Peavey Predator

Peavey Predator International series. Strat copy. Does that mean it was made outside of the US ? I bought it in Joburg so anything is possible. I think I bought it in 98 but I could be wrong and I hardly paid anything for it because I traded in a drum programmer. I think I had to pay in $20 (R200). It has all original peavey hardware except that I took out the whammy mechanism and replaced with a machined brass block, now it stays in tune. Maple neck I guess.. the body is painted black and it seems to keep its looks. Mainly I wanted a guitar I could experiment with because I do pitch detection off the E and A strings to run a bass accompaniment and I even modified the nut and feedthrough holes to take bass guitar strings.. it s possible.

I love the punchy toppy sound. I use the front pick up to feed the pitch detector circuitry so the four top polepieces have been pulled to make the pickup blind to strings D G B top E and it works. I use a line ^ or Roland cube amp no extra effects . There's some hum but thats the norm for single coil pickups I think. It doesn't really wail but it does chirp. Perhaps thats my playing.

The whammy bar mechanism was a source of trouble but now that its locked its all fine. There's some fret buzzing when the action is set low enough to be suitable for lead playing but not offensive.

It's already done live playing and it's lasted. Sadly I don't do to many gigs on electric guitars I tend to play a Gretsch dobro most of the time but when I have taken this along I just love the looks on the faces of the other guitarists because Peavey has had an unfair (?) reputation of being crappy.

No warranty and never needed one.

I've been playing for 40 years and had Gibsons, Fenders and Ibanez. I bought this guitar as an experiment and have been pleasantly surprised. I knew the electronics would be robust because I have had Peavey amps and a PA but I didn;t expect the instrument features to be so sound.
What I like is the reversal of roles. Often when you're doing a guest spot or something and you take along a Gretsch, lets say, then the other guitarists will ask to see the guitar and the implication is always " You sound so good because you've got an expensive guitar" but now when and if I sound good they've got to say " Jeez he must be a great player to get that tone out of a $90 plank !!"

This is a Peavey Predator Strat made in 1992. I bought it through a partial trade-in at my local Daddy's Junky Music in November '08. I traded in an '04-'05 Squier '51 and got very little for the trade, and ended up spending cash I wasn't expecting to. But money wasn't going to be an object to acquire one of these lost beauties. You might be asking why a person would be so high on a some old Strat copy. Well, when I was a teenager I finally began learning how to play guitar. Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins were my favorite groups. My first real guitar was a '93 Peavey Strat copy, black with a white pickguard. My dad traded it for my old Silvertone with the amp built into the case. My dad, being a follower of good tones (Clapton, Eric Johnson), knew this guitar sounded good enough and the neck played well.
That original '93 burned out around 2001; the electronics just stopped working. I started playing a real nice Fender Mexican Strat, which I still have. So I saw a used Predator on Daddys.com and the guitar was only a few miles away. So I went for it. After the typical wrangling and hassling you get from a guitar store salesman, I walked out with the Predator. (I'd suggest selling on eBay or a local classified digest-type of thing before going to any corporate music store. You might get ripped off).
Anyway, this '92 is white with a black pickguard. It really looks great. There are a few chips and dings here and there. It has a thin, fast-playing, rock maple neck. The frets are medium. The body is Poplar. It has the standard three single-coils and the typical string-thru body bridge. Another nice feature are the modern chrome saddles, which I prefer over the classic Fender saddles. The generic tuners aren't great but stay in tune. I tried to install Gotoh's, but the headstock pegholes were too small for the Gotoh pegs to fit.

Plugged into my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12, the clean tones have that nice, warm bright definition and ring just right. With my "secret" drive on, I can get some great classic '60's-'70's sounds with great dynamics while playing heavy. With a DS-1 on for added grit, I was able conjure some bombastic, fuzzed-out bliss. I tried my old small-box ProCo Rat and didn't get good results. The Rat quieted the overall volume. When using the whammy bar, the playing was all right, but I lost some sustain. This guitar can handle the heavy, but perform clean as well. From warm blues and jazz, to distorted rock, to classic heavy metal, this guitar does very well.

I bought the guitar without a set-up. I did find that it needed adjusting, as the action was higher down towards the neck joint. Sure enough, the neck had a slight dip, but was in no way anywhere near a banana. Peavey has a nice feature with the neck adjustment mechanism under the neck plate. I snipped off the old strings to try to adjust the truss rod from the head stock, but found quickly that it was the wrong method. There is a hole in the plate to access the hex nut which turns a disc into the neck block. With some careful 1/4 turns clockwise, I straightened the neck considerably. Then I took another hex wrench and lowered the saddles evenly. I also gently filed down the fret ends, which stuck out just enough to be noticed. That was an easy task. Everything now sounds and feels better.

This Predator is built well. It is a solid guitar which actually seems to weigh more than a Fender-made Strat. I'll be taking better care of this one. The old one took a beating and was leaned against walls and knocked around a bit for years as my brother and I shared it. And if the electronics fail somehow in this one, I'll waste no time having a professional repair it. I tried to fix the burnt-out '93 and was unsuccessful.
I would say this is a dependable, gig-worthy guitar. I'd also use this for recording.

I contacted Peavey recently to verify the year of make for this Predator. I received a prompt response with the information I needed.

Some people might think this is just another piece of junk, a wanna-be copy of an original classic style. In my opinion, I would own this guitar over most American-made Fenders anytime. It's a very nice-sounding, sturdy, tuneful guitar with vibe.

it's a peavey strat copy. It's all been said I give it a 5 here. but then i would give a strat a 5 here as well. It's from the mid 80's made in the USA. They have 10 on any given day up on ebay. I paid 75 for mine. The body was apparently hauled cross country behind a garbage truck on a chain. Cheap tuners that have no business being on a guitar. Neck was perfect and straight with no twist. it's rock maple with a focus on the rock.

When I got it it had the stock pickups. Which I promptly replaced... luckily I held on to them. For some reason mine had the peavey logo on each pickup cover. I put a dimarzio 58' in the neck, an dimarzio '61 in the middle and because I wanted more bite I stuck a chopper in the bridge... I played it that way for 2 months and out the peavey back in except for the dimarzio chopper in the bridge. I should strat out by saying that I had one of these before and gave it to my nephew. The peavey wasn't a real strat and I just had to have one. So I went out and got me a 2008 american standard Strat in olympic white. in short a very very nice guitar. Anyway smiling from ear to ear I went to vist my sister for a week and showed my nephew my prized new REAL strat. it kind of bugged me that for some wierd reason the peavey just felt better. can't put my finger on it or tell you why but it was just different. My strat sounded much better but to be honest it was dead on what I wanted. I was going to have to swap out the pups to get the sound I wanted. hmmmmmm if I am going to swap out the pups...... so back to ebay I went and got the beater I have now. Made the aforementioned hardware changes. Godd tuners and good pups. and sat for the next month or so comparing the two. MY 1000.00 strat against my now 200 dollar Peavey. It looks like complete crap as far as the finish goes ( the owner had tried to relic it) and it looks to have lead a very hard life. But she out performed the Fenser on every level. She play better, wasn't worried about the tinist scratch on the presitine finish.. hell I carved my name in the peavey. So long stroy short she completely smokes now. I love to watch someones face when I plug her into my crate palomino v16 and I know they are thinking this is going to completely suck and the cruch there skulls. Thier mouths hit the floor. I have turned down 500 cash, which is stupid cause I could make 300 bucks and do the same thing to any one of the hundreds up on ebay on any given week. But I am 50 now and don't need the money so let them go and do thier own. I had had lots and lots of guitars I won't get rid of this one but if it were stolen oh well no big loss. I'd just go out and get another and be jamming away before I could fill out a police report. These giutars are almost as good as the fender was and with the changes completely blow a STOCK STRAT OUT OF WATER period, no contest... at all finito all done

these things are a brick. I use it to chop tress down in the winter

did I mention it was a rock. I think it would outlast an anvil

absolutely killer guitar with few changes not bad at all just like it sits. Hell I gave away 150 bucks worth of highly rated pickups becayuse I like the stock ones better.

Look, it's a strat copy... what kind of features can it have? But it does have one volume + two tones unlike some other copies that have only a vol + one tone control. Very cheesy one ply pickguard.

Come to think of it, it does have one great feature...the neck has an adjustable tilt screw control access through a hole in the neck plate. Makes adjusting the neck angle and consequently the action very easy. Nice touch for a cheap guitar!!

I don't like strats, but there's some songs that you can only play that thin, tinny sound with a strat. So it sounds like a strat!

