U.S. Peavey Club

[kodiakblair]

This would only apply if the neck is laminated from more than one piece of wood? My Foundation is one solid piece of maple - I think?

Peavey 2 piece necks are split up the centre,truss rod fitted then joined back together. On maple necks the fretboard is part of the neck.

There was a wee disc placed in the neck heel for the micro tilt to work against. It was often lost,in those cases the micro tilt grub screw works directly on the glue seam area

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Anyone ever use the micro-tilt adjustment on their old Peavey? I never do … seems like a bad idea. But I'd like to hear from anyone that's tried it.

I have....it works fine...

 

[jmlee]

Peavey 2 piece necks are split up the centre,truss rod fitted then joined back together. On maple necks the fretboard is part of the neck.

There was a wee disc placed in the neck heel for the micro tilt to work against. It was often lost,in those cases the micro tilt grub screw works directly on the glue seam area

Aye, ye wanna make sure that wee fella's in there before ye go screwin' too much wi' the tilt! [Best regards from Nova Scotia!]

 

[JEDI BASS]

The necks, that I’ve seen that were separating at the heel, still had the steel discs in place. The disc displaces some of the pressure on the seam, but not enough IMO.

 

[kodiakblair]

The disc displaces some of the pressure on the seam, but not enough IMO.

Let's not forgot probably 9/10ths of folks messing with the Micro tilt never slackened the neck screws. Between them and the folks jacking truss rods all ways it's a surprise we don't see more knackered basses.

Odds 2/1 micro tilt abuser and TR jacker are the same folks. Any takers

 

[KeyBoneSax]

I’ll let him answer. But, I would venture that “correct tension strings” would mean (for example) NOT using an extra heavy set for standard tuning.

Just to clarify... I'm using GHS Precision Flats 'Regular' (055-105). Would that be considered 'extra heavy'? Interesting that the D'Addario Nickel Wound Xl230 (055-110) on another bass are labeled 'heavy'. Are these gauges hard on necks at standard tuning? I like the stiff and tight feel.

 

[mesaplayer83]

I have....it works fine...

Same here

 

[JEDI BASS]

Let's not forgot probably 9/10ths of folks messing with the Micro tilt never slackened the neck screws. Between them and the folks jacking truss rods all ways it's a surprise we don't see more knackered basses.

Odds 2/1 micro tilt abuser and TR jacker are the same folks. Any takers

So true! So many players know how to make noise. But, so few take the time to learn how to maintain their instruments. Same is true with many things in life... automobiles for instance.

 

[JEDI BASS]

Just to clarify... I'm using GHS Precision Flats 'Regular' (055-105). Would that be considered 'extra heavy'? Interesting that the D'Addario Nickel Wound Xl230 (055-110) on another bass are labeled 'heavy'. Are these gauges hard on necks at standard tuning? I like the stiff and tight feel.

I would never use a 055-105 set on any bass that I cared anything about.

I would look for a tension chart for those strings, if available. Some brands provide tension measurements, D'addario for example, and they're very helpful! IME, for most brands of strings, a 55-105 set would have much greater tension from the G than from the E. I would guess a 055 flatwound G would pull over 60 pounds or more, while the 105 E would be around 40 pounds. I am anal about stuff like this, having bought several basses online that arrived with twisted necks. And, I've seen many more that exhibit more relief on the treble side than under the E string, which is a minor form of twisting. It's always the treble side of the neck that bows more due to the fact that for nearly 70 years now, electric bass string sets have been predominantly out of balance tension-wise, with considerably more force being exerted by the D and G strings, compared to the E and A.

For comparison, and to show how out of whack a 055-105 set is, the comparable D'addario balanced tension set pairs a 120 E with a 050 G.

 

[bigtone23]

I get what you're saying, but 2mm is a lot. Really, you micro-tilt it that much? I generally set my strings to 1.5mm above the 12th fret. When I shim a neck, the shim is always less than 1mm (more like 1/32") and it makes a huge difference.

No! I have yet to use that much micro tilt. I was using those figures as examples where I would set up the bass and find the neck angle that works right via the micro tilt. If I was using that much, I would most certainly install a shim in order to back the micro tilt off. I use shims for the heavy lifting, the micro tilt is only for the finest of adjustment.

 

[58kites]

Anyone ever use the micro-tilt adjustment on their old Peavey? I never do … seems like a bad idea. But I'd like to hear from anyone that's tried it.

The micro tilt was a bad idea IMO.
Fender did it and it was not a good idea, Leo tried it again with G&L and it was not a good idea and Hartley Peavey decided he would try it and it was a mistake.
Peavey made the T20 Bridge Saddles and the Trapezoidal Bridge Saddles too large (found on First Gen Fury and some Foundations and I'm not sure what else) it made the tilt necessary for those basses, which was not a well thought out design.
If the body, neck and bridge have compatible dimensions to begin with, then a normal basic simple Leo Fender type bridge will provide all the adjustment needed.
Worst case, a business card shim should do the trick or your bass has got bigger problems...IMO, YMMV, etc, etc, blah, blah...end of rant.

