Peavey JF-1

My Peavey JF1 (black) was made in China I think in 2005. Yes, it's a Gibson 335 copy (another copy!). I think other reviewers already listed the specs.

I like the Peavey humbuckers -- they sound great to me.

Some reviewers have had complaints about the tuners but mine are working well so far.

I will second the opinion that the neck is great. It is very comfortable. it's also tilted back deliberately. It's amazing how much easier this makes the guitar to play. this is a really nice feature that I haven't seen on many guitars.

I have no idea why there's no case/gigbag. there should be.

I play classic rock and blues. This model is perfect. I can get a jangly Beatles sound or a blues/jazz sound. It sounds good with gain, too, if you want to do some Cream or whatever. It has a good variety of sounds, i'd say.

It's at it's best on lead guitar and power chords, I think.

Really low action which i like. My pickups are actually jsut about right... no buzz, good tone, just great. The finish is just paint, but you know, this guitar looks really sweet. Everything seems tight and right, you know? The factory strings are garbage but what else is new. Just put on new ones. No big thing.

My guess is that it will be durable. For an archtop, it seems sturdy. I love the feel of it in my hands. I've just had it for a week or two, so I don't really know yet if it's dependable. I won't give a rating, but my hopes are high.

N/A... Haven't had to yet. But I went to peavey.com and the site is down -- because of Hurricane Katrina (Peavey is in Mississippi). Can't hold that against them!

I've been playing about 10 years. Right now I just own a Takamine acoustic electric and this Peavey JF1, but I have had others in the past. I really love the neck and the sound of this guitar. For the money, I don't think you could beat it. I compared it to other 335 copies and similar guitars(Epiphone DOT and DOT Studio; Ibanez Artcraft; Oscar Schmidt OE-30). It is so much more comfortable and sounds better to me than all of these. Really. Even the DOT. I concur with the last reviewer on that. I was actually quite shocked at how well it plays and sounds. I don't think it's a fluke, 'cause they had two of 'em. I tried both, and they were both incredibly nice. This is as good a bargain as you'll find. I have to give it an overall 9 because I think this thing is a steal. I can't believe I never heard about it before... I just stumbled onto it while looking at the more familiar DOT and Artcraft...

My comments are just to add to what others have already said and give my own opinions. There have already been quite a few reviews!

It was made in China, yes. But personally, I am reasonably pleased with how this guitar is made for the price. I have a 2005 model, all black.

To me, the relatively wide neck feels great. It's very comfortable for me, but of course I often play classical guitar, so perhaps that makes sense.

No case, as others have noted. Well... this is often the case when you buy cheaper guitars. I put it into a gig bag I already had. No big deal.

I personally really like the sound of it. I used to own a Epiphone DOT. This Peavey JF1 actually feels and sounds better to me, believe it or not. I bought it for blues, bluesy rock, and a little jazz. No, it's not a Gibson... but really, it's not bad. And given that I'm only an intermediate level player (even though I've been at it for 20 years), it sounds plenty good enough to do justice to MY skills! Would I expect BB King to play it? Er, no.

I love the low action on this thing! For me, along with the wide neck, it makes this very comfortable to play for an extended time. Given that I usually play classical guitar with nylon strings, that's saying something. Yes, there's a bit of a buzz, but it kinda does go away on its own if you play for a while (someone else noted this). I haven't noticed flaws yet. The tuners are actually quite good on my guitar.

I don't really know, but it seems solid to me. My Epiphone DOT felt more fragile in my hands, actually. It's cheap enough that you can play live with it without being nervous... and I think it would do fine. Time will tell, of course! The strap buttons are quite solid, which is nice. The finish is painted, so I don't worry about that!

N/A. I've heard great things about Peavey, though.

I've been playing for more than 20 years. I own a Yamaha classical and an Ibanez Roadstar and a Fender Jazz Bass (Getty Lee model) at the moment, but I've owned MANY guitars over the years! I think I'll be playing this one the most, day to day. I use a Fender Bassman amp for guitar and a huge Peavey amp for bass.

When buying this one, I compared it to a used Epiphone DOT. The DOT reminded me of why I didn't like my old DOT -- way over-rated! I also compared it to a Silvertone Blues King. Honestly, it was sort of a close call, but I really love the wide neck and action on this Peavey JF1. To me, that makes it really comfortable to play, and that makes a world of difference.

