Peavey T-60 Porn....

[Aahzz]

So I just snagged this '81 Peavey T-60, and am utterly in love. I'd heard these were underrated, but I had no idea HOW underrated they are - this thing just sings, and has such a wide range of tones available....utterly astounding.

Without further ado, here're the pics:

 

[el_goodo]

Oh man, nice find!!! I have a friend who has one, the thing is beautiful, it's a great guitar, and I hope that you enjoy your new toy!!

 

[Pietro]

I had one for years. First decent guitar I ever had.

No offense, dude, but I SO do not miss it! I'm glad you love it.

 

[johnrussell]

Neck specs?

 

[Aahzz]

12" radius, very very thin neck.

 

[vibroverbus]

I had one for years. First decent guitar I ever had.

Ha ha! Beat me to it - my first axe too.

Holymoly those things are tanks - it feels like about 50 lbs of pure oak in that body. Very late-70's neck too - really skinny and thin, but that's why I liked it as a beginner. Has the cool phase switch and coil-tap-on-tone-knob wiring though, which always gave it a lot of sounds.

I've been keeping my eye out for one figuring if I found one in a shop for low bucks someplace I'd pick it up for nostalgia purposes... That said, I doubt if one would ever displace any of my real favorites though.

 

[Aahzz]

I have to add...mine only weighs about 8.5 pounds (my scale says 8 pounds when my wife holds it, 8.8 when I hold it - I need a new scale!)

 

[Glide]

Great guitar - Bought mine new in 78 - Still have it along with a T-40 Bass.

 

[walterw]

you'll find the "peavy t-60 porn" waaay in the back of the guitar porn store. (just don't let your friends see you looking at it!)

seriously, my understanding of these things is that they were some of the first examples of cnc-made guitars, so historically important for that reason.

the one mod i've always done to these and especially the basses, was to remove the ridiculous circuit that cut the pickups to single coils when the tone knobs were all the way up. i then usually convert the little toggle to a master coil-split, so you could keep the original sound but have the option of actually using it in full humbucking mode like a normal guitar.

 

[rrhea]

Congrats! Like a few others have said here, a T-60 was also my first electric guitar. I still own it after all these years, and another one I picked up a few years after I started playing. They both have EMGs in them now (I was a metal head).

I have some really nice guitars in my current collection, but in terms of playability and solid performance (and even tone) I'd put my T-60s up against all of them. What a great guitar.

I have often said that I wouldn't be playing guitar right now had I not lucked across my black T-60. Back in the 80's I didn't know squat about guitars and just about anything you bought for under $1500 - $2000 was utter crap... especially a $300 guitar! They sucked back then (except for a few examples, like the T-60). The 80's was not like today where the very technology used to make the T-60 play so well has made it feasible to buy and professionally play $300 guitars from many different brands.

The T-60 and the CNC innovations from Hartley Peavey helped the whole industry more than most people know.

Cool guitar!

RR

 

[phatster]

Congrats...that finish is their best..I got the natural and it is indestructable...the T-40 is a cool bass for strong backed folks.I hope you got the plastic case with yours..it will out live all of us!!

 

[Aahzz]

you'll find the "peavy t-60 porn" waaay in the back of the guitar porn store. (just don't let your friends see you looking at it!)

seriously, my understanding of these things is that they were some of the first examples of cnc-made guitars, so historically important for that reason.

the one mod i've always done to these and especially the basses, was to remove the ridiculous circuit that cut the pickups to single coils when the tone knobs were all the way up. i then usually convert the little toggle to a master coil-split, so you could keep the original sound but have the option of actually using it in full humbucking mode like a normal guitar.

Interesting...so far, I really like the tone with the stock setup.

 

[el greco]

Cool guitars those T-60's. Peavey USA guitars are really good guitars and yet so underrated.
I also like the Generation S-1, Odyssey, Jerry Donahue Omniac, Falcon and the HP Signature / Special models. All fine guitars.

 

[mark norwine]

I have an irrational, immature hatred for the T-60.

