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U.S. Peavey Club

#10,941
DavidEdenAria said:
I love my 90's Foundation 5 neck as well but are you preferring 80's over 90's Foundation necks in general or 4 string or what specifically?

I have little experience with 4 string 90's Peavey basses in general.....mine are all 80's with only a 90's Foundation 5.

I see plenty of 90's Peavey 4 strings but many are overpriced in my area (midwest).
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I haven't played any 80's Peavey 5 strings, just 90s 5 strings... I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough: *I* prefer the 80s Foundation 4 string necks over the 90s 4 string necks on both the Foundation and Fury... Every 90s 4 string neck I've played was slimmer than a Fender Jazz at the nut - I prefer them a bit wider and thicker than that... If my 90s Fury had a chunkier neck, I would definitely like it more - although it's been a great bass, and I got it dirt cheap - $150 with a Peavey hardshell case...



Despite it's thin neck, I still like it enough to play it at high profile gigs:



It makes for a nice match to the guitarist's main axe in that band - that was an opener for Jackyl...
 
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#10,942
Shawn Luckman said:
Couple examples....

Take another look at the above pic of the early Foundation control cavity. See that metal foil business in there? That's Peavey's original factory "shielding" job, which was crudely stapled into the sides of the cavity. It doesn't even extend over the edge to make contact with the foil on the inside of the cover. Never seen anything like that on any bass. Can it even work?

The truss rod cover, a little bent piece of plastic that covers up an often rough-hewn access trough. Sometimes those access ports look like they were carved out with a steak knife. One of mine had such a poorly made truss access port that my Peavey 5/16" wrench could not even fit into it. I used a skiving knife to remove a lot of wood just to get the wrench onto the nut. It left the factory like that, which meant that from 1984 until I modded the port, decades later, the rod had never been adjusted. Which perfectly explained why the neck had way too much relief when I got it, and probably why the seller dumped it.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm a big Foundation fan, have owned a bunch and still have a few. Love 'em. I guess I just don't see the same high level of build quality and fit and finish that others see in them. It was adequate for the '83-86 era, but by today's standards?.....can't see it. Cheers.
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Valid points Templar And yes looking at it again the shielding does look out of place maybe their thinking was, something is better than nothing. though I haven't seen any rough looking access ports myself, on any of the Peavey basses I've owned from the T-40 to the International series. I think the best trussrod design is still the trussroad wheel like you find on EBMM basses.[/QUOTE]
The trussrod access issue is probably why i found my 80's Peavey basses in the 1st place....honestly my black on maple 85 Foundation needed hours of work to get it playable and presentable, it was stupid cheap because of stickers, dings, chips, and a neck that was severely bowed at a pawn.

I honestly was not certain it would ever play right, let alone being able to adjust the trussrod as it was my 1st Peavey bass.....i used a blair cutter with no pin (a hollow drill bit of sorts) to clean up the trussrod access area on ALL 3 of my 80's Peavey basses and all was fine after that.....took a few minutes to remove the tuners and strings in the way but that was it!

I didnt really like the tone of it until i installed Fender 9050 flats....the rounds on the bass when i bought it were clanky and floppy.....awful.....9050 flats transformed it for sure.
 
#10,943
mesaplayer83 said:
I haven't played any 80's Peavey 5 strings, just 90s 5 strings... I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough: *I* prefer the 80s Foundation 4 string necks over the 90s 4 string necks on both the Foundation and Fury... Every 90s 4 string neck I've played was slimmer than a Fender Jazz at the nut - I prefer them a bit wider and thicker than that... If my 90s Fury had a chunkier neck, I would definitely like it more - although it's been a great bass, and I got it dirt cheap - $150 with a Peavey hardshell case...



Despite it's thin neck, I still like it enough to play it at high profile gigs:



It makes for a nice match to the guitarist's main axe in that band - that was an opener for Jackyl...
Click to expand...

Good looking bass for sure....matches any attire.....thanks for reminding me, i dont think i can deal with a slimmer nut width than my MIM J bass and my 85 Foundation and 89 Fury are about as perfect of a J bass neck as i can imagine in neck profile.

If something is stupid cheap in a 90's Peavey (not so much anymore) i usually give it a look.

I sure would like something with VFL's!
 
#10,944
mesaplayer83 said:
You're certainly entitled to your opinion(and preferences), and I have a great deal of respect for Lindy Fralin - however, a giant bulk of popular music was recorded with Leo's "2nd P bass", the split coil version - and it certainly wasn't because that version was inferior in any way...
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Yes, choices for electric basses were very limited in the 50s. I love a lot of the great basslines by Jamerson and others that made the split P famous, but not for the P bass sound. That sound doesn’t do it for me.
 
#10,945
DavidEdenAria said:
Good looking bass for sure....matches any attire.....thanks for reminding me, i dont think i can deal with a slimmer nut width than my MIM J bass and my 85 Foundation and 89 Fury are about as perfect of a J bass neck as i can imagine in neck profile.

If something is stupid cheap in a 90's Peavey (not so much anymore) i usually give it a look.

I sure would like something with VFL's!
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I thought I wanted a Foundation 4 string with VFLs, too - given how much I liked my Foundation 5 with them... but I didn't think VFLs worked as well with a 4 string as they did with a 5er - had this one and flipped it:
P7120605.JPG
 
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#10,949
DavidEdenAria said:
What year and what pickups in the B-Ninety?

Now, i happen to love the color, is it a dark greyish or bording on a purple?

What about the neck profile?

