Peavey T-40

I purchased this guitar off ebay after 22+ years of enjoyment with my Peavey T-60 electric guitar. I didn't know Peavey made a 'companion' bass guitar to their T-60 guitar until I tripped across it in a pawnshop by accident. Unfortunately, the pawnshop overpriced their T-40 and I found a better deal on ebay. The T-40 is constructed almost identically to the T-60; ash body with a maple neck (I think...not sure as I am not an expert on this), 2 pickups, 3-way selector, 2 tone and 2 volume knobs. The body has a natural wood finish and can hide scratches, dings and dents very well. The frets are laminated - Peavey's guitars are the only guitars I've owned with gloss lamination on the frets and they are a joy to play.

I'm just starting to learn how to play the bass guitar (after playing regular electric guitar on an amateur basis on-and-off for about 22+ years) and feeling my way around. I play 60's & 70's rock songs (Beatles, Pink Floyd, Cream, a little Yes, etc.) with classic bass riffs (Money, Badge, etc.). Just like the T-60, I'm very pleasantly surprised and happy with the T-40 tonal range...very broad and fun to mess around with. I can get soft warm bass sounds or crisp, higher intonations and everything in between. It also has a deep presence that can make my apartment floor shudder (although the amp helps out a lot there, too). I don't slap yet but I understand from other reviews that the T-40 can handle it (or anything else for that matter).

The other thing I love about this guitar is the neck action - slightly thin neck that allows low and fast playing (just like the T-60). I have had a slight problem with the occasional buzzing strings, but that's probably due to my lousy playing. If I play clean, it comes out clean. The glossy laminated finish on the frets is unique and nice. The neck is solid and seems to hold all these years. However, this bass is very heavy but it you get used to it after a while.

I haven't used this for live gigging; mostly used in the privacy and comfort of my home (will remain there until I can play better). This guitar is rugged, heavy and built to last. My T-40 came with a hardshell case that can handle just about anything thrown at it. I'm considering getting strap guards as this guitar is heavy and the straps are not exactly 'held' in place.

N/A - Never had to deal with customer support which attests to the strength and durability of this guitar. Spare parts are available if you break a switch or something on the body (as I found out when I had to repair the pickup switch on my T-60....ahhh, the joys of having children).

Overall, I love this guitar. I bought this guitar to match my Peavey T-60 electric guitar and I love both of them. Terrific guitars, great sounds, great neck action and fantastic value. Pound for pound, these guitars have given me the best bang for the buck! Just like my T-60, I love my T-40 and I will never give it up until they pry it from my cold dead fingers.

I think I'm at least the third owner of this bass, so it's is understandably lacking. I don't have those two switches that everyone else seems to have, but I do have two nice holes in my pick guard...
There are four knobs, and I only know what two of them do.

It is loud, but kind of fuzzy. I think that it just has to do with the crazy people who owned it before me. It sounds way better on stage than on my little 30 watt amp, way less... gross. Muddy is the word for it. I really don't know how to manipulate the knobs too much, but I can change it to sound really awesome wherever I am, mainly with the tone knob.

I think my action is massive, way too high, but the E-string still smacks the pickups when I pluck it even moderately. Weird. But the thunking doesn't get picked up on the main speakers, just on the moniters. The G string is a little close the egde of the neck, so it slips off sometimes.

It holds up pretty well. It better, it weighs about 5,000 pounds. Ok, more like 14, but it is still really heavy. But hey, if you play it you end up a beast, like me! Trust me, I've dropped this guitar on cement, hit it with a ceiling fan - you name it. And it still sounds fine and stays in tune! The strap pegs are a little on the small side though: I've had more than my share of drops.

Well, I haven't had to use it much, but a free manual on the Peavey site really helped me figure out what some of the knobs do. It's pretty easy to understand.

Eh, I give it an 8. It's sound isn't the best, but I can blame it on it's previous owners. This is my first bass, and I've only been playing for about a year, but I love it. It is amazingly heavy, but that just makes it even better. It's a great, solid bass that is good for a beginner like me. I will never, EVER sell it, I would rather sell my Playstation 2 - and that's saying something!

@ Humbucking Pickups, 2 volume, 2 tone nobs, mute switch, Phase(i believe its called) switch. Tons of options.