I think all guitars should come with a gigbag, but whatever.

22 Fret ES-335 Copy. I guess since its called a 'jazz fusion' model, they're going for the Scofield model Ibanes AS-200. But those two guitars are so similar that they're one in the same. This guitar has a flame 'veneer' that rivals that of some high-end manufacturers. It also has a pretty cream binding all the way around the body, neck, and headstock. Also has gold hardware, somewhat uncommon for this type of guitar, but i think Sco's has gold hardware. In a weird twist...the two JF-1's at daddy's boston where I purchased this beast had different style inlays than that of the JF-1s I see online. They're not block, but i dig them more. A unique aspect to this one guitar I have.
Other than that, this guitar is a victim of a lot of the Chinese cost-cutting measures: poor electronics, two-ply pickguard, painted back (gibson es-335 has transluscent finish on the back), kitchen-counter nut material. Top it all off with poor electronics. In fact...it has the generic overseas peavey humbucker which I assume are supposed to sound metally on some guitars. Just because they're humbuckers does not mean that they will sound like the twangy jazzness of a 335.
Since the guitar looked so nice and the price was right, I switched out the pickups for a gibson 57 classic in the neck and a 57 classic plus in the bridge. There probably could have been better pickups for this job, but I know how those two pickups sound in an es-335 and I didn't want to take the risk of losing that labor cost to some other pickups. I also had a new bone nut, and schaller locking tuners put on. Now we're getting somewhere....

Despite the overall cheapness of this guitar, the peavey does have the resonance of the semihollow thing they're going for. I feel like the guitar is becoming more resonant 'unplugged' every day I have it. If you had the stock pickups in, it would sound like junk. But with the 57 classics, it nails the tone i was going for. With a guitar like this, it could have sounded sub par, but I took as risk and it paid off big time.

I never trust a factory setup on any guitar. (I worked in a guitar store, one time this martin USA-made guitar came in with the strings detuned and the G and the D strings switched...so much for quality control over in Martin...) But I dug the neck because it was thicker than most 1960's gibsons. Its actually somewhere inbetween my thick non-60's SG neck and that of the uberskinny 1960 gibson neck. The frets were also pretty good, a medium size.

I knew there would be shortcomings with the finish on this guitar. On the binding right by the rythem pickup there is some kind of black discoloration. Unfortunately, this is the part of the neck I see most (:-/). The nut was also very sloppily glued out of the factory and there's some kind of glue left over visibly inside one of the f-holes from an angle. But, honestly, I've seen worse from made-in-China guitars. The frets were decently put in the guitar. Slight unevenness at the 21 and 22 frets, but nothing that would hurt playing.

With the new pickups, nut, and tuners, this guitar is on par with a USA gibson or a Japanese Ibanez AS-200. It may even stay in tune better! With a proper set up, this thing plays like buttah. The construction of this guitar is very solid, no worries of the top or sides coming unglued.

My only question now is how long the pots and switch will last. As with any cheap guitar, the electronics usually will last 1-2 years before a pot, switch, or jack needs to be replaced. I knew this when buying it, and that's one reason why the guitar only cost me $300. I figured at that time I'll get all CTS pots, maybe some NOS bumble bee caps, and a solid switch and jack. That would make this guitar probably sound better than a 2005 Gibson ES-335.

I probably voided the warrenty doing the work on this guitar.

I'm a college student, I've been playing for 7 years now, I worked in a guitar store, I know what good guitars sound like. I also know how good a cheap guitar can sound and play if you spend 500 dollars in parts and labor. This guitar screams. But really, its not the same guitar that I bought. I sanded off the 'peavey' logo on the trussrod cover and even changed ALL the gold hardware to nickel or chrome. For about 900 dollars, this guitar plays, sounds, and for the most part looks better than those epiphone 'elitist' models and is certainly on par with Gibsons. It also has a unique headstock and inlay system. I even put on gibson gold skirts on the pots. I'm thinking about putting my name on the headstock and getting rid of the script 'jazz fusion' logo at the end of the headstock. But that might be a lot of trouble for nothing. It may make me look pretensious...

So, really, the original guitar would be like a five, now its a 9. A true 'player.'