Of course, I bought a new pickguard with a hole for a humbucker, so now I'm much happier, as it made it more versatile!

I'M WRITING THIS TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE NECK IS NOT SIZED LIKE A STRAT NECK. I HATED THE WAY THE HEADSTOCK LOOKED, SO I BOUGHT A STRAT REPLACEMENT NECK WITH A STRAT HEADSTOCK. LO AND BEHOLD, THE PEAVEY NECK IS ABOUT 1/8 - 3/16 " HIGHER (FROM THE TOP OF THE FRETS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HEEL) THAN A STRAT REPLACEMENT NECK. THAT MEANS IF YOU WANT TO SWAP OUT THE NECK, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PUT IN A SHIM BETWEEN THE NECK POCKET AND THE NECK ITSELF. ALSO, I GOT STRAT REPLACEMENT TUNERS B/C THE SHAFTS ON THE PEAVEY TUNERS ARE TOO NARROW FOR THE HOLES IN THE STRAT HEADSTOCK.NOT A DEAL BREAKER, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW. MAYBE PEAVEY WAS JEALOUS AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU KEPT THEIR HEADSTOCK ON THEIR GUITAR.

Other than that, it's fine. I'm a Gibson man, (1970 335td), and I basically wanted to buy a strat because of peer pressure. Of course, there's no way I'd pay for a real one, so now I got this copy that looks and sounds like a strat. I'm happy. Certainly a great value, especially since it's made in the USA!!

First I'll give you a little about myself. I am a fairly active player, been in several bands but nothing "professional". I have been playing for around 15 years. The Peavey Predator was my first full size electric. My mom spent her tax returns on it for my Christmas and birthday present(we didn't have much money) 350 bucks for the guitar and a Peavey Rage 158 amp. Man that was the sweetest thing to happen in my life. I LOVE the Peavey. Probably mostly because of the history we have together but non the less it's a great guitar. It has aged beautifully. It's a 1992 Us made Predator black with white pickgaurd with factory tuners(ok)and a strat style trem.

Well it took me several years before I had the money to buy myself another guitar, which was fine cause I really loved the Peavey. I played it constantly. I was the kid playing the guitar while on the shitter! This thing went every where with me. But as soon as I plugged it in a large amp I realized that the electronics were terrible. I tried putting some different pickups in but I was young and didn't really know what I was doing. I ended up getting another guitar and that became my main unit. I put the Peavey down for many years, only playing unplugged from time to time until a few months ago. I had some 70's reissue Strat Pickups laying around and decided it was time to get her running again. I took a chance and purchased some electronics from guitarfetish.com and boy was I pleased. I did the most meticulous wiring job on the Peavy that I have ever done. New pots, switch, input jack and pickups. Now it is the HOTTEST sounding guitar in my group. I have been reunited with my love (I used to sleep with this guitar) once again!

To be honest I don't remember how it was from the factory but I can say that it plays wonderfully now. I have of course made some neck, trem and intonation adjustments over the years. I would like to get a graphite nut for it and some new tuners. Also the frets are worn totally flat from all the miles I put on this thing, so if I were to take it on the road I would definitely get new frets installed and upgrade the nut and tuners and possibly the trem.

Well as I have said I think it has aged beautifully. The paint on it is still great there is of course some chips and dings here and there but 15 year will do that to ya. I used to wax it when I was growing up with is so the finish still great. The neck is a joy, not too thick, not too thin, and the satin style finish is so smooth, wonderful. I have dropped it and been very lucky I feel to never have any major damage. I own a Fender deluxe super strat that somehow fell out of its stand at a basement show and it got a crack all the way through the headstock. The Peavey just brushed things like this off.

Never dealt with them(a good thing).

Well I've been playing like I said for around 15 years. I have a few other Fender Strat's and a Fender Acoustic. I also have a Dean ML for some metal fun and I'm planning on getting an Agile 3000LP. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 212. I am mostly a blues rock style player but I can do a little metal and jazz when needed. Of all my equipment I have the most attachment with my Peavey. I don't think I could ever get rid of it for anything. I remember when my strat got the crack in the headstock and I needed a guitar quick(the peavey was not working at the time)and my girlfriend suggested selling the Peavey to help buy a new one. Luckily I totaled my mazda by hitting a deer and cashed in on full coverage insurance. I was able to keep my Peavey, my girlfriend and get a new guitar. I wouldn't have had any other way. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!!

1994 Crafted in the USA Predator, White with white pick guard. Nothing fancy. For years I have owned only "inexpensive" guitars. I just play for me and some friends casually. Nothing like a professional... I believe that it is a poplar body and maple neck. The body finish is good it has held up for 13 years already, the white color is yellowing a bit, (you can tell when taking the pick guard off) and the satin neck is great. To say the least it is mellowing very nicely.
I've had the same problems that most of the rest of the comments are saying, the fret ends were jagged and I asked the music store guy about it, he said to try and sand them off... after about six months they stopped bothering me. I have hot rodded it heavily. I replaced the electronics with a Carvin S/S/H setup. A deal they had with a pearliod pick guard. Which really changed the sound dramatically. I had found a great resource with Carvin and bought their brand of closed tuners. I RARELY have to retune between playings. Their electronics are good but I had to change the 5 position switch out to a Fender. (For some reason that not only took out the crackle, but it sounded much better after that. Go figure that one out) I tightened the springs on the saddle/tremolo to where it was tight on the body. I never liked the stock trem. It was a disaster. I blocked it (ala Erec Clapton) at one time, but found that just tightening the springs worked just as good. I've been playing it for years and was told by my wife that if I wanted another guitar (I want to get a 'real' guitar. Maybe a USA Tele), I would have to get rid of one of theo ones I have now and replace it for the new. (I can get around her) But the thought of getting rid of the Peavey was unheard of. I paid slightly less that $300 for it, but for me I would have to sell it for $800 to $1000. And I doubt anyone but me would see it like I do.

With the upgrades it sounds fantastic.
Right now I have it just the way I like it

Perfect action and the fit and feel and weight are perfect for me.
The body and neck are in great shape.

I've only played it out once. At a blues club meeting where everyone got a chance to show their stuff. But I was pleased with the way it played.

Never had to use them.

I have a Yahama acoustic/electric and an Oscar Schmidt 12 string. I can't compare them to the Peavey. (see what I mean about buying cheap guitars???) But of the three I don't have a favorite. Each of the three is great for what I need it for. But I may end up leaving it to my great great grand children. I don't think I can get rid of it.

A little bit about me: I've been playing guitar for 37 years and have toured all over the planet as a side man for many well known artists. Also have done alot of studio work-and last but not least-went to Berklee (but I can still play).Now let's get down to business. I went to my favorite pawn shop the other day and picked up a USA (made in 1992) Peavey Predator for $57.75 (w/ hardshell case).It has a maple fretboard, black body (strat style w/ string thru body, whammy bar tail piece) in excellent condition. After taking it apart for a thorough cleaning it looked just about brand new when I put it back together(I put Ernie Ball super slinky strings on it).

I can play all styles (except flamenco) but currently play country ( Brent Mason style) using a Peavey 130 Special amp with no effects. It's not the quietest guitar I've owned but I've played some Fenders that were noisier. The one thing I can say about Peavey is- they make excellent playing axes but their electronics are sub standard so I will upgrade to Seymour Duncans soon.

The fit and finish of this guitar is excellent. To make it a top notch instrument I will change the electronics and tuners ( about a $200 investment).

I own many high end guitars- but after I upgrade the pickups and tuners this will be my main axe. Why? Because the quality of the Predator is awesome.

I bought this guitar because I wanted a strat style guitar,3 single coils,comfort,weight,looks.This guitar has a cool aged white body with some minor scuffs in just the right places to give it a vintage look.The neck is maple with some wear in the open chords,it has the older cursive "predator" logo.I currently use a yamaha sbg 2000.

Line 6 pod 4 channel footswitch into fender super reverb re-issue amp.
ch1 marshall,ch2 roland jazz chorus,ch3 fender blackface deluxe,ch4 soldano high gain.The pickups on this guitar are not bad but not great either.I think i'll put carvin ap11s in the neck and middle and thier version of a hot rails in the bridge.Carvin p\ups sound great and are only about 35 bucks each.this will make a serious difference.

