The Electra Forums

What better way to properly introduce yourself to a music forum than to share your instruments? There's only one Electra here, but there are six other Mats to go with it! Not to mention the other six...



Front row, left to right:
2008 B-stock Dean Playmate EAB, 1994 Peavey International Series Milestone II, 1987 Peavey Patriot, 1984 Westone The Rail, 1985 Westone The Rail, 1985 Westone The Rail, 1970(?) Aria 1540, 1985 Westone Spectrum GT Bass

Back row, left to right:
1985 Westone Dimension IV, Carlo Robelli 12-string, 2000 Peavey Grind 6 NTB, 1982 Peavey T-45, 1980 Electra Phoenix X640

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?

Welcome to the site. Thats a cool collection you got. I like the 94 Peavey International. Looks like you got it covered from all angles.

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SlmGuy

Thanks! And yes, the Milestone is almost completely covered. Front, back, sides, fret markers, the back of the neck (from fret 5 to fret 10), and the Peavey logo used to have a piece of masking tape over it with the Fender logo stamped on it! Would you believe I swiped the thing from my sister? The stickering was her doing!

I guess I should add that ALL of my basses are in the condition that I got them in. The Aria's butchering is not my fault!

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?

Awesome lineup! And Westones are definitely honorary Electras (not that anyone's counting). Love your Dim IV!!!

That they are! The Dim IV was a steal, the guy selling it on eBay knew absolutely nothing about guitars and sold it as having a warped/bowed neck. When I opened the case (OHSC, score!), the strings were so tight they were a full inch off the fretboard! I loosened the strings, turned the trussrod a full 360 degrees, and let it sit for a week. Perfectly straight now! Grand total including shipping came to $182 and change. Best of all, the points are almost undamaged! There are a couple of little dings, but nothing through the paint.

Also, as far as my lone Electra goes, is the serial number read the same way as it is on Westones? I assumed 011063 as November 1980. And what is the finish called? Let me know! I'll be happy to give you some nice high res pictures to go on the Electra page with your catalogues too.

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?

That 12 string is wicked man, how does she play? One of my ex-bass players had a eight string Hamer, and it was really full sounding in a power trio Band, as sometimes when you take a solo in a trio, the whole band seems to sound thinner normally. Also like that T-45, does it have any cool electronics (as Peavey was known to do in that era)? Does the X640 have active electronics on it?

Nice collection, but where are the six stringers?

P.S. looks like someone was going for a 'Jaco' look with that Aria JB there.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

If you think an 8-string has a full sound, you have to hear a 12. It fills in a LOT when played with only one or two other people, and I usually just play with my singer/guitarist friend Bo. So far I only have one song for the 12, but it sounds much more epic than the faster songs (which are not playable on a 12). In standard tuning with both octave strings matching their root string, the sound is most comparable to playing a bass and mandolin simultaneously, with the bass at the front and the mando accenting it. You can also tune it so you're playing power chords, major chords, or any other type of three note chords while fretting with only one finger! And playing chords in standard tuning sounds pretty good, if you don't mind some serious finger stretching.

The T-45 does have some funky electronics. I don't fully understand how one pickup can have two tone knobs on a passive bass, but the middle knob will coil split that big fat humbucker if you turn it above about 7 (there are no numbers on the knobs, so I'm going by the online manual). I usually keep it around 5 or 6, because I prefer it as a humbucker. Surprisingly, I found the T-45 in a Sam Ash, and it had been there for something like six months. As it was the best sounding bass in the whole store, I went home with it.

And you know, there's a six string right there between the T-45 and 12-string! I know what you mean, though. My guitar collection isn't as impressive. I have three different Esteban acoustic-electric guitars that my mom bought from HSN, a Yamaha acoustic that was abandoned in an apartment, and a Yamaha EGV103 electric "surf" guitar. I don't know what makes it a surf guitar, because it's only based on the body shape of Yamaha's old SGV surf guitars. The EGV has pickups similar to a Strat, except the neck pickup is the slanted one instead of the bridge. It's sound is very, very clean and crisp, but I'm not so good with chords. I actually bought a ukulele so I could practice chords on something with fewer strings! I also have a Carlo Robelli A-style mandolin, but the string spacing and high action makes it very difficult to play.

