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U.S. Peavey Club

No David, I said the Bureau of Labor statistic reports for 1985 to 1997 showed average wages for turners/wood machine operators/assembly doubled.

Companies may buck the wage rise trend but their costs still increase. Driver delivering lumber gets a wage rise.kid selling the bass in a store 800 mile away gets a rise. Year in/year out,those and 1000's of other increases have a knock on effect to build costs.
I get all of that but the state Peavey is located in is one of the poorest in the entire USA with very low wages compared to other states....still is.

Peavey had an advantage in the 1st place in terms of the wage costs they could control.
 
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I'm just now finding out that the Palladium has an ebony fretboard. How cool is that? I'm shocked to read that Jeff Berlin didn't want his name tied to the bass despite playing a heavily modified Fender. Looking at the stats, you couldn't find a better bass for the money back then.

I've been doing some reading and it's really a shame that Peavey never got the recognition that they deserved. It's sad because this reminds me of what happened to Pontiac (GM), without the mismanagement of corporate. If people hadn't had the stigma of Peavey's being cheap, we could have seen more American companies keep manufacturing stateside instead of trying to cut the cost of production.

I always knew there was something unique about Peavey but, it's sad that I'm just now able to invest the time to really find out. I've owned over 60 basses in my 13 years as a bass player.
The problem with Peavey is they got lumped in almost entirely with the country crowd since the beginning....why do folks think they went after Eddie Van Halen who without a doubt is THE biggest Peavey endorsee ever.

My bud Terry Kilgore played guitar for David Lee Roth in the early 90's and Peavey had producer Nile Rodgers using a 4x10 Peavey classic which they used on on Roths 'Your Filthy Little Mouth' and Terry had several Peavey 5150's given to him by Eddie Van Halen which they toured with for several years...Terry would have used Peavey guitars but he has giant hands and went with a custom shop Washburn strat type (but refused to play a Wolfgang for whatever reason).

Then the quality control issues started (mostly with guitars, not amps) and it didnt take long for Eddie Van Halen to get fuming (as he actually wanted some price increase apparently) over sloppy assembly.....Peavey just could NOT overcome the 70's country thing despite the 5150 amps, Wolfgang guitars and many basses being highly regarded.

Terry once told me the 'Peavey logo' just didnt fly out in LA...image is everything....same with say BC Rich who got lumped in with the metal crowd....
 
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I agree the Lightning logo is not exactly something that screams high end, and does somehow look hokey, but that can be cool by not conforming.
Same with the headstock shapes, Hartley somehow stayed with the basic Fender shape but as far to the left of center as possible.
I think all the MusicMan basses look hokey too, but they are cool because of what they can sound like, so that makes them cool.
Then the logo for the Cirrus basses came along and it's super high end designer looking, the overseas Millennium headstocks look good to me, the "hook" look at the end.
I agree that the BC Rich shapes painted them into a corner, they always look Gucci/Guido to me.
 
I'm just now finding out that the Palladium has an ebony fretboard. How cool is that? I'm shocked to read that Jeff Berlin didn't want his name tied to the bass despite playing a heavily modified Fender. Looking at the stats, you couldn't find a better bass for the money back then.

I've been doing some reading and it's really a shame that Peavey never got the recognition that they deserved. It's sad because this reminds me of what happened to Pontiac (GM), without the mismanagement of corporate. If people hadn't had the stigma of Peavey's being cheap, we could have seen more American companies keep manufacturing stateside instead of trying to cut the cost of production.

I always knew there was something unique about Peavey but, it's sad that I'm just now able to invest the time to really find out. I've owned over 60 basses in my 13 years as a bass player.

Oh man don't even get me started on Pontiac! Thats where TinIndian comes from. Been a Pontiac guy all my life. I have a 68 Firebird 400 in the garage right now. What GM did was unforgivable.
 
Oh man don't even get me started on Pontiac! Thats where TinIndian comes from. Been a Pontiac guy all my life. I have a 68 Firebird 400 in the garage right now. What GM did was unforgivable.
Pontiac guy here as well.....the same thing with Olds, you gotta remember the Olds Cutlass was a big success all along but too much overseas competition...im guessing GM thought Buick and Cadillac owners were bigger money buyers (thats what i heard in the 90's when i was in the car business).

Peavey otoh....well they came close to breaking out of country music but then country music didnt really re-bound until the 90's and by then Fender was back with country players.... so Peavey were caught in the middle so to speak imo....the logo was changed and the innovation with bass guitars was very good all along but still when i bring up Peavey basses to folks, its the T40 that 1st comes to mind every time and the fact that most were boat anchors!

Its a shame, but hey, in the end we win right?
 
Pontiac guy here

when i bring up Peavey basses to folks, its the T40 that 1st comes to mind every time and the fact that most were boat anchors!
I’m a early to mid-60s long heavy car man. I say that because, even though I’ve owned three ‘63 Impalas since my senior year in high school in 1989, I can’t pretend to be Chevy brand loyal.... I love em all! I currently have a ‘63 SS that still needs restoration, and my very drivable ‘64 Thunderbird. I bought her a few years back.

143B6BA0-9C1E-475D-AA8A-78E8C82D2688.jpeg As for the T-40, I get the same thing... “I remember the T-40! They all weighed a ton!” SMH, actually NO! Mine weigh what my Stingray Classic weighs and what many old P basses weigh, and no one ever talks about weight when talking about those iconic basses. But.... mention Cirrus basses or show them a TL-5 and many will also remember those, I have found.
 
