Peavey TL-5

1981 5-knob model in electric blue (my favorite color)

I played several 4-string bases, Fender precision, one of the first Fender fretless which the factory could never get the neck straight enough to stop rattle, and to a Fender Jazz, then on a whim the Gibson Les Paul Recording bass. When I decided to go 5-string I tried quite a few at Sam Ash and when the TL-5 hit my lap I was hooked.

One of the most durable and beautiful finishes of all the basses

Tune up once every ten - 15 hours of play, I have no backup (only a set of strings for some weird reason)(I dont slap and pop)

I bought it with no documentation, called Peavey and they sent me full set of schematics and operators manual

Been playing since 1963, use a Sunn Colliseum 880Watt amp with 1-18" and 2 Hartke 10" speakers. Low imp output into mixer board

Proto type
24 Fret
USA Made
Gorgeous 5 piece neck thru body
Dual p/u
Three band active eq
Trans. Red Gold Hardware
Will Lee Dean Markley's (Only strings I use on all my basses)

This bass is the first version (5 knob) they made. I bought it through the Bass Centre in LA back in 90-91. I fell in love with the looks and sound of this bass when I saw Jason Scheff of Chicago playing one. I did some research on the designer, Mr. Tim Landers, and became a big fan. Once I got my hands on the bass, it was all over for me...the fit, feel and sound it gives me is sweet! IT FITS MY HANDS LIKE A SECOND SKIN!!! And MAN IS IT PRETTY, even after all these years and battles played out there! I get compliments all the time! Others that know what a TL5 is, always come up and ask to play it a little bit when I'm on a break and tell me they are glad someone is still playing one out there!

Country, Rock and FUNK...handles them all just fine...wanna slap and pop? Rip the string off the board and stand back, it'll smack your butt into the FUNK world in a heartbeat!!! With time the electronics have gotten noticably noisy. I've contacted Tim Landers about it just asking for suggestions...I'm looking at putting Sadowsky elelctronics into it with Bartolini p/u's just to spruce it up and see what else it can do...will write when I get it done and let you know how it turns out.

Everything action and fit wise is great. When I was first looking to buy one of these TL5's, I contacted Peavey to try and have a customm color made and they wouldn't budge on it. They made the Homneyburst finish but WOULD NOT build me a cherry sunburst. I told them I would pay whatever they wanted to make it for me...they flat out would not do it. I had seen one that was cherry sunburst and Peavey told me "they must have had someone strip it and paint it for them". So that may be what I do to this one as well...maybe, we'll see...other than that, no flaws...(it does have a magnificant finish on it)

I've played 100's of shows over the years with it and it's NEVER let me down. The on/off switch for the active elelctronics has blown a couple of tweeters over the years by getting bumped (turned on and off by accident...quite the noisy experience) and snapped the diaphrams in the tweets on my 4x10's. other than that, NEVER a problem. As stated, 100's of gigs on this machine...I'd put it up against anything out there! I never take a backup with me with this one...if I break a string, the band takes a break while I fix it!
As far as the neck features and etc, it's like the Ron Popiel of Bass, set it and forget it!

Peavey was responsive even though they didn't give me what i wanted in the end finish wise...they were always cordial even when I was frustrated with the continuous "No" answers I got. Can't say anything negative about the customer service.

I've been at it 35+ year now...sure has flown by...
I've got a Music Man Stingray 4 string, the TL5, an ESP (from the kids) 5 string, and Ibanez 5 string. I run a Trace GPX12 through a Yamaha P2200 Power amp into a 4x10 Peavey Tx and a GK 115 loaded with a JBL 15 or another 4x10 tx depending on the gig...most country stuff gets a double 4x10 while all other get's a biamp setup and no effects other than what's in the GPX12 (eq and compression).

A GREAT bass for a GREAT price for what you can get them for now!

