This one is a peach! A really unusual colour, lovely rosewood board and really nice to play.
The pics were taken some time ago, when it was sunny - a rare thing in itself. This has the warmer Toaster pick-ups and this particular one is very mellow. Gigged with this one some time ago, as I went through the colours, so I think it's time it came out again. . . . soon.
How could you not love this. . . . . . . . .
I thinks that's enough T-40 for a while, something Japanese next time.
One of my all time favourites, something a little different.
The pics are for one that I no longer have and were taken for the guy who now has it. I sold this one after owning it for just over a year, to fund the Red one.
This is the one that I have used in the title page. I have another Natural with Blades, that is slightly later, which I will put up at another time but as this one was such a beauty, I thought I would share this one first. Here are some details on the T Series.
I do remember these very well, in the late 70's but there weren't many around and almost all were Natural finish. The guitars were more common but rarely seen, as the big G and F were still the ones to have, along with the higher end quality of the Japanese makers. The T-40, like the T-60, had some unusual features. The powerful humbuckers can be turned into single coil, with what would normally be the tone control. On 10 it is pure single coil and as it is backed off, it starts to feed in the other coil, fattening up the sound. This can be done on both pickups, to any degree. So, you can alter the sound and tone a great deal. On top of that there is an in/out phase switch, which if used with the volume equal gives a very empty sound (not much use at all) but if you feed in one more than the other coils, the permutations are endless.
Various comparisons have been made to a Ric sound, once you have twiddled the controls to your liking. In reality, there are a lot of sounds it will produce. The bodies are North American Ash, which are either in five parts or the more rare three part body. I am not entirely sure why there is a difference. Most of the early ones were Natural, with many other colour options. Over the years, there were Dark Sunburst, Black, White, Red, Plum, Red, Tobacco and like an Orange Sunburst.
They are not light and a lot of players that are used to something lighter may pass them over but it is not that bad - I have had other basses that are heavier. What you do get is a great, solid sound. The necks are a two piece maple, that are joined either side of the truss rod - a feature to make the neck more stable. Rosewood was an option but is far less common than the standard maple neck. The neck is definitely not like a Jazz but I have always found them very comfortable and easy to get on with.
They are a great looking bass, something different from the norm - many times I have had players come up to me at a gig and ask for a closer look. At least a couple of them I know of were hooked and now have there own.
Conclusion - Good looking, great sounding bass, that is very easy to get on with. Comfortable and balanced on a strap, just right sitting down. You will not see many of these around and as a bass player, you will definitely have someone to talk to about it halfway through the gig.
I love 'em.
More Peavey T-40 pics to follow. :) EDIT : If you have enjoyed this post - click on the link below. I am doing a big feature on the T-40 and T-60, with the help of Chip Todd, himself!!
This one is a Canadian Odyssey, made in Vancouver in the 70's. I have started with this one, as it is one of my favourites and I have family in Vancouver. Seems like a good place to start.
This is a really nice instrument that just does everything I want it to. It balances nicely and has a very "Punchy" sound, which I like. I often describe my favourite bass sound as "BOWWW", as opposed to "Wump" or "Thud" Weird but it makes sense to me. Two DiMarzio Precision pick-ups provide lots of BOWWW.
If you have a look here, there are a lot of details about Atilla Balogh and his Company. Odyssey
Canadian Craftsmanship, at it's finest.
That's all for now. Next time. . . . perhaps one of the many Peavey basses I have.
Time is flying by, almost half the year gone, so I thought I had better get back to this before another month goes by.
The "Whole Collection" thing is still bubbling under but it is going in the right direction, some great stuff in there and some not so great but still interesting, all the same.
I have been managing to play some instruments that I haven't played for ages and am now making plans to start photographing them, ready for listing. So, sit tight and you never know, something might happen before another month goes by. So for the time being, I leave you with one of my favourites. Gigged this a couple of weeks ago. Just Great.