The fit and finish on this guitar is very good,the neck pocket is tight,the finish is nice and looks good for it's age.I actually had to file the 22nd fret as it loosened creating a dead zone on the b and e strings,from the 17th fret to the 22nd fret this took me 15-20 mins,it now plays cleanly up and down and all around.The wood is of good quality,heck it's stayed together since 84 or so.I set up my own guitars, even though this one plays very well,now that I did homespun fret job on #22,it will recieve my full pro set up and will play better than it ever has.the tuners are to fast of a ratio but work ok.
the pots,swithes,work good but could benefit fom some crc electrical part cleaner.9 when i'm done

Peavey guitars are pretty rugged,I don't see any issues with the predator usa.Like any guitar you have to maintain them,if you gig night after night sweating all over the poor thing without wiping it off you'll beat any guitar down.The chrome hardware on this guitar is in excellant condition.I don't see any reason that you would have problems at gigging with this guitar!

Don't know,but i have heard good

Peavey predator "hand crafted in the usa"100 to 150 dollar range it can't be beat.Heres what you do,put in some better pick-ups,change the tuners[maybe]pro set up,go to your jam.When they start the peavey crap tell them how much you paid,tell them made in usa.Plug your axe in tell them about the hot new pick-ups while you ripp off some hot practice riffs,and watch your fender toting friend say,wow that sounds good.

This is just an update of my review dated:
Submitted 10/19/2004 at 09:37pm by Anon E. Muss
(wow the time flew buy).

I own the 90s peavey predator usa crafted strat styled guitar. S/S/S.
Its now been 2 years and this guitar is still my main player. I own many more guitars in various price ranges but this one is still my fave. The honeymoon is long over but the marriage still thrives. I did some custom mod work to the wiring and tuners mainly and put on a new custom pickguard and new knobs.

In my opinion, this discontinued guitar (the early 90s usa crafted peavey predator strat copy) is a hidden american treasure and gem for those looking for the best bargain in dirt cheap.
I would not hesitate to buy one again. As a matter of fact.. I didnt hesitate. I now own 2 (hopefully soon 3-5 modding each differently). For the price these early 90s usa predators go for on the used market this is hands down the best strat style guitar you can get in the $100-150 price range (USA). People say that about every cheap strat style guitar they like,...but this time WE MEAN IT.

Obviously its no $1500 custom shop "dont leave me, honey" luxury guitar with rich man's frills...But.... its one of the few cheap guitars I know that can actually COMPETE with many expensive guitars in terms of PLAYABILITY and feel. And I am no stranger to expensive guitars. I'm a guitarist.

I ended up not changing out the bridge as I originally promised myself. That would have been pointless. This bridge is fine I've since concluded but I always have a paperclip on hand in my guitar toolkit in case I have trouble getting the ball end of a broken string out. I changed the tuners even though the original tuners stayed in tune. I never use the whammy or even have a bar for it so I don't know how well it stays in tune under extreme whammy abuse.

Its been thru MANY pickup changes mostly because I couldnt make up my mind if I wanted this to be a vintage sounding axe or a modern hotrod. Thats when I realized I needed more of them and set them up for different sounds (high gain to vintage). The guitar body is routed such that it can fit humbuckers in both the bridge and neck too with a pickguard change.
And you guys with small hands will be happy to know this guitar is small hand friendly! This is no dreaded baseball bat neck.

The poplar wood is nice in tone (poplar is Steve Morse's choice of wood last I checked).
The guitar is a feather and is easy on the shoulders.
I would also love to get this guitar custom painted but you know me and plans.
I'd rather have 5 of these (personally modded) than one $1000 guitar. And thanks to the price, I can.

The early 90's USA made Peavey Predator is a surprisingly capable Strat copy. The features are simple and consistent with the typical strat. Poplar body, and maple neck (Bi-Laminate.) Vintage style fulcrum bridge, 22 Frets. I give the Features a slightly above average mark because the features are standard, and the quality of the components are a little low since this is designed to be a Budget guitar, but I have to acknowlege that the components, though kinda cheap, hold up.

I always used the Peavey Predator with the Peavey Bandit 80 watt Amplifer. Both the guitar and the amp were made around the same time, '91, '92. They seem to work well as a team! I used a vintage Ibanez multi-effects pedal which included a compressor/limiter, the infamous Tube Screamer, and a Stereo Chorus. I experienced a HUM problem with this guitar and would always try to find a direction to point this guitar in so it would stop humming. My solution was to install a Seymour Duncan HOT RAILs in the bridge position. I still have some old Demo recordings that I made with the Predator, and with the Duncan pickup I wouldn't be able to distinguish this guitar from an American Fender Strat. With a new pickups I would give this guitar a 9 or 10. And you know, I don't remember the stock pickups sounding bad... they were just noisy, so I think I'll give this category an 7.

If you are interested in an early '90s Peavey Predator, and you have the fortune of finding one that was cared for, you should find that the guitar is everything you would expect in an American made guitar. If you are considering the Predator as a Beginner, it would be beneficial to have an accomplished player evaluate the instrument to make sure that it is set up properly, and commission a technician to make any needed adjustments. Once the guitar is adjusted (provided that it's needed) the guitar is a low maintanence, ready to play guitar. The playability of the Predator will be friendly to a beginner and comfortable to a professional.
I give this category an 8. By the time I was ready to upgrade my guitar it was a chore to find something that I honestly liked THAT much better to justify spending a large amount of money on. It's a great guitar for the money!! And with some minor upgrades, it plays with the big boys. It deserves an honest 8 for Action, Fit, and Finish...

The two big drawbacks that you will find with this guitar is probably the reason they sold for $200 brand new, and that is the pickups, and the tuners. If you wanted to, you could replace the bridge as well and this guitar would tear up its Mexican cousins. Durability is pretty good! With the stock tuners, it needs frequent attention... which I got sick of so I replaced them with Sperzel Locking Tuners. $50.00... That fixed it.
Back in the early '90s my family was one of those big families that went around to Churches and Family Bible Camps and played music... except we played rock songs where most families play gospel/country songs... anyway, my Predator was my main guitar for all those years and it's the only guitar I needed. It stayed in great condition as we stuffed it into trailers and the backs of vans or suburbans with the meek protection of a gig bag... It's a reliable, and durable guitar!

I was very happy with the local dealer that carried Peavey's service, and I bought with 100% confidence that I was backed by Peavey, and my local dealer.

If you are interested in the Peavey Predator to use as a Student's or Beginner's guitar, I would Insist that it is the BEST electric guitar for the prices that they are available for now. I have been playing electric guitar since '92, and I started on the Predator and I relied on it for years before I upgraded. And after modifying the tuners and pickups, an "Upgrade" meant spending alot of money!
Overall, the Predator is a No-Brainer for Beginners. It's a reliable guitar to gig around with. If you're looking to stay under $300 for a used Strat style guitar, the USA Peavey Predator is what you're looking for, and a well cared for Predator with a hard shell case should never cost you more than $150.00. It's a No Brainer! For it's overall value, I give it a 10.

this guitar has a poplar body.the neck is bi lamanated rockmaple.this is a very nice neck.the neck has 22 frets.this is the crafted in the usa guitar.the only thing wrong wrong with this guitar win i got it was the fret ends.the were a little sharp but easily fixed.

this guitar sounds okay with the stock pickups but really comes alive with the fender custom shop pickups i installed.the electronics are junk so you will want to replace them to.now the guitar is a keeper.i am giving this guitar a lower rating with the stock pickups and electronics.if it came with the new pickups it woould be a 10.

this guitar is very well made as far as the neck and body go.the tuners are complete garbage.i changed mine to vintage shallers like the old fender ones.they were a direct fit.the neck pocket on this one is very tight.this can very from guitar to guitar.i had one peavey predator that had a very sloppy neck joint.this one is very good.the tremolo on this guitar is ok but i changed the saddels on mine to stainless steel.i also changed the tremolo block to a solid steel.

with the changes this guitar is very reliable.i also added dunlop straplocks.i could use this guitar live without a backup.it would hold up just fine.the finish on the body and neck seem fine.with the new parts i would give it a ten.

they seem very helpful.very good web site.

i bought this guitar nos from stock from a closed music store.it came with the gigbag.this guitar was built in 1994.i bought it in 2005 but it was still brand new.i paid 150.00 dollars for it.think of it like buying a body and neck and building your own guitar.this is a great guitar now.

The guitar is pretty basic, nothing fancy. It's a strat copy. It has a solid feel and plays well. I replaced the pickups with Fender Vintage Noiseless $100 ebay), and that one modification elevated it's status in my collection. Mine was red, and I painted it purple several years ago, mainly because I was bored. It's a great guitar to try modifications on, because it's not expensive.

