shape I've been trying to sell for a couple months on CL and Facebook Marketplace for a whopping $250 (with non Peavey hard case), and have had a very small number of nibbles, none coming through. As great as they may be, there don't appear to be many folks who appreciate them.
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And it really hurt Mr. Peavey deeply. He was deeply loyal to his staff but economics squeezed him and left hom no other out. I heard this at the PV HDQ.
I'm not sure. That may have been the case in the late 90s and a good bulk of the 00s but apparently whoever is in charge of RnD has been asleep for the past decade: there's several options ( i.e. automation) which may reduce a huge fraction of employees but at least keep them making instruments/PA gear here domestically and being competitive ...... and whether or not we debate that, and other alternatives, as viable options, it doesn't change the fact that they didnt seem to be really trying at all the past decade - and it shows
With the lack of new instruments brand recognition is going to decline and it was already not that great. It is both the pro and con to owning Peavey. You can usually pick one up cheap particularly if you find one in the right marketplace, but you also have a harder time selling for what the instrument would be worth if brand recognition were better. I picked up a US made Millennium Plus for $150 at an auction in 2016. I do not think anyone else seeing the auction knew what the bass was. I assume you are looking for a local sale (hence CL and Facebook), which is going to limit your market and recognition even more.
I have seen the exact opposite with G&L instruments over the years. I bought my first G&L in 2002 and have followed the brand obsessively since. G&L Dealers were difficult to find in 2002. I recall asking several local guitar dealers about them and getting comments like "we do not sell off brands" from stores that only sold Traben and Dean basses (not knocking either, but neither one is anywhere near US G&L quality). Along comes the G&L Tribute line and after several years, everyone seems to know the G&L brand and dealers are everywhere.
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Good question- and I don't know....I do know that a lot of the weight is actually from the bridge unit and the pickups and not necessarily the body itself......I think replacing the bridge with something comparable in mass but not necessarily the weight is doable - the pickups are the issue: because those pickups themselves and its unorthodox wiring is what makes T 40s and 45s so special.....sure, the T 40 can definitely sound like a Ric but it can also sound a lot like some Alembic instruments- not a bad feat for a passive bass.......as a side note, there was a thread a few months ago about "What is the most hi fidelity passive pickup made?" ...after a few pages of all the usual suspects, I responded Peavey T 40/45 pickups ( because I really think they are) but was surprised how few Likes I got......so either I'm wrong about that or just most folks are unfamiliar with the magic of those pickups
They're still a very well kept secret. I certainly feel they are a sum of all parts instrument and going for lighter anything other than tuners would take away from that. Maybe I'm wrong?Good question- and I don't know....I do know that a lot of the weight is actually from the bridge unit and the pickups and not necessarily the body itself......I think replacing the bridge with something comparable in mass but not necessarily the weight is doable - the pickups are the issue: because those pickups themselves and its unorthodox wiring is what makes T 40s and 45s so special.....sure, the T 40 can definitely sound like a Ric but it can also sound a lot like some Alembic instruments- not a bad feat for a passive bass.......as a side note, there was a thread a few months ago about "What is the most hi fidelity passive pickup made?" ...after a few pages of all the usual suspects, I responded Peavey T 40/45 pickups ( because I really think they are) but was surprised how few Likes I got......so either I'm wrong about that or just most folks are unfamiliar with the magic of those pickups
No you're definitely not wrong but engineering isn't my thing.....I am a RN though, so if you need advice on the proper way to give an enema, i can certainly provide pointers
hahahahaha, well I'm not an RN or an MD but I was a combat medic and everyone called me Doc. We could probably swap a number of humerusNo you're definitely not wrong but engineering isn't my thing.....I am a RN though, so if you need advice on the proper way to give an enema, i can certainly provide pointers
enema tails.