34" scale
24 frets
Unity( neck thru body construction
Eastern flame maple body and neck
Ebony fingerboard with 15" radius
2 internally active (Hum-canceling) pickups
On-board active EQ with rotary mid shift/boost cut
9-volt powered low impedance output
Gold finished hardware
Premium die-cast machine heads
Genuine mother of pearl oval inlays

I have 2 of these and am looking for A 3RD. These each have a different pre-amp config. The later one has the first run of Cirrus pickups and preamp. The earlier one has a Dyna-Bass pre and Ferrite pickups. Both basses sound amazing. These were $1800 in the day and oyu can see why.

It can mimic lots of different sounds, smooth meaty P-Bass, clean Jazz 'muah..... that John Mcvie Alembic sound.... and everything in between. Great Bass.

The pickups and the quality of electronics makes it super quiet. It's got a nice rich piano like sustain which I love. I have been recording ur ltest record with this and we are all so stoked on the outcome. Perfect intonation like a piano.

Fast and smooth. Very easy on the hands. 34" scale is so nice for a USA 5 string. Peavey went to a 35" with the Cirrus... and so I stick with these. Besides, these can be had for $600 or $700 now. A total steal.

USA made neck through Peavey. This is a high-end bass and it shows. It is made for professional use. Period. Reliable? Of course. I have 2 and they are like good friends.

Called them for a truss rod wrench... sent to me no questions. Even on a 15 year old bass. Great folks!

Yes I like it. If it were lost, I would grab my other one and start looking for yet another. I want a honeyburst one!! Great basses.

American Made, 5-string, neck-thru, twin Peavey Pups. Laminated top with heavy lacquer finish in a deep see through fire red. Jazz body style standard bridge and gotoh type tuners. Volume, pan, and a bunch more I've no idea of their use, active passive switch.

Nice varied sound. Very versatile. Nice Jazz bass tone and active electronics allow for the real bright solos sound depending on the strings used. Can be noisey when active. Built like a tank, good guitar for the stage. Not too heavy, no neck dive. some neck flip at the body on the fretboard requires a higher than my liking action.

Used from the bay, so I don't know how it was set up to begin with. Beautiful body and color. Deep red transparant lacquer over beautiful flamed maple combined with nice gold hardware make this one stunning guitar. Action's a little high on this bass. and one of the tuners was stripped on arrival but a $75.00 later the boys at Parkway had this baby singing. Contoured body is a nice touch on this bass but whew what a stretch on the low B. Not the easiest 5-string to play... long and wide neck. Not for the short of finger...

Bad tuner needed replacement... other than that the hardwares pretty cool. Strap buttons are solid and neck adjusts easily. Finish seems to hold up to my toxic sweat quite well. Don't use any basses with batteries without back-up. But this bass has a real functioning passive/active switch so I might use this one solo at some time....

Never called Peavey... don't know..

I'd rate it overall about a 7. I good, decent "American Made" 5ver. Not an instrument for the short of finger or dainty of hand. neck is wide from top to bottom and that low B is one helluva stretch. Can be had cheap and will provide servicable sound for a long time...

This TL-Five was a USA-made late 80's (?) w/ active pickups, gold hardware, neck-thru design, original Peavey strap w/ straploks, original Peavey case. Finish is a really nice deep trasparent magenta...ABSOLUTELY SPOTLESS. Controls include an active/passive switch, master volume, pickup blend, low/mid/high eq.

Sound is probably more versatile than most other basses I've played. The electronics are super quiet. I've been able to play everything from grunge to funk to contemporary all with this one instrument. Sounds can range from tight and clean to rumbly and sloppy to everything in between. Current strings are Dean Markley SL2000. Will probably stick to those from now on after trying everything else. It sounds equally good in the stage or studio. I always receive compliments from FOH sound techs and studio engineers about how good it sounds even when they leave the channel eq on the mixer flat. I Have found that a compressor makes it sound extra sweet (but then, that's how it is w/ most basses). I can go for weeks at a time without having to tune unless it gets transported in temp. extremes. This is a first for me. I currently play through either a Peavey TKO or a SWR 2-10" rig. Only dislike is that it seems a bit head-heavy. Longer shows would probably be a bit painful with a narrow strap.

