Question About Peavey T-40

bogie1519

bogie1519

Feb 25, 2012
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Beaumont Tex
#1
Thinking about adding a T-40 Peavey bass to my collection. Any pros or cons would help.
I googled about the pickup's changing between single coil and humbucking. Anyone have one how do you like it. The one i'm looking at is a 1979 with original case. asking $450.00

I think it would be cool to have a 38 year old bass if it is playable.
 
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#2
They are good basses, I remember them being pretty flexible, getting a bunch of different tones. The other was it was a heavy bass. I haven't touched one for 30 years or so when I had one, but I played it for a few years before trading it for a mid 70's jazz bass.

It was a super solid bass, built like all peavey gear, ready to withstand anything a musician could throw at it.

I'd like to play one again. They have gone through the roof in cost over the last five years. Another bass I had and really liked was the Dyna bass. But anyway, that T-40 is a solid workhorse. I don't remember the weight being a huge factor, but I was really young then too...

Edit to say the quality and craftsmanship was on par with the American Fenders. If you are worried about it feeling cheap, it's the opposite. It will make a Fender P feel like a cheap bass. No worries in that dept.
 
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#4
bogie1519 said:
Thinking about adding a T-40 Peavey bass to my collection. Any pros or cons would help.
I googled about the pickup's changing between single coil and humbucking. Anyone have one how do you like it. The one i'm looking at is a 1979 with original case. asking $450.00

I think it would be cool to have a 38 year old bass if it is playable.
Click to expand...

They are very heavy, at least for me.

They sound very good and, because of the pickup placement/location, particularly with everything dimed/both pickups on/phase off: this setting actually sounds like some classic Alembics, particularly the Alembic Spoiler ( keep in mind the T-40 is a passive bass with -- arguably - the loudest passive pickups on the planet)....These basses record very very well and sound best to me with fresh roundwounds or very bright flatwounds (Pressurewounds, like GHS Brite Flats)......There is also a decent Rickenbacker setting on this bass as well as other very interesting and unique settings.

The phase switch, to me, is useless -- some guys say it gets Jaco-ish....I think soloing the Bridge Pickup with its tone rolled down does a better job of that on a T-40 than using that phase switch

Also due to previously stated pickup placement/location, it can not do facsimiles of either a Fender Jazz bass or a P-Bass (unlike its cousin, the T-45, which can mimic a P-Bass rather well)

If you play slap bass - particularly old-school traditional instead of double-thumping -- the neck pickup tends to be in the way, and you will have to adjust your slap hand away from that sweet spot -- plus, depending on your technique, you risk the annoying pickup-smack -- For this reason, I personally don't recommend them for slap bass - yes, you can do it on it but there are other instruments better suited ( and, its slap "tone" isnt the best IMO)

In conclusion: They are great basses if you can deal with the weight and mass and sound best if you play with fingers and pick (Transparent amp setup for live or direct-only for studio)


good luck :)
 
#6
bogie1519 said:
Thinking about adding a T-40 Peavey bass to my collection. Any pros or cons would help.
I googled about the pickup's changing between single coil and humbucking. Anyone have one how do you like it. The one i'm looking at is a 1979 with original case. asking $450.00

I think it would be cool to have a 38 year old bass if it is playable.
Click to expand...
The T-40 was Heavy. A 4 hour gig, even with a veeeery wide strap sent me hurrying back to a P Bass.:) If you are interested, check out CL (Columbia-Jefferson city). Recently listing a T-40 for $400.00 W/case. I visited the Peavey factory in Meridian, Miss. I watched them make the necks using a CNC type machine. Good sounding, solid build. Later----Leon
 
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#10
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#11
I love mine :)

Sounds great, range of tones but all have a distinct character.

Possible downside is, you need a special tool to adjust the trussrod. Far from a dealbreaker.

They are not light! But worth it for me.
 