Like I said above, I replaced the pickups in it. Originally it's sound wasn't terrible, I just wanted something more vintage. Notes are bright (maple neck) and sound as authentic as I would expect them too. As far as I'm concerned, put whatever pickups you want in it, and it will rival a real strat--at least sound-wise. I'm definitely of the mindset of buying a solid, versatile guitar (without the bells and wistles of a custom shop or vintage guitar) and putting custom shop or vintage pickups in it, and use money you save for other stuff.

I'm using it for home recording as my main single coil guitar (along with a Epi LP w/SDuncan pickups as my humbucking guitar). It has a great bright and cutting tone, like a single coil bolt-neck should. I personally don't think an experienced listener could notice it's not a real strat.

I'm giving it an 9 assuming the owner spends $100 to replace the pickups in it. It has the potential for really great strat sound.

It has a really nice action. Fret's are decent--I'm not too particular about frets as long as there is no buzzing, which there isn't. I'm sure I modified the action and scale over the years, but I don't ever remember a time when it was unacceptable. It can be easily tweaked to play how ever you need it to. Visually, it's nothing special to look at (except for having the classic look of a strat), but if you don't care about looks, this guitar is great for getting the job done.

I've owned this guitar for 10+ years. The only problems I've had with this guitar is the hardware does tend to corrode/rust. My hands sweat a lot too, so that doesn't help. The tuners do seem cheap, but I have absolutely no problems with them keeping tune. I don't use the tremelo that much though. Like I said above, it definitely feels solid and well made (in the USA, at that).

I've never needed customer support.

I'm a multi-instrumentalist and home-recording musician/singer/songwriter (doing it all as an experienced musician for about 7 years). I play rock music in a mixture of forms: a lot of it is alternative/progressive/experimental/classic rock/pop. I want a classic strat sound at times, but need to spend money on gear to cover all instrument duties and recording equipment (drums, mics, recording equipment, etc). I can't spend $1500 on every instrument in my arsenal, so this $200 guitar w/$100 worth of pickups gets the job done. It sounds good and plays well, and that's all I need it to do. I wouldn't ever need to buy another strat or copy unless I got a really good deal on one. I don't own an American strat, but I have played on them on a few occasions, and I don't notice much difference. I'm giving this an 8 overall, relative to the price. It's definitely worth the money.

early 90's strat monkey, USA, 22frets, alder body w/maple caps me thinks, 2 part laminate maple neck
v/v/v
h/s/s: 6.9 ohm early 70's t-top, seymour duncan lipstick tube, 8.0 ohm 50's dearmond

i play jazz/blues/rock and have played for 17 years
use 50watt bassman head, closed back 1x12 cab
i thought this thing was a joke, but the acoustic sound was so great, i figured i'd toss what extra pickups I had lying around to make a frankefurter guitar.
It goes from creamy rhythm pickup, to dano middle, to spanky strat bridge. Those are all the sounds i could hope for. So, for the price of electronics, I've put my les paul custom under the bed.

It survived being tossed in the trash outside my building. That works for me. If it had a professional fret dressing, the guitar would be top notch. The neck is so good my friend offered to buy it off me right on the spot. But he also has a guitar buying problem.

The tuners are wack and wiggly, but they work well enough. The paint job is pooh.

A great back up, or #1 if you don't mind people giggling at your peavey headstock.
I love the fact it sounds like a strat and plays better than most "pro" guitars.
Just wish the frets didn't blow.

1995 usa peavey predator. standard "strat" features- 3 single coild and a 5 way. 22 frets, start feeling neck. solid poplar body, 2 piece maple neck fingerboard right there. nice. mine is black, black pickup covers, black knobs and black pickguard. I like black. this one has the trem bridge screwd down with 3 extra large screws and I threw 5 springs in so she's tight as a rock. cheap peavey tuners but they work. strat scale, strat feel, strat vibe, strat sound.

Sounds like a strat. you know the drill. I play it through a Marshall 100w half stack. Cranked. Loud I'm saying. Just a Crybaby and a tuner in the line. Adjustable poles on the pickups. Dialed in. Nice.

Built like a tank. peavey usa is high quality stuff. my predator is a rock. handcrafted in usa baby!

usa peavey on par with usa fender

gret website peavey.com has it all old manuals everything answer any questions.

amazing usa guitar very low prices used

I have a 1969 Peavey Predator strat style white on white, which has the look of a Jimi Hendrix strat and a beefy smooth neck (best neck I have ever played on.)Has new Fender tuning knobs chrome, new bridge (Fender) and is currently in the shop to have new wiring, pickplate (white), and 1969 Peavey single coil pickups installed...
very good manageability on the tremolo arm ("whammy bar") 1 volume 2 tone knobs. Sounds better than my stepmoms 1970 Fender Stratocaster (based on my personal opinion.) on Roland Microcube 15 watt amp. TKL Soft Case. guitar is supposed to be picked up Wednesday November 2nd 2005.
I will reply as soon as possible. These guitars are better than you think, they are very under estimated for a very low price, I have a USA made 1969 (which sounds very uncommon, which many were made 4 years after Peavey was first established est. 1965.)They do not make USA Peaveys anymore, ESPICALLY THE 1969 MODEL VINTAGE, UNLESS YOU BECOME LUCKY! Good luck all & everyone who supports Peavey Products I Will Review as soon as possible...

I would guestimate mine is an early 90s usa model. It has an unfinished maple neck and red body. The fret board is very flat. It came with a non-original gig bag.

I played gibsons for years then briefly Rics. Then started playing strats and teles. I play mostly originals/classic rock/surf instrumentals. The predator sounds like a "strat." What else can I say? The pickups are cheap. They are not quite as good as the ones in MIJ fender strats but they are passable. I would like to replace them eventually but part of the charm & value of the guitar is how much you get for so little. I doubt if anyone who just listens to music would even be able to tell the difference between this and a real strat in a blindfold test so PU change is not a priority. I like to keep guitars all original if possible no matter how modest they are.

I LOVE THE NECK ON THIS GUITAR. Yes, it's unfinished, looks cheap and say's peavey on the headstock but it's the best playing strat neck I've ever had. I've owned (74 fender strat, 86 and 87 MIJ strats, 83 Tokai 62 reissue strats.) Of those hand downs the best quality built strat is not the 74 but actually the tokai. The peavy just has a great neck and is super easy to play and do whatever you want on: Lead, rhythm, playing high up on the neck, pull offs, etc. The neck is plain great. Really. I've heard that the new fender eric johnson model strat has the same radius as a peavy usa predator. The hardware and plastic parts are embarrasingly cheap. A non guitar player could spot them. The tuners feel cheap but seem to work okay. The paint finish is chiping allready. The wood, fit and action are all great and as good as any us or japan made strat I've played. My favorite strat neck of any I've played so far.

Peavey are indestructible. Drop it off a truck. Play golf with it. Door stops. Whatever. Really great, underated products. Sold me and I was a confirmed vintage snob.

Never needed them peavey has a reputation being great and even backing up discontinued products.

There great. I will buy a back up one when I get a chance. Not worried about the price going up they made a ton of these. I have a dream about sticking frailens on one but that would just be wrong. I like that I paid $50 for this and can do just about anything. I'm very satisfied with this guitar. No, it doesn't say fender on the headstock best playing strat neck yet. So cheap feel like going out and buying for my friends. The hardware, plastic and finish suck. I know that is a poor discriptive word. The neck and fit great

1994 USA made Peavey Predator "strat" copy with Poplar body (very light weight), two-piece "bi-laminate" Maple neck (no separate fingerboard) with 22 frets 12 radius and 25.5 scale. Typical Strat controls and layout - 2 tones, 1 volume, 5-way. S-S-S passive Peavey pickups (more on that to come), Power Bend tremolo bridge. My predator is "blonde" - looks like Yngwie Malmsteen's Strat. Cheap-feeling stock tuners seem to do the job. Guitar does go out of tune with moderate trem use, and I have 5 springs in the cavity with it screwed down tight flush to the body. The guitar has a plastic trem block and neckplate, which at first seemed cheesy but has never been a problem and contributes to this instrument's nice light weight. Also features a micro-tit neck adjustment fo lowering the action. The neck is thin- not as chunky as a Fender Strat, but not thin like an Ibazez Wizard either. Kind of inbetween those. Reminds me of the Peavey Wolfgang neck. I put a Seymour Duncan Lil 59 pickup in the bridge to make it a "fat strat." Stock Peavey pickups are OK- not great but not bad by any means.

