Good idea on principle but the T-40 and T-45 have a 5/16" nut instead.
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$300 is a steal. If it's a player, keep it. I recorded a lot of stuff with mine and it sounded great! It is the only bass I regret selling.
If it has neck issues, you could part it out at a profit. It might take a while, but it would be a fun way get started on a Reverb store.
If it has neck issues, you could part it out at a profit. It might take a while, but it would be a fun way get started on a Reverb store.
I saw a video where a guy took one apart and weighed it out. Pickguard, electronics, pups, and bridge was just a hair over 3lbs. Body was 5. And neck was 4 for a total of just over 12.
$300 is a great price, as long as it's a complete(ish) bass in good working shape.
I sold mine for that in 1996.
Replacement parts are hard to come by since they were all proprietary to Peavey.
If it's missing knobs or truss rod covers it's still a good deal. Replaced pickups or hardware, not a good deal.
Post some pics!
I sold mine for that in 1996.
Replacement parts are hard to come by since they were all proprietary to Peavey.
If it's missing knobs or truss rod covers it's still a good deal. Replaced pickups or hardware, not a good deal.
Post some pics!
T-40's are really cool basses and we should all own one at one time or the next.
the reason i don't own one anymore is that i couldn't access the truss rod on the two i owned. I need my setup to be perfect, because i'm annoying.
they have so many great features, and they do sound great. made in usa, part of bass history, at a good price, get it!
the reason i don't own one anymore is that i couldn't access the truss rod on the two i owned. I need my setup to be perfect, because i'm annoying.
they have so many great features, and they do sound great. made in usa, part of bass history, at a good price, get it!
The T-40 in my profile pic was my first real bass. I bought it (actually, my parents bought it for me, to be more accurate) in 'like new" used condition for $250 in 1981. It still had the protective plastic film on the pickguard. The foam mute block, the allen wrench for the bridge saddles, and the owner's manual were still in the case. I played the bejeezus out if it.
I really didn't have an issue with the weight, but I was a big strapping young 16 year old and was used to doing 'head-choppers" with a Sousaphone. Now, at 54, I might. The neck was wide, but thin front-to-back and easily playable. Tonally, it did everything I needed it to do. The electronics were cutting edge for their day in mainstream guitars. Sadly, mine was stolen in 1990.
There was a sort of stigma surrounding Peavey instruments back then. Because of the price, they found their way into many school band rooms along with the ubiquitous Peavey TNT or Combo amplifier. The only time I ever saw a T-40 on MTV was the occasional Journey video made when Ross Valory was an endorser. He and Paul Goddard of ARS are the only two bassists I ever recall seeing in T-40 ads. I do remember, however, seeing T-40 basses and T-60 guitars all over the place when it came to country music shows and videos.
Another thing that hurt the "cool factor" of Peavey T-series basses in my opinion was the lack of aftermarket parts available for them. Not that you'd ever need or want to change them, but there weren't (and aren't) any drop-in replacement pickups available. All the hardware was proprietary, too. You were stuck with a chrome bridge and tuners and a black pickguard. No tort at all. Still, if I found one in good shape for $300, I'd buy iy in a heartbeat.
I really didn't have an issue with the weight, but I was a big strapping young 16 year old and was used to doing 'head-choppers" with a Sousaphone. Now, at 54, I might. The neck was wide, but thin front-to-back and easily playable. Tonally, it did everything I needed it to do. The electronics were cutting edge for their day in mainstream guitars. Sadly, mine was stolen in 1990.
There was a sort of stigma surrounding Peavey instruments back then. Because of the price, they found their way into many school band rooms along with the ubiquitous Peavey TNT or Combo amplifier. The only time I ever saw a T-40 on MTV was the occasional Journey video made when Ross Valory was an endorser. He and Paul Goddard of ARS are the only two bassists I ever recall seeing in T-40 ads. I do remember, however, seeing T-40 basses and T-60 guitars all over the place when it came to country music shows and videos.
Another thing that hurt the "cool factor" of Peavey T-series basses in my opinion was the lack of aftermarket parts available for them. Not that you'd ever need or want to change them, but there weren't (and aren't) any drop-in replacement pickups available. All the hardware was proprietary, too. You were stuck with a chrome bridge and tuners and a black pickguard. No tort at all. Still, if I found one in good shape for $300, I'd buy iy in a heartbeat.
Same here, on all counts.
If it checks out, it's easily flippable for profit if it doesn't bond. I would have jumped on this in a heartbeat because it also ticks three big buying points for me: it's $300 or less, black, and different from everything else I own. The T40 is a pretty unique instrument, it's pickup placement has the neck pickup just south of where you find a Tele bass, Mudbucker EB0 or Ric, and the bridge pickup is in between where you would find a Jazz bridge pickup or a Stingray pickup, pretty close to where a Ric bridge pickup lives.
My heaviest basses are my 72 Jazz at 10 pounds, 12 ounces and an 83 G&L El Toro at 10 pounds, 1 ounce. Neither hurts to play as they are nicely balanced, as the T40 is, too. I read a story that Chip Todd and Hartley Peavey both knew that lighter instruments were typically better in the long run, but they felt that they had to follow this obvious trend to produce heavy instruments because not only Fender and Gibson, but most companies at the time were doing so. Therefore, boat anchor ash was the order of the day to market the heavy=sustain belief. When Peavey started offering more solid colors, it didn't make as much sense to paint ash bodies, so they started using alder and poplar (and some maple), and the weights dropped a touch.
On a related note to the price of this T40... I really wanted a black T45, but when they rarely surfaced they were $400-600. I gave up on the hunt and just routed out my black Ibanez RB630 (which wasn't getting much use anymore) for a T pickup, got a Q filter and used some Peavey knobs and string tree I already had on hand to make a virtual one. Cost me about $125 to convert. Ticked my 3 boxes mentioned above!
