Peavey Generation EXP

Mine is a brand new 2003 model, made in China. It has standard Tele volume/tone controls, with a 5-way selector switch. The guitar has passive s/s/h pickups, with the humbucker in the bridge position. It has a really pretty gold sparkle finish, with black binding and a black pickguard (the gold and black look great together). The bridge has Tele-like Peavey saddles, and the strings mount through the body. The standard non-locking tuners keep the guitar in tune very nicely. I was afraid I might have tuning problems with the Peavey bridge saddles/tuners, but so far the guitar has stayed in tune well. The neck is a little fatter than my old Tele, and the fingerboard is rosewood, but it feels great and plays nicely. It's not a $1500 Tele Deluxe, but then nobody ever said it was supposed to be.

I play a wide variety of styles (rock, r & b, pop, some country, occasional funk, even a little reggae at times), and the guitar's pickup configuration lends itself nicely to all those styles. I'm primarily using a couple of old Fender Deluxe 112 amps with a Mesa Boogie extension cabinet (they're solid state amps, but from the sound you'd swear they've got tubes), and the guitar sounds great through them. You can get a smooth, full, almost jazzy tone from the neck pickup if you like that sort of thing, an out-of-phase Fender sound in the 2 and 4 positions, and the full humbucker effect in position 5. The guitar has an excellent pop sound, with a little Fender Tele and Strat mixed in there. So far I've found nothing to dislike about the sound.

I had the guitar set up by my favorite luthier as soon as it arrived from the factory. He said the intonation was way off, but hey--it just came out of the box, so what do you want? The pickups were adjusted just fine, no problems there. The only complaint I have with regards to hardware is a minor one--the volume pot is a little sticky, which is easily remedied. Otherwise, the thing plays and sounds just fine.

I've only played the guitar live a couple of times, but so far it's doing great. It seems as though it's solid, very well made, and it should last a long time. The strap buttons are solid, the guitar feels comfortable (it weighs 7 pounds), and I think it'll end up being my workhorse for a long time.

I haven't dealt with Peavey at all, since this is my first guitar with them. Sorry, nothing to report here.

I've been playing for 35 years (you'd think I'd be better by now!), and I own a couple of Fenders, a Danelectro, an old Hagstrom Swede from the 70's, and Martin and Gibson flattops. If the Peavey Generation EXP were lost or stolen, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. For the money, I don't think you could do any better. I'd compare it to a Tele for body style and a Strat for pickup selection. The sound is sort of a combination of the two, which is interesting and fun for me. So far I like everything about it. I chose this guitar because my son plays one of the high-end Generation EXP guitars (with the piezo pickup in the bridge), and he loves it. I thought I'd try the cheaper non-piezo model, and it's been a great buy.

Manufactured in 2003. Made in China.
Volume and tone, ala Tele. Five-way selector.
S/S/H configuration.
Peavey ceramic PUs.
25-1/2" scale.
Basswood body.
Rosewood fingerboard.
Dual expanding truss rod.
Real body binding.
Slightly small-scale Tele body and bridge configuration.

This is a poor man's one-size-fits-all Tele/Strat combo. Given that, it suits me perfectly. I am somewhat new to guitar, having played keyboards professionally for 26 years. I like roots "anything", from jazz to country to blues to rock instrumentals to rock classics. The only effects I use are 'verb, and occasionally tremelo.
The neck PU is similar, though not dead-on, to a Tele. Second position is classic spunky Strat. 3rd may be the most non-descript, although it has a very useful biting rock vibe. 4th, again is Strat territory. 5th (the bucker)is very nice; similar to a Tele 3rd, but not quite as "country brittle". The most outstanding feature of this guitar is its inordinate sustain. It just sings and sings, and with a little encouragement from the hands, sings some more. EXTREMELY lyrical. I really like it.

Perfect factory set-up. It plays beautifully, stays in tune wonderfully, and has a super-fast neck.
The pickups are fine, bur the "E" and "A" string are a little dead. Could be anything.
This guitar is a beautiful sunburst with binding. Zero flaws. Everything is solid and intact.

Solid as a rock. Absolutely dependable.

Peavey rules in customer support.

