Zoobiedood
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U.S. Peavey Club
- Thread starter Soundchaser11460
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If you feel like rolling the dice on a Goodwill project...
Peavey T-20 Sunburst Bass Guitar with Case
In fairness, while they're printed in reverse order, the settings ''Warm" and "High" accurately describe the range of the tone pot.
For series wiring: Red is hot, Green and White tied together, Black and Silver is ground.
Has anyone here bought anything through Goodwill's site? That looks super sketchy, but that T-20 is SOOOOO tempting!
I've bought a couple of projects from there; it can be all over the place. My blue Foundation project (still in progress) had a badly bowed neck and some high frets, but is still salvageable. On the other hand, I picked up a Bruno Conqueror that barely needed anything.
You have to keep in mind that these were donated - either for a tax write-off or because someone couldn't repair them. Also, you can ask more questions about the basses, but the staff usually doesn't know anything about instruments at all.
It's also important to see how much S&H is to your location. Goodwill uses FedEx and it can get pricey.
After years of searching for one of these on the cheap, I finally found my US-built Peavey that I've always wanted: a mid-1980's Foundation S! I've been well aware of the awesomeness of US Peaveys for a long time; the first bass that I ever played was a 90's Foundation (a non-Super Ferrite model) and I was hooked. Over the years, I rarely saw US Peavey basses for sale in the local shops, and only once have I seen a Foundation S. That one looked like it was dragged down the highway behind a overflowed gravel truck and they wanted $100 for it.
I posted about it on in the Cheap Bass Finds thread, but I'l post it here too. I scored this thing with its hard case for only $40 last weekend in a local deal. It's been beat on and wears lots of battle scars, dents, and dings, but it feels very nice and sounds killer! Also, someone swapped in a SGC P pickup (possibly an active one?) somewhere along the line, and somehow it works. Not sure why that happened, but whatever.
Here's some pics:
View attachment 2799446
View attachment 2799483
Serial # shows that it's possibly a 1987 model. I like 1987. Lots of cool things happened in 1987.
View attachment 2799456
As purchased, in the case. The case is missing its foam/liner. I'll add some foam in the future to replace it.
View attachment 2799484
A lot of the backside and sides of the body were covered in this black tar.
View attachment 2799485
This stuff works wonders on my car, so I marinated the bass in it for a good 10 minutes. The gunk wiped right off after that!
View attachment 2799447
View attachment 2799486
After about a couple hours of de-gunking and cleaning, it looks much more presentable. I wish there was an available paint code for touch-up paint for old basses like the cars I usually work on so I can fill in the chunks. The paint on this is a cool metallic color, and I'd love to preserve it.
View attachment 2799487
The electronics cavity is downright scary, but somehow, everything works. Not sure what's up with all the extra wires, but I'll tidy all of that up over the winter.
New Gibson-style speed knobs are on the way, and I have to get lighter gauge strings (the A string sits too high in the nut and rattles) and it needs a proper setup, but I'm loving it so far. Guy I got it from bought it in a lot of stuff at a yard sale, and was happy to see it go to a good home. And I'm more than happy to FINALLY own one of my most coveted basses!
Is the club accepting new members?
So, it's been about a year since I found my $40 Foundation S, and I've done nothing but play the thing. I never got around to cleaning up the wiring or anything else, mainly due to life and a few other stringed projects getting in the way. I still can't believe I was able to score this thing for that price!
Last night, I was playing it and noticed something amiss with the sound. I was playing on just the P-pickup, and the D and G strings were not outputting the same volume; it was much quieter on that side. Sure enough, while tapping the pickups, I confirmed that one side of the split P pickup is not doing anything.
So, that leaves me with a dilemma.
The wiring is a real mess, with what seems to be WAY too many wires all over the place in the cavity. Remember, it randomly somehow has a SGC Nanyo "Bass Collection" P pickup in place of the stock pickup. Is the wiring on the Foundation S similar to, say, a Jazz Bass? Is there a wiring diagram out there or a picture of what it's supposed to look like that I can use as a guide? Before I drop money on a new pickup, pots, and wiring, I want to see what I'm dealing with here. Thanks!
