Peavey T-40

I have a 1984 T-40. Made in the usa.
4 strings, not fretless
passive loud pickups
natural finish
hard peavey case
i paid $100 for it in 1992

this bass surprises me with the different tones i can get. I don't like the fret buzz i get when everything is turned all the way up.
I have the worst amp in the world, yet we are soon recording, i'm blown away, this thing really does play itself. So many different sounds. i am getting a bow soon. i record and play live with this, my only, bass

the setup is a bit low. action seems a little odd. but it sounds great once we begin playing.
no flaws in the bass.

this bass has been moving around with me for 15 years. it has been dropped and decorated with hot glue and furry fuzzies. It has been to hell and back. and it sounds amazing. finishes are for stupid nerds. I'm never selling this bass so who cares about the finish, scratch it, paint it , whatever. strap buttons suck, get a locking strap or new buttons. never adjusted the truss rod. don't think i ever will. I need no backup. never even broken a string, yet my fingers bleed often.

never dealt with peavey. no warranty.

I've been playing for 20 years. I have a couple guitars, keyboards, processors, pa's, etc. If this bass was stolen, I would replace it with a stingray. This bass is like a pet, you never get rid of it or sell it, it will be with me my whole life.

I bought my Peavey T-40 about 30 years ago. It came with a rigid Peavey rectangular case, with a gold/brown velvet interior, it still has the pickguard protective liner, with the written functions on it.

the pickups (4 in pairs) were explained as working to create a field used in pairs as in one transmitter and one receiver. when the knobs were all at Max, all 4 pickups kicked in.

A very heavy bass, but a divine touch, and a very wide range of sounds. the only problem I have with it, is that it lacks when it comes to belt it on. if you raise the neck, while playing, hang on, it jumps out of the loops. the top peg is not in a good place.

it responds well to fingering (my style), picking (i go there once in a while) and tapping. (someone else did that on my Peavey, and i had to sit down... wow, what a surprise... it covers pretty much any range or depth or style you want to work with. I play this one on an old Traynor Bassmaster YBA-1.

never had to adjust anything on it. still going on strong. no rust, no static, still good for another 30 years, i guess

the color, wood grain, and a whiteneck to boot! since i like to take care of it, after every session. and offer to break anyone else's finfers if they touch my baby. it's still new after 30 years.

aside from the poorly placed small strap buttons (the top one, actually), never needed to use my backup. darn thing is a heavy tank, but then again... i'm big and old myself. the weight makes it sit there quite well. the only remaining thing is to let your fingers do the walking.

never needed any help. if it ain't broke... don't fix it...

I played an Ampeg shortneck fretless with a Jazz band. great trip.
played on a precision, a Jazz, and very briefly tried a Rick.

the T-40 will not match ant of these gems, but will range a lot closer to any of them than they will between themselves. This one's my baby. practice or play.

This one dates back to 1978. I bought it off of my friend who bought it at a pawn shop for $300. Natural finish. It is an original right-handed model, but 1 of the previous owners had restrung it to be a left handed version.

I play in an instrumental prog/experimental band. I bought it for the looks, but the sound blew me away. Very 70's-esque (we use lots of old equipment), so it fit the band just fine. Live, I plug into a Marshall DSL-401, which I plug into a peavey basic 112. I also use a marshall supervibe chorus and a crybaby wah pedal, along with the built-in marshall effects. It handles them all fine. The sound is dark. It sounds great when picked, slapped, and bowed. However the pots are worn and crackle a bit, and the pickups loose power when turned up all the way. It is also great for studio work

Good action. However, falls out of tune after hours of playing. The original nut was badly worn so i replaced it with a bone nut. The problem is the neck is wider than most basses, so i had to custom make one. The bridge, although massive, was grimy and dirty, along with pitted chrome.

Band practice frustrates me often, so it survives being thrown. It has marks from the previous owners, along with a couple from me. The upper part of the body is beat up pretty good (fell inside friend's jeep), but that only adds to the character. I'm not sure if these are the original strap buttons, but very solid. Never had to adjust the neck. I use 2 basses at gigs (even though it is strong, always expect the unexpected). This bass will survive a nuclear holocaust.

Had to contact about the amp. Very helpful.