#12
I just got my first one a few days ago. Very nice bass, super fun to play, and great tone. I don't really have a whole lot to add so I will just echo what's been said-they are often VERY heavy, so if you are sensitive to heavy basses, find yourself a lighter one and use a wide strap. I would definitely agree that it's not a great bass for slap, just due to pickup placement. However, it will do pretty much anything else you throw at it. The single coil/humbucker switching is very versatile (though as state above the phase switch isn't particularly useful). It's worth mentioning that there were two types of pickups in these-the orignal toasters and later on the blades. The blades are supposed to be the brighter of the two, so I went for one with those. I defintely wouldn't call them overly bright-they can get bright with the right EQ but they can thump, too. I haven't used it in a band setting yet, so I'm interested to see how they'd sit in a mix.
As for price, $450 is definitely a better deal than what they seem to go for now, but I would say $450 is on the high end of a good deal, even with the case. See if you can get them down to $400.
Hope this helps!
 
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#13
I've got three of them, and they're great instruments. They sound good, and are very durable. As some have mentioned, one con would be the weight. All of mine are right around 11 pounds. Pricing is all over the place though - if yours is in cherry condition, then $450 isn't bad if the case is in good shape as well. My cheapest was $325 for an early '78 in good but not great condition with a case. The original vacuformed rectangular cases are kinda hard to find undamaged because they're rather fragile, but the teardrop cases are built like tanks. Another potential issue would be parts - Peavey doesn't make them anymore, so eBay and the like are going to be where you find them, and they can be pricey in good condition.
 
#14
I have had 2, a 78' natural (since sold) and my current 83' in white. The 78' was very powerful with a thick neck profile and weighed.....a lot. The 83' has a slimmer neck (very Jazz) and a greater variety of tones and it records beautifully as well as having a good live sound, it weighs 11.3 lbs. The 78'cost me $200 back in 04', the 83' cost $185 about 8 or 9 years ago both with hard shell cases! The prices have gone up a lot, along with Kramer's and other US peavey's.
 
#16
The T-40 is a great bass for recording, although the pickups are crazy hot (even though it's passive--really, it's just jaw-dropping how hot). The tone palette is very broad and it does dub, P-bass, and the fat bottom/crystalline highs that one thinks of as a Rickenbacker exclusive very well indeed. I find myself fiddling with the two volumes, two tones, selector, and phase switches constantly and it's tough to nail a particular tone change quickly tune-to-tune. Every time I take mine to a rehearsal the band is knocked out. However, was as pointed out above the thing is a veritable boat anchor. I've never taken mine to anything but a one hour or so gig and the thought of a three hour night on stage with a T-40 is just inconceivable—to me at least.

If you haven't seen these videos, they're a good place to start re: the tone palette:

The Secret Sounds Inside the Peavey T-40 Bass - YouTube
More of The Secret Sounds Inside the Peavey T-40 Bass - YouTube
 
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#17
I've got one and it's easily the most versatile passive bass I've ever played. Huge number of tones to be found within its somewhat weird control setup. It can be a little work to get it all sussed out as to how each part acts - and interacts. But it's not rocket science. And once you've got it down there's very few tones you can't pull out of it just by dialing it in.

Weight can be an issue for some people. I've played '70s era JBs that were heavier than mine which butchers in around the 10.5 mark. I don't find it all that heavy personally - and I'm not a big guy. But this is one of those things where (like neck dive on Gibsons) there's as much myth and hearsay as fact circulating about it. In my case, the weight isn't an issue.

Price-wise, what your seller is asking seems pretty good to me. They're slowly going up. And as others have mentioned, superior examples are fetching a lot more than that. They're also not hard to sell if you ever decide you want to unload one.

I personally think a T-40 is one of the more interesting basses ever built. And they're all tone monsters. If that's your thing, and you're not afraid to go your own way in the bass world, a T-40 should do it for you.

Luck! :thumbsup:
 
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#19
I've got two, a Natural with toaster p/u's and a White one with rail p/u's. Both are solid, well built basses that sound great and have a number of features that were way ahead of their time (and price range). I am amazed to see so many still available that are in such good shape and selling for reasonable prices. The White one I have still had the vinyl overlay on the pick-guard when I got it. I'd be embarrassed to tell you what I paid for it, but it was truly in "time capsule" condition.

 
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