 

[JEDI BASS]

The micro tilt was a bad idea IMO.
Fender did it and it was not a good idea, Leo tried it again with G&L and it was not a good idea and Hartley Peavey decided he would try it and it was a mistake.
Peavey made the T20 Bridge Saddles and the Trapezoidal Bridge Saddles too large (found on First Gen Fury and some Foundations and I'm not sure what else) it made the tilt necessary for those basses, which was not a well thought out design.
If the body, neck and bridge have compatible dimensions to begin with, then a normal basic simple Leo Fender type bridge will provide all the adjustment needed.
Worst case, a business card shim should do the trick or your bass has got bigger problems...IMO, YMMV, etc, etc, blah, blah...end of rant.

Totally agree.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

I would never use a 055-105 set on any bass that I cared anything about.

I would look for a tension chart for those strings, if available. Some brands provide tension measurements, D'addario for example, and they're very helpful! IME, for most brands of strings, a 55-105 set would have much greater tension from the G than from the E. I would guess a 055 flatwound G would pull over 60 pounds or more, while the 105 E would be around 40 pounds. I am anal about stuff like this, having bought several basses online that arrived with twisted necks. And, I've seen many more that exhibit more relief on the treble side than under the E string, which is a minor form of twisting. It's always the treble side of the neck that bows more due to the fact that for nearly 70 years now, electric bass string sets have been predominantly out of balance tension-wise, with considerably more force being exerted by the D and G strings, compared to the E and A.

For comparison, and to show how out of whack a 055-105 set is, the comparable D'addario balanced tension set pairs a 120 E with a 050 G.

What about a 5 string overall? Im thinking i need no more than a .50 G string on my Foundation 5er if thats the case but they are all rounds.

 

[JEDI BASS]

What about a 5 string overall? Im thinking i need no more than a .50 G string on my Foundation 5er if thats the case but they are all rounds.

Unfortunately, a balanced 5 string set that had a .050 G string, would need a B string of .155 or so.

The tension chart, that I use, says a .050 34" G exerts 53.4 pounds of pressure. To get the rest of the set to exert similar pressure you would want it to look like this: .050 G - .065 D - .090 A - .120 E - .155 B.

Drop your G down to a .040, and you could go with a .040, .055, .070, .095, .130 set and drop almost 100 pounds of pull on the neck. Each string would exert about 32-35 pounds.

For almost 30 years, I was a 45-105 guy 100% of the time. Then I started experimenting with balanced sets with 110 to 120 E strings. Recently, I took the plunge down to lighter strings just to see if I could tolerate a .035 G and a .095 E. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they sounded and played!

 

[MNAirHead]

I bought an '89 Foundation a few days ago and it had a pretty big bow in it. First issue was that the truss rod nut was stuck - probably been in that position since 1989. Had to soak it with Liquid Wrench and let it sit for an hour. Then I worked it until I got it loose. Took the TR nut off, cleaned and oiled everything, then put it back on. So, when I was finally able to tighten the truss rod it became clear it wasn't going to be able to pull the neck back to straight without some help. But all it took was some mechanical force on the neck while tightening the TR. Had to pull hard on the neck to take the pressure off the TR when tightening. Worked great, and the neck is flat now.

I clamp the necks to a piece of angle iron vs risking snapping the headstock off... sometimes it takes a few days of progressive clamping.

Anyone ever use the micro-tilt adjustment on their old Peavey? I never do … seems like a bad idea. But I'd like to hear from anyone that's tried it.

They're good to prototype before inserting shims. I'd always argue one of the downfalls of the Millenium is lack of microtilt for setting up geometry. Without a shim/tilt, millenium USA are just average.

 

[Landsharks]

All of this talk earlier of 5 string Foundations with the passive VFLs has made me wonder. Does anyone have any of these available for purchase? I would love to put those in my Cirrus 5 string husk. I tried to find some with Derrick at the Peavey plant and all we found were the 4 string covers.

 

[Chuck M]

All of this talk earlier of 5 string Foundations with the passive VFLs has made me wonder. Does anyone have any of these available for purchase? I would love to put those in my Cirrus 5 string husk. I tried to find some with Derrick at the Peavey plant and all we found were the 4 string covers.

The Cirrus 5 and 6 string basses have the same PUs. The 5 string Foudation uses a PU the same size as a Cirrus 4.

 

[Landsharks]

Well, damn. Back to plan B

 

[ardgedee]

Here's a sad one. Koa Dyna Unity with a broken neck. I guess the right luthier could fix it up.
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If you could get it for $150 or so might be worth it.

By coincidence I was on CL this morning and saw the seller's dropped their price to $175. In case the previous ask of $375 was keeping people away. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Chuck M]

Looking for Millennium Plus 5 with a pau ferro fingerboard, a Cirrus 6 with a Bubinga top and a TL 5 Generation 1.