I've been playing for almost 4 years (6 as a drummer). I also own a mustang bass. I'm not sure I'll need to buy another, but if this dies, i will. I love the reliability/weight. The look is what caught me, and my friend sold it to me to buy a ric. However, the peavey is so much easier to play than the ric. I use a violin bow in many songs for a creepy, murky sound, and it is very easy to bow. Wish it was a 5 string. I also own a mustang bass. I've played my friend's peavey tradition bass from about the same time period and it doesn't even compare. It is perfect for the prog stuff. I also use it to record a solo project I'm working on (indie-rock stuff) and it works just as well.

I,m not sure of the year yet-waiiting for a reply from peavey.This my second one(sold my first one out of stupidty :( )My sons found me a replacement on ebay.I loved the natural ash finish.I.m in search of a case that it fits in.I've played the first one for about 15 years on stage.The pickups are awesome sounding and lOUD!

This thing almost played itself.It was low and mellow for ballads,loud and crisp for high energy rock songs.The pickups were hot enough that i could play one handed.I've read other posts and i can say from experience that you can "slap" it with some neat effects when you put the pickups out of phase.

I bought the first one new and it was basically plug and play,didn't need adjustments.I agree that the strap pegs could have been larger,I had my strap come off while doing some dances on stage.All electronics were reliable and I never had to do a thing with them,other than play.

This this beast was played 4 to 5 nights a week at a club and on sundays on stage shows.The strap buttons never came loose,but I had to invest in a heavy leather strap with reinforced holes to hold this tank up.I never had a backup,this was the only on i had.The only thing I had to was have the neck adjusted after a clumsy stage hand dropped it about 4 ft off the stage. Other than that it was reliable instrument

I never had to deal with customer support.One of our band members owned his own music store(He's the one who adjusted the neck).
Although I do have a request for a plastic bezel for the t-40 I currently own.I am also looking for wedge shaped case that was originally made for this.

I have been playing professionaly for almost 40 years.I currently own the t-40 bass,a fender BXR 300C amp,a black dean edge(a little lighter-used for pratice),a supro double neck lap steel,a gibson skylark EH-500 single neck lap steel.If my t-40 was stolen i would be looking high and low for another one.My Dean plays well,but my T-40 is like having my best friend on stage with me.I love the feel,the action,the sound,and the dependability.The weight of the guitar also keeps other musicians from borrowing it.The only thing i wish i had was the original wedge shaped case (when you stuff the bass inside you had a lethal weapon ;> ).I hope the peavey never stops making instruments the can stand the test of time!

I'm not going to retell the obvious,you can read the others.But i'd like to tell some of the differences of old and new T-40's.i've owned 4 and am down to 1 that i will not part with. its an early model,77 i think,6 digit serial# patents applied for.natral blonde ash. with a custom polished aluminum pick gaurd, wich by the way is 100% improvement over the black one. makes it ooze class.but out of all t40's i've owned,from a new with plastic film still on pickgaurd to an old beat up one,i'm keeping the old one!!and here's why. first the pickups, the newer with the exposed pole piece,WEAK and thin!they look similar but are very different.OH! and here's a tip for you guys with the old style,play a Pick? the exposed rubber on bridge p/u tends to wear through to the magnet. buy some of that Plastic Dip paint in a can and you can refurbish/paint them,looks good and tough.old P/U are Red Rhodes designed i've heard but don't know who he is? Next the body, early ones are 3piece laminate,and flat,so the top looks more like a single piece of wood,the newer have 4-5 piece laminate so you can see the joint on top above bridge wich sucks if you love your wood grain,but the newer ones are contoured wich is nice they fit your body a little better when sitting.so somewhere they either ran out of good big pieces of wood or cheaped out like on the P/U's.and the electronix, couple of newer ones tended to hum, my old one is dead quiet,but thats only speculation,i never really took'em all apart and compared the pots at once,but the soldering is all top notch.other than that everything is basicaly identical. tuners look the same,but there are some minute differences,internals won't interchange.

