Peavey Impact Milano

1994-1995 Made in the USA, 24 frets, flame maple top, mahogony body. 5 way selector, 2 humbuckers. Rosewood fingerboard, maple neck with light flaming. Locking tuners, neck tilt system for easy action changes

Very flexible high output pickups that are splitable via the five way switch, this thing gives a massive sound. Great in humbucking modes rock with a convincing blues tone with the single coils

Great action on the guitar with a very smooth and fast neck. Controls are very well built with from what i can tell, very high quality hardware

The guitar is very well built and feels like it will take a hammering and then some!

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This guitar is amazing, for the price i would definately have one of these over a gibson double cut or a PRS as you get much more flexability in the way the switching (see previous reviews) works and you get just as much tone, may swap pups in the future for some seymours but these will certainly do for now!

Follow up info:

I opened it up yesterday & figured out the switching. It goes like this:

Position 1 (toward the neck) - Neck Humbucker
Position 2 - Neck single coil
Position 3 - Both PU's (humbucking) in parallel
Position 4 - Both PU's single coil (outside coils) in parallel
Position 5 - Bridge humbucker

I wanted a single coil bridge option, so I modified position 4 by lifting the output of the neck pickup off the switch. I VERY much like the sound of the bridge single coil. I rarely used position 4 because it was just too weak and lacking in midrange. It sounded pretty on it's own, but didn't have enough presence to be part of a mix. I now have 5 very useable tones from this guitar.

I bought this Impact Milano new in 1994 from Milano Music (I didn't even notice that at the time)in Mesa, AZ. I was just starting to play again and didn't think I could justify spending alot of $$ on a guitar. Then I kinda went crazy and bought a bunch of guitars anyway. Isn't that the way it always goes.... This guitar was made in USA, has 24 frets, mahogany body w/ flame maple top, and a maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard. This one has a brown transparent finish on the back of the body and an amber or honey colored transparent finish on the front of the body. It's the color that is in the manual, but the one pictured in the manual has a great quilted maple top - mine is an average flame maple. The neck and headstock had a natural, almost unfinished finish. The neck is a great looking striped single piece of maple. The headstock has a slight angle to it. The neck angle can be adjusted at the body. The neck attaches to an aluminum plate and then to the body. This is to allow full access all the way up the fingerboard without a neck heel. It has 2 high-output Alnico humbuckers and a five-way knife switch for P/U selection, volume and tone controls. No-name locking tuners. Originally had a vibrato tailpiece. It comes with Graph Tech string saver saddles in the bridge and a Graphlon nut. Came with a nice Peavey hardshell case.

I've always had the same impression that the last reviewer had - it's almost a PRS CE copy. The 5 position switch gets you (from the manual) 1. Neck Humbucker 2. Neck single coil 3. Both pickups - dual-coil, humbucking 4. Both pickups - single-coil, hum cancelling 5. Bridge Humbucker

I've not taken the time to figure out exactly what the wiring is in positions 3 & 4, but I agree that they are very useable Strat-like sounds, 3 being more mid-rangey and 4 more mellow and "out-of-phase" sounding.

This guitar has a great all-around rock and blues versatilty. The pickups are very hot and somewhat mid-rangey - a good rock lead sound. I spend a lot of time in the #2 position - neck single coil - which I find very useable for bluesey sounds. I don't think it has that warm, mellow jazz sound of a PRS, but it does a lot of LP and Strat tones. I've got more expensive guitars now (PRS custom 24, Strat with Lace sensors, Parker Fly Deluxe) and they all have their own sounds, but this is a great all-around guitar if you can find one. I've always left this one out as the "beater" that's always available, and I've really grown to love it over the 11+ years I've owned it. (The funny thing is, all the other guitars stay locked up, but this is the only guitar I own without any real dings or dents - lots of pick scratches, but no serious wounds.) The neck is thinner than I'd like, but I've gotten used to it. I do like the fact that the neck is somewhat wider than most. Peavey lists the neck as 25" scale, but it measures more like 25 1/4".

When I got the guitar, the neck was not set straight in the pocket, so it had to be adjusted. I didn't like the non-finish on the neck, so I had it finished with a satin clear finish. I had it re-fretted with large frets - don't remember the number anymore. I had problems with tuning stability early on - probably my fault from adjusting the bridge height with the strings at full tension (we all live and learn) - so I had the tailpiece blocked with a couple of pieces of mahagony. This changed the sound of the guitar noticeably for the better IMHO. More sustain, fuller sound. Makes sense that it would and I'm glad now that I had that done. The locking tuners are not as good as any of the lockers on my other guitars, you have to really crank them down to get them to stay locked, but I've left them on all these years - they do work.... I also had the white inlay dots replaced with round MOP inlays on the fingerboard. The originals just looked too cheap to me.

