Peavey Horizon II

Made in USA in 1984. I am the original owner from 1984 to present. Solid body Strat-inspired shape (Naturalite was what it was called though the guitar is far from light), with thin maple neck and fingerboard in a 24 3/4" scale, 24 frets. Natural swamp ash wood body w/ satin finish and black pickup guard. Three pickups, two outer humbuckers wired to a three-way switch, center single-coil wired to its own three-way switch for "off", "in-phase", "out of phase" tones, all three pickups vacuum-sealed with epoxy in plastic cases and with blade pole pieces. Master volume, two tone controls for humbuckers which also split the coils as described in previous reviews, with "P" cast metal knobs. Original Schaller tuners: originally had Peavey Powerbend trem, I later swapped for a Washburn Wonderbar 2001 locking trem. which only added to the already great tone and sustain of the guitar. I still have the original Powerbend. Came complete with a blow-molded heavy-duty hardshell case.

As already described, incredibly flexible in the tone department. Can be used for any type of music I have used it primarily through the years with Peavey amps, but presently run it through a Crate FX120 with a wide range of effects pedals including a Line 6 Pod XTLive.

The fit and finish was great for the 80's, I do however remember not caring for the factory tuning or pickup setup, something that has carried on through the years for other Peaveys I own. While I absolutely love Peaveys and highly recommend them, they really have to be thoroughly tried out in the shop to make an educated decision as to whether the guitar is to your liking, something I'm sure that I'm sure can be said for many guitars.

I've taken care of it well over the years, but it is built like a tank regardless and I have had no problems with it in nearly 25 years of ownership.

Peavey has been absolutely great for the few and minimal issues I've had with their equipment over the years

Been playing off and on for over 25 years though never professionally and not semi-pro for a number of years. I also own Peavey Mystic, Hydra "Jeff Cook" model, 2 Tracers, Rotor, V-type NTB Trem., Generation EXP H/S/H, G-Ninety, Takamine ES531SSC Elec./Acoustic, Yamaha Acoustic, Crate FX120 amp, Peavey Bandit 65 Amp, numerous effects.

1984 USA made solid body strat style Peavey Horizon II ruby red body, rosewood fretboard neck. Non locking Peavey tuners with set screws. Three way toggle for the humbuckers and another three way toggle for the single coil. Two blade humbuckers with a single blade coil in the middle. Coil Taps and the unique Peavey circuitry that turns the humbuckers into single coils gradually. Low wide frets. Oversized strap buttons. Bridge is really thick metal and has a whammy bar setup, which I don't use.The remaining features have been well covered so I will skip further details. I really like Peavey guitars. In my opinion, very well made, durable workhouses with almost limitless sounds. Certain older models seem to be way underpriced so they are good value.

Covers the gamut of rich full humbuckers to bright strat sounds and everything in between. This guitar can play country, classic rock, jazz and probably grunge, whcih is not my bag. Using guitar with a Carvin SX300 amp, Roland JC120 amp and a recently acquired Peavey Backstage Plus amp. Will feedback if you stand in front and close to amp, but that is bad music style to do so. Some might complain of the weight, but no sweat to me. Dense wood=good tone.

It needed a setup, which I did, when first acquired. Was missing three knobs, which I got at a nearby authorized Peavey service store. Has tilt neck adjustment so it can get real close action. I like medium action to counter act buzzing and get good sonics. Frets are well polished. Wood has a lot of dings, scrapes but it is over twenty years old and has probably been through a lot of gigs by former owners. Hardware is solid. Bridge is well built and thick metal.

Peavey makes very good instruments. Compared to Fender, Gibson and others, Peavey is definately in the race. I am planning to use it in an upcoming gig. If the brand holds true, there should be no problem as I have put it through its paces in my home getting ready. Very well built.

No contact with Peavey. I downloaded the operating manual on line.

