Peavey JF-2

The finish on this thing is pure rockabilly beauty. Three colors available (red, gold and silver). The gold looks gorgeous to me, but the red is even better. The silver looks like of goofy because the hardware is gold.

The body is pretty much your typical 335 hollow clone.

Bigsby tremolo, Grover tuners... I bought it with the intention of swapping out the tuners for locking Grovers or Schallers, but it actually holds in tune fine with these (at least with the 9s it comes set up with), so I may leave it as-is.

Rosewood fretboard... No idea what wood was used for the neck (it's covered with a black finish), but I really don't care as long as it stays straight.

This guitar (along with others I've seen recently) is proof that the Chinese are seriously catching up. When Peavey moved their factories from the US to Korea, I thought it would suck but was proven wrong. Now they have Chinese factories make most of their stuff, and once again, I'm very pleased to have my assumptions dispelled. A very high-quality instrument for the money.

Mini-humbuckers, probably made by Peavey.

It sounds just like you would hope a "jazz guitar" would. A heck of a lot of guitar for the money. When I'm home alone, I like to play the solos from "Get Back" and pretend I'm John Lennon. I tried it out in the store through a Fender combo, but I'm mainly playing it through a 50W SoCal tube stack, and it's more than up to the challenge.

In spite of the hollow-body design, I haven't had any microphonic feedback problems, even standing near my amp at high volumes. The mini-humbuckers work as advertised and cancel out all hum.

99 percent of the time, I leave the switch set for both pick-ups, with all the volume and tone pots at 10... It sounds beautiful like that, so if it ain't broke, I say don't try to fix it.

The set-up was fabulous. Very low action, but without fret buzz anywhere on the neck.

The finish on inside edges the F-holes was a bit rough, but a bit of sandpaper (perhaps followed by a black sharpie) would probably take care of that. I'm choosing to leave it alone, since nobody will see that from the crowd.

The fretboard was kind of dried out looking and had little blobs of what appeared to be excess lacquer on it in a couple tiny spots, but that just kind of gives it character. Besides, it was being liquidated for $299, so I ain't complaining

It's a hollow body.

With a Bigsby tremolo.

And size 9 strings.

If you're not prepared to treat it like it was made of gossamer wings, then go buy a MIM telecaster.

I've owned a lot of Peavey gear, and never once had to rely on them for support, because their stuff just flat-out works.

One of these days I'll have a problem with one of their products, and I'll actually be able to mention their customer support in a review... One of these days, but not today.

Guitars are getting cheaper, thanks to the Chinese getting better, and the Koreans working hard to compete, but this is the first time I've seen a 335 with a Bigsby for anywhere less than $400, ever... and it's a darn good guitar to boot!

I don't expect to get much resale value out of it in the future, because there are so many "headstock snobs" and "made in USA" snobs out there... and those that aren't often just buy new... But when I buy a guitar, it's usually with the intention to keep it until it's destroyed, it's stolen, or I die, whichever comes first.

If I lost it somehow, I'd try to replace it, if I could find another at such a great deal... But I'd probably give up and simply cry, then save up my money for a vintage 335 to take the pain away.

Gold sparkle finish, Bigsby copy, mini-humbuckers, three-way toggle, two volume and two tone controls, Laminated semi-hollow body, made in China

Nice aggressive bite on the bridge pickup. Neck pickup is suitably jazzy. Both are rather hot. When you play unplugged, you get a lot of overtones from the strings stretched between the bridge and the roller bar. Thru an old Fender amp, it's easy to get a nice controlled feedback.

Upper frets were rough. Electronics are suspect, with the neck tone control intermittent. Nut was cut too high (as they are in most guitars). The G string could not be intonated without reversing the saddle and bringing it all the way back. Fit and finish nice. Bigsby works good now that the nut has been tweaked and nothing is binding the strings.

Solid and reliable so far. I don't touch the neck tone control. Stays in tune. Should last a long time.

Peavey has an excellent reputation, and has helped me in the past.

Chinese guitars are getting better. Although it took a little work, I now have a good guitar that didn't break the bank, looks flashy on stage, and feeds back when I ask it to.

Semi Hollow Body
24 3/4 inch scale, set-neck guitar with a mahogany neck
Rosewood fretboard and maple plywood body w/ solid veneer top
Cream binding on body and neck
22 frets
Tune-o-matic bridge with a vintage vibrato tailpiece
Two custom mini-bucking pickups
Two master tone and two master volume controls with three-way switch
Crazy Metal Flake Gold finish on top (over the top)!

I run this through a Peavey ValveKing head and bottom, dirty or clean this thing shines. You get an absolutely amazing tone with both pickups. I play different styles but with this guitar mostly classic rock.

The set up on this guitar was really very good from the factory, the intonation was excellent and the frets were finished smooth. The gold metalflake (sparkle) finish on top is perfect, and the gloss black on the rest of the guitar is excellent. The pickups were adjusted fine and the tuners seem to be alright. The "Bigsby" style tremolo set up was also done well.

In my opinion this guitar is quite reliable, and it is quite heavy for a semi hollow body and well put together. I would gig with this guitar.

I have never had any problem whatsoever with any Peavey gear over the last 28 years! I will give a good rating due to Peaveys warranty.

I have been playing for approximately 29 years and if I had to replace this guitar for any reason I would not hesitate to buy another one! I think that the gold finish is incredible and for the price it is a great buy.