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U.S. Peavey Club
- Thread starter Soundchaser11460
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I recently bought the same model/color Foundation with no case off that same site and paid $199. My bass was in fair shape but does have some deep dings on the body. The neck is cherry. Everything....EVERYTHING..was out of adjustment on my Foundation when I got it. Even the neck was mounted crooked on the body. After a complete set up it plays and sounds terrific. B string is kind of meh but still usable down low. Hey, $199 bought me a lot of bass. It has already been to a gig in a biker bar.
Mine looked just like that when I got it - I changed out the bridge to a MIM Fender with 17mm spacing, and changed the string tree to one that covers the E, A, and D string... Mine has an excellent B string - it's strung with D-Addario EXL170-5s(.130" B string) - maybe try some different strings?
It's good enough so that I gig it at times instead of the EBMM Sterling 5 HS, or Hellraiser-5 I also own... FWIW, I pretty much only play a 5er for the lower notes - if they don't have an excellent B string, I don't keep them - and I've owned well over a dozen 5ers - probably close to 20, actually...
Here it is on a gig:
I’m with you. Love mine in white and maple—and really enjoy the pickups, more than I have SFs. B’s not perfect but satisfying. Gigged mine as well, but not with nearly as good a hat! Mine’s got TI flats on it and it really barks when you favour the back pickup a bit.
I’m a Cirrus fan, but now that I’m doing my own setups and fretwork, I’d prefer a US Millennium 5er for my Low B needs. Bolt on necks are much easier to work on!
The one on reverb is beautiful, but I’m going to hold out for a birdseye fretboard.
If anyone wants to sell one, holler at me please.
The one on reverb is beautiful, but I’m going to hold out for a birdseye fretboard.
If anyone wants to sell one, holler at me please.
I have a question for the Lords of Peavey...
Are Foundation 5er's stock string spacing around 16/17mm? I know older MIM Fender 5s were 17mm and current ones are 18mm. My go V is American Fender at 18, sometimes 19mm spacing. I really can't do the narrow spacing.
Is it possible to put a bridge on a Foundation (or Dyna) 5 to get closer to 18-19mm spacing? Would the neck be wide enough and would the pickups line up/work OK? That would be quite a game changer for me. I love my 4 string SF Foundations and would love to get a 5er SF Foundation or Dyna.
Based on my searches, a VFL-looking version can often be found more easily and for less $. That would be another unique Peavey pickup tone in my coffer.
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I don't think a 5er has to be 35" scale to have a good B string - for example, I've owned three 5ers by EBMM that were all 34" scale, and they all had excellent B strings - as does my Foundation 5... Maybe I got lucky with that particular Foundation, I don't know - but EBMM isn't known for having a mediocre B string - just sayin'...
I'm no expert, but I don't think there's any way my Foundation 5 could go any wider than the 17mm spacing it currently has - the neck just won't accommodate it... I have this bridge on it:
Fender Bass Bridge for Deluxe Active Jazz/J Bass 5 String, Mexico
If you look at this pic, you can see that 17mm is pretty much as far as it can go:View attachment 3012093
I've owned Foundation 4s with both VFLs and SF pups, and definitely very much prefer the SFs in their 4 strings... however, the VFLs work really, really well in my Foundation 5... I haven't yet had the chance to play a Foundation 5 with SFs, but I'd sure like to check one out some day...
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There are some 34" scale basses that have good B string. My Fender Roscoe Beck 5 has a good B string but it does not compare to the B on my Roscoe basses or my Gould basses.
The B on my Foundation 5 is probably typical for that bass.
I’ve heard that if a 34” 5er has a super stiff neck, the B will be good. I’m sure it helps.
I have played many 34” Bs and compared them side by side with 35” and 37” B strings. Played all the different scales for years, through many rehearsals and shows. The longer the B the better, period. The crowd won’t notice, cause the fundamental comes through just fine at 34”. But if you want the full B with all the rich overtones, go long baby, goooo looooong!!! :-D I was playing a Dingwall (37” B) at a music store while the sales clerk was on a phone call. He walked by and said “no, that’s a damn piano he’s playing” referring to the fact that the B rang out like a piano, which I believe is where the idea for fanned fret basses came from.