? sounds like a winner to me ? it is pretty versitile,but i don't think its like having all these different basses sounds at your disposal!! it can be very bright to a creamy rich baritone,i've plugged in same time with many different bass and you CAN NOT sound exactly like a p,jazz or rick for example,it is a t-40 and it sounds like a t-40,just like those basses you can change its sound by switch p/u and adjust tone and volume BUT also go from single coil to humbucker and a phase switch,but the phase switch only operates on one p/u,bridge i think, it kinda thins it out and gives a kinda hollow sound to it. its cool enough to have cuz its already there, but i wouldn't bother adding it to a bass.but if you're a player and not a collector(they will be very collectable SOON)i opinionate(hehe;) you to rewire everything!!! basicaly to lose the single coil deal(tone adjusted below 8 turns both coils on and bass gets more dynamic and alot louder!) which they have an ingenious design,but it makes your tone control Useless!! i love humbuckers!! they are hot and hum free!! i settled for hot dynamic output,and my tone controls actually work,and install some vintage bumble bee caps!!! my tech did it for me,but i think its just a rewire ,you don't have to buy new pots,bumble bee caps are not cheap but there great!!!! tone is smoothly adjustable from 1-10,you know how some tones don't do any thing from like 7 down?? you might as well have an on off switch there!!i think push pull pots might have been a better original design,you could do that too. if you want to keep all versitility.

first things first,you Will have some degree of trial and error finding strings that are long enough to fit your T-40,particularly on the E string,with the string through body deal,you need some pretty long windings to reach the Knut,many times i've burned off the silk windings cuz they go halfway to the 1st fret,only to see the winding steps below the knut!!bass string are not cheap!!so take a tape measure with you to the store,most places will pull out the E for you so you can measure it.all t-40's have the same features since they were basicaly the first guitars in the industry to be made with CNC technology, so out with hammer and chisel and hand crafted,just put your wood in a clamp and press a button and a computerized machine hoggs it out perfectly!!!so unlike vintage Fenders where you sometimes find that bass or guitar that just feels right and plays excellent,or you got one that will never be right. all T-XX are virtually identical in every tolerance.and here is some advice to all looking to replace your t-40 neck!!!you can hope for an actuall t40 neck to pop up on ebay(i have seen them!!faily cheap too)or you can customize one!!i;ve done this 3 times and its pretty easy,t45 patriot necks will not work!! they're 21 fret you need a 20!!!so close yet so far away!!the closest with least mods is a Fender tele bass neck with a squared butt end and truss adjustment on head stock(p and jazz are rounded and must be cut square for a proper fit!!!!and that cut is trickiest!!but heres how. shim,brace,and clamp the neck SQUARE FLAT AND STRAIGHT IN EVERY MANNER in a small mitre box,cut with appropriate mitre HAND saw,slowly,let the saw do the work.cut just enough off end to barely square it,leave some material for HAND sanding,and pray you don't cut into truss rod pocket,havent yet but i know its there somewhere,unless truss rod is already exposed and you know what you can get away with, you are taking a chance!!next,the t40 neck has a bastard neck width(2-3/8 i believe)fenders are usually 2.5 to 2-7/16(prefered)tape off area not in pocket and with a sanding block sand each side equally on area that fits in pocket(use fine paper BTW)now there is some gap in stock t40 so test often for fit,basically 1/32 must be remove on each side for fit,thats not alot!!.You will have to shave a little of the plastic pick guard or sand above it for clearance as well.you want it tight but shouldn't have to force it in,and don't forget to seal bare wood with something, like some linseed oil or wipe-on polyeurethane.and finally once you get it in,gently clamp it in place and use a nail to mark new screw hole locations.this is the only time you EVER use any kind of power tool,stick a screw through the body(w/plate!) and measure hole depth,use a DRILL PRESS not a hand held(trust me)and drill holes as marked a little less than half diameter of your srews 1/8? and have some sort of depth stop(a must!!)you'll get better sustain with tighter fit and you will like the wider fretboard,plus raised string height(thicker heels(p/u don't go into the body far enough for low actions.you must have some mechanical aptitude for this, if not get help from a friend(preferably one with a mitre box and a drill press!!)Fender necks are too plentiful and most aftermarket necks are made to fit Fenders and peavey CAN NOT provide any help at all for a new/used neck.Take your time.its easy as it is hard?but it can be done. Then go have a steel knut installed and your In.

TANK TANK TANK TANK TANK TANK.but dont take a shower with it!!!I've played countless, owned too many, and seen the rest, and after the storm settled, there was one.One cherished,prized and gracefully aged customized bass.My T-40 stands alone, I don't worry myself with a backup.its heavey enough, i couldn't carry one more.Are there strap buttons not solid????screws keep coming out on buttons??Take some toothpicks,dip'em in elmers glue(optional), sick'em in screw hole and break off flush,pack a couple in there then screww button back in,good as new(better with glue,screw is removable)stays tight

there awesome for new stuff,but they can only help you with the date of manufacture and only sell the truss rod tool, other than that,you are on your own. Heck,they haven't made t-series in over 20 years!!!!any spare parts are looooong gone.