The only reason i gave it a 9 is because you have to be playing at medium to high volumes to get the full effect of what this bass really sounds like, the louder it gets the better it sounds. At lower volumes the E string can be a bit muddy. But once you turn the volume up a bit this bass sounds just as good if not better than most every bass i have played, and owned. Im running through an Ampeg B2 head, and a 4 10" cab, and i have never played another bass with better sounding highs....the lows are great, but where the bass sounds best is on the mid and high notes. For the money, or 3 x the money i couldnt ask for a better bass. Not the best for slap bass...but i dont play slap so thats not a problem for me.

the only thing i have had to do since i bought it used was raise the action for the E string a bit...it had a little rattle. But other than that, and making sure i buy long enough strings everything is great. One thing...i would recomend straplocks.

I think you could drop it off a 3 story building pick it up and keep playing.....this bass is built like a tank. And as heavy as one too...but i actually prefer a heavier bass. It also has solid hardware.

Never dealt with them.

Ive only been playing bass for about 4 years now, but i have played everything from a dean, to a music man, ric, fenders, and everything in between....out of all of them this is by far the one bass i could Not part with. If it were ever stolen i would DEFINATELY replace the bass as soon as possible. Some of my favorite features other than the amazing sound, is the bulkyness and weight of the bass. I hate really small and light basses....i feel like they will break if im not careful, or if i drop them. No worries here, also the weight helps because it doesnt flop around when you move around on stage.

Read other's reviews for info on features.

Most versitle passive bass I have ever played. Loud as well. You can get any sound you want out of this bass.

The action can be adjusted, although one of my saddles is partially broken, but I still get very nice action on this bass. The controls are very smooth, with no crackeling, and the switch has no pop when changeing it. Truly more than is to be expected of a bass that sells for under $200. I love the natural finish. It makes even deep scratches unoticeable.

Peavey T-40=A tank
Enough said.

Peavey's webiste is extreemly informative and I found the manual to the T-40 on there. Very helpful indeed.

Out of all the basses I own, I only prefer my Earnie Ball music man (Cost 10x what this cost me) to this one. The T-40 is the perfect backup bass; even the perfect lead bass if you dont have the money to spend. It is so versitile, and rock solid, it is hard to reccomend anything other than this for the price range.

Typical Peavey T-40 with natural finish body and maple on maple neck. 2 humbucker pickups each with volume and tone controls and a 'phase' switch and 3 way pickup selector switch. The volume pots are designed so that at approximately the '7' position the pickups change from single coil mode to humbucker mode. Solid tuners and a massive bridge. Heavy duty composite case.

You can't imagine the wide variety of sounds you can get with those 2 humbuckers and the phase switch and the volume pots designed as they are. You can dial in just about any sound you want, especially if you have a decent amp. Who needs active?

Vintage quality design/construction. Almost flawless.

Vintage peavey quality.

You can reach them on the phone or on the web.

It is without a doubt the best bass I will ever own sound and quality wise. It evens looks real nice in the natural wood finish with the maple fretboard, but, IT'S WAY TOO HEAVY. I am in very good overall physical condition but my neck aches after a half hour standup session with this beast. I can maybe survive an hour sitting down while constantly readjusting the bass to redistribute the weight on different areas of my shoulder. Heavier is better may have been the way to go in the 50's and 60's, but it just ain't necesary to get the sounds desired from a quality bass guitar. I didn't want to ruin this beautiful vintage instrument so I sold it and got a Peavey Fury and a Peavey Milestone II to replace it.

ok ive been playing for like 17 months now and i got one of these baby's recently, WOW!
i used to want the typical jaco fender jazz but now i realy dont care that are the biggest beasts on the planet man.
i love to play like jazz and metal, anything actualy and this puts up with it all.
the weird thig is that its older than me!

as i said above i liek to play owt with a good bass line in it and this just dosent let me down ever!

sice the guy befor me kinda killed the action adn neck the i had to get that set up myself but the whole rig of it is grate another 10 deffo!

THE THING IS A TANK!!!
enough said

peavy got back to me very quickly and were very helpful when i asked what year it was made (1980).

The bast bass i have ever palyed and am aever likely to own.

