U.S. Peavey Club

[kodiakblair]

Thanks @lowplaces
It held stable for a couple of years so I can't complain,I'll just clamp it up again if the down tune don't help.
Sticking a Milestone neck on would be the easy answer but I've fixed her once so I'm not beat yet

 

[mech]

It held stable for a couple of years so I can't complain,I'll just clamp it up again if the down tune don't help. Sticking a Milestone neck on would be the easy answer but I've fixed her once so I'm not beat yet

I've found the really thin Patriot and early Foundation necks to be less than stable. Truss rod will act in the first 5 fret area before doing any good higher up. Milestone is a 20 fret neck. Any of the '80s 21 fret should be a bolt on.

 

[scifiguitar]

Looks good man! Just a note, I've had marginal success with plain black fingernail polish covering the more visible chips on my black foundy. They wear off a bit over time but cheap and super easy to apply and looks good.

I'm okay with the scars. Plays really easy.

 

[kodiakblair]

@mech
I'm getting confused again Friend last night said he had Milestone necks from the Peavey UK closure few year back but I bought Millennium necks. Looks like I need a stock taker as well as a proof reader

 

[MNAirHead]

Looks good man! Just a note, I've had marginal success with plain black fingernail polish covering the more visible chips on my black foundy. They wear off a bit over time but cheap and super easy to apply and looks good.

OVERALL, it seems to work best to just blend in the blemish..

I've used black dye fairly well to subdue the issue... fingernail polish his tough to get smooth.

 

[scifiguitar]

So the only piece missing is the.truss rod cover for my Foundation. Any ideas where to pick one up?

 

[58kites]

I've found the really thin Patriot and early Foundation necks to be less than stable.

I've not noticed much of a difference from neck to neck on my Peaveys.
Fury 1990 -Maple fretboard
Fury 1992 -Maple fretboard
Fury 1995 -Maple fretboard
Patriot 1987 -Maple fretboard
Foundation 1992 -Maple fretboard
Forum 1994 -Rosewood fretboard
G-Bass 1997 -PauFerro fretboard

I think all are 1.5" at the nut.
I think all have 8" radius fretboard.
They all feel like the same size neck.....to me
The Patriot *might maybe possibly be a little meatier* but still 1.5" nut and 8" radius fretboard.
They also all seem to be pretty stable.

When were the Patriot necks really thin?
What years of Foundation necks are the early ones you describe?

I'm always looking to learn more.

 

[mech]

When were the Patriot necks really thin? What years of Foundation necks are the early ones you describe?

I'm always looking to learn more.

Some of the earliest Foundations and Patriots I've had my hands on are slim front to back in the first few frets. It's not the width. I guess they were trying to out Jazz the Jazz..

 

[58kites]

Are the thickest Peavey four string necks the slant Fury and T-40's?
Sort of P-Bass-ish?
I've not handled any of the thicker Peavey necks.

 

[Runnerman]

Are the thickest Peavey four string necks the slant Fury and T-40's?
Sort of P-Bass-ish?
I've not handled any of the thicker Peavey necks.

My early slant ferrite Fury neck is definitely chunkier/baseball bat type neck. C shaped. Same width at nut as later necks but wider taper on the profile as you head down the neck.

 

[Ooba Tooba]

Some of the earliest Foundations and Patriots I've had my hands on are slim front to back in the first few frets. It's not the width. I guess they were trying to out Jazz the Jazz..

I have an '83 (first year of production) Foundation and the neck is mighty thin up top. My 6 string T60 from '79 is like that as well. Late 70s thin was in I guess.

 

[bigtone23]

Of the 3 Foundations I have/had, the 84 maple neck is the largest (1.55" at nut, about .84" thick at 1st fret) and my favorite neck of the 3. The 94 maple the skinniest (1.4" wide at nut .79" thick at 1st fret) and the 85 fretless rosewood the thinnest (1.5" nut .76" thick at 1st fret).

 

[58kites]

So the only piece missing is the.truss rod cover for my Foundation. Any ideas where to pick one up?

There are pickguard makers who do truss rod covers as well but none that I know of that make a curved one.
I think maybe a thin piece of black plastic that can easily bend when you screw it down might be the way to go, a pair of scissors might be the answer.

 

[kodiakblair]

There's sellers on eBay do the curved TR covers and I remember Dave from fretsonthenet.com saying he was thinking
about adding them to his list of products.

