This is how it all began...

In late May, 2008- On a friday morning i first saw a picture of the T-40 and in one weeks time I became a multiple T-40 owner.

It all started in this way, a very many years ago-

13 years old I got my first guitar (Black on Black Japanese Fender Strat. To this day I have never seen one quite like it. Don't think I ever will. It broke to pieces in an unfortunate accident after a handful of years of loyal service and it was discarded. How I wish now that I would have kept all the pieces). A year into playing guitar an acquaintance was selling a piece of crap four string bass. Ugliest thing I ever saw. Red. Played like crap. Sounded worst. It was a Peavey. No, not the T-40. I have no idea what ever happened to this bass. Don;t even know what kind of Peavey Bass it was. But i got rid of it and an Ibanez 5 string bass became the bass I really learned how to play on and played through out my teenage and early twenty years.

I need a new bass. After waiting for the perfect bass for me I believed that I had found it in the MusicMan Bongo 5 string. Stealth. Straight from Hell. And, half a year later learning about the Bongo 6, well, I just have to have one. Because I always wanted a six string. But never liked one enough to buy one. But here is now a Bongo 6. I want one in black. So I save money. Start my research. And am ready to buy.

So then I join this band which I am less then fond of, of which im still in, of which I'm not hoping in being in too much longer- of which the guitarist has the bright idea of tuning his guitar to C#. 1 1/2 steps down (I don't like most guitar players. This one is probably one of the lamest I've ever played with). So I tune the B string on my Bongo5 to a low G# and the rest accordingly without setting up the bass. Big mistake. A couple shows later and sick of having my bass sound like crap and out of tune, refusing to muck up my Bongo 5 to accomodate the crappy band- my search for used basses is on.

I always wanted a four string. Of course I've eyed the Rickenbacker, Fender P basses, Fender Jazz basses. You know, the classics. But i didn't want to spend that much money on one. That, and they never really sat well with me. aesthetically. I needed something tougher. More manly. Even manly as the P bass is. I needed something more. I knew there had to be one out there. If there was a God, there was a bass out there for me.

Praise the Lord. Inching closer on settling on a Fender, One fateful friday morning i saw a picture of The Peavey T-40 which was being sold on craigslist. And it looked immense. All black with rosewood fret board. Ive never seen one before but I needed it. Looking it up on line, the only drawback it seemed was it's weight. Which only made it that much more appealing to me. Fender P basses looked heavy. But they weren't to me. And the prospect of the T-40 being much heavier than a P Bass was just making my appetite stronger.

Looking on Ebay i saw more than a few of these suckers for sale. All black. rosewood necks. I bidded on one and won it for a fair price. I made an appointment with the guy from craigslist just to be able to see one up close. to play one. to hold the bass. I walked in there empty handed and walked out holding what was now MY Peavey T-40.

Then, another i won on Ebay. Making it a nice three. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Two with Rosewood necks. The Father with Maple.

And i want a Sunburst one with Rosewood neck.

A white one too, please.

in a perfect world.

To compliment my new babies- I boght a T-60. All black with Maple neck.

I think its safe to say i'm infatuated with these creatures. They play great and are rock n roll straight from hell.

The Rosewood neck i got set up to be tuned to C#. And one of the Rosewood's I'm putting a B string on and setting it up to go down to G#. So it will be like a five string. So i can get down to that Low Extended range. The Father I'm keeping in standard E. Any others I get will be in standard E. The T-60 will be standard E. And once I'm out of the crap band- Back to E they go. I'll keep one with a Low B on it though. Thats RockNRoll.

I seriously think the only reason why they didn;t catch on in a huge way is the weight of it.

Pictures will come.

Sounds and sights. Once I get everyone of my babies picture ready and they start getting a long with one another.

Peavey T-40's.

Amen.

From Hell,

.V.



P.S. The Bongo 6 will have to wait.

Viktor, fantastic story. It's great to hear how people have found out about these great basses. They are tone monsters. The humbuckers on mine are really hot.

I bought my first six years ago at a garage sale for $40. It was all beat up and the neck was warped but it was still playable on the lower half of the neck. I bought it because it sounded so great. I did the same thing, went to harmony central to see reviews of this beast. All positive. My quest was on to get more and to find, surprisingly that they were very undervalued on eBay (at the time.) I wish I had bought them all up!!! Even at $500 they still kick the crap out of any bass out there. I used to be a staunch Rickenbacker guy for many, many years until I found my T-40's. I can buy 4 or 5 T-40's for the price of a new Rick.

I've always wanted to try a Bongo out. They look mean and I've heard they sound great. Someday. Thanks for sharing the story and I hope to see some pics of your T-40's soon!!!!

Scott

Very cool story. There are some guitar players out there that you could tolerate, we're not all ego driven jack asses. If you can find your way to Chip's house this November for the annual Gathering you'll meet more than your share of wicked cool guitarists.

Rock and roll straight from hell. I like that!

Cool Story Viktor,

I too enjoy seeing how people discover these monsters.

I guess I'm what they call a SNOB bassist. I've tried SO many different basses over the years, but I'm a picky pain in the butt.

I guess the older I get, the more I know what I want, or THINK I do! LoL.. I'm 90% a RIC player, I have 12 presently and one still on order, sold about 35 of them looking for that HOLY GRAIL over the years. I love the feel, look & sound. They vary in years from a 1971 to a 2008.

I've had many Alembic's, (I love my AlemRIC, a RIC bass with Alembic electronics) Fender's, Music Man, Gibson, etc...etc.... and while I was looking for an inexpensive backup, I started to notice the T-40's on Ebay.

