• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

U.S. Peavey Club

#16,363
Chuck M said:
I own a very lovely blue Foundation Custom that I got from 58kites. It is a wonderful bass and lives up to the well deserved reputation these basses have for an aggressive tone. When I set the bass up I changed the strings to TI flats thinking that the strings would tone down the high frequency grind and give me what I prefer.

The bass still had quite an edge to the tone even with the tone control rolled off and TI flats. I decided to look at the tone cap and found it to be a .022uf. I decided to install a .047uf to see how it sounded and it did reduce the edginess some but not quite enough. I was considering going to more mellow sounding flats....LaBella or D'Adarrio Chromes but the bass is set up so well I really didn't want to change the set up.

A few minutes ago I put the original capacitor in parallel with the .047 I had installed and now the bass sounds just like I was wanting it to. With the tone control I can go from a nice grind to a lovely and smooth tone similar to a jazz bass. Yes, I know it is not a jazz bass and I wasn't trying to make it into one, however, the original tone control did very little to effect the tone.

An interesting thing...my Peavey basses have replaced my Fender basses. One of the last to go was a Roscoe Beck V that I owned for many years. It was a terrific bass but my Millennium 5's are lighter, sound better and have much better feeling necks.
Click to expand...
I also put a bigger cap in my 84 Foundation. I usually prefer a .047uF tone cap, but when I had to replace the failed bridge volume pot, a push pull pot for series/parallel was installed and I experimented with stacking some .022uF caps in parallel with the factory .022uF. I kept stacking them and giving them a listen until I was satisfied at .088uF! I get the small caps, but 4 of those was too big, so I just threw a .1uF in there and all is well. I barely get into the cap, most of the time a roll back to 6 or 7 when using a pick. However, when rolled all the way back, it's a big, woofy thump machine! Oh, I use a really well broken in set of Cobalt flats on it.
My 85 Foundation fretless had a .022uF, but it had to measure on the -10 to -20% side of things-somewhere around .018uF, as it only rolled off the upper highs. I kept it as is to maintain that mid-forward, fretless mwah.
 
#16,370
Practicing for an upcoming Easter Contata and will use a Millennium 5 because the B string is required to play my part as written but this morning I decided to practice using my Foundation with the modified tone control and oh my goodness....what a monster bass this is. It fits in the mix perfectly and sounds heavenly. By the way, it has TI flats on it and I am sure they contribute to the tone but the bass is just killer.

I know I offended some of my purist brothers by modifying this bass but it really sounds better now for my style of playing. These pickups are amazing. I started playing along with the CD of the music and had the highs rolled off and it sounded just great. Then I brought the highs up just enough to give the bass a little more presence in the mix and that is the sweet spot. The tone is sweet, round and clearly defined.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tindrum and JEDI BASS
#16,371
JEDI BASS said:
Anybody ever turned a T-45 into a $$ ? You know.... a double ‘bucker? Stick a 2nd T-40 pickup in it between the stock pickup and the bridge?
Click to expand...
In a broad sense, that what this one is, minus the inductor/Q Filter circuit and super heavy bridge. The neck side humbucker is in the same spot as a T45.
enhance.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: alack, mech, JEDI BASS and 4 others
#16,375
bigtone23 said:
The T40 pickups are in different places--the bridge pickup is 1/2" more towards the neck and the neck pickup is 2 1/2" more towards the neck vs my bass or a T45.
Click to expand...
Yes. I have 2 T-45s. One is a pristine 3tsb w/ maple beauty. The other is a black and rosewood, battle scarred (words scratched into the paint etc), nasty pitted hardware BEAST! So, I’m pondering making a double buck out of the black one, w/ switches for single/humbucker mode for each pickup.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bigtone23
#16,376
bigtone23 said:
In a broad sense, that what this one is, minus the inductor/Q Filter circuit and super heavy bridge. The neck side humbucker is in the same spot as a T45.
View attachment 3724366
Click to expand...
I may do something very similar. Eye-balling my beat up T-45 body, I think I’d plug the bridge mount holes, refinish the body, and mount a more normal sized bridge so I would have more room for placing the bridge pickup where I would want it.
 
#16,379
While checking up fretboard radius on BXP Millenniums I noticed the spec sheet says "Ceramic 5" as the pickup magnets. New to me but a quick Google tells me these are Strontium Ferrite. Those SF initials got my attention :) Lets face it a chance from Strontium Ferrite to Super Ferrite would be no stretch for Peavey's marketing folks :roflmao:

Thing is I've no idea how Ceramic 5 differs from Ceramic 8 or 8B with regards to pickup use. Which member here worked in the magnet industry ? Could they shed any light on these specs ?

Ceramic Magnet Grades - Ferrite Magnet Grades | Dura Magnetics USA
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back