Late 70's,maple neck,ash body natural finish, heavy, controls and accesory's(your cookie cutter t-40)original hard case(big rectangle ones)the humbuckers look mean!!i wish i could have had that style of bridge on my previous basses,its a work of art and all function. quality tuners.Oh and never forget the metal nut!!looks like aluminum but who knows????its sad to know alot of supposed "quality" bass lose tons of tone with a plastic nut.

The sound is spectacular!!!!!tone options are almost too complex. i play heavy rock, some slap and funk, gets perfect tight and bright slap tones,great beefy bottom, overall its powerful.i play through a meso 400+,8x10 & 2x15, the only effect i use(seldom) is an old MU-tron auto wah.the phase deal is kinda cool,with a slight hollow sound.the controls are top quality silent and smooth,BUT... in my opinion there are too many options,especially for stage use, i usally just use the p/u switch to go from bright to boomy and the rest stays untouched,

i bought it used recently(last week) off e-bay. its probably 25-26 years old. it looks rather new,and probably will forever, its really built like a tank!!!! i set the bass up my self,it wasn't far off, but it yielded a fast and smooth low action, the overall craftsmanship is top notch, you can see it 20 ft away and know that it is all American Made!!!but 26 years ago, i know it would've been flawless.

this bass could block a roundhouse kick and not lose tune. i think they designed it to really outlast the person bying it.old as it is, the chrome is mint. i installed strap locks(Always).i would gig without a backup sure! i don't think anything really needed to be adjusted EVER!!

never had to deal with them(yet)

i've been playing 12 years,i just own this current rig. i avoid collecting too much,always selling one to buy another. IF it were stolen, i would hunt the creep down untill i got it back.i looking to buy at least one more just to have it,maybe even 3 more?string up B E A D since no 5 string was ever available.i love EVERYTHING about this bass, i'm big so the weight is not really an issue, but for a little guy YOU WILL have back problems!!!i just sold my steinberger(spirit) to get this one, and i was hooked on them for years, i liked the compactness but the tone stinks,i've had a gibsons, epi, rick, pedulla, different peaveys.i'v always wanted a music man but couldn't ever pony up.but with my t-40,i'm blown away with sound and price, i will never again dream of owning a music man or an original xl steiny or any other bass. i want more t-40's ,they even look great, has tons of class!!

Late '70s patents applied for on headstock, made in USA. 20 frets, ash body/natural finish, maple neck/fretboard, brass nut. Two tone, two volume controls. Passive Humbucking pickups will switch to single coil when set to 10, a setting of 7 or less is humbucking. 3-way pickup selector switch, reverse phase switch. Lots of tone options here. Double cutaway body style, similar to P bass/stingray. String through body bridge, massive cast metal bridge with large string saddles, am abundance of adjustments available. Massive tuners, similar to old style schaller, subbest a little locktite on the screws. 43 inch scale, neck is a bit wide, but easy to play. Micro-tilt adjustment at the base of the neck.

Abundance of tone options suit many styles of music, the pickups are very hot even though passive. Currently being used with a Peavey Mark IV Bass head through two 4x10 guitar cabs, produces bone jarring teeth rattling bass when turned up. Have found no noise from the pots, no string buzz even though the action is set low. Can produce bright rickenbacker sounds from the bridge pickup, deep dark tones available from the neck pickup when set to humbucking, and interesting out of phase tones when the selector is in the middle position (both pickups active) and the phase switch is activated. The only dislike is the weight, it's very heavy, but you get used to it.

Don't know the factory setup as was purchased used, needed intonation set (someone has apparently disassembled this guitar, given it a thorough cleaning and refinished the body. Once intonation was set, no other problems have been identified. Action is great, no fret buzzes.

Have used live without backup. As instrument is appx. 25 years old, there is normal wear and tear, (minor pitting on some of the chrome, but you get that when you chrome pot metal or aluminum) but it appears that this thing was built to last, and I don't see anything liable to wear out in the near future. Large strap buttons, doesn't seem to need any truss rod adjustment

Haven't dealt with peavey on this item, but in other cases the support I have received has been surprisingly fast, efficient, courteous. They have gone th extra mile to make sure that I got what I needed. Thanks, guys!

Have been playing for 31 years. Own a multitude of equipment, Gibson, Fender, Mesa, Peavey, etc. etc. etc. This has been one of the most pleasant surprises I can remember. This guitar was an incredible value, worht probably more than twice what I paid. Now all I've gotta do is find a case that it will fit in.