I have been playing since the mid 1960's. I can and have played oldies up to modern rock. I always keep my eyes open for Peavey stuff as they are very good value. I also own a Peavey T60(a consistent stage guitar with awesome tones), owned a Peavey Bandit amp, now also own a Peavey Backstage Plus amp. I am not a music snob. What drive me is tone, reliability, value for money spent, playability, looks and USA made products. Peavey fills the bill. I also own other guitars and amps, which I rotate regularly to get their playing time in the band I have been in since 1991. This Horizon II has better tone and playability than a Gibson I own! These are uncommon, but can compete with many high priced guitars. If you seen one, it is a worthwhile purchase.

My guitar is from 1982, the version with the blade style pickups. The controls have already been covered but to review it would have:
3 way toggle switch for the humbuckers,
3 way toggle switch for the middle p/u (on, off, out of phase)
2 tone w/ coil tap
1 volume.

The way the coil taps work (this is off of the manual available from the Peavey website)
is that after you bring the tone up to 7 the second coil starts to fade out, when you get to 10 the second coil should be completely off. This guitar has some crazy tones available due to the thought they put into the coil tapping and controls. Not to mention the awesome neck adjustment control so that you can get your action exactly the way you like it. I have mine set so low that when I brought it in to a music store, the gutiar tech told me that it was 'retardedly low'. If I could give this section an 11, I would.

This guitar can get almost any sound someone cold desire. I teach guitar and play all styles from flamenco to rock to classical to extreme down tuned metal, and this guitar can handle it all. With the tone rolled up all the way on the bride position it sounds like a tele, if you leave it at 10 and turn the middle pickup on, it sounds like a strat, move it to the neck position with the tone all the way down and it does a decent les paul sound, and you can even get sort of a rickenbacker type if you use the neck and middle pickups together. Then on top of this yo have the added possibilities of using the middle p/u out of phase. This guitar truly has it all. For an idea of my set-up, I play this into a digitech rp200 and from there into a 1972 peavey vintage with the EQ set at 6 (Peavey amps go to 12, so halfway up) prescence at 10, reverb maxed. There is no master volume or distortion channel.

I bought this guitar used so I can't say much about the factory setups, but the finish is excellent. The pickups were set really close to the strings, but I don't know if this was the guy who owned it before me or if it came set up this way. Also, the strings were set so low that some of the notes wouldn't sound at all, but again I don't know if this was the previous owner or factory set up.

This guitar is built like a tank (and weighs about the same too). You couldn't ask for a better construced instrument. You could drop this thing down an elevator shaft and it would do more damage to the building than to the guitar. The finish on this thing is tough as nails, and the hardware has lasted this long without ever needing to be replaced. The only thing is the pots and switches are a little noisy now due to dirt getting in them, but thats to be expected with the amount of use this thing has had over the years.

Never had to deal with Peavey cutomer support myself, but I have friends who have, and apparently its excellent.

I've only been playing for two 1/2 years, although I've been told I'm somewhat of a prodigy (I'll leave that for others to decide) and I've never played a better quality instrument. I worked at a guitar shop for a while (Long & McQuade) and in all my time there I've yet to see a better quality instrument. My former teachers 2000$ strat (which used to be my dream guitar until I got my hands on this) doesn't play as well as this baby. If it were lost or stolen I would buy one again without a second thought. (Although I'd probably try to find one cheaper.) My favorite feature about this guitar would have to be the phase switch as it gives awesome tone combinations that make for awesome tone switching during songs. I like to set it out of phase for intros so it sounds a little bit 'weak' and then switch it off with one of the humbuckers going so you really get a good volume and tone boost. When I bought this I was considering buying a Gibson Explorer, Fender American Strat, or a Gibson Les Paul Custom. When I found this guitar, it blew the others out of the water, and for less than 1/4 of the price. This guitar is the ultimate bang for your buck, and I've yet to find a guitar I'd rather play. Sure some gutars may get better individual tones, but they are one trick ponies. This does several great tones, as well as many many others that are okay for when you need them.

Made in USA. Made of very heavey wood. Don't know much about the technichal stuff. to be fair, I plead the fith.

It sounds great on any thing from Metallica to Brian Setzer. Between the two switches you can achieve any sound you want. The Horizon II suits me quite well as I play mostly rockabilly and related music.
It's a natural ace for surf and blues.

