Peavey Falcon

Made in '87 in Meridian, MS. 3 single coils. Rosewood fretboard, sunburst body. Kahler locking tremolo. Not having owned an electric with more than 1 volume and 1 tone knob, I give it a nine.

I play mostly blues/rock, and it will sing with me. I play thru an ADA MP-1 when recording and a Laney Pro Tube 100 watt head thru a Peavey 212 stereo cabinet. I have always wished for a little more tonal diversity, and it is very trebly, especially with my Laney, which seems to be characteristic of the amp, also. I haven't found "that sound" straight from this guitar, but the sounds I have found are appealing. It has an awesome warm sound in the 4th position with the tone all the way down.

Bought it in an online auction site from a guy who worked in a music shop, and he set it up well. I had it rechecked at a local friends shop and was in good shape. No blemishes, nicks,nice wood grain pattern, etc... A really nice looking job.

I have only been playing for 4 years, and whenever I get the chance I get my more experienced friends to try out my cheap Peavey. It has been played for hours, from one persn to the next, and they all Love this guitar. A couple of guys vowed to find one as a replacement for their Am. Std. Strats. I play it at least 30 minutes, most every day, with no tuning problems. I have had it for 2 years and had it checked out today in the shop, with no problems. My only complaint was the volume and tone pots were a little scratchy, then the tone knob went south. I revived both knobs with a shot of wd-40 a couple of weeks ago which fixed the scratchy sound. My strap has slipped off a few times, so I will get some straplocks to replace the buttons(It is a cheap strap though, that could be my problem.)I would feel comfortable without a backup, as I have only broken three strings in two years(and I don't replace my strings often enough).

Peavey sent me the info on my guitar in 24 hours, and have all the info I need on their products on their website.

I have been playing electric for 4 years, acoustic for one more. I have an Ovation Celebrity acoustic, a cheap SG copy electric, and a Carlos acoustic. I would track this guitar down if it were stolen or lost or find another. I love the wide neck. It fits well in my hand and is comfortable to play for hours. I have played a few real strats
and other than the tonal diversity thing, I prefer my Falcon. It is a solid feeling, not too heavy(I am 5'9,150.) The perfect electric to learn on, not expensive, but made that way.

Hello,

My Falcon is a 1987 model according to Peavey's own dating. (asked and answered at their website). It is American made, and it's white on white with the std. Falcon setup of three single coils, five way selector, and one tone and one volume control. I was used to Fender strat guitars with two tone knobs, but after using the two knob setup it works fine. This guiatr had a locking nut and a Kahler locking trem, but the trem was a problem. The guitar would not intonate decently at all. I bought it used for less than $100. A luthier friend took off the locking nut, filled the trem cavity, and replaced the bridge with an after market non-trem bridge and turned the guitar into a hard tail, string through body (something like the Fender Robert Cray style) strat copy.

That was just the ticket. It plays, tunes, intonates and sounds great now. The neck is thicker than I was used to and took a while to feel right.

The Am. Std. Strat I had been playing for years had a very thin neck and I thought that's what I liked, but after getting used to the thicker neck, the Strat neck feels wrong now and my hand gets tired more quickly with it.

I play out about 50-60 nights a year in a local band and the Falcon works perfectly. It has been completely reliable and durable. Zero problems to far. I still have less than $200 in the guitar. It's perfect in a bar gig type setting because it works great, but I don't have to worry about it so much because of its limited value.

Peavey's support as always is excellent. They have the best website in the business for customer support and are very helpful in all aspects of the business for the average Joe.

I've played guitar for 35 years. How much do I like this one? After a year of playing it I sold my Am. Std. Strat to a friend who really wanted it because I really prefered the playability and sound of the Peavey. The strat was a very solid instrument, but I realized I was playing the Peavey most of the time. It has no guitar snob value at all, however, so if you have to have a Fender or Gibson go buy one so you can fullfill that dream or just get over it. Those brands are excellent. I own a Les Paul and a Telecaster too, but the Falcon is the best playing guitar of the bunch. It sounds very good, and holds its own against all comers. Peavey instuments don't get the credit they are due. The Falcon is a quality instrument all around. My only reservation on recommeding buying one is the Kahler trem system. Be careful there. Otherwise these guitars are undervalued gems, and if you want something to play in the real world they are highly recommended. Then you can hang your "nicer" guitars on the wall or pack them safely in their cases under the bed so they can stay in mint condition and appreciate while the Peavey does the real work. I don't think you can go wrong buying one.