Then, over to Harmony Central for eye opening reviews, even over on Talkbass, there was a lot of buzz about the T40. Then I got the bug.
I really didn't want to spend a lot for something I wasn't sure of. I have a BAD back and the weight issue concerned me. I sold all my Alembic basses because they were so freaking heavy.

Then came that morning when GAS was SO bad, I had to just do it....I paid more than I wanted to for a nice dark burst with blade pickups. I actually wanted the older toaster type pickups and a maple neck.

ANYWAY...I paid $300.00 on a BUY IT NOW auction on Ebay. It needed the phase switch, TRC and a volume knob. Thanks to the help of the guys here on the forum, I managed to get them from Rene. Now, off to the luthier because the neck had a minor issue. ALL THIS before I even played a note. I'm thinking, some cheap back up, I now have about $500.00 into something I'm not even sure I'm going to like!

To get to the point, I brought this monster into my usual gig. I'm in a big band with LOTS of instruments on stage. I plugged this beast into my Ampeg stack, leaving the settings set to my usual RIC bass. OMG....this thing sure does get attention. ALL 15 people stopped dead in their tracks and looked at me. I guess my smile gave away my pleasure. This monster is at LEAST twice if not THREE times louder than my RIC V63.
I had to keep backing the volume down to not drown out the drummer!
I don't know if this is normal, if it was some kind of fluke or what....but the sound was H U G E.

I'm playing it again tomorrow night, only my second time out. I play sitting down, so the weight isn't too bad. It is a 3 hour set so I was pretty sore the first time out. I'm not a spring chicken anymore! I just may bring two basses in and play it for the second set. It is unGODLY. What a beast. I just love it. The sustain is nothing short of amazing. I play in a big building that seats about 1500 people, and this baby RUMBLES the entire place, just too cool!

I really want a fretless T40 now. I'd like to find a late 70's one with the non blade pickups and get one in maple. I sent a quick note to Chip and he said he could make me a fretless neck. So, my goal is to find a nice clean one. I'd imagine trying to find a T-40FL is like finding a needle in a haystack? There was a neck on Ebay not too long ago but I missed it...

I love the bass, hands down, it has the most BOOMING sound, killer tones & great feel. What more could you ask for? These babies are the best kept secret out there. I leave it out in my bedroom and just love to look at it. My wife shakes her head, and says "a Peavey huh? I sure wish you would have discovered them before you spent ALL that money on all those other basses"....

Ajish,

Great story. Yeah, that FL neck was mine. Not a big fretless player here. I played Rickenbackers for 20 plus years before I discovered the T-40 about 6 years ago. I have owned several 4003's, 1's, and a 4001C64S. RIC makes an amazing product but the prices in the last few years have gotten to the point where it's out of my league.

The T-40 pickups are humbuckers which I think are naturally hotter than single-coil Ricks. I know a lot of RIC converts to the T-40 because you can get a RIC type tone out of the 40. I bet you're thinking your T-40 is the best $500 you ever spent!!! I'm happy you like it so much!!! Let us know how the gigs go!!

I just bought a Fender Squier Vintage Modified Jazz bass. I've heard they are amazing basses, and at $279 shipped, if it's half the bass that I've been told it is...it's worth it!!! I'm really excited to see for myself. Hopefully it will be here this coming week.

So I got my T-40. It's '79 model in great shape, with a hardshell case. The guy threw in his old (late 70's?) Mark III Series combo for an extra $50. My neighbors are going to hate me.

I played the bass for the first time last night, and I already feel like I got a steal.

Hi Scottpro1969,

You're right. HANDS DOWN the BEST $500.00 I've ever spent on a bass. it's a keeper, I feel very lucky to have it. LOL, so much for it being a backup!

Oh man, that was your neck?!?! I had my SNIPER set to bid at the last few seconds and the darn thing didn't work! I was SO ticked when I noticed I lost it! I was hoping Chip had one, and apparently, he doesn't.

I've always had a soft spot for fretless. I have a 2008 RIC 4003FL, and while it is a sweet bass, it just lacks that classic MAWAH (I think they call it) sound. I agree, it is a shame that the prices have gone sky high. I had a C64S that i sold last year for $1900.00, now, they are pushing 4k to order one! That is just nutty. I glad most of my RICS were purchased when prices were LOW.

Well, I played my T40 again tonight, for the full 3 hour set. OMG, even better than the first time I played it out! I'm getting a better feel for what the settings are. Just unreal. When the drummer watched me take it out of my gig bag, he said "OH YEAH, THE PEAVEY". I'm hooked, no other way to say it....does anyone know why Peavey stopped making these amazing guitars? Do they use the pickups & electronics in anything they produce today?

I am having a slight problem with the 1/4" jack, can anyone suggest where I might be able to find a replacement? It keeps cutting in and out when I move the cord. I checked the solder joints, and used tuner cleaner, but is still has a problem.

Thanks!

Tony

It's anyone's guess why Peavey quit making these. I suspect the rise of the Super Strat and metal music in the mid 80s had something to do with it. There aren't any current Peavey's out there with these pickups and electronics. There were some models after the T-series that shared the pickups and electronics. At least on the guitar side, I'm not totally sure on the bass side though.

Thanks for the response Tony,

I made mention of my discovery on the RIC forum and I was surprised to find out how many die hard RIC fans love this bass and still have one.

I haven't heard a bad thing about them anywhere except the weight comment.

I'd imagine a lighter weight reissue would surely be well received.

I'm just having so much fun with mine, I'd really like to get another.