The third fret is a tiny bit thicker than the others, (as is the 13th) This causes a buzz in the sound every great once in a while. I have no clue how old she is but I suppose she is old enough to have developed fret problems over the years.The action is excellent and takes well to bending.

Ive played the stuffings out of this guitar for hours on end and never had ANY problems.
Don't drop on hard floors if you like a crater free floor.

bought it used. Never had a problem.

I've only been playing since 2002 and this peavey was my first guitar.
I have a Squire Stagemaster with a neck through and a Floydrose, it is junk compared to the Horizon 2. The Peavey works extremly well with my digitec pedal. The peavey is top shape and gets played every day and has since I got it to learn on. I got the pedal last Christmas and both buttons have quit. The peavey has out lived every piece of musical equipment I'vr hooked it up to. If it got stolen, I pay premium for another like it. It works that good.

Features have been well covered. Mine has the pole piece pickups neck and bridge, middle is the bar type. Tremelo, Sperzel locking tuners. The body feels like lead.

I don't have a style, but like clean sounds best and this guitar can make plenty. Overdriven it's pretty nice too! Favourite is the neck humbucking. These pickups are powerful, but you can hear every note in a chord. Tone and volume work great to tailor the sound. I was hoping to get a strat neck sound from it (bought it unheard over the net) but no luck there. It does the 2 and 4 type sounds well and the bridge single coil is not harsh. Played through a Session Rockette 30, friend's Mesa.

The set-up was bad when I got hold of the guitar and I'm still tweaking it. The pickups were too close to the strings and they are powerful, especially the middle. I suspect many guitars suffer from pickups set too high. The trouble people have had with the low E string was there too but went with neck and brige adjustments. The most annoying thing is grounding problems. I get noise off the pickup mounting screws as I'm always touching them when playing. Insulation tape nearly cures it. Finish is superb. The neck is slender and has a thick glossy finish which I find a bit grippy. Paint (black) is tough as nails.

This guitar could withstand anything except fire.

Peavey set the standard too high for most I would guess.

I'm just getting started again really after a false start many years ago. I never lost my fascination with guitars and guitar tone. I also have a USA Predator and a JB Player Sledgehammer Tele, which are both huge bang for your buck, and a Suzuki "three s" 12 string acoustic doing time as a 6.

no clue when or where it was made. 24 frets, solid top, volume, volume, tone (i think). h/s/h pickups. Don't really know the kind of wood, but it's got a rock hard pink! finish which kinda changes in different light, kinda strat lookin, bitchen pick guard, with a string thru bridge, non locking tuners.

for whatever i need to play, from punk, to zappa, to blues, i can get a nasty dry sound, or a beautiful warm sound. i run it through a marshall mini stack, sometimes a peavey practice bass amp. i also use a dunlop wah, and a dod grunge pedal. great variety of sounds, so many contrasting sounds. amazing. sometimes sounds cheap though.
sometimes, keyword

i got it uber used, for 99 bucks at a local shop, but i couldn't ask for a better set up. pickups, great, absolutely perfect, everything. although sometimes it goes out of tune with one or two bends of the tremolo bar.

amazing. holds up like a mutha. it's gonna last as long as it already has, (since the eighties), i think it can take a beating for a lot more years. everything is in great shape, i think it's all original, no info on it's history though

couldn't ask for a better axe at a better price.

I think these guitars were all made in the early 80's in the U.S
unique circuitry H/S/H allows for access to just about any sound.

this guitar can just about get away with anything, beautiful clean sounds rivaling any tele or strat,and great stinging LP sounds also available. Can't believe these guitars aren't more sought after, I've owned a few good guitars but have had more questions/posotive comments about this one than any other.

