If
you've always wanted one of these, now's the time, because like most 1978-2010
USA-made vintage Peavey basses, these have doubled in price in the past 5
years. And the nice ones are being hoarded by collectors who are putting them
away as investments.
The older Hartley Peavey gets, the more valuable his vintage products
become. Wise collectors seem to have picked up on the fact that Peavey's
guitars weren't priced lower when they were new for any reason besides Hartley
wanted his gear to be affordable to working musicians. Same applies to
his USA-made guitar and bass amps.
Informed collectors also know that Hartley Peavey is a forward thinking
innovator; he never looks back in the rearview mirror and thinks "Gee,
maybe I can make a ton of money by doing a re-issue." Nope, that's
not how he rolls.
So, this ensures his originals keep climbing in value every year. That
and the fact that they were way higher in quality than any mass produced bass
guitar of their day.
This beauty of a Rudy Sarzo bass is an oddball: the rare red finish with the striking flame maple neck stringer is just gorgeous. It's also in fabulous collector condition, with the exception of the buckle rash. Some dingus apparently couldn't figure out how to cover up his belt buckle....
I have owned dozens of these over the years in Red, Trans Black and in Magenta and have found it increasingly
difficult over the past few years to find examples that are in exceptional
condition. This is one of them. We simply pass up the good/fair
condition examples when they're offered or the poor/fair ones get parted out.