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?

Kewl collection and how do the "Rail" bass play? Now I'm thinking I may be needing one!

You have as many bass guitars as my total number of instruments (4 of which are bass, 4 acoustic, 2 classical, 4 electric (Two Electra models), and one lonely banjo).

Perhaps you need to get some fellow bass players together and see how many you can get playing at the same time! "Big Bottoms" anyone?

Welcome to the board!

The Rail basses are worth every penny they bring in; you can dial in almost any sound you want on them. You will have to get used to the slightly shorter 32¼" scale, but in reality that makes it much faster and easier to play. The stock pickup is also great, the Magnaflux RB. No need for actives with one of these monsters, just get the bass set up to your liking and it will boom loud enough you'd think it was a full bodied bass. They're also super light, you'll barely notice it on your shoulder. I would suggest going for a slightly improved 1985 model, but the 1984s are still fine.

And I might just try that multi-bass thing... thanks for the welcome!

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?

Wow, you've got my kinda thing going, Peavey and Electra.
On that note, what I wouldn't give for a Cirrus...

Oh, I will also have to request your (Electra) Phoenix at my doorstep, as it is a good match to my 6 string...

Actually, send me the bunch!

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

While I agree that Cirruses are beautiful, they cost way too much and don't sound as good as a T-45; there was one near the T-45 in the Sam Ash where I got it. The Cirrus was not in the top 3 best sounding basses... actually, there were only three that even stood out in terms of sound. The T-45 was the best, so I took it home. The other contenders were a Tune Guitar Tech something-or-other and a G&L P-J. Now, as far as top of the line Peaveys are concerned, I'd love to try out a Dynabass...

And my basses aren't going anywhere! Except maybe Electra Fest some day. If you're ever in my area I wouldn't mind letting you try them out, though. The Phoenix is great for slap bass.

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?

Seriously, you two both own very early Phoenixes with a very rare finish option, both from the first month of production. It would be cool to see a reunion of these two someday!

I have friends who collect rare old cars and they had a reunion where several cars that had been on the production line together got to stand together again. It would be cool to see that with Phoenixes.

Oh man, really? The very first month? That's awesome! I can't believe I got hold of such a nice example, too! I need to get the wiring looked at, but the only thing unoriginal are the strap pegs. Does this rare finish have a name?

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?

I think I do have certain brand loyalty that makes the Cirrus much more desireable to me.
I mean the 5 string, as well, because they are just perfect for me. Although, the fender Marcus Miller 5 is good too, as are many others.....
I think the Cirrus still wins.
I'm excluding boutique makers, though, simply too much for me, in both price, styling, and function.

My Phoenix is one of the frist 400 (it's 363) made, I believe. I'd like to meet it's closest brothers on both ends of the line, 362 and 364....

I think the finish is called Walnut Stain, although I don't really think of it that way.
How much did yours run you?

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

I'm well aware that yours was a steal- Mine cost me almost $400 when you factor in the shipping. And mine is 011063, exactly 300 digits earlier in the run, assuming the guitars and basses are all on the same numbering system. I can't believe how early the thing is, and it sounds fantastic. Definitely looks more to me like redburst than "walnut stain".

As for the Cirrus... well, I've found that I never use the active electronics on my few basses with active pickups, so I'd suggest you just pick up a 5-string Peavey Grind unless you're in love with the actives in the Cirrus line. The Grind basses are the same body shape, but with no exotic tops or active pickups. My Grind 6 is a beauty! They've slightly changed the line though, mine is almost ten years old and has an imbuya body with a cutout treble horn. The new ones have mahogany bodies and no cutout. The neck on the new ones is the same as mine, mahogany with maple stringers. The new ones also have a clear coat, whereas mine is oil finished. Either way, they have a great sound.

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Who needs a Fender Jazz when you can get a perfectly good Spectrum bass for $50?