Since I bought the bass used, I was initially dissappointed with the sound and playability. I had to replace the strings, replace the jack, adjust the truss rod, adjust the bridge and pickups. I have since been happy with the performance. One problem I've had was the wiring coming off the battery connector. I resoldered it and it's been fine since then.

The finish seems to be flawless and VERY thick. Electronics are quiet and wiring is well organized in the interior. I have and will continue to use the bass for live playing. It always seems to stay tuned throughout 3-4 hour sets. I adjusted the truss rod when I first purchased it 4 years ago and have not had to touch it since. Hardware is all very solid. The bridge and saddles all seem to be built very well, although the saddle on my B string is missing the spring (oh well). I feel very very confident with no backup bass.

The Peavey rep didn't return my call as quickly as I would have liked, but when he did, he quickly got me a new manual and the factory specs, answered my questions, etc.

I've been playing bass for seven years. I've played Modulus, Yamaha, Ibanez, and Fender. I've found this TL-Five to outshine all of them in sound and playability. The deep magenta laquer with the gold hardware looks amazing. Electronics are quieter than most I've played before. Other than it being a little bit head-heavy, I've got no complaints. I hope to God it never gets stolen or lost because there aren't a lot of these around and I've never played another bass that I like as much as this one. If I were forced into it though, I'd probably get a Modulus. Hats off to Peavey...I don't know how you got a bad name after producting something this great. I work in a music store. I had my bass out one day and I had offers on it all day long. Most for more than I paid for it. Makes me feel pretty good and buying it in the first place.

Mine is a later model TL-5 w/ the sweepable mid control. The active electronics are HOT. The finish was the translucent blue--from the looks of it, it was nice at one one time. Peavey must have had to let the finish dry for several months, because it is THICK. All the materials are high quality.

I've played all styles of music with TONS of basses over my 15+ years of bass playing (including Jazz Basses, a Music Man, a Kubicki, Yamahas, and several others) and the TL-5 is really top notch. It sounds great with my Ampeg combo amp. I can't get it to hiss--very quiet. It does not have the hi-tech sound of a Kubicki or Fodera, but the TL-5 produces an incredible array of tones: fat and warm, bright and punchy, and so on...

I really had to play around with the mid controls to figure them out--this feature really changes the shape of the tone.

I bought this bass used--VERY used. It was beaten to death in fact. But judging how this bass stood the test of time 10+ years later, I'd say Peavey did a heck of a job building these basses. As I stated before, the finish is thick. I know because I stripped it--talk about a tough job. There had to have been several layers of clearcoat. And they didn't miss any spots either--all the cavities are finished too.

The TL-5 is a workhorse--pure and simple. It's a working bassist's bass. If you know you have a good battery, I can't imagine needing a backup.

No experience

Don't let the price I paid influence you. This bass was near death when I bought it. I put a lot of money and elbow grease into it and it is worth alot more now. I'd say fair market value would be $600 for one in good shape. I actually bought this soley to fix it up and resell it, but really like it--so I'm keeping it!!

1991 Good 'ol USA made. This one has the gold knobs, vol, blend, bass/treble, mid cut/boost w/sweep. Very solid neck thru, great finish (although mine has a few dings) and it came with a very nice TKL molded case. You can't go wrong with this bass!! It has some pro-quality features not mentioned in previous posts: 6 degree tilt headstock, neck is slightly tilted down in relation to the body (2-3 degrees maybe??) and the body is contoured (convex) similar to a Warwick!! Not to mention having cutaways in the right areas, this bass feels excellent. Only slightly head-heavy, it's not noticeable when wearing. Neck feels thin; coming from only 4 strings I find this bass is easy to play.

This bass has the exact sound I was looking for. It reproduces the string sounds clearly and accurately. It was strung with exposed-core strings, which I think help it a lot. They have a piano-like ring to them. When I hear an instrument, I set all the amp and instrument settings (like mid, bass etc.) to zero to hear it sound flat. This bass is fantastic, the B isn't dull or thuddy, and it has a clearness to it without being mid-heavy, I like that. I had a friend jam on it while I messed with the controls (on the bass itself, being played through a SWR Workingman's 15). I began cranking up the bass and it thundered! 'Nuff said, I was pleased. Forget all the Fender toneheads out there, this bass sounds great, what a value.