Pontiac guy here as well.....the same thing with Olds, you gotta remember the Olds Cutlass was a big success all along but too much overseas competition...im guessing GM thought Buick and Cadillac owners were bigger money buyers (thats what i heard in the 90's when i was in the car business).

Peavey otoh....well they came close to breaking out of country music but then country music didnt really re-bound until the 90's and by then Fender was back with country players.... so Peavey were caught in the middle so to speak imo....the logo was changed and the innovation with bass guitars was very good all along but still when i bring up Peavey basses to folks, its the T40 that 1st comes to mind every time and the fact that most were boat anchors!

Its a shame, but hey, in the end we win right?

you know Buick is a huge name in China, right?
 
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Oh... before anybody says it, cause I know how us car guys know our stuff... yes, that’s a ‘65 hood on my ‘64 Tbird. The previous owner preferred the bird emblem of the ‘65 over the block letters of the ‘64. I have to agree that it’s prettier, IMO.

LOL. I love those slightly funky early 60's Tbirds. A friend that was big into Fords in high school had one. And yeah, that hood looks better.


The one that I regret letting get away was my 65 Lemans Post Coupe. Loved it huge mistake selling it. I prefer Pontiac 400's over the 455's. The big journals bug me. I have a number of 400's in the garage and a spare block or two. At this point my Firebird is sitting and waiting for me, Kids are expensive.
 
I always liked Oldsmobile and Chevy best of the GM cars, and Chevy's trucks.
I think Buick would have been first to disappear from GM's car lines.
When I learned to drive in 1974, my Dad was driving a red 1969 Chevy Malibu convertible with a 350 and a four speed Muncie.
The spring on the clutch was super stiff, my leg would twitch at red lights, but man did that car go.
After my brother finally destroyed the tranny in that car, it got Hurst which shifted much better.
My Ma had a Pontiac Catalina that was huge and it had a 400 in it, that car also moved along pretty good.
I was a lucky sixteen year old, unfortunately my first car at 18 was a $500 rusted out Ford Maverick with a small engine that fell out after a small fender bender in the snow.
Lots of salt on the roads and the Maverick body was made of tin foil.
 
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I always felt like Oldsmobile and Chevy were the best of the GM products.
I thought Buick would have been first to disappear.

Olds watered down their best nameplate in the 90's. All of a sudden everything was a Cutlass this or a Cutlass that. They lost their identity and the cars suffered. At one point Olds was the number 3 automaker, oddly enough Pontiac as well. I've often wondered if the same people that ruined Olds moved on to Pontiac after they sank Olds. My favorites were Pontiac and Olds. Buicks outside of the GS, Riviera and the Grand National have always been unremarkable.

A shame. My family is from Michigan, I was born and raised in Florida, and a large number worked for, and some still do GM. I was diehard GM but after they shut Pontiac down I won't ever buy a new GM vehicle. I won't even consider one post 2008.
 
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So are we still on the Peavey thread ? :)
I LOVE cars. I was also in the car business in the 2000's. I worked at Lexus, but when I was a kid, I had a Smokey and the Bandit Pontiac Trans Am poster on my wall and being 9 years old at the time it was THE coolest object in the Universe, after Darth Vader.
I was watching a Youtube video about Russian tube effects pedals AMT and at time stamp 8:20 it goes into the 5150 and 6505 Peavey mode. I guess Russians love their Peavey tube heads ! Scroll down and there's a video link.
AMT Electronics AMT Bricks A-Bass - 1 channel tube bass guitar preamp (Alembic) (Free shipping))
 
So are we still on the Peavey thread ? :)
I LOVE cars. I was also in the car business in the 2000's. I worked at Lexus, but when I was a kid, I had a Smokey and the Bandit Pontiac Trans Am poster on my wall and being 9 years old at the time it was THE coolest object in the Universe, after Darth Vader.
I was watching a Youtube video about Russian tube effects pedals AMT and at time stamp 8:20 it goes into the 5150 and 6505 Peavey mode. I guess Russians love their Peavey tube heads ! Scroll down and there's a video link.
AMT Electronics AMT Bricks A-Bass - 1 channel tube bass guitar preamp (Alembic) (Free shipping))
That does look interesting but I hate that it needs a 12v 300ma center pole power supply and does not come with one or even offer to sell an oem on their site.
 
So... I’ll be parting with my Foundation S next week. A friend, coworker, and fellow Peavey appreciator who rarely spends anything on bass gear mentioned he wants to start shopping for a Foundation or a Foundation S. He’s not familiar with my collection, hasn’t purchased a bass in years, and was just wondering what they sell for. I told him I had a Foundation S that I could part with, since I need to liquidate several items and get some funds to finish paying for an engagement ring. It turns out that he used to own one exactly like mine and really regretted having to sell it years ago.

I decided to let him have it for what I paid, and I’m throwing in a gig bag. I could have made some $$ if I listed it, more than likely. But, it feels better to reunite him with a bass he loved and lost.
 
So... I’ll be parting with my Foundation S next week. A friend, coworker, and fellow Peavey appreciator who rarely spends anything on bass gear mentioned he wants to start shopping for a Foundation or a Foundation S. He’s not familiar with my collection, hasn’t purchased a bass in years, and was just wondering what they sell for. I told him I had a Foundation S that I could part with, since I need to liquidate several items and get some funds to finish paying for an engagement ring. It turns out that he used to own one exactly like mine and really regretted having to sell it years ago.

I decided to let him have it for what I paid, and I’m throwing in a gig bag. I could have made some $$ if I listed it, more than likely. But, it feels better to reunite him with a bass he loved and lost.
You got our support ! Good musician karma is carrying over to your wife :)
 
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