I've been playing guitar for about two years, and have a long professional run as a pianist. Here's the deal: I don't care if an instrument is made in Mandan, ND, or Finland. With computer tolerances, machine-built instruments can be as decent as handmade. Ultimately, if the the thing plays, it's all up to one's own hands anyway. For a buck-eighty, I don't thing a better guitar is available, and I own a ton of stuff. I like my made in Indonesia Squire Tele a little better, but that's because I loaded it with DiMarzio Twnag Kings. A whoppin' $300.00 total.
The long and short of it is that the EXP would suit any good player. Highly recommended.

s/s/h pickup config, peizo pickup in bridge, etc etc

It didn't sound that bad my major problem with it was it looked and felt like a toy. body looks like plastic the neck played reasonably well peizo pickup did'nt really make much difference in sound. Overall it sounded better than it looked.

I'm going to be honest here I payed $350.00 for this guitar and I would expect a little more. I opened the box and knobs started falling off right away. The pickup selector switch isn't even glued on! The body looks like a plastic toy! the neck wasn't seated properly so there was a gap I could stick a screwdriver in! I don't know maybe I expected too much but I think $350 is a fair amount of money to spend on a decent guitar and i've seen washburn's and ibanez's that are better than this guitar.

Can't comment I played it for 10 minutes and decided to send it back for a refund!

I've been playing for 8 years now and I own a Fender American standard Strat and a 1985 Gibson Les Paul. Maybe i'm spoiled from them but this guitar just didn't seem to cut it. I know it's only $350 but a little quality wouldn't hurt I guess you have to spend $800-1000 dollars no a days to get a solid well built guitar you'd be proud to play. Like I said if you have better guitars pass on this one if your a beginner I guess you could give it a try.

i got it brand new from a music store. it has 21 frets and a tele pickup cinfiguration with a s-s-h schema. the pickups are ceramic and man, you can get some serious harmonics in the bridge and bridge/mid selection. for the money, they (pickups) are the best you can get! they even have a piezo model which features, you guessed it, piezo pickups. 5-switch toggle positioning. it comes in all kinds of finishes; you can get more than peavey has on their official website (i saw some darker red ones at the store, not like the fire engine red online...although they had that color too). mine is a beautiful 3-color sunburst. white pickguard....nice 25.5" scale (what i prefer). great action. string through body allows for great sustain, plus the saddles are very nice and you can get a 1.5 step bend on the high E ! nice. looks like a mix between their Raptor and a fender telecaster. one word to describe features....TONS

well, this is great for any kind of music style. the Humbucker in the bridge has a nice, bright chunky sound (the ceramic pickups). It is not quite as think as some humbuckers, but really bright. the "in-between" positions have a great "empty", bright sound, and the single pickups sound good too. for the price, you absolutely CANNOT beat this sound!! the only thing that comes close (for the $$) is Squire, at it doesn't sound this nice and is more expensive. i got the generation EXP for $250 that included a hard case!!.. you can buy them from the peavey store online for , like $179.00. man, you can't beat that! one word to describe sounds...ABUNDANT

the action is nice and is easily adjusted with some small allen-wrenches; mine was fine from the store. the top isn't properly bookmatched, but is still a ver nice finish and nice wood grain ..mine is sunburst. but, what do you expect from $179...... flamed maple!?!? the tuning pegs are very nice. i likes them. the only problem i had was that the input jack was loose when i got it (the nut was on the inside, which didn't stop it from sinking down.). alls i did was unscrew it, place the nut on the outside, and whammo!...it ain't moving. i have seen a lot of people complain and take points off for this, but come on! if tightening up a screw bothers you.......anyway. pickup selector is fine and humbucking in the bridge and mid/neck position, which will take out just about ALL hum, even on high gain amps. the pickups are nice. very quiet. (ooops...should have posted that higher....did i mention the pickups are nice?) it isn't made out of KOA, but it is nice.....one word for finish...PLEASING

Will this guitar withstand live playing?---- it is a peavey. there could be a nuclear bomb detonated and the only thing that could be ID'd would be peavey instruments (check out the t-60 reviews for reliability....that thing is darn rock!!). everything seems good to last. don't need a backup. one word......ROCK

peavey....

if it were lost, i wouldn't sweat b/c it was inexpensive, but i would definitely get another. i love the versatility.....everything from ride the lightning to aerosmith to Andreas Segovia to Cawntry.

