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Why are old Peaveys so cheap?

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#21
smcd said:
Far from being "garbage", I will state as fact that most - perhaps ALL - Peavey basses are superior to their comptetion at their price level.
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This is pretty much what the guy at the music store said when I got my first bass. It was between the Fury and the Squier P, and for the same cash I (my mom ;)) got a US made instrument with a great sounding alnico pickup.

That wasn't during MIJ Squier. :ninja:
 
#22
ejaggers said:
Not Pretty??? Not Sexy??? Are you kidding???

AXbodyE.jpg


057912
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Wow, that's nice! I have been thinking about refinishing mine. Is that a factory pick guard? I wonder if I can find one for it.
 
#23
I had a fretless Patriot and 3 Cirrus (Cirri?). All were fantastic basses. The Patriot was my "beater road gig" bass...toss it in the molded Peavey case, put it in the trunk or check it through luggage, no probs.

I found a fretless T-20 a few years ago at a swap meet but didn't have the cash to pick it up. I could see getting a Fury or Foundation if I found one in good condish for the right price. I also love old Peavey guitars like the T-15--short scale and great single-coil pickups.

My first amplifier was an '85 Peavey TKO65 which was the most depressingly bad-sounding amp I've ever had the displeasure of owning. It was also heavy, unreliable, and rattled like the dickens. That and some lousy-sounding Peavey PAs made me wary of the brand until a roommate sold me the Patriot for cheap.
 
#24
Kind of funny that this thread was started today. I played a gig Friday night that also had another band on the bill. Their bass player was using an old Peavey. I played it for a couple of minutes and really didn't like it at all, although I didn't tell him that. He then played a couple of my MIA Fenders. He didn't say much but I could tell he didn't like them. Just proves that we all have our own preferences and should play whatever we like regardless of what anyone else thinks.

My main reason for not even trying anything Peavey is due to bad experiences with their amps and sound equipment in the early 1980's. Once I am unhappy with something with a brand I never go back.
 
#25
Many good points about Peavey.

I admit having a bias against Peavey because of my early exposure to their sound equipment (20 or 30 years ago), which was not very good at the time. And when the T40 came out, it was not an object of desire by many either. Kinda "clunky" and odd.

BUt, admittedly they HAVE produced some great, innovative stuff since then, like those graphite-necked G-basses, that quad-bass thing (forgot the proper name) and the higher-end basses that look like very high quality instruments.

Don't know why the resale is not there. Maybe Peavey and Carvin could have a summit meeting to try to figure this phenomenon out
 
#26
Kind of a middle/low class amplifier company who tried to get into the bass guitar market is the first impression that will stick for many people, and will keep the price down.
A solid opportunity for anyone to pick up a quality instument, even USA made in some cases, dispite the stigma that they will always have.
 
#29
baddarryl said:
Wow, that's nice! I have been thinking about refinishing mine. Is that a factory pick guard? I wonder if I can find one for it.
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It's a custom PG. I actually hated the factory PG which was, I think they call it, crushed ice. I put the tort on along with vintage knobs, and since this pic, I changed the chrome stacked knob to a chrome on black stacked.
 
#30
The Peavey Cirrus (US), Millennium (US), Sarzo, TL-6, TL-5, Palaedium, B-Quad and G-Bass models are superior to any bass ever made by Fender or Gibson. The Peavey Midi/Cyber basses were light years ahead of anything on the market at the time, technology wise. Peavey were, hands down, the most innovative manufacturer of bass guitars in the United States.
 
#31
I think old peaveys have a lot of fans because the very thin necks. I tryed some of them and the neck is comfortable but the overall feel i percieved is a flexible, not stiff and so solid instrument in comparison to "tanks" like musicmans, warwicks or some fenders... plus the electronics are not high end and the unique shape of the pups make a pain to replace them... But maybe the price is a bit low.. i think an old peavey should cost like a mexican fender...
 
#32
they were a budget amp brand that tried their hand at instruments with the T series. They knew what they were doing there, but it's the same sort of deal as if Behringer or something started making seriously competitive instruments. it just can't work.
 
#33
smcd said:
The Peavey Cirrus (US), Millennium (US), Sarzo, TL-6, TL-5, Palaedium, B-Quad and G-Bass models are superior to any bass ever made by Fender or Gibson. The Peavey Midi/Cyber basses were light years ahead of anything on the market at the time, technology wise. Peavey were, hands down, the most innovative manufacturer of bass guitars in the United States.
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Palaedium better than any Fender... is a bit too much...
 
#36
I agree, it's about the crappy amps we all grew up with. I would suggest too that many were bought by kids that never set them up and abused them because they were cheap. Mine sure needed work when I got it!
 
#38
Peavey basses were cheap to begin with compared to Fender and Gibson. I always thought the old Peaveys were great basses. I had a Patriot and two Foundations over the years. I always thought the old molded cases were funky, but the basses were good.
 
#40
I play allot of basses when I go out kickin tires and the older Peavey's have always impressed me. I have yet to ever buy one but you never know..I'm a Fender guy.

You can't get much of a better MIA bass than the old Peaveys for the price IMO.
 
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