Build quality is the probably the best I've seen. Solid.
everything on it is to the highest qaulity, mines has a few chips by previous owner, god knows how he achieved this the finish is hard as nails,
I don't mind the chips actually, it would look too "clean" otherwise

Can TOTALLY depend on this

been playing for many years, this is the most adaptable guitar I've owned, with some exceptional sounds available. These seem to be quite rare so I would have a real hard time replacing it, I've seen some come in really garish colours mines is white ,bonus.

i have the same problem w/ the neck, it slightly keeps me from sliding my hand up and down. im not gonna bother saying all the features, except that the body is made of oak and has a clear finish, and as i already said, has a maple neck.

the things sound is great, i can play everything from Heavy Rock to Country on it ...only bad part is that the low E is messed up. for some reason, which many of my guitar fanatic friend cant figure out, the low E is literally impossible to tune, due to (we think) the way the bridge is. cant figure it out, but the low E is hardly ever used, so whatever.

evyerthing is perfect, exactly how its supposed to be.

the guitar is from '84, so obviously its gonna last quite a while linger. i've played live on it before, it was my first guitar. and i didnt have a backup, so i was kinda worried, but the guitar (and me) falling offstage onto concrete floor didnt hurt it in the slightest, just a pinky-finger nail sized dent near the bottom.

dunno, never had problems

i love it, it may not be BEAUTIFUL, but its still cool looking, and plus, that really doesnt matter in a guitar. i wonly wish it wasnt so friggin heavy, it kills my neck when i play live cause of my scoliosis, luckily im getting a MUCH lighter,Schecter S-1 Elite in about 3 weeks or so (on back order @ music123.com for 350, its usually 550-599 everywhere else)
other than the heaviness, its my 2nd favorite guitar

Made in the early 80's, peavey says select hardwoods, but not sure if exact type. Guitar is heavy though and has a super quality feel to it. Three bladed pikups, with all kinds of options as already mentioned. Mine is a bubble gum purple, very pretty, with a real nice maple neck. The frets appear to small, but peavey says they are medium frets. Smallish pickguard, wished it was more asthetic, but it's adequate. A great feeling neck, just right for my hands, feels better than most strats I've played.

All kinds of sounds from this fine guitar from bright strat sounds to les paul humbucker sounds, a little noisy on some settings, but not too much. Play through a johnson jm60, and the sounds are fantastic.
My only complaint is that I wish mine had a rosewood fretboard, as my fingers seem to stick on the gloss finish of the fretboard, but I have this problem with any maple fretboard guitar.

Very well built guitar, I've never seen a tighter neck to body fit on any guitar ever. Super nice finish, one complaint is the outer E strings are fairly close to the edge of the fretboard, for me it hampers some three string bends, sometimes the low E string slips off the fretwure. I could probably remedy this with a new nut, and some saddle mod. Peavey should have put fender out of business with these, I guess the japanese saved em though.

Nice solid strap buttons, great cast non locking tuners, you could throw this all over the floor like SRV, and even light in fire like hendrix, and it will come out better than a start.

Never dealt with, but I hear they have great customer support.

Been playing for 8 years blues mostly, Would definately buy one again if it were lost or stolen as they are hard to find, especially in this purple color, I like owning things that not too many others have. Like everything about this guitar except the E string problem mentioned above. Some one said it looks utilitarian, I don't know,I like the shape myself it is very close to a strat. SUPERB BUILD QUALITY is EMPHASISED. I especially like the location of the pots and switches, I never bump them while playing, unlike my strat. I wear the Peavey badge proudly with this guitar.

I have NO idea what year this guitar is. If any of you know a way to tell please email me! I do know that this is an all U.S.A. made guitar. the piickups are (as far as I know) the original blade pickups. the setup is H/S/H but the different setting allow you to make the humbuckers act as singlecoils. This guitar has a similar cut away as the the strat but it is a little different. The pick guard is much smaller than the strat but you still don't scrath the body. the bridge is alot like the strat but is much heavier. Most of them are equiped with a tremmelo arm (mine broke =(). the tuners are nonlocking, made by peavey with the logo P on it, and look alot like the strat grover tuners. The neck is maple with medium sized frets that are in great condition (all 24 of them).