Sorry i've been so winded on off topic material!This is a great bass,and you have hours of reading here to learn all about it.Just wanted to share other info you don't see often. I know replacement necks is a huge issue,and i've found an easy(kinda) do it yourself solution, all the bass forums tell you sorry about your luck,should've bought a fender!!i think the older models are of a higher quality.but the newer ones are great too!!i play mostly rock,but the bass enjoys being slapped now and then,you just gotta find that sweet spot but it can be done.If it were stolen,the sucker better run,cuz the LoJack in the case will lead me right to him!! SOMETIMES,PRECISION JUST ISN'T ENOUGH good luck.

solid maple neck with black inlay dots to dual coil, humbucker, soapbox whatever u want to call them. new switches installed but they still need tweeking, all four knobs intact(why wouldnt they be this guitar is a tank).

this suits all types of music especially jazz, classic rock and funk. it has a rich tone that that hums beautifully. this bass can be really punchy if switch to the bridge pickup, and soft and muddy on the neck pickup. the phase switch gives it great versatility. this guitar has that rich vintage sound.

this guitar was built flawlessly and that all i have to say. eccept i bought it used from my uncles pawn shop and it has some paint missing on the back were somebody was wearing a beltbuckler(idiots who wears a belt buckle while playing?)

this guitar could with stand the apocalypse its big bulkly and reliable of course every thing made back in the day was reliable. everything is so solid on this guitar this guitar will last forever.

never had to deal with costumer service.

this bass totally kicksass i played an ibanez and an esp and they both felt like a made in china p.o.s.(but they were alot lighter than the t40 but the weight of tht t40 is what makes it so good). the neck is very fast and playable. i can eat up any stage with this guitar. i wont ever need another bass.

Stock Peavey T-40 built in the USA in 1978, two selectable-coil pickups, four knobs, two switches (one replaced). I found my T-40 to accompany my impressive T-60, and it quickly won my heart over as my favorite guitar, bar-none (I'm more of a bass player anyway :). Incredible number of tones possible with this thing, great playing neck, but just a little too heavy for some people! Personally, that's one of my favorite features, but I'm a big dude.

The sound is HUGE! I've let my buddy play it with his punk band, I've played it with a metal band, I played it with my dad's oldies band, I bought it off a guy who played it in a country band... It does it all! The pick-ups are the most MASSIVE passives in the world - this thing can, will, does, and has blown quite a few speakers out! The wide range of tones and slightly playing area make it a little more suited to the studio, but it certainly is up for a live gig, as long as you can handle it! Also, great slap sound for a passive, but can be cumbersome playing wise for above mentioned reasons. Also, volume knobs on both this and my T-60 tend to get crunchy...

My man at A-String instrument repair totally overhauled the action and pickup adjustments on it, made it super sweet to play. So I can't comment on what it would have felt like back in the day, but it plays great now! The switches, tho, do have a tendency to wear out.

How dare you question the tank! As far as violent physical abuse, this thing laughs at it. 20lbs of pure Swamp-Ash skull-crushing power (and I ain't talkin about music here). Extra long 36inch neck gives you extra power, but can make your swing a little sluggish, so make sure your hit counts! Don't be afraid to smack this flat against a bouncer's mid-area, it'll take it - trust me. Where it tends to fall flat is years of loving use and abuse to it's electrical apparati. Switches go lame, dials get crunchy, and my neck pick-up is only half-there on occasion. Not bad enough to turn me off, but something to consider. Check EVERYTHING before you buy!

Peavey's customer support just flat-out rocks. They'll send you any parts you need, usually for free, and they'll tell you anything you want to know about your guitar over e-mail. They're are the best, bar-none.

This is my favorite bass, even ahead of my sparkly-smooth Tobias and my sharp 5-String Schecter. Ages old, still in one piece (one good looking piece, too) Loudest passive pick-ups in the galaxy. Phyically, the thing is completely invinvible. The electrical hardware has a tendency to crud up, tho, but that is the only problem your likely to face. The sound is fat, punchy, and surprisingly versatile! Wide range of tones, all with that kickin bottom your need so bad! (Except for the phase-switched variety, yikes what a bite!) Definetly a nice toy for the tone-connessiour, and just a bad-ass live-axe - for the able bodied! This thing has crushed the spirits of many an honest and well-meaning player (and speaker, btw) who just hasn't had the balls to put up with the most ultimate of music-makers. My opinion? At $285 or less? This thing ROCKS!