Made in China --- in 2004 most likely. 21 frets. Well made Tune-O-matic bridge! No name tuners and pickups. 23,75 inch sacle. No case or gig bag included.

OVERLY thick laminated top. I wonder why they WASTE the wood this way? It just adds extra USELESS weight to the guitar. Has NO useful PURPOSE. My two pre-1967 ES330 Gibsons have about half the thickness. Even my Jay Turser EE335 2002 copy has about half the thickness. That wasted wood and extra weight is hard on the back of a guitar player ansd adds no sustain. In addition it means less wood left to make future guitars with. Dumb as hell on Peavey's part.

2 Volume; 2 Tone controls; 3 way selector. Passive electronics. REALLY nice flamed maple top. Really nice looking guitar overall! Too thick a neck --- like those old cheapo guitars without a truss rod. But I got used to it.

The neck was MAPLE and NOT MAHOGANY AS CLAIMED in the Peavey advertising both on their website and in their catalog. WHAT a dumbass company Peavey is not to even check and see if their order was fulfilled as asked for by the chinese manufacturer. THIS ALONE tells me that Peavey is pretty much a marketing bullshit company. I bought this guitar specificlly because I wanted the warmth a mahogany neck gives to the sound of a guitar. Mahogany is generally better sounding for accompanying a, non lead guitar, singers voice.

I called Peavey about the neck wood. The person I talked to was a nice person but offered nothing concrete correct the situation --- they probably feared that everyone would end up asking for the same thing ---which I suggest you do if you are equally unsatisfed.

I was preparing to sue the store or the distributor or Peavey itself --- I've never lost a case in court to date and I would have won this one also. Even weeks after I talked to the company representative they were still saying on their website that JF-1 necks are made of mahogany! They KNOW they are lying!

Happily the JF-1 guitar was so pretty that I was able to exchange it for a similar, but light weight better made, ES335 copy that a friend of mine owned --- a first year run Jay Turser.

If you want to check out your own JF-1 neck wood you need just remove the truss rod cover plate. If the wood is white then it is NOT MAHOGANY. You can scratch some wood away to check if need be.

I tried out FIVE JF-1 's and the one I bought sounded the warmest. The others all sounded no life jangly like a bad copy of a Stratocaster. The one I bought had a nice jazz guitar sound but good sounded good mainly for solos and fingerpicking. Nice but not great. For strumming well it sounded was rather lousy.

I was looking for that nice warm sound a mahogany neck gives you on this type of guitar but it just wasn't there. I had decided to change the pickups as I thought maybe they were at fault. Before doing so I fortunately decided to adjust the truss rod (I repair guitars so no problem there) when I discoverd the neck was *@?$*@#? a maple neck and not as claimed.

Action was just fine but hell even if it wasn't it's easy to adjust. More important was that in spite of having a very reasonably low touch there was no fret buzz at any fret at all. Great. Who cares about pickup adjustement. Don't we all own a simple screwdriver? And, in any case, you should readjust the height to get the sound YOU want from the pickup.

The top was very nicely bookmatched. I just LOVED looking at this GOREGEOUS guitar. Too bad it didn't sound as good as it looked. one The five JF-1's I looked at in the sotre had glue droppings that were wuite evident and easily seen thru the f holes. The top binding was unequal on one side of the guitar and distracted from it's overall great look. However I've never had more pleasure looking at a guitar while playing it!

Non-noisy pickup selector or pots. Saddle very well fitted. Quiet pcikups. Nut nicely cut.

I think this will likely turn out to be a dependable guitar. It is quite solidly put together. However only time will tell.

Unhelpful dealings with the company. Nonethless, the representative I talked to was quite friendly. I called the company because the neck was not mahogany as claimed. They wanted me to work things out with store --- who refused to take the guitar back even though the salesman had guarantied me the neck was mahaogany and I had verbally VERY clearly specified it was essential to the sale. I like this store but forget getting a return if you have this type of problem.

I like going to court becasue I've always won to date. Peavey got off real easy especially seeing I also work with the media and would have gotten them some bad publicity for their misleading website and catalog information on this guitar. It would have cost them MUCH more than the 350$ I paid!