This guitar is suitably for just about any playing style. Right now I am using a Alesis amp that has built in effects and it sounds great. I plugged it in to a fender deluxe reverb amp and compared it to a $1300 dollar strat and there was no sound that I could not reproduse with it and there was even some that The strat could not get. It has a cool system that allows you to make the humbuckers act like a singlecoil so you get an incredible rang of sounds ( I have beent trying to figure out every thing about this feature but I can't seem to master it)

I'm not sure how it was originaly set up but right now it plays exceptionaly well. A friend of mine has a gibson lespaul that he spent thousands of dollars on and it has very similar action. The extra 2 frets (24 total) always helps when trying to get that ripping lead in for a song. When I first got this guitar I had some buzzing and stuff but after a while the dirt in the knobs cleaned out and I have not had a problem since. The only hardware flaw that I have had is the whammy bar. I bought it used so I dont know how the seller treated it but one of the screws that holds the tremmelo springs in place was busted off and he had the bridge bolted down. I'm not sure if that is a problem many peaple have but I doubt it.

This guitar is a little on the heavy side but it has the durability to back it up. the stap knobs (so far) have seemed very solid. no cracking when I jostle it around a bit. I have played this guitar and never saw the need for a backup in gigs. The only time it goes out of tune is when I leave it in the case for prolonged periods of time. All around a sturdy guitar.

I have never dealt with peavey directly but the music store near me deals with their amps alot and they are VERY very helpful.

Over all this is an excellent guitar for the beginer and the pro. If I ever have a chance (and I have money at the moment) I hope to buy another one to use with a different tuning or action for a gig so I dont have to through out my tuning durring a gig.

neck is carved from hard rock maple with slat peg head

body is a double cutaway body peavey named the naturalite

1 volume nob,indivual tone nob for the neck pickup, indivual tone nob

for the bridge

pickups are blde pole peices H-s-H which work through a weird 3 way

toggle switch one toggle for the bridge and neck pickup and another

for middle pickup

24 frets made of high crowned 18% nickle silver

many of these guitar a equioped with Octave plus tremolo (this guitar

was not)

because of the uniqie tone circuitry which allow dual or single coil

operations for each pickup indepently the rotation of the pickup

tone controls you able to select almost any sound you want

I honestly like every tone that came out of this guitar

especially when it was out of phase it gave me the chills

the new "naturalite" body style is one of the uglyest body style i have

ever seen and this is the guitar great flaw. this is why a guitar a

great as this could sell for 500 dollars on the 1980's and if your

you got a good mouth peice can be found for 100 dollar today

the neck could be a little smaller and the action could be slightly

lowered just because i'am not a great player but for a real guitarist

it is probly set right.

amazingly well constructed this guitar will withstand live playing

the hardware is orginal but, looks like new

the horizon ii a great guitar

i love the sound better than t-60

i wish i owned this guitar

and i may buy if it is still at the pawn shop when my money is right

the last thing i like to add is that the operating guide for the

horizon ii and other forgotten peavey teasure can be found by going to

peavey website

that is where i basically plagiarised the information i listed under

the feature section

Made in the USA probably around 1984, has 24 frets, has a volume and 2 tone controls, 2 toggle switches, both of which are 3 way. Has 2 humbucker and 1 single coil pickups, which are both peavy pickups as far as I know. I have no idea what kind of wood it is, but it has a natural finish and its heavy. I bought it at a pawnshop 3 years ago for $100.

I really like all the different type of sounds I get out of this guitar. I play mostly heavy stuff like System of a Down, Godsmack and Primer 55. I play it through a marshall G30R cdr amp with a Boss distortion pedal and a cry baby wah pedal.

I have dropped this guitar a few times once on the pavement and it hasnt broken. The volume control falls off quite a bit, I'm not quite sure its the original one. The strap buttons are solid, I just have a shitty strap. Is a dependable guitar, and the only guitar I own, Im poor.

I have been playing on and off for 3 years, only other gear I own is a Marshall G30R cdr amp, a Boss distortion pedal and a Jim Dunlop cry baby wah pedal. If stolen Id be pretty pissed and probably try to find another one. My favorite feature is the location of the volume control and the pickups.

Bought at an auction and seller said it was made in 1984 in the USA. it's a strat,Floyd Rose model,24 frets. Two tone and one volume and 3 pickups,2 humbuckers and a single coil in between. It also came with 2 three way toggles, The Finish is beautiful it's a metallic red with a black pickguard that really sticks out when light reflects off of it. came with a Peavey hard-shell case, and picks

Buying this guitar was the right choice, the sounds when playing any variety of distortion was awesome. I own a digitech rp12 and a crate G40C.you can make almost any sound no matter what your style is.

