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U.S. Peavey Club

#17,741
My 1987 Foundation in natural mahogany is coming together. Cleaning got me nowhere so it got a light coating of Tung Oil and it looks great. Its been apart for a week, and it going back together now. I'll post a pic when its done.

I have a question about the speed knobs. I assume they came with all matching knobs? All three the same? Mine has matching volume knobs, but the tone is slightly different. Its probably a replacement.

I don't like mismatched knobs (even though they're very close) :-) And I'm not a fan of speed knobs in general. I just never liked the look. I'd love to get some of the Peavey knobs with the logo, but the asking price on eBay and Reverb is ridiculous. Nearly $50 a knob!

So, my questions ...
1) Is there any reasonably priced source for Peavey knobs?
2) Are there any good reproductions out there? I saw the 3D printed plastic, unpainted, knobs on eBay. But I'm not confident I can paint them to look good enough.
3) Any recommendations for alternate knobs? What do you think looks good on a Foundation?
 
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#17,742
Here's the bass with everything back on, except strings.
after tung oil .jpg
 
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#17,744
jpmcbride said:
My 1987 Foundation in natural mahogany is coming together. Cleaning got me nowhere so it got a light coating of Tung Oil and it looks great. Its been apart for a week, and it going back together now. I'll post a pic when its done.

I have a question about the speed knobs. I assume they came with all matching knobs? All three the same? Mine has matching volume knobs, but the tone is slightly different. Its probably a replacement.

I don't like mismatched knobs (even though they're very close) :) And I'm not a fan of speed knobs in general. I just never liked the look. I'd love to get some of the Peavey knobs with the logo, but the asking price on eBay and Reverb is ridiculous. Nearly $50 a knob!

So, my questions ...
1) Is there any reasonably priced source for Peavey knobs?
2) Are there any good reproductions out there? I saw the 3D printed plastic, unpainted, knobs on eBay. But I'm not confident I can paint them to look good enough.
3) Any recommendations for alternate knobs? What do you think looks good on a Foundation?
Click to expand...
For the OG metal P knobs, it's really just a waiting game. I have kept a diligent search and every now and again they pop up for $20ish each. My last haul of 3 was $55 shipped a year ago from Reverb.
As for other knobs, whatever suits your fancy is best. I like metal dome knobs a lot. Since your bass has splined pot shafts, plastic knobs might be your best retrofit, but a set of brass shaft sleeves and the world of metal set screw knobs is your oyster. I have often thought that a set of Jazz bass knobs would be a nice tribute to the inspiration for the Foundation.
 
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#17,746
bigtone23 said:
For the OG metal P knobs, it's really just a waiting game. I have kept a diligent search and every now and again they pop up for $20ish each. My last haul of 3 was $55 shipped a year ago from Reverb.
As for other knobs, whatever suits your fancy is best. I like metal dome knobs a lot. Since your bass has splined pot shafts, plastic knobs might be your best retrofit, but a set of brass shaft sleeves and the world of metal set screw knobs is your oyster. I have often thought that a set of Jazz bass knobs would be a nice tribute to the inspiration for the Foundation.
Click to expand...
Yep, i thought the same on the Jazz knobs....i actually like the cheap plastic knobs that look like chrome metal ones since 3 of them cuts a bit of weight down.

The metal chrome knurled knobs are a bit heavy.
 
#17,749
jpmcbride said:
My 1987 Foundation in natural mahogany is coming together. Cleaning got me nowhere so it got a light coating of Tung Oil and it looks great. Its been apart for a week, and it going back together now. I'll post a pic when its done.

I have a question about the speed knobs. I assume they came with all matching knobs? All three the same? Mine has matching volume knobs, but the tone is slightly different. Its probably a replacement.

I don't like mismatched knobs (even though they're very close) :) And I'm not a fan of speed knobs in general. I just never liked the look. I'd love to get some of the Peavey knobs with the logo, but the asking price on eBay and Reverb is ridiculous. Nearly $50 a knob!

So, my questions ...
1) Is there any reasonably priced source for Peavey knobs?
2) Are there any good reproductions out there? I saw the 3D printed plastic, unpainted, knobs on eBay. But I'm not confident I can paint them to look good enough.
3) Any recommendations for alternate knobs? What do you think looks good on a Foundation?
Click to expand...
Also, anyway you can weigh the assembled neck on this bass? I wish i could find a lighter body for my 85 Foundation....but its black on maple which i like the look fine, just wish i could knock a few lbs off the bass somehow.
 
#17,751
PeaveyAxceleratorTalkBass - 1.jpeg


New addition yesterday: Axcelerator 5 from 1994. Not finished setting it up yet, but it's very light (poplar apparently) and nice under the hands. The pickguard is thin and would bear replacing. Lovely pickups and electronics with a decidedly middy humbucker sound. The treble control is more high-mid than treble and is right in the "bite" area: nice! The so-called "Wilkinson low-mass bridge" is a very strange duck with some interesting locking set-screws that seem to bite down on the intonation screws after they're set. 35" scale but B-string is just OK. [Edit: B-string is good! GHS Balanced Nickels not-so-good...] Got it for a nice price with a terrific SKB case, so I'm a happy camper. :smug:
 
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#17,752
DavidEdenAria said:
Also, anyway you can weigh the assembled neck on this bass? I wish i could find a lighter body for my 85 Foundation....but its black on maple which i like the look fine, just wish i could knock a few lbs off the bass somehow.
Click to expand...
Sorry, justa couple hours too late. Its all put back together and setup. Don't want to take the neck back off. But, I've worked on a lot off basses so I have somewhat of a feel for it. I don't think the neck is particularly light. It felt reasonably heavy to me when it was off. These Peavey maple necks are rock solid. As thin as they are, they can be setup very low and hold the setup for a long time. The only neck I ever had that was as thin was a Gibson T'Bird and the neck was constantly moving around on me.
 