I finally realized I had to decide if I wanted my bass to sound like a piano, at the expense of playability and familiarity, or if I could get by with a compromise: 35” Peaveys. I went with Peaveys, and later on, Lakland 55-94s.
I have 3 5ers: '97 US Fender Jazz Deluxe (my desert island bass), Koa '98 Carvin BB75 and a '16 Lakland 55-01 fretless. The 34" Fender and Carvin have good, workable Bs. The Carvin has the nice 5 piece neck through design, which seems to add stiffness and helps the low B.
The Lakland is 35" and the B on it does have that something extra to it. I'm convinced that adding scale length is a smart bet to get better performance out of the B, so much so that I want a 55-02. Better yet, a custom made bass to meet my Stingray wants: 35" with Stingray 3 band preamp and pickup in the (compensated for 35") harmonic sweet spot (very important), reverse P butted right up to the SR pickup (I don't have a 5 string P variant, might as well throw that in there), wide spacing at the bridge.
The Lakland is 35" and the B on it does have that something extra to it. I'm convinced that adding scale length is a smart bet to get better performance out of the B, so much so that I want a 55-02. Better yet, a custom made bass to meet my Stingray wants: 35" with Stingray 3 band preamp and pickup in the (compensated for 35") harmonic sweet spot (very important), reverse P butted right up to the SR pickup (I don't have a 5 string P variant, might as well throw that in there), wide spacing at the bridge.
The discussion about the B string on my Foundation has had a very positive result. I was playing one of my Cirrus 6's this morning and decided to plug in the Foundation and, sure enough, the B string was down in volume and lacked the punch of the other stings.
After looking the bass over carefully, I noticed that the B string was higher off the fingerboard than the other strings...so I lowered it until it started to give me fret buzz and then raised it enough that it plays clean and now the B sounds very good indeed. So this was all "operator error" and not the fault of the bass.
I am again knocked out by the tone and playability of this Foundation 5. It is a fantastic bass for less than the cost of an import that has cheap hardware and does not have the tone of this Peavey.
I started hanging out in this thread after I bought a Foundation fretless off Talkbass for less than $200. I think it was $180 delivered. It is a killer fretless. Plays and sounds wonderful and is a much better bass than either of the two Fender production Jaco basses I have owned. That was the beginning of me picking up a Peavey bass here and there and now I own 7. You guys are a bad influence.
After looking the bass over carefully, I noticed that the B string was higher off the fingerboard than the other strings...so I lowered it until it started to give me fret buzz and then raised it enough that it plays clean and now the B sounds very good indeed. So this was all "operator error" and not the fault of the bass.
I am again knocked out by the tone and playability of this Foundation 5. It is a fantastic bass for less than the cost of an import that has cheap hardware and does not have the tone of this Peavey.
I started hanging out in this thread after I bought a Foundation fretless off Talkbass for less than $200. I think it was $180 delivered. It is a killer fretless. Plays and sounds wonderful and is a much better bass than either of the two Fender production Jaco basses I have owned. That was the beginning of me picking up a Peavey bass here and there and now I own 7. You guys are a bad influence.
Ill just put this right here...my contribution to the Peavey Club, PVH 212 and recently acquired 1990 all original Fury with h/c. I think it's been leaned against things more than played as it has a few dings on the back of the neck and virtually no wear on the fretboard. Just had it set up and some Quarter Pounders put in, WOW!
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Your fury looks stunning -- question .. why swap pickups?
Fury and Milestone BXP Pickup Note: Ocaasionally (on some variations), you'll find one that has rattly sounding pickups. Commonly the magnets on the back have become brittle... you can just glue them back on and all is good.
Anyone thinking of selling boring looking Millenium? (black, sunburst - do disco colors)
Fury and Milestone BXP Pickup Note: Ocaasionally (on some variations), you'll find one that has rattly sounding pickups. Commonly the magnets on the back have become brittle... you can just glue them back on and all is good.
Anyone thinking of selling boring looking Millenium? (black, sunburst - do disco colors)
Another Peavey Foundation on shopgoodwill:
It's a little beat up, but it still has the original old-style knobs. Not sure why they called it fretless as the frets are most definitely there.
Peavey Foundation Fretless Super-Ferrite Bass
It's a little beat up, but it still has the original old-style knobs. Not sure why they called it fretless as the frets are most definitely there.
Peavey Foundation Fretless Super-Ferrite Bass