@SilverFleet
There's nothing fancy about the Foundation S wiring,if it's the passive version that is
The SGC is white = hot/ black = ground. The DiMarzio clone Peavey got Schaller to make are 4 wires but still follow normal hook up. Yellow = hot/ green = ground (white+black are taped together). For the bridge pickup yellow=hot/ green = ground (again white+black are taped together)
There's nothing fancy about the Foundation S wiring,if it's the passive version that is
The SGC is white = hot/ black = ground. The DiMarzio clone Peavey got Schaller to make are 4 wires but still follow normal hook up. Yellow = hot/ green = ground (white+black are taped together). For the bridge pickup yellow=hot/ green = ground (again white+black are taped together)
I picked up my Dyna Bass Unity last night for the first time in ages. Downloaded than manual and discovered it's an LTD after owning it a dozen or so years.
I remembered why I didn't enjoy playing it before; neck dive. Mainly I think because the body is so light. I was using an old cheapo strap I had to hand but my wide suede one should be better, and if not I'll add a weight to the body end. I'd forgotten what a nice neck it has. Sounds dead at the moment because of the dead strings, so I've ordered another couple of sets.
The other issue with it, is I bought it with the battery compartment broken, so I think I'll have to look around for something else that will fit in the hole. Maybe a Gotoh? Dunno if Peavey will have spares that old. I'll also pull the electronics out and clean up the joints and pots when I replace it. The active/passive switch is a bit dickie so I'll replace that as well. Then I'll send it out for a set up.
After searching some old threads here, it seems it retailed new for north of $US900 with the case. IIRC, I paid the equivalent of about $US150 incl case all those years ago.
Would I be wrong in thinking this is a Cirrus equivalent for it's time? Seems many of the specs are similar.
I remembered why I didn't enjoy playing it before; neck dive. Mainly I think because the body is so light. I was using an old cheapo strap I had to hand but my wide suede one should be better, and if not I'll add a weight to the body end. I'd forgotten what a nice neck it has. Sounds dead at the moment because of the dead strings, so I've ordered another couple of sets.
The other issue with it, is I bought it with the battery compartment broken, so I think I'll have to look around for something else that will fit in the hole. Maybe a Gotoh? Dunno if Peavey will have spares that old. I'll also pull the electronics out and clean up the joints and pots when I replace it. The active/passive switch is a bit dickie so I'll replace that as well. Then I'll send it out for a set up.
After searching some old threads here, it seems it retailed new for north of $US900 with the case. IIRC, I paid the equivalent of about $US150 incl case all those years ago.
Would I be wrong in thinking this is a Cirrus equivalent for it's time? Seems many of the specs are similar.
@SilverFleet
There's nothing fancy about the Foundation S wiring,if it's the passive version that is
The SGC is white = hot/ black = ground. The DiMarzio clone Peavey got Schaller to make are 4 wires but still follow normal hook up. Yellow = hot/ green = ground (white+black are taped together). For the bridge pickup yellow=hot/ green = ground (again white+black are taped together)
Thanks for the info! Whatever's going on in there is a disaster. There's jumper wires that look like they are made of solder going between the pots, stuff taped together, and other weirdness. Another thing I've noticed is that the tone pot barely cuts treble, and volume all around is pretty low. I'm guessing that's related to the bird's nest of wiring failure in the cavity.
Peavey won't have any and I know of nothing off the shelf that fits. Move the battery to the preamp pocket and make a flat plate to cover the old hole. There's plenty of room.
That's the Peavey way, Foundation S is actually a neat job compared to some others. Under the hood ,the Forum is a nightmareThanks for the info! Whatever's going on in there is a disaster. There's jumper wires that look like they are made of solder going between the pots, stuff taped together, and other weirdness
Before adding weight to the body, try the wide (hopefully grippy) strap, and this trick that I came up with. It will, in essence, extend the upper horn. This can dramatically improve the strapped balance of your bass.
Get at least one Dunlop Straplok for the upper horn. The straplok alone extends the contact/balance point of your strap. And, if you feel you're handy with tools, and want even more balance shift, buy a longer straplok screw and a couple washers from a hardware store (make sure the screw head fits inside the straplok, or make it fit with a grinder). The longer the screw, the less likely you are to stress or strip the hole. Drill the strap button hole deeper. Put the washers between the straplok and bass body, and you'll gain another few millimeters. I haven't measured, but I think you can gain over a half inch using a straplok, and with washers, even more.