Tim

it's a beautifully done Strat clone, with a a 22-fret flame maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard,
Schaller tuners, and a Kahler Spyder locking trem (sort of like a cast Floyd Rose trem). When I bought it the guitar had three single-coil active pickups (powered by a 9-volt battery) a single volume and tone control, and a five-position switch. The age I estimate as being around the late 1980s, this was the second generation Falcon Peavey released, and the top of the line for the series. Like all the Falcons, it was constructed at Peavey's guitar plant in Meridian, Mississippi, USA.

I wasn't too pleased with two of the original pickups, but the neck pickup was great - it's just that, to me, active electronics sound way too cold and sterile on a guitar. I also noted that, when I placed it in the in-between positions, the volume actually dropped. I eventually opted to rip out the active electronics and install three Seymour Duncan single coil sized humbuckers in it (George Lynch Lil' Screamin' Demon in the bridge, Vintage Rails in the centre, and Cool Rails in the neck), and that's when, to me, the guitar really came alive tone-wise. I knew that tone was there, though, because when played without amplification the notes jump out nicely.

I use the Falcon with a Peavey Classic 50, a Roland GP-8 multi-effects unit, and a Boss volume pedal. It's also used as a "mule" for a Roland GM-70 guitar-to-MIDI convertor.

with the stock electronics I'd rate it a six, with the Duncans I'd now rate it about a nine.

Peavey did their homework in the workmanship of the Falcon Active, it's very beautifully finished and designed - indeed, the workmanship reminds me of some Paul Reed Smith guitars I've tried. Finish is flawless. The flame maple on the neck is beautiful, and I've gotten lots of comments on how gorgeous it is. The neck itself is actually chunky, almost like the neck Fender uses on the Jeff Beck Signature Strat, and with a flat (12" radius) fretboard profile: it's VERY comfortable to play, with nicely spaced strings for chording as well as lead playing. The neck fits the body pocket tightly, with no play. The Kahler locking nut was obtrusive at first, but I've since gotten used to it being there. Frets are jumbo-style, and are seated nicely.

since I mostly play around at home these days, I haven't really taken it on a gig - I did take it along to a jazz gig a friend had me come to one night. But from my own experience with US-made Peaveys, they're solid and pretty rugged, and are dependable workhorse guitars.

I've always had good experiences with Peavey Electronics in regards to having my questions answered and regarding repairs. When I lost the truss rod cover to one of my Peaveys, they were kind enough to send me one free! They also have the majority of their owners manuals available from their web site.

I've been playing for 23 years, in a variety of bands ranging from power pop to rock to country.
Peavey and I go back a long time to my first T-60 guitar. I'm also quite demanding of my instruments and can be quite a pain to some shop keepers in getting what I want.

To me, the Falcon Active (after its pickup surgery) is everything a good Stratocaster should be. I've owned two real Fender Strats (a '78 and a '94 Japanese model) over the years and I got rid of both within six months due to construction or playability issues. What won me over to the Falcon initially was its sheer playability and solid construction. Now that it's got the Duncans in it, it's a great-sounding dream. I'd definitely buy another one if anything happened to it.

I notice that there's at least one professional who uses one of these: David A. Stewart of the Eurythmics. I notice that he also changed the pickups on it :)

Born in 1984 in the U.S.A., 22 frets with a neck angle adjustment, equiped with a H.D. 5 way blade togle switch with a S/S/S type of pick up configuration. This is a stock strat "copy" from the people at Peavey. The pick ups are every bit as good as the alaro pick ups on my G&L and they are wired in the hum canceling configuration for position 2&4 .There is only one tone and one volume control for all three pick ups. The neck is a by-cut design for the trus rod placement and both the neck and finger board are high quality maple. The finish is a high gloss but doesn't seem to be sticky like some guitar necks. The body I am told is poplar finished in a plain white H.G. but I see no caracteristic dark tones associated with this wood. the bridge is a Kahler dual fulcrum with the fine tuners removed (this is how I got this guitar) and the tuner also look like Kahlers but the locking nut clamps have been removed.

This guitar suits my Blues/R&B style quite nicely and is an absolute tone monster. Whether I run this guitar clean or with a host of effects such as reverb, stereo chorus, echo ect... it's true personality always comes true. Actually I am more than impressed with the way that distortion is handled by this guitar and even more impressed by the quietness of the pick ups. I hate to say it but this guitar is more strat like sounding than my G&L My only dislike is the single tone, I like being able to tone down the bridge pick up but I also like more tonal flexibility that two tones give me. ( I usually rewire my middle tone controll to my bridge pick up to give me more tonal range, I can't do this to this puppy without adding another pot etc...If it were not for this little missgiving then a ten would have been the order of the day.