When i got this guitar it was in perfect condition except for a few minor scratches. the low e string tends to buzz a little when you try to play fast. Other than that it is in great shape for a guitar the was made in the 80's

This guitar was built to last, the neck looks brand new, all the controls are on solid never had trouble in over 5 years. Would definitely play live if I had a band.

Never had to deal with the company because bought it from a previous owner. Did not come with a warranty. No need to get this long lasting guitar repaired.

I've been playing for almost 9 years, before I owned a Fender Deluxe Series Cyclone. The on thing I love about this guitar other than the sound is how this guitar looks when played in a bright room it looks almost like a reflector. Before I choose to purchase this guitar I searched For 3 months on e-bay and in pawn shops.

Bought new around '86 U.S. made, serial# 01922811, 24-fret rosewood fingerboard, maple (I think), last of the LARGE T-60 style pegheads, tobacco-sunburst, 3-pickups: H-S-H, blade-type polepieces, non-locking stock tuners, plastic case. Guitar has a three-way toggle switch for the front and rear pickups and a three-way switch for the middle pickup. in/out of phase and 'off' in the middle position. Cheapass tremolo but I attended a Peavey-seminar. The factory guy said, "Don't put the 1st and 2nd strings under the little "string-trees", wind your strings from bottom to top on the tuning pegs so they'll have a straight-shot across the nut and you'll alleviate that 'sawing-out'-effect in the notches. Also, it'll recover it's 'tuning' after a fierce 'dive-bomb' if you like to do the whammy-bar thing a lot."

I play a variety of styles, mostly classic-rock (Floyd, Skynyrd, Eagles, etc.) I have a Peavey Special 130 amp. also, a Zoom 505 w/expression-pedal. The guitar will sound like Tele, Strat, Les Paul, and with the middle pickup out of phase with the neck pickup in single coil mode you can even get a "Rickenbacker"-sound (like the early Beatles). The only thing it WON'T do is play the middle pickup by itself.

No factory flaws, but the neck weakened a little after about 6 months of regular daily playing. I tightened up the truss-rod just an 'eency' bit, (not even a full-turn) and it's never done another thing in all these years. The action is and always has been great. I've played on brand new Ibanez 'RG'-Series guitars in the store that are NO BETTER!

Will this guitar withstand live playing? Duh! I wish I'd had it with me in Vietnam. I've played this guitar in the rain, in freezing cold outside weather, it's never failed. Good finish, never needed anything but wiping off with a soft cloth. I don't even use polish, just a couple of drops of lemon-oil about twice a year. As to using a backup guitar: I would never play a gig without a backup. I'm HELL on little "E"-strings. That's why I also have a Peavey-Predator w/Kahler for backup.

never tried

I'm 54. Been playing 41 yrs. I've owned everything there is. If there was anything I wish I'd asked before I bought, it would've been about it's resale value. I had no idea you could give $500 for a new Peavey, go out the door and come back in with it and the bastards only want to give you $100 for it. The local Fender dealer told me "Hell, I don't even want that in my store...just throw it on the old barbecue pit next time you're doing some burgers." Still, as to the QUALITY of this intrument, NONE BETTER!!!

Made in USA in 1984. Solid body Strat-inspired shape, with maple neck and rosewood fingerbaord in a 24 3/4" scale, 24 frets. Three pickups, two outer humbuckers wired to a three-way switch, centre single-coil wired to its own three-way switch, all three pickups vacuum-sealed with epoxy in plastic cases and with blade polepieces. Master volume, two tone controls for humbuckers, with funky cast metal knobs. Gotoh tuners: originally had Peavey Powerbend trem, later swapped for a Kahler Trad trem. Came complete with a blow-molded heavy-duty hardshell case.

This is my main axe, for a very good reason - it has killer sound. The pickups on the Horizon have a great deal of output on them, yet at the same time they're also have a great amount of clarity. Using this with my Peavey Classic 50 212 amp, I can get incredible chord grind on the distortion channel as well as jangly arpeggiation, clean channel I can nail some great Strat and Telecaster type tones. Using the distortion or overdrive from my
Roland GP-8 processor, I can actually nail some of Brian May's tones!