It was around '79. I was playing in a country rock band in High Point, NC. The other guitarist had a late 50's single-cut Gretsch Duo-Jet, black.......just Like Harrison's. I loved that guitar.

One night, this other guitarist shows up at a gig with his "new guitar". He traded the Duo-Jet plus a few hundred bucks for a T-60.

Even back then, in those "pre-vintage days", it was a stupid deal.

Ever since then, I can't even look at a T-60. Yes, the issue is all in my head, but what can I say?

 

[donnyrocker]

Pound for pound, the best guitar for the money!

Had three in my lifetime (bought one new in '78 the same week I bought an Ovation UKII) and I don't own those for the same reason I don't own Les Pauls.

 

[big brekfest]

hey, don't i know you from another forum ahaz?

yeah, these guitars are the deal of the century. I prefer it to the pauls and strats, really. Straight out of the box, they're fantastic. plays like a dream and has the fattest tone and biggest sustain i've ever heard from a solid body. You hit a note and you'll have time to eat a sandwich before it stops ringing out.

Sure there are better guitars, but the benefits of getting one of those uber-guitars is negligible for the price difference.

 

[rastus]

Oh man, the t40 and t60 bring back vivid memories for me! My first pro gig ( when I was 15) was with a high school buddy's mother's band. She had him on bass, his brother on drums, her daughter on keys and vocals, and she played rhythm and sang the lead. We did country and pop, but the emphasis was classic Bakersfield honky tonk tunes. We played lots of VFWs and Moose lodges as well as the bigger roadhouse/dance halls in Nashville.
My father supplied my first rig, a 58 Tele through a blackface bandmaster and 2-12 cab. I used an echoplex for echo/reverb. But even then that gear was high dollar. Joyce and her son Jim were in the same boat, she playing a early 50's j200, and he on a 63 Precision. We got nervous carrying that stuff around.

One day Joyce called a meeting and we were told that we had a new management company and booking agent. They would supply all the gear and Joyce had her husband go in his truck to pick it up in Nashville. She wound up with a New Ovation Custom Balladeer with her name and some roses painted on the top. Me and Jim got a new matching set of t-40 and t-60s, 2 each, a pair in natural with maple neck, and a pair in black with rosewood boards. Gina was supplied with Roland Keys and a new JC 120, while Jim was supplied with a Peavey bass head and 2-15 cab loaded with black widows. I was given 2 Peaveys, a Classic and a Mace combo. I used the Mace with the Black widows. We were also given matching Justin boots and were fit with Manuel custom suits-2 sets each.

We worked like dogs and made good money. Joyce, as well as my parents, decided to replace us upon our graduation with pro players that were local, as we were all expected to use our savings and go to college. Of course, me and Jim rebelled, bought a new Dodge van and some used Gibsons, Ampegs and Marshalls, and started playing alt rock/ punk in our own bands on the college circuit. To all our folks credit, they supported us.
Jim still owns the black t40 and t60, the natural ones were kept by Joyce for her band to use. They are great utility instruments and Jim still uses them all the time. I play 'em over at his place, and they do show some wear from the years. But they still sound and play great and are treasured by Jim and his family. Those instruments just epitomize the late 70's early 80's sound of Country to me. I live out in a rural area south of Nashville, and in the bars and clubs out here, the Peavey gear, and especially the t60 and t40 are still in use by many players and can be seen on any given Saturday night.
I went through a period of Peavey snobbery, but I now appreciate that they are the tools of the common working player and have a great impact on players at the grass-roots level, just as much as the other popular choice, Fender.
We sure were proud of our new suits and matching rigs back then, and it gave the band a look and professional cache that was very effective back then. And it helped a lot that Jim and I were young and had strong backs.

 

[dorfmeister]

I bought one back in '82. Built like a tank, versatile guitar but I ended up really disliking the thin neck.

 

[big brekfest]

I have fairly short fingers, so I appreciate the thin neck. one of the things that draw me back to it.

 

[bluesmain]

wow... I played a few back in the day. Brings back a few memories!