The guys at Basspalace.com set the action perfectly. I did have to set the intonation and raise the pickups slightly, otherwise it was set great. Neck is straight, frets have almost no wear on them, and the pearl inlays are nice. The electronics cover still had the original protective plastic on it, so I removed it to reveal a nice, gloss finish. The elec. and batt. covers have foil on their backs for shielding. The jack was worn out, so a replacement is on the way from Peavey, along with volume and blend knobs (I want them to look like new, pers. preference). After adjusting these settings it is great now. However, I had to move the G and D string saddles all the way forward to intonate it correctly; not sure why they have to be so far up. I haven't had the bass long enough to get everything sorted out yet but that will come with more time, overall though I'm very pleased.

Some have said that the only things that would survive a nuclear war would be lawyers, cock roaches, and T-40's. Chalk this one up next to them, it's solid! Actually, I think post-war mutants will play using Peavey amps, cabs, etc. that they dig up out of the rubble as it's all good stuff, don't know why they get such a bad rap.

Anyway, I'm replacing the volume and blend knobs because they are slightly faded, barely enough to be off in color from the other ones, no biggie though. Bridge is solid brass (I think??) and not plated. Tuning machines still look good, Dunlop Straplok buttons are getting replaced with a new set (it didn't come with the male strap portions, not to mention they've faded).

I would gig without backup.

Peavey forum is great, no email was returned about the knob/jack parts request however. I'm impatient, so I called and got right through on the phone and ordered the parts. Friendly folks, great service. I prefer to call directly anyway.

I started out as a guitar player but four years ago switched to primarily bass. I've owned a Steinberger XQ4, Peavey T-40, amongst other guitars (G&L, Hohner, Steinberger). Currently I don't have a rig for this bass, but usually play on my church's stuff. If lost I might buy another if it was a good deal, but I like owning different instruments so I might look for something else--having already owned one. I don't foresee that happening, so I will probably keep this even if I do get another bass one day (G.A.S., you know...)

What I really dig about this bass is the green color. The trans. green is awesome and looks great, the flame maple shimmers depending on the lighting. Basspalace.com had a five-string Steiny but it was sold already (rats!!). I was originally looking up info on a Warwick Streamer Pro-M when I found this on their site. The Streamer I was looking at locally played well, I liked its features but the body was beat up and it didn't come close to looking as good as this Peavey. I haven't compared them soundwise but I am very happy so the point is mute. Only thing I wish it had was a 35" scale (ala Cirrus), and that it was new (the green is slightly faded).

This info from Tim Landers' (TL) web page:
34" scale
24 frets
Unity(TM) neck thru body construction
Eastern flame maple body and neck
Ebony fingerboard with 15" radius
2 internally active (Hum-canceling) pickups
On-board active EQ with rotary mid shift/boost cut
9-volt powered low impedance output
Gold finished hardware
Premium die-cast machine heads
Genuine mother of pearl oval inlays
Transparent Red

I play pop, rock, blues, jazz, gospel
I play thru a Genz-Benz combo, w/Trace Elliot dual compressor
NO noise
With practice, you will find a wide variety of sounds - very versatile
Appropriate for stage or studio
I play venues of 50- 500; coffeehouses, small-mediun auditoriums. People regularly inquire as to the make and model. This instrument receives many compliments.

I bought this used, but the dealer did a professional setup.
The adjustments included cleaning the pots, and filing the frets flush with the sides of the neck.
The flame maple with transparent red finish gets the attention of many!

Excellent construction, inside and out.

No experience with the company

I have been playing 30+ years. other gear includes G&L SC3, Guild
F30NT, Trace Elliot Combo, KORG and Yamaha effects processors

This is an early 90s from what I know. I bought it used. It has the later humbucker puckups as opposed to the earlier singles. It is trans blus flammmed maple with ebony board and high quality gold hardware. The bridge, though not the earlier Shaller made one, is solid. The tuners look and feel to be Japanese Gotoh. I's got a master volume,pickup blend and a 3 band eq with midrange sweep. When I first got it I thought the sweep was a mystery pot because I could not figure out it's function. I typically play passive basses or actives set flat. My luthier pointed it out to me and after using it, I find it's very cool. It comes in handy when playing live if your sound just ain't hapening. Give a little twist and your plowing through the mix! It's got all the right ingredients for a great bass.