Been playing off and on for the past 25 years. Presently own about 20 some guitars and four amps. Have owned a lot more. Guitars: Fenders, Gibsons, Ibanez, Samick, No-name, etc. My favourite guitars are my two Gibsons. One 1961 ES330 and one 1967 ES330. Dream of owning a 1961 ES335. They are what I call a REAL guitars because they sound like timeless guitars should. Probaly because tehy were made with quality wood that they just don't have any more.

AMPS: Mostly Fender and Mesa Boogie and some great sounding no-name amps. Anyone have an 8 inch speaker Tracer out there to sell me? I am dying to find one again! I also repair and set up guitars for other guitarists.

My past time is taking guitars and getting them to sound as good as, or better than, big name guitars. I LOVED the looks of this JF-1 guitar. Got to admit it, even more than my Gibson's damn it. It sounded quite good fingerpicking but for soloing and chording I have many better sounding name and no-name guitars.

Great value for the price. I would recommend this guitar as a first adult guitar if you don't mind the weight of it and the overly fat neck. I would not have sold it if it had had, AS SPECIFIFED in PEAVEY literature and on their website, a MAHOGANY neck.

Rating 10 cause an overall GREAT value for the price! With the proper pickups I could have turned this guitar into a great sounding soloing guitar --- with some FANTASTIC inexpensive, better than Duncan Gibson PAF imitation, sounding chinese pickups I've found. I've tried a lot of pickups. Watch out Ducan the chinese are coming! The JF-1 is not a strumming accompaniment electric guitar. It does have a good Rock sound as is. Overall the guitar is a 6 or 7 as compared to a quality "no real" guitar. As compared to a "real" guitar think 3.

This is an excellend guitar for the price you pay - $350 CDN for a hollow-body, archtop guitar is great. Twin humbuckers with treble and volume controls each. Very good impression overall - a nice hefty "bang for the buck".

The two humbuckers provide a clean, fat sound, particularly on the neck pickup, great for jazzy chords and soloing. Tried overdrive as well, as in fusion or classic rock - very clean, much better than my Ibanez guitars.

Needed adjustment of the neck truss, but otherwise well adjusted. The action is a bit low, and low A string buzzed at first. After some break-in, the buzz stopped, but you may want to raise the action a touch. The finish is absolutely stunning - makes you feel like you own a $2000+ guitar! The rich deep red is light enough for you too see the wood structure. The knobs are very solid. The only complaint is that the pickup selector switch tends to get unscrewed, and the pickguard is a little weak but that's a very small flaw.

I haven't owned it long enough to comment other than the strap buttons are very solid and it feels that it will last a lifetime if properly taken care of. After all, no one plays baseball with guitars, do they? I don't gig, and even if I did, I would tend not to smash the guitar against amplifiers or set fire to it :).

Haven't called yet, but I intend to, to get the action higher, and adjust the neck some more.

I have been playing jazz, progressive rock and fusion for a couple of decades now. I own two Ibanez guitars and an Ovation. This is the first "Jazzbox" I own, and have always dreamt of one, but the price was too prohibitive. There are other guitars in this class from Jay Turser, Ibanez, Epiphone and others, but I've never seen one that would be affordable. Peavey solves the problem. This guitar costs a bit more than the Ibanez solid bodies I own, but what incredible value for the money! I would gladly own another Peavey in case this beauty gets destroyed, and would definitely replace if stolen.

I have a new 2005 model. Most of the features have been dicussed before. There seems to have been a parts change, probably due to user comments. The tuners on mine are Grovers and not Gotohs like others have mentioned. The one I got is finish in transparent red. The finish is beautiful, could not find a flaw in it or the workmanship.

A couple of reviews commented on lack of a case. Well Peavey now has a case. Mine was shipped out of Peavey in one.

sounds as good as any other ES-335 type guitar sounds. pickups are humbuckers and sound fine to me. no need to change.

The action from the factory seems okay to me. I did not see any flaws in the guitar. Chinese manufacturing seems to be making top notch gear now.

looks like it will be reliable, not enough time to tell.

Peavey has been excellent. My guitar was on backorder. I called Peavey to find out how long, I found out there was a delay in packaging, they ran out of boxes. I explained that I had circumstances that required the guitar ASAP (I?m sick and dying, this was a last request toy for myself). They had the red ones in stock and decided to ship it out in a case so I could get it within a week. That is good service.

Even though I am a beginner, I am used to musical instruments. I also own a dreadnaught acoustic. If stolen, i would kill the culprit and make his estate buy me another.