Hey. I've got a Peavey t-40 that was my dad's and it's sat in my closet for 15+years. 1983 Black w/ Ash body. Includes hard case. Needs new strings.

I'm trying to get rid of it to fund car repairs. $250+ship

hob684@yahoo.com
Hob625 on AIM

I personally have never played it. I never learned and frankly don't have the time or patience. My roommate has played it recently and said that everything worked on it and that it sounds great.

Again.. like all the other reviews.. this thing is a TANK

This bass is exactly how it came from the factory except it has 1 small scratch on the body, frontside, just above the strings. Not noticable from 2-3 feet away.

just like everyone else's reviews..

I'm from Meridian, MS (hometown of Peavey) and I've met Hartley personally. I know a few of their repair techs and such but I've never dealt w/ them as a customer.

This T-40 looks like it's a late '70's model, but it's had plenty of abuse, so maybe not. It's a Curbside Upgrade bass snagged from the piles of debris left when the collegiate types make like lemmings in May. Two pickups, three knobs, and no frets. Barbeque brown stain swabbed on in probably a drunken frenzy.

After I pieced it back together, it sounds pretty good, can cover a wide variety of bass tones. Farts like it camped out at Taco Bell if you push it. I usually use my basses for home recording, so all they have to do is work.

The bass was pulled out of a trash can after the students left town--the poor old thing was a mess, some doofus had yanked the frets out then tried to fill the fret slots with Plastic Wood without sanding everything level, then they put a Wilkinson bridge on it, but about 1 1/2 inches too far forward. When I got it home, I just dissassembled it and tried to clean it up. Fortunately, I had an old Cort P-Bass copy lying around, so I swapped the necks, much easier than refretting the Peavey neck would have been. Now I have a fretless P-Bass and a fretted T-40, no problem. Both necks are fairly similar, so they play about the same, except one's a bit closer to being in tune.

Well, the Peavey was beat to Hell, but I brought it back to playable condition and all I bought was a set of strings, so it was built tough--it improved my opinion of Peavey guitars enough that I bought a USA Predator (used and cheap, of course). I would do some more cosmetic work on it if I were going to play out with it, but nobody sees it at home, and it's too heavy to play all night anyway. If I were going to play bass in front of people, I'd get something newer and lighter, just to save my back--oh yes, and it would have strap butttons on it too.

Never had to contact Peavey, I do all my own repairs.

I've been playing for 38 yrs. blues, rock, jazz, whatever. Doing repairs for 25yrs. and I've had lots of guitars and not many basses--now I have two, heh, heh. I like the T-40 since it doesn't automaticly sound like a P-Bass and has a little more range of tone--put a limiter on it, then straight to the board--done! Several of my guitars are of the recycled variety, and most of them work pretty well, and allow for a range of quirky things to happen that people who have to have brand-name instruments will never know. As the song says, I am resplendent in divergence.

I believe my tank is as issued in 79 or 80. Plenty of sounds at hand with nonstop fiddling. Natural burst ash body with rosewood fretboard over maple... Peavey says rare combo for that year. It's the loudest passive I've ever played.

Fat swelling wood tone. Solid lows, a little muddy at quiet volumes. Bright and rich tonal mids and highs. No tin sounds. When they tell you as a beginner to buy as much instrument as you can afford so that the sounds that provide your positive feedback are as quality as possible? I started on this bass.

It sat in a southern smoky dank pawn shop for years and then went to dry Colorado. With only new strings and some cleaning the tank fired up clear and lusty. Local luthier barely had to touch truss rod. Stays in tune through seasons.

Everybody knows the fight is fixed when you pack a T40... nothing can bring it down.

Never had an interaction with Peavey before I bought this. Forums on their website seem very helpful.

I'm new at this. Guitar player for a few years, bass for less than a year. I play a Danelectro U1 reissue, Jay Turser JT200DC (double cutaway LP knockoff), a Fender HM bass V, and a wacked out home modded chinese silent bass. I play them through my Trace Elliot 7210 bass amp. My T40 is the one I have a serious relationship with. I would buy another and don't care about the weight. I like it so much, I keep an eye out for another and would like a companion T60 guitar someday.