This guitar was purshased in a pawn shop. This poor guitar was full of scratches,grease stains an caked on dirt. Nothing presented itself as good about this guitar execept that the frets had no visible wear. There were no amps to pump this guitar thru to see if the pick ups were ok and nothing was anywhere near proper adjustment. I was not prepared to pay more than I had to for this guitar because it looked so "abused". After clean up (it took a lot, I had to take the guitar apart and buff the body) the guitar looked like new and I proceeded to reassemble this instrument. Once I was finished I could not beleive the wonderfull condition this instrument was actually in and even my locall Peavey dealer couldn't beleive the newness of the guitar. I did have to get a knob for the pick selector switch and it needed a whamy bar but big deal for five bucks spent on those items. Talk about a cinderella story. I can't rate this other than a 1 that turned itself into a 10 so below will show it as no opinion.

This is one rock solid guitar and is built to compare to absolutelly anything out there in the strat feild. The hardware the finish and the dependability are withouth question top drawer all the way. I always play with three guitars but each has it's own role I can substitute one for another in a pinch but this guitar to date has caused me no grief what so ever.

This guitar is absolutelly out of warranty but I have had excelent service from my peavey rep in the past. Peavey gear is usually prety solid.

I have been playing for 36 years and I play everything from jazz to Satriani, I run a stereo set up consisting of a Randall C170centurionII with a 115 cab on one side and a Boss MG-80 with a 112 on the other along with a korg A4 prcessor and a VTWIN preamp along with a George Dennis Wah and a seperate expression padal. I am an extremelly versatile player but my love is R&B and blues. This guitar handles like a dream with this rig and it is also the most comfortable guitar I own due to it's smooother than strat contours and light poplar body weight. If you come across a peavey falcon in any kind of condition and it has a Kahler bridge on it then for the love of God don't hesitate to buy it, I promisse you won't regret it !

Bought used in 90, I think it was made in 85 (last two numbers of serial #?). Made in USA, 22 frets, tone, vol., traditional trem, 5-way with 3 single coils, maple neck & fretboard (slightly flamed I think? Very pretty at any rate), blue finish w/ white pickguard. Looks like a strat. The body may be poplar (the Peavey Tracers made at the time were poplar). The neck is a not too thin, not too thick - I actually prefer thinner necks. Fingerboard is a bit wider and flatter than a strat I think. I wanted a guitar with 3 singles to go with my Peavey Tracer at the time, so picked this one up. Has all the features I wanted, so I'll give it an 8.

I wanted this guitar for playing praise & worship in church, and it does that well. It's versatile like a strat, I can use it for most anything. I've played it with a Peavey Bandit and a Zoom 505, used to use a peavey rockmaster and digitech GSP-7. If anything, the Bandit/Zoom combo keeps me from "finding" my sound more than this guitar does. I'm looking for a new amp right now - probably will go for the Carvin SX200D, a Fender Ultimate Chorus, or maybe a Peavey Transtube 2x12 (don't really want to mess with tubes or digital stuff). This guitar is quieter than a strat, but lacks some of a strat's charachter. I've had a lot of fun with this guitar though - especially since I sold my "better" gear and have to use this when I get opportunities to play. I looked into trading this in towards a new amp but It's worth about $70 according to the "blue book". No way - I'll keep this thing around 'cause its far better than inexpensive strats and strat copies you get today for $200-$400. I'd like to stick some SD pickups in this thing to add some charachter, and I bet it beats an American Standard Strat if I do this. In a nutshell - has good (if not great at times) versatile single coil sounds.

I rarely mess with the action on my guitars. Maybe they're set up fine, or maybe I'm just not picky. I bought it used and honestly can't remember adjusting the action or pickups ever. The guitar seems to be put together well (like everything I've ever owned from Peavey). The 1/4" jack is a little crooked so you have to work to get your cord plugged in, but that's the only flaw I've ever noticed.

I think this thing will last a long time, but I've never used it heavily. The hardware has held up fine, and the finish has too. I can depend on this guitar and would gig without a backup if I really had too without too much worry. I goes out of tune a bit easier than some other guitars I've had but that's par for the course. Nothing you can't live with. I'd give it an 8 because of the minor tuning issue.

Never dealt with Peavey, but I think they're a good company.

I've been playing for 11 years. I also own a "cheap" Washburn BT-5, a Zoom 505, a couple Danelectro pedals, and am about to buy a new amp. I have a Takamine classical guitar that I really like too. If I lost thing, I don't know if I would replace it since I've ordered a new Carvin that I'm still waiting to get. I don't think I could replace it if I wanted too - I've not seen another one for years! I think this thing is better than new Peavey "strats" and other inexpensive strats you can buy, including Fenders. It's pretty looking, quite reliable, and a great traditional guitar. I think I'll have it for a backup for a long time, or maybe I'll lend it to my kid brother.