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#17,754
jpmcbride said:
Here's the bass with everything back on, except strings.
View attachment 3909281
Click to expand...
I think the Titan tuners are why the neck is heavy. The trapezoidal bridge is also heavy.
From here, your hardware looks like there is no corrosion, the pickups don't look dinged up at all either, the neck looks in great shape too!
Body looks really good.
Nice job!
 
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#17,755
Thoughts on this 87 Foundation ...

For background, I've had two Foundations before. I had a '91 with VFLs, maple on black. It setup great, played great, and sounded good. I sold it during one of my buy/sell periods :-) I also had a 1989 red Foundation, with matching red head stock, rosewood fret board, and Super Ferrites. It looked cool and played great, but I never got on with the sound. It was always too growly for me. Sold it.

I love the look of this one. The mahogany natural with maple fretboard is a good combination. Also I love these older head stocks with the pointed shape, black outline and the old style tuners. And its in fantastic shape after some cleanup and a coat of tung-oil to darken the dried out mahogany.

It setup really nicely as have each Foundation I've owned. The truss rod turned easily, and happily my gibson wrench fit it. I set the relief at a little less than the standard .012" at the 7th fret, and have the string height at 1.75mm at the 12th fret with no buzzing. I put a small maple shim in the neck - without it the saddles were down on the deck, and I like to leave some room for adjustment. Foundations have the tilt adjust that I could have used, but I prefer a shim. I had the neck off anyway, so it was no big deal.

The best way I can describe the sound is versatile! My main bass is a Fender P. The Foundation can sound very close to the P with just the neck pickup, and tone rolled off. It can get close to the P sound, but is more articulate - the notes are clearer. I really like it. But the best sound to me is when I turn the neck pickup all the way up, and then slowly turn up the bridge until I hit a sweet spot (maybe a little less than halfway up), with the tone at a little less than half. Its a nice clear tone, with plenty of bottom, that rings out, with just a touch of something on it (bite, growl, whatever you want to call it). Playing solo at home, I still prefer the P-bass tone. But I know from experience, that the Foundation sound is going to be killer when played with a full band. Solo tone and band tone are two different things - took me a while to learn that, but I got it now :-)

The neck is amazingly thin and easy to play. I thought I might have some trouble since its so different than the wide neck on my P-bass, but I'm adjusting quickly.

I'm a finger player, but am learning to use a pick. I'm just beginning to figure out how to play with a pick on my P and get a tone I like. I tried on the Foundation and it wasn't good. But that just takes time to work out. I'll get it.

Overall its a great bass and is going to get a lot of play!
 
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#17,757
58kites said:
I think the Titan tuners are why the neck is heavy. The trapezoidal bridge is also heavy.
From here, your hardware looks like there is no corrosion, the pickups don't look dinged up at all either, the neck looks in great shape too!
Body looks really good.
Nice job!
Click to expand...
Tuners look and feel brand new. The bridge was dirty but cleaned up well. There are a few scratches on the bridge from the saddle height adjusting screws, but they're hidden when its all put together. The pickup covers look new. No scratches or dings at all. Amazing for a 1987.
 
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#17,759
jpmcbride said:
Sorry, justa couple hours too late. Its all put back together and setup. Don't want to take the neck back off. But, I've worked on a lot off basses so I have somewhat of a feel for it. I don't think the neck is particularly light. It felt reasonably heavy to me when it was off. These Peavey maple necks are rock solid. As thin as they are, they can be setup very low and hold the setup for a long time. The only neck I ever had that was as thin was a Gibson T'Bird and the neck was constantly moving around on me.
Click to expand...
Yea, i dont think any of my 80's Peavey basses have a somewhat light neck fully assembled either! No issues on setup as well, quite low action, though it took quite a few truss rod adjustments on my 85 Foundation (which i assume was never adjusted).
 
#17,760
jpmcbride said:
Tuners look and feel brand new. The bridge was dirty but cleaned up well. There are a few scratches on the bridge from the saddle height adjusting screws, but they're hidden when its all put together. The pickup covers look new. No scratches or dings at all. Amazing for a 1987.
Click to expand...
I think maybe the plating on those Titans was really good, I've gotten several sets that were really clean too.
The trapezoidal bridge is built like a tank, that baseplate is a heavier gauge than normal bent plate bridges and the saddles are huge, Peavey really wanted them to last.
Really nice when you get one that the pickups look that good, my Patriot, Slant Fury and T20 pickups all look clean.
I don't know if it's a mahogany body thing, but the neck pocket on my mahogany Patriot is the tightest neck pocket of the bunch here, yours looks the same way in the pics.
 

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