The neck has stayed true all these years in the dry desert climate. I started playing with .010's and have recently moved up to .011's and it's still rock solid. It's ready for a setup again now with the bigger strings. It'll go into the shop in a couple of weeks. There's no pick guard on this guitar, so it's got lots of pick scratches below the strings, but the rest of the finish still looks fine. The strap buttons are a little oversized and I've had no problems with them. I don't use locks on any of my guitars and it's never been an issue for me. I don't jump around while I play and I don't wear guitars low, so maybe that's it. I've never had any problems with the electronics on this guitar. It's been a very trustworthy instrument, but I'm not really hard on gear....

Never dealt with Peavey.

Played as a kid. Returned to it about 12 years ago. I've been leading worship at church for about 3 1/2 years on a weekly basis. I use the Parker on Sundays and my Fender DG-20S acoustic for mid-week Bible studies. I'm amazed at how many times I've tried to match a sound in some recording and gone through the PRS, Strat, and Parker to end up with this guitar (Like "Took My Place" by Third Day - Mark uses an SG). Since it's got the Graph Tech saddles, I'll probably replace them with Graph Tech's piezo saddles so that I can use this with my new Roland GR-20 synth without the stick-on pickup I've got on it now. The nice thing about a guitar like this is that you don't feel bad about making changes to it or just plain using it. I rarely play the PRS - it's just too beautiful to scratch it all up. What a shame! If I had to replace this Peavey, I would look for something very similar, or maybe a bolt-on neck PRS or Parker Mojo with some P/U switching changes....

This is a 1997 guitar. USA made. 24 frets. 2 pc. maple top, slightly flamed on a Mahogany Body. Bolt-on Maple neck with Rosewood Fretboard.
1 volume, 1 tone, 5-way switch. 2 Peavey Ceramic hot Humbuckers. Passive electronics. Glossy, yellow stained finish on body. Satin neck. Double cutaway. Peavey trem, Locking Tuners. Neck profile is thin and "c" shaped. This Peavey Impact Milano is very vesatile
and the trem is very smooth and stays in tune. I bought this guitar
slightly used from a Peavey Dealer who said it was new/old stock.
This guitar is no longer in production.

I play in a 3-pc. band which covers songs from the 60's to today's modern sounds. The Ceramic Humbucking pickups are very strong. The bridge pickup is hot. The 5-way switch enables you to get some strat in-between sounds but they are strong, not weak and thin. No noise. This guitar reminds me of a PRS CE bolt-on guitar. Just as good without costing too much. It is very good for classic and modern rock. I set the trem just so it will dive and not pull up. It stays perfectly in tune.

Being a slightly used guitar, no longer in production and hanging for a few years in a store it needed new strings and a setup. After doing all that the guitar performed beautifully. The body finish is glossy and seems touch/durable. Stain yellow over bookmatched top with some flame. Neck joint is tight. Cutaway enables you access to 24th fret.
I have big hands so the neck is a little thin for me but you can play very fast on it. Low E & A strings were a little high at nut but were cut and fixed. Frets are a medium size.

This Impact Milano is very durable and reliable. It may not be the prettiest guitar but it has a good rockin' vibe, plays well and sounds just as good as a PRS CE. Everything is solid and the only
thing you would need for a gig is extras strings just in case you broke one. I've been hammering the trem and diving and haven't broke a string yet. If this guitar fits your style of music you would'nt need a backup.

This guitar was slightly used, new/old stock? I didn't get a warranty but I really don't think I would need one. It has been around for 8 years without any help so I think it is a tough guitar. I've never dealt with Peavey but I'm sure they would help if I needed them.

I am 47 and have been playing for over 30 years. I have owned hundreds of guitars from every major manufacturer. I still gig every weekend and love playing guitars. Right now I own a USA Hamer Duotone Custom, USA Hamer Daytona, USA Schecter Custom Shop, USA Fender Strat Plus, USA Carvin Electric 12-string, USA Gibson SST Chet Atkins, USA
Guild Acoustic/Electric, USA Tacoma PM-20 Parlor acoustic, and this USA Peavey Impact Milano. I play through a Line 6 Flextone III Combo Amp because it has every tone and effect built-in for live performances. All my guitars sound great through it.
If you can find a Peavey Impact Milano go ahead and buy it. It may be a rare find but it is a great guitar. You will not have to spend a whole lot of money which is great, but it is a shame for Peavey because they have made some great guitars but just do not get the respect they deserve.