Well I went and played it unplugged. Feels heavy, neck feels good. I was on lunch so didnt have much time to mess with it. Will do that tomorrow on my day off. It does come with the original case, and they have it listed as a 1983.
My biggest concern though is this...
Then there is spot a little bigger than a dime where the finish is worn through to the wood on the back side of the neck around the 5th fret. But I guess I forgot to get a pic of it.
The bridge metal is pretty chewed up
The body has your typical swirls in the finish and surprisingly only one chip
One of the knobs has a dot on it from a sharpie with a line from same sharpie on the body. Someone was marking a setting.
Overall other than what I have mentioned, the bass looks in remarkably good shape.
So my main concern is the split in the neck on the seam. Is that enough to make me pass on it, or should I try to get the price down even more than they have dropped it already?
My biggest concern though is this...
Then there is spot a little bigger than a dime where the finish is worn through to the wood on the back side of the neck around the 5th fret. But I guess I forgot to get a pic of it.
The bridge metal is pretty chewed up
The body has your typical swirls in the finish and surprisingly only one chip
One of the knobs has a dot on it from a sharpie with a line from same sharpie on the body. Someone was marking a setting.
Overall other than what I have mentioned, the bass looks in remarkably good shape.
So my main concern is the split in the neck on the seam. Is that enough to make me pass on it, or should I try to get the price down even more than they have dropped it already?
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If the truss rod is working well then I wouldn't worry too much about the split. It's something a competent luthier can take care off easily.
However, if the truss rod is maxed out and what you're seeing is the result of over-tightening I would be wary. A standard Gibson sized wrench will fit a T-40.
As for the bridge, I'd take it off and soak it in some vinegar (but not for too long) to get rid of the rust before it gets worse. I've never seen quite that kind of corrosion on Peavey hardware before.
In most cases sharpie will come off with rubbing alcohol though you'll probably still be left with a little bit of a mark on the body.
If the truss is good it's still worth $300, but with that separation on the neck laminations I'd definitely at least try and get them to knock some more off the price.
However, if the truss rod is maxed out and what you're seeing is the result of over-tightening I would be wary. A standard Gibson sized wrench will fit a T-40.
As for the bridge, I'd take it off and soak it in some vinegar (but not for too long) to get rid of the rust before it gets worse. I've never seen quite that kind of corrosion on Peavey hardware before.
In most cases sharpie will come off with rubbing alcohol though you'll probably still be left with a little bit of a mark on the body.
If the truss is good it's still worth $300, but with that separation on the neck laminations I'd definitely at least try and get them to knock some more off the price.
Oof. Not sure that's worth $300. . I vaguely remember there being a specific issue with the T-40 necks, and that's ringing a bell.
Also, guess it's mostly aesthetic, but that bridge is pretty off-putting as it is.
Also, guess it's mostly aesthetic, but that bridge is pretty off-putting as it is.
My T-40 bridge has rust marks under the chrome on the saddles. They look like little pimples. It spent about 5 years in my basement studio in an un-airconditioned house. Needless to say, the humidity was high down there. Plain guitar strings would actually become rough from the rust on them.
That actually looks to be in pretty good condition to me. I have a black one, and it looks a little worse off haha. I think it looks better than the average one for sale on Reverb.
The truss is definitely the most significant unknown, but in my experience even if it is maxed out, the necks tend to stay where they are. I had a T20 with a maxed truss for several years, and it played fine so I never felt the need to address it. The seasons seemed to have little affect on it, and man I must have played 70+ shows with it so it probably met it's fair share of temp/humidity changes.
The truss is definitely the most significant unknown, but in my experience even if it is maxed out, the necks tend to stay where they are. I had a T20 with a maxed truss for several years, and it played fine so I never felt the need to address it. The seasons seemed to have little affect on it, and man I must have played 70+ shows with it so it probably met it's fair share of temp/humidity changes.
And that it the thing that worries me. Being that its right below the headstock its where the tension from the head of the truss rod is at and a very good possibility of that's what caused it. Same if it had been at the other end of the neck where the truss rod ends.
Had it been somewhere in the middle of the neck I would be more likely to attribute it to age and drying out. Inject some glue, clamp it, and forget about it.
It's a game changer for me. Not worth the headache.
It's been fine all these years, probably will be fine for many more. But I don't think I can chance it. Now if they drop the price even more, I might consider it.
A lot of times the split is caused by the uninitiated try to adjust the truss rod with the wrong wrench, beware. I would not buy unless the TR is working correctly, the split wouldn't bother me if that were the case.
I'd go back, play it, and make sure the electronics work as they should. If so, I'd try to haggle a little, but I really wouldn't have a problem with the asking price. It looks like the p/u selector toggle has been replaced. The original would have been a flat paddle.
I think this changed at some point, because I have a black T-40 with matching switches that are round. I am assuming they are stock because the selector and phase switch are identical, and match the rest of the hardware. I think the older "patent-pending" ones had paddle selectors. I had a '79 natural T-40 with a paddle selector, but the phase switch was without-a-doubt replaced at some point (weird yellow plastic switch) so I wasn't able to verify if it was original or both had been replaced.
Perfectly understandable. It's a pretty big thing to depend on anecdotal evidence to support.
BTW, just noticed in your earlier post that it comes with the original case. If this means the hardcase, it alone can sell for a good bit. Especially if it's one of the cloth-lined ones, since most of the foam-lined ones had all the foam melt away/removed from what I understand. My hardcase is one of the latter, now lined with carpet mat padding, and that old T-20 I mentioned had a splotch of black goop on the back I could never get off, presumably from being carried in a foam-lined case in some hot weather. Thought you might appreciate the info even if you're going to pass on it.