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February 29, 2008

Peavey T-40

Peavey T-40 bass I’ve been shopping for a new bass guitar all month. I love playing bass, but I know almost nothing about them. Plus, there’s the small issue of not wanting to spend a lot of money. Like $300 or less. This complicates things.

After spending hours trolling bass forums and Craigslist, last weekend I picked up an 1981 Peavey T-40 from a guy in Tacoma who collects them (he had four T-40s and was selling off two). They don’t make them anymore and they’re just on the edge of “vintage,” but they’re not exactly rare.

The T-40 is built like a tank. I read somewhere that Peavey used firearm design for inspiration, and I believe it. Everything about it feels weaponized. It’s also way heavier than any other bass I’ve tried. The intonation is great, and I’m only beginning to grok all the tone controls.

It’s got a few dings and scuffs — which I prefer to think of as scars.

The original heavy bronze strings were too hurty for my soft, delicate hands, so I replaced them with some DR Lo Riders, and now I don’t cry so much when I play it — which is a lot. Play it, that is. I’m a little obsessed with the T-40.

I must give it a badass-sounding name. Suggestions?

13 Comments

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And Mark did speak thusly:

“Lemmy”
And Tim Walker did speak thusly:

It does look a bit 80s rrrrooooock, so how about “Derek”?

No, hang on – it should be a double-neck bass for that :-)
And scottandrew did speak thusly:

I’m fond of Trogdor the Bassinator myself.
And Elizabeth did speak thusly:

Trogdor the Bassinator is great except that a) in trying to make this comment I keep typing “Trodgor”, which gives it a whole different feel, I think; b) Bassinator might be a little too close to bassinet; and c) it DEFINITELY needs some umlauts. ;)
And Tim Walker did speak thusly:

Just realised that in England, “Trogdor” reads quite similar to a local slang term for the – ahem – male member…

May not be a problem until you come for your first UK tour, and have to introduce the band :-)
And dennis did speak thusly:

kruntpuncher!
Battalatica!
Steve! the bass
And Goh did speak thusly:

If I had to name your bass, I’d call it Hertz. Either that or “Bitchquake”.
And Matthew did speak thusly:

Why I came up with it, I don’t know but I have to suggest: Shithouse.

I’ve always been confused as to how such a nasty sounding term has a positive connotation (when used in the phrase “built like a brick shithouse”). Still, I love the idea of saying, “I have this idea that’s gonna sound badass when I get home and play it on the Shithouse.”
And Patrick did speak thusly:

Only one name is badass enough for this bass:

“Crom”
And Johnny Goodsex did speak thusly:

The TERMINATOR, or some such nonsense. I would suggest SEX MACHINE but see that’s the name of MY old T-40 so yeah.
And Scott Andrew - DIY acoustic pop superhero! > wordpress > archives > 2008 > 03 > sideman did speak thusly:

[...] how I bought a Peavey T-40 bass? There’s a reason for that. I’ve joined a band, playing bass for Explone. We rehearse [...]
And Scott Andrew - DIY acoustic pop superhero! > did speak thusly:

[...] This is the first batch of tunes we recorded last June, and the first to feature yours truly on the four-string Riddle Of Steel. That’s me in the photo, at Studio Litho last [...]
And Justo did speak thusly:

So what did you finally name it? Four String Riddle of Steel? You can’t even make an acronym out of that: FSROS. Maybe you drop the four string and keep it Riddle of Steel, or ROS. Of course, you have to pronounce it ROZ. Now that’s a good name for your . . . ROS. (Don’t forget, it’s properly spelled with all caps. Gives it that ump)