I think everyone else has fairly well covered all the features of these Chinese built "ES-335 Gibson clones," and there is nothing for me to add here. It has what all the members of this genus are supposed to have: A thin line laminate semi-hollow body, a center block, easy access to the entire fingerboard, and a pair of humbuckers.

Peavey's ad copy might lead a non-player, or beginning student, to think that the JF-1 is some sort of revolutionary design. It isn't. It is a re-hash of a design that has been with us for half a century.

But that is advertising hype for you, and everybody does it.

There is something about this guitar however, that is, if not revolutionary, still very worthwhile: Not many offer the basic structural integrity of the JF-1 at the street price these are selling for. These are good guitars, and worth consideration by working musicians as well as students and hobby players.

If Peavey offered a case with it, I would rate it 10 out of 10 for features. They don't, so it gets a 9.

Like the Gibson ES-335, these are versatile guitars, and can be set-up for anything from rock to jazz with the right strings for you style and a couple of screwdrivers. With heavy round wound strings and the action set medium high (and you will have to re-set intonation, because they are set very low with light strings from the factory), the JF-1 delivers a very "Gibson-like" jazz sound using the neck pickup. The pickups are quiet, and reasonably high output.

I have used the JF-1 through a variety of amps, and if the amp is suited to the style (ie, a good clean channel for jazz, in my situation) the guitar sounds good.

The thin hollow body adds some resonance and "feel," and gives enough volume to permit unplugged practice in a quiet room, while the center block, thin body depth, and fairly thick maple plywood top are very resistant to feedback compared to full depth archtop guitars.

Again...all characteristics of the Gibson ES-335 and its clones/derivatives.

If the 335 is the standard against which this guitar is measured, it deserves a 9 or 10 for sound.

The set-up was typical. Too low for my taste, and with cheap strings that were too light for jazz. No big deal, because that is how most guitars are delivered, and they have to be set-up for the individual player's needs.

The general finish is excellent. There were issues with roughness on the bridge saddles and nut, but more on that below. The neck and frets were good, the sunburst finish looks nice, and the binding is as well applied as on most Gibsons.

It is a very solid guitar. If you already gig without a backup, you are unlikely to find anything about this guitar that would cause you to be afraid to use it as your only guitar at a gig.

Don't know. Haven't needed customer support.

This is a guitar that improves with playing. A lot of people accept that expensive carved archtops will open up and sound better after several months of intensive use.

That isn't the case here...plywood is plywood, and it sounds as good as it is going to sound when you arrive at the set-up that works for you.

However, many of the mechanical/fit issues that others have reported here, simply resolve themselves with some "wear-in."

For example, the tuners. They can fool you into believing they are sloppy when you first bring the guitar home. They really aren't. The bridge saddles are a tad rough, and the nut isn't as smooth and well cut as it could be.

After a few months of playing a minimum of an hour or two every day, the constant vibration of the strings, and the sliding back and forth of the strings over the bridge and nut as it is tuned, really smooths up the guitar. You will gradually begin to notice that the guitar now tunes smoothly and precisely, and that it holds tune as well as a guitar costing a couple of thousand more. When it is brand new, the strings don't slide over the saddles and through the nut easily and that causes the tuners to feel sloppy.

The frets and the back of the neck benefit from such constant use as well. They smooth up nicely with use, and if you have a chance to do so, go back to a music store and compre your JF-1 to a brand new model, after you have played yours for six months. Then try a new Gibson. I think you will conclude you just got paid $2000 for your practice time.

This is a consideration for working musicians...if you want to add a 335 style guitar to your inventory, but you are a little tight on cash (what gigging musician isn't?), grab one of these and use it as your daily practice axe for two or three months, and then it is ready for the clubs. You can use the money you saved to fix your car, and that will help get you to more gigs.

I've been beating on guitars and basses since the 1960s. I've been through a lot of them, from a craptacular 1957 Fender Esquire through a Gibson L-5 that just got sold to some guy in Denmark with more money than good sense, with a couple of Gretsches, miscellaneous Gibsons, Fenders, Heritages, Washburns, what have you, thrown in the mix.