Red USA made Peavey four string with rosewood fingerboard. Features are the same as all the others, however I modified mine with push/pull tone pots. Originaly the tone knobs would switch the humbucking pickups to single coil when set to 9 or 10. Mine switch to single when pulled out.

Strings go through the body and over a tank of a bridge. The tuners are smooth, but the screws that hold the gears tend to come loose. A little thread lock fixed this. Pots and switches are easy to reach.

I've owned this bass for 10 years and the only repairs I've needed was a partial re-fret. This was the first time the frets ever had work on them and they're about 25 years old.

This thing is a beast! It almost has too much low end. Almost. I run this through a Peavey Mark VIII 600 watt head and a Fender 2x10/1x18 cab. I can kill small animals with the low end I get. Each note sounds clear and thick. Playing high on the neck sounds bright and clear. With a Boss Bass Overdrive pedal I blow my guitar player's Marshal out of the water.

I found it a little hard to set up for me. I like my action kinda low. It gives you all the adjusting options in the world though. Each string has it's own saddle and each saddlehas enough travel to set the intonation perfectly, and more than enough height adjustment. You can even adjust the pitch of the neck with a hex wrench screw. Very handy. But with the loose string action, its hard to find a happy middle between playability and fret buzz.

I ACTUALY HAVE DROPPED IT AND IT STAYED IN TUNE! All the hardware is original and does not need replacing. The bridge saddles are showing wear from the strings, but this looks like normal wear and tear. Some dents in the finish from belt buckles but no chips or gouges. The metal nut looks great. And no neck problems. Would I use it on a ggig without a backup? I do. Oh yeah. The original case is in fine shape also.

I have never dealt with Peavey customer support.

I've been playing for 17 years and dreamed about owning many basses. All have dissapointed me in some way. I play live with my T-40, I record with it, I scare guitar players with it. It always pulls through. My drummer says, "It's a thundering beast". That just about sumes it up. If only I could find more of them with a rosewood fingerboard (I hate maple boards).

Probably the same as all the other descriptions below (can't read 'em all!) Mine has a natural ash body and a maple neck.

I used to look at the photos of this bass and think, "That's only something a funk player could use." I realize now what a disservice I did it... you can play anything on this fine, affordable instrument.

I play straight-ahead rock (whatever THAT means) mixed with a little British invasion and Motown, and this bass does it all. I stick with the neck pickup alone. First rehearsal I used it, the drummer- on-loan got up from his stool and said, "Whoa! That bass!" A few months later we played a gig with our new drummer, and the old drummer was there, and again he came up to me to say, "Man, that BASS!" Sounds great no matter what amp it goes through... the maple neck and big humbucking pickups just OOZE tone.

When I got it, one of the pickup surrounds was cracked, but still all there. That's the only flaw I can find. I changed the strings and cranked the truss rod a 1/4-turn (needed a special wrench that I was able to buy from Peavey's customer service department for like, all of six bucks! They were cool, and fast!), and it played perfectly.
I always assumed the string tension would be "tight", but I was obviously just basing that on nothing besides the "look".

It's not a fancy-pants piece of furniture... it is what it is. And for that, it deserves a 10, 'cause it's solid as a rock.

I could probably drop this off a building, pick it up, and it'll still be in tune. Just like Peavey amps (I own 3 or 4, plus their huge 1810 speaker cab), you can't bust 'em!

I normally wouldn't bother a company over used gear (they're not making a penny on me, after all) but they were helpful when I needed the truss rod wrench, and I once wrote with some questions about the speaker cab and they emailed me even more info than I'd hoped for.

I've been playing piano, guitar and bass for 40 years (though you'd never know it to hear me!) I probably have over 100 instruments and 50 amps, and I love every last one of 'em!

I actually own the "companion" T-60 guitar, too, and I swear the bass weighs less! And I saved the best part for last...

In the original, molded case compartment, I found the original sales receipt, and the shipping labels that sent the instrument to the army base in Germany where the owner was stationed. And who was that owner? Shorty The Bass Man -- it's written on the body with press-type lettering! Cool!

I know that tens across the board may seem like overkill, but this fine piece of wood and metal deserves some props! For the price, even
new (maybe $375 if I remember correctly), it's an awesome machine.