Nice Breedlove!
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I don't remember the year of that B-ninety, and AFAIK the pickups were original... The neck was pretty close to a modern Fender slim C, like on an American Special P bass... It played well enough - after my luthier set a couple loose frets and did some leveling, that is - but it's active sound didn't do much for me, and I'm not a huge fan of P/J basses, either... It was missing the truss rod cover when I got it, so I made that one out of an old pickguard I had laying around - the color was gun metal grey(I think)...

I only had it a couple months, but made a profit when I flipped it - and put that money towards the Breedlove in the picture...
 
#10,950
As far as Jazz basses, I feel there are so many out there that surpassed Fender. My Foundation and Millennium JJ are ahead of my Jazz in tone and playability (which has since been sold). I agree that the Fender P is still pretty much the standard by which P's are measured by. 80's Peavey Fury's with the split-P are right there. 90's, I agree the neck is almost too narrow and thin but surprisingly stable. Great conversation by the way.
 
#10,951
I love the Jazz bass, which would be my vote for Leo's best bass. My first J (and still have it) is an ash/rosewood/blocks 72. It's the standard I judge others by. My main 5er is a 97 US Deluxe Jazz. Also a lifer.
However, the 80s era Foundation hits me square between the eyes for a killer Jazz bass derived instrument. The feel and tone is killer--Super Ferrites rule! The build quality is great and the value is unmatched. My 84 black/maple is now a lifer, too. I paid $400 for it (via Guitar Center) a little over a year and a half ago, but it was 9-9.5/10 with the original case that was all there, barely worn. Kinda expensive for a Foundation, but I got into the game late with it. Had I found it in 2015 or earlier, I'm sure it would have been $200-250. Doesn't matter, it's as good as any other bass I would have paid $600-800 for. Everything is aligned, stable and solid.
I agree about the 90s necks that tend to be thinner. I also have a 85 Foundation fretless that has a noticeably thinner neck vs the 84, but the neck on the 93 Foundation I used to have was very, very thin and narrow. It was 1.4" wide at the nut! One that pleasantly surprised me is my 94 Forum Plus, the neck on it is darn near identical to my 84 profile. Score!
The build quality on the 94 shows some cut corners: the truss rod channel was a little messy and the adjustment nut was not centered, so I had to widen the channel a touch on one side to get my Gibson tool in. Also had to chip away some sloppy glue and install a washer under the TR nut to get a little more TR action and stability holding the relief. Also had to replace the cheaper, imported pots, as one was worn out and another was on the fence. Neither were big deals, I was going to replace the volume pots with linear tapers, anyway. The bass settled in nicely and is stable. Very happy with it!
 
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#10,955
kkaarrll said:
those foundations were made in the us?
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Chuck M is right, Foundations were all US. Most Furys were US expect Fury II, Fury 4 and Fury 5. Think there may have been a Fury 6.
There's some confusion in Europe regarding the "International" model. I know of one shop in England who sold those as " Dynabass International" ??
IMG_20140703_183254.jpg
Never in a million years was this a Dynabass :laugh:
 
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#10,956
kodiakblair said:
Chuck M is right, Foundations were all US. Most Furys were US expect Fury II, Fury 4 and Fury 5. Think there may have been a Fury 6.
There's some confusion in Europe regarding the "International" model. I know of one shop in England who sold those as " Dynabass International" ??
View attachment 2970490
Never in a million years was this a Dynabass :laugh:
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Agreed mine was sold as the 5 string version which I only kept for a couple of months and was glad to trade it, the only thing it had in common with a Peavey bass was the headstock shape & the Peavey decal on it.
 
#10,957
mesaplayer83 said:
I don't remember the year of that B-ninety, and AFAIK the pickups were original... The neck was pretty close to a modern Fender slim C, like on an American Special P bass... It played well enough - after my luthier set a couple loose frets and did some leveling, that is - but it's active sound didn't do much for me, and I'm not a huge fan of P/J basses, either... It was missing the truss rod cover when I got it, so I made that one out of an old pickguard I had laying around - the color was gun metal grey(I think)...

I only had it a couple months, but made a profit when I flipped it - and put that money towards the Breedlove in the picture...
Click to expand...

This B-Ninety active 4 was also from 1991. It's a dark metallic grey. Really nice neck.
20180213_081941_adjusted.jpg
 
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#10,958
kodiakblair said:
@DavidEdenAria

My B-90 is 0460 so from 91. Metric reading on the nut is 41mm, just wider than a Cirrus.
Closest radius gauge I have is 9.5",if pressed I'd say it is 9". I beg to differ with Peavey's claim of 8". Mine arrived with SD Antiquity PJs and an SD 3 band preamp. Had a Gotoh bridge too.

Reckon it was well worth the $85 :)
Click to expand...
kodiakblair said:
@DavidEdenAria

My B-90 is 0460 so from 91. Metric reading on the nut is 41mm, just wider than a Cirrus.
Closest radius gauge I have is 9.5",if pressed I'd say it is 9". I beg to differ with Peavey's claim of 8". Mine arrived with SD Antiquity PJs and an SD 3 band preamp. Had a Gotoh bridge too.

Reckon it was well worth the $85 :)
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Wow....Wanna sell it? Seriously thats crazy.....really makes you wonder about folks sometimes, i see this with MIM Strats, much better pickups, tuners then the guy dumps it at a huge loss.

Seriously though, im happy with my 97 Ibanez SR800 for the P&J active with EQ setup....i prefer simple basses overall but the B-90 seems intriguing!
 

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