The secret? The Circuit. Introduced with Peavey's T-60 guitars, it's a tone control specially wired to split coils on humbuckers, and was developed for Peavey by pickup/electrical guru Red Rhodes (note that Dan Armstrong came up with a similar circuit in the late 1960s, and Washburn offers a similar feature on their Idol guitars). From 0-8, the tone control functions as a stock humbucker; from 8-10, one coil kicks out and gives you single-coil sound. Extremely simple, and eliminates lots of toggle switches.

The Horizon II ups the ante by adding a centre single coil wired to its own switch: centred is off, in up position it's in-phase (for Strat sounds), down position is out-of-phase (for the types of tones David Lindley referes to as "goink", instant Teisco!)

Even cooler: the two outer humbuckers are wired in-phase, so when you have these two on in single-coil mode you have a particular Tele sound.

The neck humbucker has a nice amount of warmth even in single-coil mode, and with the tone rolled down and sufficient gain added is capable of "woman tone": combine this with the single-coil in up-position and you get a notched wah effect. The bridge is brash and punchy in humbucker mode, and more Tele than Strat in single-coil mode.

With the versatility of this layout I'm able to conjure up at least 12 useful tones from this one guitar, combine this with a good two-channel amp and a multiprocessor effects unit and you have a wide pallete of tones to play with

It was pretty well set up when I got it from the factory. Finish was flawless on the neck and body. I remember when Guitar World reviewed this guitar in '85 they likened it to what you would get if you crossed a Strat with an SG and they pretty much hit the nail on the head, except back then Peavey was clobbering both Fender & Gibson regarding the build quality of their instruments. (This was just after Fender got itself out of CBS' clutches and before Gibson shook themselves loose from Norlin). Peaveys from this period were just beginning to look more contemporary and less utlilitarian, and they were built like tanks!

One other thing - the colour. Peavey designed their colours so that they would especially stand out under stage lighting, particularly their metallic colours. Mine is Sunfire Red, a candy apple finish that uses a silver base coat rather than gold, and under stage lighting it really stands out, with a nice glow to it. Other colours I've seen these in include gold, silver, a Lake Placid Blue type and an outrageous metallic bubblegum! They also came in more traditional colours including sunburst.

considering that it's 17 years old it's held up well to accidental spills and falling over. The urethane finish is pretty scratched up but you can really only see this up close, and there are no chips in the finish. The finish on the neck has held up surprisingly well, so have the tuners. I only recently had to change one of the switches (these are huge honking Switchcraft types!) from wear, that says a lot.

The only thing I had some problems with were the bridge pieces: because I was at the time interested in Steve Vai and Allan Holdsworth whammy shenanigans, these quickly developed some deep grooves which led to reduced string life. I decided then to install the Kahler, however if Graphtech had sold their replacement graphite saddles at that time I would have considered that option (and may still do so, as I still have the original bridge). The original graphite nut is still holding up well, though, even after all the whammy stuff.

Peavey has been wonderful with any of their products I've owned, and have helped me out in the few times I'd needed assistance. When I needed a replacement truss rod cover for the Horizon II (the original was destroyed by the guy who installed the Kahler's nut, which I subsequently removed when I discovered that it was sucking tone) and got in touch with Peavey by e-mail, they sent me a free one! Regarding the switch, they don't have it in their inventory but directed me to AllParts.

it's an amazing guitar, and it would definitely be missed if it were stolen or lost. Even my Peavey Falcon, an amazing axe in itself (see my review) wouldn't fill the hole its loss would make. I'm an extremely picky person regarding guitars, and had gone through at least four different guitars (including a particularly bad '78 Strat) before finding this little gem - and I'm not sure I could find another Horizon II as Peavey only really made this guitar for about two years and not many seemed to have been sold in my area of Canada. Now around the US South, that might be a different matter :)