It sounds THE BALLS!!!!!! It can mimic lots of different sounds, farty bass, bright funk and everything in between. I typically run a slightly hot bottomheavey sound with lots of definition and this totally fits the bill. The humbuckers and the quality of electronics makes it quite quiet. I was playing a Carvin LB75 before this and it was quite noisey under stage lights and with bad electricity. It's got a nice piano like sustain which I love. I haven't done any recording with it yet but plan to. I know it will sound great. Some musican friends who have seen me play always remark on the sound being awesome!

Very well made. People give Peavey a bad rap. I did for years until I dicovered this model. It is truley well made. The action since a visit to my guitar tech is perfect. I had the nut raised slightly and heavier strings per my liking and it is great. The finish is very well done. Mine is obviously at least 10-15 years old and it has held up excellent. I have playes and/or owned basses ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars and this certainly sits near the top of the list for overall quality. My only qualm is the flame on the back of the body and neck are much nicer than the top. Hmmmm, Why did Peavey do this???

Great live. I have only used this live and for rehearsel since aquiring a few months ago. It is my favorite live bass due to the fact that is it a five string which my band requires and it rocks!! The gold hardware has held up great. There is no wear as far as I can see. The strap buttons are Shaller strap locks which are fine. This has proven to be a very dependible bass and I have actually done gigs with just this bass.

I've never dealt with Peavey customer support and this bass is way out of it's warrenty.

I've been playing music since I was 5, 30 years ago. Piano first, guitar from 12 and bass since 16. I am primarily a bass player though I do some gigs on guitar and or keys. My current basses consist of an old Fender Jazz with EMGs and Precision with Duncan, an original Squire P bass with Lace sensor, 2 80's Yamaha BBs 1200 and 2000 (great basses!!),2 Gibson Thunderbirds, an 80s 8 string Washburn, a custom Schecter Baron 35" 5 String with Duncan MM pickup and a Fodera Emporer Elite with Bartolinis. The quality is easily the same as the Yamahas which are great instruments. It is better than the Fenders overall and the Gibsons though not the Fodera which costs $4,000 + to replace. I play through different systems depending on the gig. I have a Trace Elliott AH350 head, Gallien Krueger RB1001 head, Ampeg SVT350 head and SWR Super Readhead combo plus various cabs, 1-15 Trace, 2 4-10s Hartke+Peavey and a 2-10 Eden. They haven't made this model for a few years which is a shame. If you see one play it, you will like it and they are realitivly cheap. It makes much more sense to buy one of these as opposed to any Korean or Mexican made bass like a Schecter Diamond, ESP LTD, Epiphone, Fender, Spector etc.....

Humbuckers with an active 3 band eq. 34 inch scale, ebony fretboard, switchable active/passive tone circuitry. Beautiful transparent red poly finish, flame maple wings and solid neck thru construction.

I play all sorts of music, Jazz, country, rock and blues. It has replaced my trusty 71 P-Bass, and has the tonal flexibility with the 3 band eq to cut thru in any situation. It is quiet and records very well.It is HEAVY...get a wide strap.

The TL5 was set up well, and a little neck tweaking once a year seems to keep it playing well, even when used here in Alaska, with the cold/warm conditions. Stays in tune for weeks....

I play with a high action and aggressive style. It has taken a few tumbles over the years..solid as a rock. No need for a backup for 12 years now.

Never had to consult Peavey.

I have been playing for 37 years. I have a vintage Fender Dual Showman-Reverb head with a 2X15 Bassman cabinet. My main kit is an Eden David VT40 amp and a Paradise 4X10 box w/ Eden drivers.I currently have only this bass, and I need no other. Comments from other players are how warm and punchy my kit sounds...just the way I like it.