This guitar has all the features of a Strat, is USA made, and playes well. Exceptional value on teh current used market.

I play classic and modern rock covers in a bar band. My original music is more heavy metal or thrash punk. With the SD Lil 59 in there it covers a wide range of rock music well. I use this guitar through a Marshall 100 watt half stack with a few Boss pedals. Single coils are typically noisy. Guitar is bright- Poplar and Maple woods. Thin sound with single coils, but that is the "strat sound."

My biggest complaint is that the tone knobs on most strats are not connected top the bridge pickup, and I forgot to do that when I put it in. The Peavey USA Predator does everything the USA Fender does but the Peavey is a fraction of the cost.

Peavey USA are solid instruments. I currently have 3 of them. Never a problem with any of my USA Peaveys. Soild, well made, no flaws.

I use thsi guitar for gigs all the time. Never let me down. I bought it used, had a pro set up, and never adjusted anything since.

Plastic trem block bothers me in theory, but again no problems in 3 years of heavy use. Tuners seem cheap, but again never had a problem. Finish is strong, I use strap locks on all my guitars.

This guitar is very dependable. It is mot my #1 main player, it is my #2, but I always break strings so this guitar is uses every gig and many practices.

Peavey is very customer-friendly. Their website has a lot of information. I have contacted Peavey 3 times and they were always helpful.

I have been playing guitar for almost 30 years. I've owned tons of guitars from most of the major brands. I bought this guitar because I couldn't believe the used price and thought it would be a #3 back up. I liked it so much, it moved up to my #2 and replaced my 1979 Fender Stratocaster. In fact, I sold the 1979 Stratocaster because this $70 copy played and sounded better. My main #1 guitar is a USA Hamer strat. I have had several Fenders over the years, and the Peavey is comparable at a much much lower price.

I love the fact that this is a USA made strat copy and I got it for under a hundred bucks. I hate no tone knob for the bridge, and the plastic hardware kind of seems lame but again- I have never had any problems with thsi guitar and it gets a lot of use.

This is an un update from my earlier review. I discovered that when I dismantled the guitar that it was made in 1992 (date is inside neck cavity). When I sanded the body down, I found out that it was made of poplar, capped on both sides with maple. The online manual doesn't seem to mention the maple caps. I also discovered that it has a neck tilt adjustment between the bottom two screws in the neck plate. This made it so easy to set the action on the guitar and get it just the way I like it. I believe that in the last few years fender came out with this feature on some strats. Not mine though. I think it was called micro tilt or some shit like that. I put 3 american standard strat pickups in it that I bought on Ebay for $31.50. I painted it a soft pastel yellow (3 coats). I learned VERY much about painting a guitar this time around. It has the same amount of gloss as my MIM strat, but when I looked at the 2 guitars on the wall side by side I noticed that the strat had lines in the finish. Mine didn't, but then I spent a lot of time wet sanding it and buffing it out by hand.

It sounds soooo beautiful through those 6BQ5 tubes. The strat pickups made the sound come alive. I can get really nice clapton type sounds just going straight into my amp with no gain. It's time to dump my MIM Fender strat. This thing cost me half the price in the end and sounds twice as good. If you want to restore and modify a strat type guitar, this is the one to do it with. I don't have an American strat to compare it to, but I'm sure the sound is close if not equal.

I can't stress enough the importance of proper setup of a guitar. So many guitars get a bad rap on this site because they are set up improperly. There are many sites on the internet that show you how to do a setup and Fender's site even show you how to to do a rough intonation setup, which is your starting point. A lot of times people think they have poor tuning keys when they actually don't have the right tremolo spring tension or some other minor problem. This guitar sounded like crap until I got everything adjusted just right.

Yep

I would definately get another one if stolen or lost. I may get another one anyway and make it a hardtail fat strat.

Pretty much same as most of the others. 22 fret, SSS. Appears to be all origonal. White body with black pearloid pickguard that's not easy to remove, because it slides up under the end of the neck and the neck pup gets stuck on the cavity when you try to remove the pickguard. This is not a big deal though, I will fix that when I give it a nice paint job (that's right, I'm going to paint this sucker). It'll be my second guitar paint job. I painted my son's Squier Tele black and it looks better than any Squier I've ever seen, but that's not saying much. The 5 way swith looks different than a Strat switch, but seems to work pretty well. All of the pots are 500k. The whole underside of the pickguard is shielded with foil which is good and the wires leading to the pups is nice but the rest of the wiring is pretty jinky. Especially the wires leading to the input. For the price all of these issues are minor and easy to fix.

I use 2 tube amps with my favorite being a converted 15 watt tube hi-fi with 6BQ5s that will remain unnamed, because I'm already competing with too many people on Ebay for a second one. I can nail just about any sound I want with this amp, depending on which guitar I use. I also have a 2003 Mexican Strat to compare this Guitar to. First of all, my Mexican Strat SUCKS for the 300 and some bucks that I paid for it. When I first got the PV the pups needed tweeked. Once I got the right height for all 3, it easily sounded as good if not better than my Strat. It is slightly noisier than my Strat but I'm hoping to fix that through better shielding and wiring. I can get some real nice sounds with this guitar. From a clean sound with a wet glassy edge to ZZ Top Tush type sounds. Little wing sounds very nice through it.If this guitar were a woman, it would be a slut because it can get nasty dirty sounds that the Strat can't. I like nasty! I prefer to play my Samick LP copy with a Seymour invader at the bridge for most of the stuff I play. I like having a Strat to play certain songs that I just can't get with the LP though.

The frets are better than my Strat.
The neck is smoother and easier to play than my Strat.
Even though the tuners seem cheapo, it holds it's tuning MUCH better than my Strat. I can slam the tremolo arm numerous times and it stays in tune. Not so with the Strat.
The bridge on the peavey seems to have a cheap thin chrome coating on it, but I like the shape of the saddle grooves and the tremolo seats well. The finish seems to have held up well considering the moderate fretwear. It seems that someone loved playing it before me. Although the frets have plenty of meat left on them.

Even though the guitar will prolly never leave my house, I'm sure it could take a beating.
Will it last? It's a PEAVEY!

Peavey customer support is the best. No doubt about it. Peavey is a standard for others to follow. I can ask them any question about any product, no matter how old it is and I WILL get an answer.I have also ordered parts directly from Peavey for My Bandit 112 amp. Customer service is very important to me and Peavey is the very best. Check out the forums on their site. It's a shame that the Peavey amp I want is discontinued, because if I were to buy new, it would be from them.

My ratings are based on the price of the guitar. If I had payed $400 for it I would have given it lower ratings. But for the price you just can't beat it.

A guitar from the '80s, bought from the other musician. It's an American guitar, not an Asian. It looks like a standard Stratocaster, but has a different headstock and the neck is bigger. It has 3 single coil pickups and the bridge with vibrato.
Made from an alder or maybe hard maple.
A solid made American Strat, really heavy duty guitar. Black with a black pickguard.

It sounds great - that means far better than the Mexican Fender, Squier or other cheap and crappy guitars. with the Marshall amp I can sound very similar to the Edge from U2 and with the Mesa Boogie I can even play some good sounding agressive metal riffs.
This guitar sounds very bright, full and rich. Maybe the pickups needs to be changed, but "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" at the local music store...
Anyway - it's a great guitar for me and I love it's sound.

I bought it used, so it has some scars and the screws are a bit rusty - but looks great with them. Tuners works very fine, there's no problem with a bridge, too. It's not as perfect like a Fender American Stratocaster, but a far better than some cheap and crappy axes you can find...

It's a perfect guitar for the live shows, as well as in the studio. A very solid working horse and I love it. In fact it's the first electric guitar that's mine. Earlier I borrowed from my friends some Fenders, Gibsons, Yamaha and even an Ibanez - so I can compare them. It's a typical rock guitar, maybe not for the metal guitarist, but it can suit many styles from rock'n'roll to hard rock, folk, blues, country, jazz, etc.
If you want to play heavy metal buy an Ibanez or Gibson instead of Peavey Predator, but if you have balls and want to play rock'n'roll - buy this thingy. You won't be disappointed.
It's my only electric guitar, but I can use it live without any backup.

Peavey has a WWW, but I don't need to contact them, because I have no problems with their guitar. Even if it was bought used.