 

[MNAirHead]

There are pickguard makers who do truss rod covers as well but none that I know of that make a curved one.
I think maybe a thin piece of black plastic that can easily bend when you screw it down might be the way to go, a pair of scissors might be the answer.

It's cheaper to find one from a T series guitar (t60, t15, t27, t31 etc).... yes to the thin plastic...later ones were not tri laminated.

 

[mech]

Plastic truss rod covers are easy to bend. After the shape is cut out use a toothpick into the screw hole to hold it in place and heat it with a hairdryer. Press it to shape when the plastic softens. Use the fingers with the heaviest callouses. I use a sharp pocket knife to scrape the bevel, if needed.

 

[bigtone23]

I think I'm unclear. What doesn't look domestic? The initials?

The inspection stamp (font, date code and order of the date YY.MM.DD) and sticker (silver sticker and font--perhaps the P was for Peavey?) are both part and parcel with imported instruments 25 years ago. I find similar stamps on other Korean instruments of this era. The pictures are just support for my theory that Peavey was importing bodies (possibly already painted/finished) at this time to keep costs low. I have heard things in the past about how Peavey started importing more and more parts on the instruments as time wore on. My opinion is that in 1993, they were importing the finished bodies and putting a domestically produced neck on it.
My 84 Foundation has no inspection stamps or stickers in the neck pocket or behind the plate. The only codes found are on the CTS pots and the serial number.

 

[ubernator]

I had neck geometry issues on my 1990 pinstripe fury. I had to drill out the neck bolt holes on the body since they were threaded all the way through. No geometry issues on my 93, or my turn of century ish foundation, except the nut slot for the G is a little too far from the edge. So ironically, my "best" peavey had some final assembly flaws. Still a great bass, and wasn't too complicated a fix, but it still isn't quite perfectly centered. Neck pocket looked like some sanding after the fact took place.

Friday afternoon build perhaps lol. The 93 was beat to hell, obviously a player. I don't plan on parting with either unless a really really good one comes up and ousts one of them. After getting the neck angle straighter, I felt much better about my pinstripe.

Now to find a band that I can use them in.

 

[Runnerman]

The inspection stamp (font, date code and order of the date YY.MM.DD) and sticker (silver sticker and font--perhaps the P was for Peavey?) are both part and parcel with imported instruments 25 years ago. I find similar stamps on other Korean instruments of this era. The pictures are just support for my theory that Peavey was importing bodies (possibly already painted/finished) at this time to keep costs low. I have heard things in the past about how Peavey started importing more and more parts on the instruments as time wore on. My opinion is that in 1993, they were importing the finished bodies and putting a domestically produced neck on it.
My 84 Foundation has no inspection stamps or stickers in the neck pocket or behind the plate. The only codes found are on the CTS pots and the serial number.

Peavey describes the wood on these later basses as "western poplar" in their owners manuals. Not sure whether that says anything definitive about the location of the body manufacturing but, since we are all surmising things at this point....

Bodies typically are made with local woods since it is costly to import and export especially across oceans. In other words, for high volume production, I'd expect the wood comes from the same country as the bodies are produced. And in many cases the raw wood is banned for import due to pests, etc. To me "western poplar" implies western US wood. Unless of course Peavey is just using marketing hype.

As far as the size and shapes being different, that is not a surprise as weight was definitely an issue on earlier Peavey's and then there is the inevitable cost reduction pressure towards the end of the USA run that Peavey was under. Reprogramming a CNC machine is also not very difficult.

Just a few of my random thoughts and partially formed opinions on the later body discussion for what they are worth. It is far easier to source the hardware and even pickups in the far east and I have no doubt this could be the case with the "Crafted in USA" models.

 

[58kites]

So....is the thing in question the Handcrafted in the USA vs Crafted in the USA?
I've got:
Handcrafted on my 1987, 1990, 1992 & 1992
Crafted on my 1994 1995, 1997.
The G-Bass is the 1997 bass and the neck and pickup and PCB/active control circuit are all USA.
The body is a Basswood body but I doubt Peavey sourced that body overseas, the paint job is a fancy halo-flake green and seems like it was probably done in house, it was their expensive bass at the time.
I still think the way for Peavey to cut costs on their base models as time went on was to source cheaper parts (pickups, bridges, tuners, pickguards, knobs, pots, output jacks)...for sure all of those things were less expensive versions as time went on.
Not sure it's cheaper to just buy a wood body overseas when you have CNC equipment that has been making bodies successfully for years.
Going to Poplar after using Ash, Maple, Alder was a cost savings....going to two, three, four piece bodies is probably cheaper too.