2003 made i believe, made in china. 21 frets, rosewood fretboard, cream binding(real), alder body, maple neck. also comes with 2 single coils and one humbucker in a tele style bridge, one volume and one tone knob. i just had a seymour duncan jb put in today, big improvement on the guitar. mine is also a black finish, with medium jumbo frets i assume.

i play kiss, sabbath, classic, hard and heavy rock. i am using my guitar into a dunlop crybaby and either a yjm308 preamp overdrive or a dod 250 preamp overdrive. i like the sounds i get from this guitar, especially with the jb in it. to me the stock humbucker was a tad bit to muddy. the single coils do there job good, i will probably get them replaced with a lil '59 in the neck and middle sooner or later. i love this guitar, and i also want to let you know i was trying a mexi tele and a strat but this guitar was almost half the price and is very well made. i give it a 10 with the addition of the jb.

everything is solid and i had it set up where i bought it. i belive that pickup and string height are all preference so i don't rate anything on that. everything is great, and a lot better than the sg faded special that i had and some of the guitars that are 4 times more expensive.

seems solid

i've been playing for 12 years and i have played and owned just about everything out there. to me and my opinion this is a great guitar, you just can't beat them for the money. go to peavey's website cause they have alot more of these guitars that are equipped with peizo bridge's etc. overall i sold my sg with the intention of getting a mexi tele and i got this rock solid little guitar. i may venture on to get a tele eventually but for now i am happy.

I own both the standard Generation EXP, and now also the version with the piezo pickup and the fishman bridge. Both of them have the black finish, alder body, and the body style is like a Tele, but they seem just a bit smaller. The piezo edition has a Strat-like cutaway in the back so it fits against your body a little better. Non locking tuners, string through body bridge. All hardware is well made, and with the exception of one of the volume knobs being a bit loose (tightened up with a screwdriver), everything was ready to go.

I play mostly classic rock, but also throw in all sorts of other types of music as the mood hits. I'm using an old Peavey Studio Pro 112 amp, and use a Korg AX1500G for my effects.

When I bought my first EXP, I was amazed by the variety of sounds I was able to get with it. From a tele-twang to a smooth strat sound, and everything in between, this guitar can do it. The sound is very full, with nice crisp highs and rich lows. The guitar handles various kinds of distortion well, and also sounds great with the cleaner effects like delays and chorus. The pick-ups are quiet as mice.

So once I found out that there was a model with piezo pick up in it that would produce acoustic sounds, I hunted one down (and trust me that wasn't easy!) But I am glad I did. The piezo edition has the same great sound as the standard, in addition to a fantastic acoustic guitar sound. I have a Yamaha APX7 acoustic/electric that I've played for years, and the EXP compares well to it. The ability to have both of these sounds available without having to swap guitars is fantastic. Plus you can mix the sounds together if you like, or with a stereo cable can send the acoustic sound to one amp and the electric to another. The edition of the piezo made a great guitar even better.

The guitars were put together very well, with no dings or marks on the wood. One of them did have some tiny metal bit stuck to the plastic covering on the pickguard, and when the covering was peeled off there was a very small ding where the meice of metal was. Hardly noticable but it was there nontheless. Action and setup were fine right from the factory (although both were bought online from music stores so I don't know what if any setup was done there, both boxes had been opened before I got them, and both guitars were tuned, so I assume the stores checked them out before shipping them). There were no rough spots in the finsh, or stray flakes of wood coming from the pickup holes. I get a bit of fret buzz on the low strings on the piezo version, but that is mainly because I use a heavier strumming when I play acoustic. No buzz when playing with just the electric sound.

All the hardware looks pretty solid, and I can't forsee any reason why it would wear out any sooner than hardware on more expensive guitars. Since the guitar is a bit smaller and lighter than a real Tele, you get the impression that it is not as tough. But when you take a good long look at it, you see that it is a solid guitar, and I believe it will take a beating in stride. Finish looks nice and heavy, and strap buttons are solid, although I will probably be replacing them with locking ones like my other guitars. I would never gig without a backup, but with this guitar I wouldn't expect to ever need it, I would trust this guitar to do the job.

I've never had to call Peavey, so I can't say anything about their customer service. They do have a nice web site where you can download manuals and such, as well as use their forum, so from that aspect they do keep their customers informed of whats going on.