I'll give it 10, because it's a fantastic guitar for that price. Very comfortable, easy to play, sounds great and looks very good. If it was stolen, heavily damaged or lost it could be like a death of the best friend. really... I loved this guitar so much from the beginning and I don't want to use anything else.
If you want to look good on stage and sound great, but you don't have enough cash to buy a Fender - have look at used Peavey Predator from the '80s. I think you'll be very satisfied. It's not an Asian made today's Peavey, but a real American handmade Stat. A very cheap and great Strat ;-)

1992 Peavey Preadator, made in USA, 22.5 Frets, standard SSS with 5-way selector, stock pickups, red with white pickguard.

I got this guitar for my 9th birthday in 1992. After 13 years with this guitar I can say it's held up really well, the only thing is the hum in the pickups has gotten a lot worse over time. but other than that for a learner guitar the features are really nice! The electronics are also going to crap and I've had to re-solder the input jack connections several times.

I play pretty much everything, I guess most of what I play sounds like blues. I run it nowadays through a Crate 80watt amp and a Boss ME-50 multieffects unit. The variance of sounds is not that amazing, but it goes from warm to thin with no problem. A little crackling here and there but that's about it. The decay is also really fast, what I mean by that is the sustain is pretty crappy.

Okay here is where this guitar excels, I have 7 guitars and this one has the best feeling neck of all of them. It's so fast and easy to play. No flaws from the factory. Seriously it plays so well, better than my les paul.

As has been said... it's a tank. 13 years and nothing but normal wear, never had to have it serviced... that's pretty good if you ask me.

Never had to deal with customer support.

I've been playing for about 13 years now and I have 7 guitars to choose from. When I want to shred I always pick this one up. If it was stolen I'd be pretty upset because it's the guitar I learned on, and also I'm having a lot of trouble finding a really high quality guitar that's this easy to play (I'm in the process of getting a Jackson RR3 which should be pretty quick). I love the feel, and the durability, and i'm not a big fan of the tone or the tremolo which sucks, the entire thing goes out of tune after a bit of whammy fun.

Overall it's a great guitar for learners but I wouldn't recommend it for show use (cause the tone sucks), and the feel is just perfect. Great guitar for the money though.

This guiar was made in the early 90's in the U.S. . Mine was purchased new by a friend of mine in about '92 and it went through a couple of hands before it was traded to me, but its been around me since it was bought.
22 frets imperfect frets
1 volume 2 tone
5 way selector
3 single coils a la '76 strat
I think the neck is maple
cheap old chrome plated fixed bridge
no locking mechanisms for these bargain basement tuners
the neck is a rather fat one

If you want a nice bassy sound it will give it.
Do not expect to pinch off any squealing harmonics.
No matter what you do with the selector switch, you get no screaming metal sounds.

The playability was crappy upon purchase, strings were begging to be set up.

Mine has gone through the roughs, but I expect could have held up better. I wouldn't depend on it for live playing. I would call this a practice guitar.

I've been playing over 10 years and am the proud owner of a Jackson Fusion EX Professional.
This strat-wannabe is perfect for keeping out on a stand for liquid access. My Jackson stays in the hardcase if I'm not using it.
I've even decorated my Predator with stickers to make its appearance fit its function as a take-all-abuse practice guitar.
I will admit sometimes I enjoy throwing down a few blues licks with her. It definitely has a sound and feel that I don't expect from my Jackson.
I plan on keeping this guitar (it is currently in need of a selector switch) but if anything happened to it I wouldn't kill myself finding a match. Just another practice axe.

My Predator is Black body with Maple neck. Basically a Fender Strat copy. Handcrafted in the USA. SSS with one volume and two tone. This is a solid body guitar but not sure if Maple or Poplar. I hear they are made from poplar. Cheap tuners, cheap 4 screw typical vintage style bridge and cheap one ply pickguard. 5 way switch. Three staggered pole single coil pickups. Standard strat features.

I play all kinds of music but mainly hard rock,metal. (Disturbed,Incubus,Metallica type stuff) I picked this up at a local pawn shop for $50! I have no idea what they sold for new. Although the body was beat up, i thought it was a steal for only $50. It was 100% stock and other than the scuffed up body, the rest was in great shape. I didnt know what i was getting sound wise when i bought it but i figured if it has a sold wood body and a decent neck it couldnt sound too bad, right?

I kinda expected it to sound like a $50 guitar and to be honest thats what i was looking for, a practice guitar, a beater but when i plugged it in i was really surprised! The first thing i said was WOW, not bad! It didnt sound as good as my USA Fender but it was pretty darn close to my Mexican fenders. All i was going to do with this guitar was change the strings, set it up and go but of course i wondered what it would sound like if i did some upgrading to it.

So there i went, typical me. I basically gutted it and started over. I put in a Duncan Hot rail in the bridge and a couple Fender singles in the neck/middle. New bridge (the old one was not bad but this one was better so i decided to upgrade it) New Fender pickguard and installed some Ibanez smooth tuners. All new electronics. 1meg volume and 2 500k tone pots with a new Fender 5 way switch. New Earnie ball strings, set it up, tuned it up and plugged it in. HOLLY Smokes! This thing came alive. It sounded like a whole new guitar and absolutely killed my Mexican Fender, pretty darn close to my US Fender maybe just as good.

Could it be i spent $50 on a beater, spent a few bucks on new electronics (the pickups i had laying around) and it could sound better than the Fenders i had? WELL BELIEVE IT! Peavey is not paying me for this nor are they paying for my time spent typing this so this must be true and it is. My friends agree. I have gone as far as blindfolding them and playing all four of my strat guitars for them (call me crazy, my friends do :). Three out of 4 picked the Peavey and the 4th picked the USA Fender but said it was very very close.

I have since sold my Two Mexicans and pocketed akmost $600 in the process. Not bad for a $50 investment.

If you find one of these somewhere and can pick it up under $100, grab it, upgrade it and ROCK cause it will flat out get it done for ya! Make sure its the USA made Predator. Dont waste your money on a Fender just because of the name. Dont get me wrong Fender makes a great rig but for the money the US Predators cant be beat.

Whoever had this before me, either didnt play it much or just didnt care. This thing was not really playable. After some neck,saddle adjustments it played out just find. Stayed in tune really well. Upgraded the bridge and tuners which made it that much better.

Since this was picked up as a beater and meant for more beatings, I have been needless to say, beating on this thing hard for six months now and its still kicking ass.

I have no clue since i have never dealt with Peavey. The only thing i can say is that they respond very fast to all the emails i have ever sent them. My guess is that they are pretty good to deal with.

I did most of my review in the sound catagory so ill be brief here.

Bottom line this was a 7 stock (not bad at all) but easily a 9-9.5 after upgrades. Ill rate it a 9 for this review. I expected a Big Mac and ended up with a T-Bone steak. LOVE IT!

I would not hesitate to gig with this rig and as a matter a fact prefer it over my other guitar for the heavier gigs. I still prefer my US start for clean tone but once i upgrade the middle and and neck pickup to Seymours ill more than likely use this for both and sell the US Fen as well. Why keep the $1500 guitar if your not going to use it. I got better things to do with my money.

Like i said above, If you find one of these somewhere and can pick it up under $100, grab it, upgrade it and ROCK cause it will flat out get it done for ya! Make sure its the USA made Predator. Dont waste your money on a Fender just because of the name. Dont get me wrong Fender makes a great rig but for the money the US Predators cant be beat. Before you spend $1500 give one of these USA Peavey a shot. Great deal fo the money. IM NOW LOOKING FOR A COUPLE MORE of them!

Mine is what I BELIEVE to be an early 90's Peavey Predator.... "crafted in the U.S.A". It is red (I love this red color) with a white pickguard. Its an obvious strat copy with 3 single coils and features that are much like a strat.

I bought it used so I don't know if the pickups on it are original stock or not. 2 tone knobs and one volume. 5-way selector switch.

Took me a while to realize that the bridge pickup isn't hooked to either tone knob. Since this is my first strat style guitar I'm not sure if that's normal or not. But it struck me as odd.
I'm going to give it an 8 for features since it has all the features I need to make music. I would give it a 10 except I have an issue with that "tone knob" not affecting bridge pickup... the pickup I use most.

To be honest... I HATE single coils but I am trying to make a break from the "heavy metal" mentality I've had for so long.
I have had nothing but high output humbucking guitars and thought it was time to try a single coil'er.
How do they sound? They hum (as expected). I don't know how you strat heads stand it! huuummm. For some reason... these pickups sound hotter than other single coils i've heard. You can do metal with these pickups (if you must)..... whatever they are.
I will likely trade the pickups out as I search for a personalized tone.
Overall a very average sound. What number value do you give "average"?
Fortunately.. this is a non-issue. Its just a matter of finding pickups I like. I must say so though this guitar was VERY resonant when I compared it to other guitars on the wall. Its unamplified sound stood out better. That's why I bought it.