I don't anticipate having to replace this Peavey any time soon, unless it gets run over by a car, because it is well made. But after owning and playing this one, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

I would however, plan on playing its replacement in my living room for a couple of months before gigging with it, just to wear in the few rough spots and thereby put the finishing touch it needs to make it a first class axe.

Peavy Jazz-Fusion made in 2004, china made. Standard 3 place switch, 2 volume and 2 control knobs. Alder body, semi-hollow body. 2 Peavy Humbuckers. Beautiful dark sunburst finish. 335 style which means you are playing way up the neck. Nice Tune O Matic bridge. Gotoh tuners (really the only drawback on this axe). Very sweet neck with well finished frets, can get around quickly. No accessories.

For the price this is one fine unit. You need to do 2 things before seriously performing. 1) Change strings to a quality 10-46 or 11's. Dump the factories. 2. Have your local Pro set it up to adjust string height and nail the intunation. Then you a a very nice jazzy, blusey guitar. I have played for 30 years. My main guitar is a LP Firebrand Studio. I wanted a guitar for more blusey chording. This thing surprised me. On the neck PU you get rich smooth blues chords. In the middle you can play Texas blues leads, with a little distortion. On the bridge dont be afraid to play classic rock leads. I can imagine what some custom Gibson pickups would do to this!

Off the shelf set up was off a little. Fret buzz, especially 5th and 6th strings below the 12th fret. One fixed--so smooooth to play. Easy adjusting bridge. No flaws upon receipt other than tuners being a little sloopy. Make sure you wind strings 3 + wraps before tuning up. This helps slippage immensly.

I play it live and aggressivly (although I've only had it 3 months(..Time will tell. The finish is awesome. I have had more compliments on this guitar than any Ive owned before. The gold bridge and pickups against the dark background are beautifull. I always have a backup guitar if for no other reason a string breaks, which has not occured in 3 months. I do note that the butt end strap button may be a little loose, that needs checked further.

We have a local Peavy dealer who is also a Luthier here in town, so I use him for all my Peavy needs. He even refretted my LP studio which is almost against his religion. Did a great job. Lifetime warranty on structural items.

Playing 30 years. Country gospel, 60's rock, Texas blues. I would replace this if lost or stollen. Theres nothing I dislike except tuners are a little weak. The playability is the best asset, very nice neck, beautiful body, clean sound through an older Peavy VT classic 212. Good miced through house PA, also nice with various effects to pick up the harsher SRV or Los Lonely Boys Texas sound. I mostly play clean without effects.

I wanted to add a cautionary note here.

Apparently, Peavey does not offer a case for the JF-1. Or if they do, I can't find one at their website or at a dealership.

So, when I purchased one of these guitars earlier this year, I bought an aftermarket case nominally designed for the Gibson ES-335. The dimensions are very similar.

Except: The Gibson ES-335 doesn't have its pickup selector toggle switch on the upper bout. When you put a Peavey JF-1 in a case designed for the Gibson ES-335, you will likely find that the lid puts too much pressure on the bat handle of the switch. On mine, it actually broke the switch internally after several months and I had to take it to the dealership to have it replaced...where the cause was discovered.

It appears as if the problem is minimized if the switch is flipped up to the front-pickup-only position before the case is closed.

Just beware...most hardshell cases that will fit this guitar are actually designed for the Gibson ES-335, and may not provide adequate clearance over the switch if you forget and leave it in the center (both pickups selected) position.

Other than that, it has been a great little jazz guitar.

Bought mine used, not sure of the year it was made. No indication of where it was built. Red finish with beautiful flame maple top. Looks elegant with the gold hardware. This is the best-looking import 335 I've seen. Plays great, intonation is perfect. My personal preference is that the toggle switch be placed with the volume & tone controls; on the Peavey, they are on the upper bout, Les Paul style. This is certainly not a problem or a flaw.

Nice full sound. Excellent blues and rock guitar.

Nice fit & finish, as good as any import I've seen. Gorgeous flame maple top. There are lots of red 335's out there, and this is the best-looking one I've seen.

Mine was used, but played lightly. Looks like it would hold up fine to live playing. Everything seems solid & well built.

No need for support.

The Peavey JF-1 is a very nice guitar. Every bit as good as an Echotone, Sheraton, Washburn HB35, Dot, or any other imported 335. Highly recommended. I would definitely want to replce it if it was lost. I've been playing for 35 years and this is one of my favorites.