Been playing for over 15 years, and I currently own 5 guitars and one bass. The Generation EXP's have quickly become my favorites. The wide variety of sounds you can get from one instrument, especially the model with the piezo, is staggering. Clean or with effects, the guitar sounds great. If stolen, I would absolutely get another one, like I said, it's now my favorite guitar. I've never been one to judge a guitar by it's price, and Peavey is showing that super instruments are available for prices that average folks can afford. I've owned at various times Fender Strats and Teles, Gibson Les Pauls and numerous other lesser know brands, and I would pick this guitar over ones many times it's cost. I'm very happy with my decision to buy this guitar.

Well, the first thing I want to say about this guitar is that it is quite surprising. I had not owned an electric for a couple of years as I have been concentrating on Organ, Mando and Acoustic Guitar. But as I am in the middle of producing a CD with a another player it was deemed that I should do some electric guitar overdubs. So, I wanted something not too expensive but not a piece of junk either. I checked out ebay...but the prices on that are sometimes ridiculous. Don't these people know what guitars are worth? I see guitars going for more than they do in a store?????? In any case I found this guitar hanging in one of Daddy's Junky Music Stores. I had never seen this model and it was new to me. I knew that Peavey had made some quasi-Tele and Strat guitars in the 80's but this looked different....better.....and a little more substantial. It is made in China...and that kind of put me off...but the under $200 price tag....intrigued me....
I asked the clerk for a screwdriver and took of the tele style control plate...to find that this is a solid, solid body...not a laminated one....chalk one up for Peavey. I had owned an old Peavey T 60 back in the 70's and knew that Peavey makes some nice stuff other than amps. I later found out that the wood is solid alder.
It has a quasi-Tele style look with top body binding. And yet it looks like its own guitar as well. Same depth as a Tele but a little more compact and streamlined. The neck is maple and the fretboard is rosewood. It has the typical Fenderish/Peavey headstock. All in all the Generation EXP looks like a cross between a Tele and a Wolfgang!!!! Nice aesthetic. This model is candy apple red, with white top binding. The heads seem to be kluson styled modern Gotohs, the kind I have seen on some Rickenbackers lately. The pu's are who knows what but are of the SSH variety. The guitar has the usual Tele control plate with vol and tone and selector. The bridge is the Humbucker Tele style. The three pu's with 5 way selector give the guitar Tele and Strat sounds...and these pu's seem to do the job quietly. When I recorded with it I sent it through a Behringer V-amp 2....and was thrilled by the combination.....

The sound is twangy and full. Not thin, at least when played through the V-amp...but that can be said for any guitar regardless of the price. I have been playing for over 35 years and I have owned some of the best guitars around....and this one compares well. It has a nice, solid feel to it. It does not feel cheap.
This is a guitar that can be used where ever you would use a Strat or a Tele.

The scale is the typical Peavey 25 inch. Which is nice. It plays more like a Gibson and bending is much easier than on a Fender. The Chinese manufacture is not presenting a problem. Today most guitars are either made in Korea or Indonesia or China. Japanese guitars are almost as expensive as American made ones. And American prices are obscene. So, I paid the same amount for this guitar as I did for a new 1968 Tele back in '68 ($150)!!!!! And hey...it is doing the same job...it plays and it sounds like an electric guitar. Don't most of you think that the variety of guitars today is a bit excessive? After all....it is just a F---ing guitar!!!!! After a while one is as good as another. Cosmetically this guitar is superb.
When you get a guitar this good for $150 how the hell can you justify laying out $2000 for a Celebrity model Gibson or Fender??? I can't. Besides with the way guitars are pushed on us, the Guitar playing public....you have to buy cheaper guitars in order to buy the chaning flavor of the month!!!!!!! Unless you are a millionaire.

This guitar will hold up as good as any Mexi Fender or Squire or Ibanez or Dean or Samick or LTD or Fernandes or yes...even a GIBSON OR FENDER.....The strap buttons are in solid, as I took them off to check. The only flaw that I saw and it got $20 knocked of the $170 price was that one of the screw holes holding the control plate was too close to the cavity and needs a little wood patching...I'll get to it one day......this guitar draws me in...I like playing it...a lot........as for changing the pu's....I don't think I have to....the two Strat and Humbucker are doing the job.....as for giging w/o a backup....well, regardless of it being a Gibson or what...no one should play without a backup....

Peavey is a company you can get access to....so, that should not be a problem....

I think I covered all that is necessary.