This guitar is in great condition considering its apparent age. Just one big chunk of missing paint which was painted over with matching red ink.
Firstly: I HATE THE BRIDGE. Getting broken strings out of it has proven to be a nose hair pulling experience. Not what I'm used to. I will likely upgrade in this area.

Overall I'm very happy with the finish/fit/and action of this guitar.
In fact... of all the guitars I've ever played .. this one has THE BEST FEELING NECK I HAVE EVER TOUCHED IN MY LIFE. 20yrs of playing.
I don't know who invented the cliche "fits like a glove"...but they were obviously talking about this neck!!!!! That plus this low action I set it up for and the feel of the frets....... wooooo.

Its because of this neck that this guitar has become my main axe. It is because of this neck I will be holding on to this guitar... forever. (or until its demise). Whatever comes first.
I'm giving this guitar a 10 in this area. Thank you peavey for this neck. do your other guitars have this neck? If not... what fools you are.

reliability? Well this guitar is a decade old or so (I think) and it is in great shape. Just one paint chip. A few rusty screws. Easily remedied.
The volume knob needs tightening. Its wobbly. But hey! its used.
Stays in tune VERY well... not a typical trait of guitars this cheap.


I have to give it a 9 In this area. This guitar has already lived a lifetime and is working on its second and is holding on nicely.
I would give it a 10 except I keep picturing myself trying to get a stuck string ball end out of it after an onstage string break. Pee pants.

I was happy I was able to download a manual for this discontinued guitar (not that I needed it). Thanks peavey! I have never had to deal with them personally so I will not give a score in this area. This is the first peavey product I have owned.

Overall I HAVE to give this guitar a 10. The neck!!!! It is now my main axe. Yes... I plan to upgrade parts of it and get some custom wiring done....but Yes I LOVE this guitar. It will be a 15 after I've worked on some things. Plus it was cheap. I have not regretted this purchase like I thought I would as I was paying for it.

Typical strat style guitar, done better by Peavey. Real American hardwood body with a 22 fret 4 bolt maple neck with maple fretboard. Vintage trem style tailpiece with 6 adjustable bridge saddles. 3 medium output single coil pickups with a 5 position pickup selector switch, master volume and 2 tone controls. Chrome hardware with white body.

Typical expected strat sounds, but not as uninspiring as many of the American and foreign made originals with the low output pickups. No hum either like the originals. Not too high output like many of the shredder specials. Just right. After fooling with this guitar in the pawnshop for a few minutes, I knew I found a good one. Unplugged it sang, plugged in it cried and howled.

This one was treated like a door prop for most of it?s life, but it held up structurally with absolutely no breaks or cracks in the wood anywhere. Lots of dings and dents in the paint, with a few minor nicks in the back of the neck. The original assembly / construction looked good. Tight neck to body fit. The neck is very user friendly and the guitar balances well.

Reliability, Durability:
See above - solid guitar. Still sounded/played well after years of apparent abuse. No rust on any of the hardware. The original tuners seem cheap and too easy to turn, but they hold!!!! Actually stays in tune reasonably after using the trem bar. Of course, I did a total tear-down/reassembly/set-up and intonation. It is still 100% stock.

Customer Support:
Have never had to contact the manufacturer for anything, but they are there on the internet or direct by phone.

Overall Rating:
After flip-flopping for many years on my guitar of choice, I finally settled on a strat style with a 22 fret maple neck. I have always been a big fan of the Yamaha Pacifica guitars. Now I can say the same for Peavey Predators. GREAT value for the $$$$ spent. I like the Pacifica for the SSH pickup configuration, and I like the Predator for the SSS configuration.

See above - solid guitar. Still sounded/played well after years of apparent abuse. No rust on any of the hardware. The original tuners seem cheap and too easy to turn, but they hold!!!! Actually stays in tune reasonably after using the trem bar. Of course, I did a total tear-down/reassembly/set-up and intonation. It is still 100% stock.

Have never had to contact the manufacturer for anything, but they are there on the internet or direct by phone.

After flip-flopping for many years (39) on my guitar of choice, I finally settled on a strat style with a 22 fret maple neck. I have always been a big fan of the Yamaha Pacifica guitars. Now I can say the same for Peavey Predators. GREAT value for the $$$$ spent. I like the Pacifica for the SSH pickup configuration, and I like the Predator for the SSS configuration.

This is, apparently, one of the earlier "rarer" 84/85 models, "Handcrafted in the USA by Peavey", with 23 frets, (no typo), twin humbuckers, Kahler Flyer bridge, locking nut, 1 vol, 1 tone, and a 3-way selector. Came with a great custom molded hardshell case, that includes little trap doors to store stuff.

Unlike the other reviewers of this particular model, I thought the output was a bit anemic. The sound was very mellow and subdued, not hot at all. This may have been partly due to the factory 250k vol/tone pots. I replaced the pots with 500k units, and the pickups with Seymour Duncan '59 neck/Custom 5 bridge, and the guitar came alive. Its a whole new instrument, and a "keeper".

(My rating is for the "factory" sound.)

Even though I bought the guitar used, the action and playability are near perfect. The finish is nice, but nothing particularly noteworthy. Basic red with a black, 3-ply pickguard.
The locking nut and Kahler Flyer bridge work perfectly. I don't know why Kahler gets a bad rap sometimes. This one is perfect.

Built like a tank - solid as a rock. Holds tune better than my two Strats, although, in all fairness, they're a cheap Squire, and a no-name knock-off.

Haven't needed it, but the ability to download the owners manual from the website - some 20 years later is a nice touch.

I think Peavey may be the great secret in guitar value. Its not the name that comes up in axe-talk, but those that have them, seem to swear by them. I just "discovered" a cool old T-60 in a music shop, that is about to become my next "real" guitar.

American made circa early 90's, 3 single coils,22 frets,maple neck,tremolo--your midrange strat copy.

I play blues and rock and was originally going to put humbuckers on this guitar ala Allen Holdsworth, but when I got the guitar home and started playing it, I decided to leave it mostly stock--at least for now. I had come into some extra money and picked this up along with a Digitech Rp-100 for $150.00, branching out into the low end of direct recording.

The guitar wasn't in bad shape for 10yrs old,but needed some fretwork and a little upgrading. I leveled the frets and filed out a couple of notches and installed a set of mini Grovers in place of the stamped factory tuners,then cleaned the pots--apparently the guitar had never been apart since new. I was able to get the action down pretty low for a Fender style instrument--mostly because of the flatter fingerboard.

I've been playing this guitar every day for the last couple of months,and it's pretty solid--a lot better than I thought it would be when I bought it. Usually the cheaper pickups don't sound very focused,but these are decent--it actually sounds like a strat and acts like a strat. The tremolo isn't the best, but I'm working on it. This has become my base stratocaster--mostly stock, my other guitars are more heavily modded, but I could take this guitar and play a job covering all my bases.

Haven't dealt with Peavey other than looking around their website--I work on my own guitars.

I've been playing 35+ yrs. I own several guitars, but almost no vintage ones, I'd rather fix up a servicable newer guitar than spend a bunch of money on one. This Peavey really surprised me, as I was planning to completely redo the electronics but ended up leaving it stock. If it got stolen, I could probably get another one cheap, which is something you can't say for a Fender (Which is also why I don't own any Fenders). These are really good instruments for the money and definately deserve some consideration

This guitar is great. It was made in '95 in the U.S. in california I believe. I need to replace the wiring and thats the only problem I have with it. It's my first guitar and its my favorite out of the 3 that I own. I'v owned since I was 11 and I can garrantee that its one of the best guitars you could ever learn on. My mom bought it almost new in '96 for me and I've been playin for 5 years now and playing is a passion for me. I would never get rid of this guitar. I had to put new pickups in it because whoever was the previous owner had replaced the stock pickups with some really bad ones. It now has two really nice humbuckers in it. I still have the original bridge in it and the original tuners. I will need to replace the frets soon because i played the guitar so much that the frets are worn down. It has a Strat style body. It has a maple neck and the body is a really bright red.