When this came out it was Peavey's top of the line (if you don't count the earlier T-60 which was still in production) It has three pickups two HB's ad oe single in the midle. It has several toggles to activate the middle pickup or throw it ou of phase with another pickup. the tone contrals also act (like the tone controls of the T-60) as coil tappes above 7 for sigle coil and above 7 they become humbuckers. my model has blade pickups , I have seen later versions with humbuckrs with pole screws. so this things got coil taps, phase switching and high output pickups, about 30 usuable sounds

Now this is the best part, Nobody knows about this guitar they are cheap used, some have trems, mine doesn't. if you can't find one of these under $200 you're not trying, $150 with a case is not at all unusual. This thing sounds great, strat sounds, tele sounds, woman tone in the neck pickup, les paul in the bridge, and the clean tones are phenominal, this was peavey's top of the line in the very early 80's and somebody was really trying. I own a dozen or so quality electrics and this is right up there with the best soundwise.

Its got a real thick neck almost les paulish, but not quite Ibanez artist. I bought this used and It had a little rust on the neck plate, but hell its almost 20 years old, it was made very rugged.

I could dig a trench with it

Its peavey.

this is one of those guitars that no one knows about, its kinda ugly or at the least utilitarian. and like I said they are cheap, buy one and It'll be the one you pickup the most often in studio, to get several different good sounds to tape and you'll tell your Fender custom shop/PRS snob bodies about this killer cheap guitar that sounds great. Peavey has several models that fit that discription, I own 7 of them, The most I paid for any of them was $225 used. all combined I paid for them what my 78 Gibson SG is worth.

I don't know what year it was made but I know they stopped making them around 1984. I would say mine is around 1980. It is a soliod body electric with three pick-ups.(H/S/H) The pickups are, what appear to me as, wierd in a way. They have a single magnetic piece of metal the runs across them, two on the Humbuckers, but from what I heard they don't make those type that much anymore. Two tone and one volume control and two three way toggles. 24 frets on what looks to be a maple neck but I am not quite sure. String throught the body bridge and the tuners are touchy but nice. The finish on the guitar is quite nice. High gloss metallic pink is my color and boy does it hold up well. The features on this guitar are pretty good all around.

It has many different options of sound. I play all types of music and it suit them well. I use it on a Marshall AS80R, which is made for acoustic guitar, and it still sounds nice. When I take it to Marshall JCM-100 it can handel being distorted as well. Depending on what settings you have it on it can have a nice bassy sound or a nice full bright sound. i never had any dislike with the sound quality.

I got it used so I don't know how well it was set up from the factory but mine seems just fine for being about 18 years old. The strings rattle once and a while but with the right strings, nothing. The bridge is made well and the pickups were placed well also. Mine didn't have any flaws thankfully it had a careful previous owner.

This guitar has withstand everything that I have needed it to withstand. Plays great live and the hardware is perfect yet. You cant even scuff the finish, it its quite nice. I would take it to a giig with out a backup if my house wasn't too far away but i'm sure it would hold, it has so far.

I have never needed it.

Overall this guitar is great. I have never had a single problem with it and I have been playing for three years. I would take it everywhere and will probably never sell it. If it was stolen I would find the guy who stole it and tell him that he stole a nice guitar before I beat the shit out of him.

1984. Made in the USA. 24 fret 24 3/4 inch. solid body. three pickups (H/S/H)two tone and two volume controls, a three way pickup selector and phase shifting. mine has schaller tuners on it i brought the instrument second hand so i'm not sure if they're standard.

i play a alot of funk and it suits this well , it can sound bright and full (not at the same time though) so it handels being distorted well .it has a very wide range of sounds almost good for any music, although the bridge buzz's a bit (although it is 15 years old).

i got it second hand so i'm not sure how well it was setup from the factory. the action is perfect, nice and low without the strings buzzing on the frets. it's 15 years old and still has a perfect finish. although the floating bridge tends to lift up at the back if you put heavey gauge strings on.

it's a solidly built guitar, play it live alot, it has already stood the test of time. i play it all the time and have never had a problem with it.

never needed it

i have been playing guitar now for 5 years, and its the best guitar i've ever played, i would never get ride of it, and would try to replace it, if it broke (although i can't see it happening).