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U.S. Peavey Club

Is that a super ferrite PuP, missing the ring/cover?

No . The Patriots were pared to the bone regarding hardware, the RRP was just $225, if it didn't impact performance it didn't get fitted.

You do find pickup rings on early models but once the costs were tallied they were dropped, as was the different nut width option.
 
Here it is, my new blue Foundation. I love the color. And it sounds better than any other Foundation I've tried. Actually I don't think I've ever played any bass that could produce such a wide variety of sounds. Between the two pickups and the tone, you can dial in anything from thump to whine, and anything in between!

The neck, headstock, frets, and hardware are in pristine condition. The head stock especially, looks brand new. And it setup beautifully with super low action and a straight neck. Here's the problem ... the seller listed it as mint condition. Turns out it had a bunch of bad scratches on the back, and a poorly finished dowel job on on the strap button. I could have returned it since it was listed incorrectly, but I really like the sound and the color of this one so I decided to negotiate with the seller. Repairs to the finish are $100 and I could only get him to cover $50. Oh well, I'm into it for $50 more than expected, but I really like it, so not going to lose any sleep over it.

Note: The scratches were much worse when I received it than in this pic. Someone had touched them up with a light blue sparkly nail polish and made a huge mess of it. Some wet sanding and acetone got rid of that. The repair shop says the scratches are deep, but not into the color. They should be able to make it look pretty good.

Awesome! I love the darker blue color. The top looks great, at least the scratches are on the back...
They're are great basses!
Cheers!
 
That blue looks great. I wonder what they're going to do to fix the scratches. If it were me, I'd play it. It's a 30+ year old bass in pretty clean shape. Option two, drop fill with Gluboost, sand flat, buff.

They're going to do some version of option 2. They're also going to fix the dowel job at the strap button that was butchered.

I don't mind playing a worn bass. My main player is a Fender P with some wear on it. But I really love the Peavey's and am trying to find the ones I like in as good condition as possible. I have the blue Foundation I posted, and I have a red T-20 that is nearly perfect. Still looking for a Patriot and a Fury.
 
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Happy hanksgiving
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We talked about this thing for a bit when i got it, and i promised a post about it, so here it is: my 1991 Peavey Foundation FL. Buckle in everyone, I've got some thoughts!
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It arrived almost 2 weeks ago now, inside 4 boxes taped together and filled with packing peanuts. Thankfully there was no meaningful damage, but i retroactively cringe at the guy telling me how well it would be packed, and then doing that. When it arrived, it was DIRTY. Like, this thing hadn't been touched in a hot minute. Cobwebs between the bridge and the pickup. Thankfully, it cleaned up pretty nicely across the board. Still, this thing had been pretty neglected. It had a lot of scratches along the bottom, so im thinking it probably spent a lot of its like on the floor in a corner somewhere. The grip rings were long gone off the speed knobs, so i replaced them with some extra non-grippy ones i had kicking around.
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The Leo Quan Badass (1) bridge was super tarnished and grimy, and many of the set screws had rusted in place. I was able to free all but one of them, which unfortunately had to be drilled out, but thankfully didn't mar the threads in the actual saddle, so i was able to replace it with a semi-suitable longer, silver colored set screw. I gotta be honest, this bridge is a mixed bag at best. The baseplate is radiused, so to get your saddles parallel to the body, you have to set the screws unevenly. The position it was installed in pushes all the saddles way far back, so much that the end winding of the E string is touching the saddle. The thickness of the baseplate is also ridiculous, and because if it, the neck pocket required a ridiculous shim. I still need to go back and make a nice tapered shim for the pocket since it feels less than ideal, and the gap is ridiculous. You can see in this pic below just how high the pickups have to be set to come even close to the strings, as well as how much heel is sticking out over the body. I don't have any issues with the stability or sound using this bridge though, so maybe if getting a nice tapered shim in there helps the neck stability, I'll consider keeping it.
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I guess that brings me to the neck. This thing came to me with nickel rounds on it, and it wouldnt surprise me if it wore rounds its whole life. There's considerable wear to the fingerboard, so much so on the E string that the side marker at the 3rd fret is peeking out a hair. Even still, I can't say it plays too terribly. I set the neck real dang straight and the string height pretty dang low (a hair above 1/16th inch at the 15th fret across the board) and it gives me plenty of "mwah." I think there's a really slight ski jump since it gets a little chokey around the 19th fret for the D and A strings, but honestly it could just be a string height issue. With all the wear, I'm really considering glazing the board and then planing it, so I dont have to remove any more material around that 3rd fret marker, but I'm going to have to study on that before making any calls. My luthier friend warned pretty hard against it, so I'm apprehensive, but im really not sure.
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I've decided it's going to wear Rotosound Solo Bass Pressurewounds (105-45) for the time being, since i really don't get along with flats. I also like the green silks a lot lol. If anyone has any suggestions for strings for this thing, I'm more than happy to listen.
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All in all, for $200, I can't complain. Yes, i wish it was mint and pristine, but I also could have paid 200 for a loaded sunburst body and not been too upset over it. It's my first fretless, so I'm not entirely sure it's for me, but after playing for 10+ years, its nice to have something to really shake up the game, too. It makes me feel like I've been cheating at bass for years haha! Comments, questions, recomendations, and concerns are welcome :)

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving! I'm definitely thankful for the wealth of knowledge and general camaraderie I've found here.
 
Is that a factory FL or a conversion? Did Peavey make factory FLs?
Interestingly, sometimes the "FL" didn't make it to the headstock. I had a 85 Foundy Fretless Custom (because of the matching headstock) without the proper notation, but it was certainly factory. Perhaps they didn't have the proper decal for the black headstock..?
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