Salvador Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 So... last Saturday while getting ready to play in mass, the guitar player calls me outside...and as he opens the trunk of his car he pulls out what "looks" like a 5 string Peavey Foundation (I say looks because my first impression was "what the %#^$%!"). Apparently, a co-worker gave him the bass, since he was not using it and it was on a basement( my friend the guitar player said he had to threw away the case because it was all rotten, and the bass was inside it). " See if you can make it work", he said. So I took the bass to plug it to my amp to see if at least the passive electronics work. And they did. What was left of the strings were so rusty that when I touched one, I almost cut my finger. The body was in very good shape, as weel as the bridge, and the tuners worked, even tough they are a little rusty. Now, the neck..... The neck has these ugly black stains on both sides.... nasty. So I took it home for a deeper inspection. The output jack works, even tough it's rusty. The control cavity looks nice with no signs of rust, and the pickups are fine.The body has a very nice black color that looked great after a good shine, with very few dings. The knobs work well, but since all are in chrome, I changed the volume knobs with some black knobs that I had from another bass, with very good results,it looks nice. But the neck.... I gave up trying to remove the stains. The humidity made a number on the neck, but still is playable, and if you can forget about the stains, the neck has a nice feel. I put some old strings to try it, and even tough the action is quite high for me (specially on the g string) the bass has a good sound and feel.Some of the last frets are shorter than the fretboard,which is weird, like if somebody remove them and put another. And one fret (the 20th, I think) is lower than the last (the bass is 21 frets).Other than that, it still plays.... Considering that this is the first time that I spent more than ten minutes wit a 5 string, I have to say.... I like it!. I'm not crazy about the extended lower range, but the playing positions... 2 octaves in a span of five frets! But I definitely need a better neck for the bass. Any idea where to find one that matches? Salvador Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHotChiliPeppersBass Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Sounds like a nice find Confucius say, children in backseats cause accidents, and accidents in backseats cause children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHotChiliPeppersBass Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 I cant help with the neck search though. Confucius say, children in backseats cause accidents, and accidents in backseats cause children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvador Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 Yeah. Unfortunately for me, I can't keep the bass for me, but since I am the bass player of the group, I get to use it and take it home... Oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 You might contact Peavey and tell them what you need. If they can't supply one, maybe they can name a source for you. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Hi Salvador, What is wrong with the neck other than the discoloration. Is it chipped or scratched? Maybe we can save that neck. Please tell me in more detail the neck problem. It sounds like the finish is worn off in spots that were played a lot. The dark area is just probably stained form sweat and dirt. The whole underside of the neck could be stripped of it's remaing finish and then the dark area may bleach out and then a new finish applied. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Years ago I bought a G&L L-1000 in similar shape. I'd recommend taking it TOTALLY apart. Hit all the chrome and metal bits with steel wool, hit all the wood bits with Murphy's Oil Soap ( or something similar), followed by a ton of lemon oil (especially on the fingerboard). Spray some WD-40 into the tuners, followed by some silicone or some graphite spray. Hit the pots with that tuner cleaner stuff from radio shack. Hit the input jack also with steel wool, that extra-fine water-proof sandpaper, or whatever you need to freshen up the contacts. With some new strings, and you may be very,very suprised at what you've got. If the neck varnish is coming off, try sanding it off the rest of the way and then put a few or five coats of tung oil on the neck. But digging out this hidden treasure is a whole lot of fun. Hmmm....maybe before you do all this work, offer your buddy $50 bucks for it.... Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Paul K, I agree with your advise. Especially the part about buying it cheep first. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvador Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 I'll send you pictures as soon as I can so you can see more clearly what the problem is. Thanks Rocky!! Salvador Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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