Increadable. I own a JMF Spectra 125 and a yamaha 4x12 cab. I Use the Spectra for a head. My peavey is awesome through it. Its so heavy I won't dare turn the volume above 4. The guitar will do pretty much whatever you want. It's perfect for harmonics too. I play anything from Steve Vai to good old Van Halen to heavy modern like Godsmack to legendary Jimi Hendrix. This guitar works for it all. The guitar will feed back when you want it to but rarley when you don't. It's overall playability is about as good as it gets.

I have the action extreemly low but level with the neck so theres no fret buzz. I put 5 new springs in back so its almost like having a stop bridge instead. The sustain is good that way. this guitar has the best action, and the strings feel loose but not too loose so I can bend really far and the strings dont break. i usually use Ernie Ball Super Slinkys for strings.

Its a tank.

Its easy and inexpensive to repair but the old usa predators like these are hard to come by nowadays. All they have now are the newer international ones anthose are a joke.

I will treasure this guitar.

It's a black strat copy with a white pickgaurd and a maple neck. The rest of the stuff is the same as everyone else's guitar in here, except i put in a Bill Lawrence L-500 humbucker in the bridge spot. I also added two springs to the back of the bridge (5 total now) to give it some more sustain and all that good stuff. Everything seems to work like its supposed to and it definately stays in tune longer than a lot of guitars I've played.

I play rock/punk type music, a lot of Thrice specifically. So the stock pickups were kinda annoying. They had a decent amount of tone and sound for single coils, but as with all inexpensive single coils it had a lot of feedback too. The L-500 humbucker has definately made it sound quite a bit better. My friend has an Ibanez RG-750, which most people would agree is a pretty nice guitar, and in my opinion mine sounds better. It now has lots of harmonics, tapping works great, and great tone. I play out of a cheap-o fender frontman 25R and it still sounds pretty good. Sometimes I use my friends tube powered Marshall and that's just a lot of fun.

I got it when it was about 5 years old, and it hadn't been played much (It was my dad's). It looked like new, and probably played really well, but I can't really say because I taught myself how to play on this guitar. I didn't know what was good or what was bad back then. Another 5 years later, I have a decent idea of what to look for and I love this thing. I've never had anything fixed on it or adjusted and it plays really well. Its neck feels faster than all the Mexi-strats and "wizard necked" Ibanezes that my friends have. It also feels more solid too.

Nothing ever goes wrong with this guitar. It has cheapo tuners, but they stay in tune for quite a long time. The guitar has taken some big hits and drops and looks fine, the finish is still shiny and the pickgaurd looks good. The strap buttons kinda suck though, some straplocks would definately be a good move, but I can't dock the guitar for the straplocks because every other guitar i've ever played came with ones just as crappy. I would use this without a backup anyday, mostly because i only have this guitar, but also because I've never had a problem with it

Peavy's website is pretty damn good

The guitar diserves such high ratings because its an inexpensive guitar that is way better than all the rest of the inexpensive guitars. For about 200 bucks at the most you could find one and expect it to play as well or better than a lot of 5-600 dollar guitars. If it cost that much i wouldnt give it such high ratings, because the stock pickups aren't that great, but since its cheap (i think my dad got it with a Rage 158 amp and a case and cable for $300) it gets the ratings. Everything I've ever used that said peavy on it has been great. I would get anything from peavy and be confident it was a good buy

Peavey Predator, "Crafted in the USA" on headstock. The Predator is a Strat-copy design with a solid Poplar body (no plywood) and 22 fret bi-laminate Maple neck, 12" fingerboard radius, 25.5 scale. Comfortable feel. Mine also has a Maple fingerboard. Three single coil pickups, volume and two tone knobs, 5-way selector switch, just like a Strat. "Blonde" polyester/urethane finish and white pickguard (reminds me of Yngwie's), a four-screw Power Bend vibrato/tremolo bridge, and "generic" Peavey tuning pegs round out this Stratoclone. Mine came with a hardshell case.
Also features Peavey's neck-tilt adjustment system to refine the action.
The tuners seem on the cheap side, but they do work fine. The tuning peg ring on my high E broke and is missing. The guitar had 3 springs in the trem cavity, and I added 2 more to make it feel more solid and add stability. Everything functions as it should and the guitar playes well.

I bought the guitar used, and the bridge pickup is from a Mexican Stratocaster. The neck and middle pickups are original Peavey, which are shielded and wax-dipped. I play mostly "rock"- from 1960's and 70's classic rock to 80's glam and 90's grunge. Everything from "American Band" to "Crazy Train." I also like to play thrashy stuff like Slayer and the Dead Kennedys. I like "Strat" type guitars because they can cover just about any sound. I play through Fender solid state amps for the most part. I typically run through a Boss TU2 (tuner)> Boss FL2 (flanger)> Boss HM2 (distortion)> Ibanez TS10 (tubescreamer).
The Predator sounded suprisingly good in all positions. I didn't know what to expect from the Fender MIM pickup- but it was fine. The stock Peavey pickups are acceptable, but if this was my main axe I would probably put in something else. I do plan on putting a single-size humbucker in the bridge, so the guitar is even more versatile.
Overall the sound is very Strat-like.

I bought the guitar used, so I can not comment on the factory set up. There are no construction flaws, everything fits and works as it should. The action is a little high for my tastes, and I have not tried using the neck-tilt adjustment yet to try and make it lower.

The Peavey Predator is a quality USA instrument. The Poplar body is very lightweight (though the guitar is not neck-heavy when playing) and comfortable. Deeper body contours than my 1979 Fender Stratocaster. I replaced the strap buttons with a DiMarzio locking strap system. Finish has dings but seems durable. I think this guitar will last a lifetime and more with minimal maitence. I will use this guitar plenty in rehersal and on stage.

www.peavey.com provided me with a PDF of the owner's manual. I also e-mailed them a question and got a response in about a week.

I have been playing guitar for over 17 years, been in numerous bands, and have owned several guitars from just about every brand. I bought the Peavey Predator as a backup to have on stage when I break a string. (My main axe is a 1979 Fender Strat, and I also use a 1991 Hamer Chaparral). I liked the Peavey because it is USA made and it was so inexpensive. I can't believe I got a USA Strat-clone for only $70; VERY good deal. If it were stolen, I would try to replace it ASAP with another of the same. Peavey guitars are very under rated and can be found used for extremely low prices. I also have a Peavey Patriot bass, and I think Peavey makes a good instrument. If you are seeking a Peavey, be aware that they now have imports as well. Look for "USA" on the headstock. The Peavey USA Predator is comparable (not quite as nice, but comparable) to G&L and Fender guitars at a fraction of the price.

BODY===============

*Cream colored, antique white, whatever you want to call it.
*Exact Stratocaster shape. Exact same deminsions (how did they not get sued?)
*3 peavey single coils, volume, neck tone, mid tone. 5 way switch.
*I installed a mini switch that activates the bridge pickup, regardless of what the 5 way selects, for all 3 pickups on, or just the neck and the bridge (tele combo).
*Neck-One Piece Maple with Maple fretboard, small fret wire (excellent for tapping) and it only has a light satin oil finish on the back of the neck. Soooooo smooth!!!! Hefty C shaped
*Fender style tremolo

Well, it has a sound all its own. Most people like the tone (read other reviews) few dont like it. It has nice cleans, but as soon as you put any overdrive on there, the pickups seem to "clip" and produces its own overdriven tone. Wonderfull.

They are single coils, and single coils will be single coils, and single coils will be noisy. No problem, I have a sheet of copper shielding foil, which I will install sometime. But it doesn't bother me enough right now. Maybe later.

Very unique tone.

I know this guitar is AT THE LEAST 10 years old (they stopped making the model in 94, and its 2004 as I write this review.)

And for those 10 years, the white finish knows no evil. It has held up extreemly well. There are two tiny chips on the back smaller than pencil eraser, but hey, they're beauty marks. Couple of scratches, but otherwise finish looks fresh.

The tuners are horrible no-name tuners. But they hold pretty well, because I havent tuned my guitar in about 2 months, and it is still in tune, so they must be okay. I am thinking about getting some locking tuners for my baby.

The neck is a dream, it plays so nicely. Thats my biggest feature when looking for guitars, is that if they have a great feeling and a maple fretboard.

*absolutely tough enough to be played live. 100% player.
*The wood is poplar, which has a very, very resonant sound. Unlike any of my other guitars.
*I replaced the standard strap buttons with Jim Dunlop Staplocks, so no worries here. I have dropped it on the ground before, cus the strap came off. Didn't harm it in the least. Tough little axe.
*I would confidently use it in a gig without a backup, but havent because I dont have a band right now, looking for one.
*I will admit that the tremolo is absolutely worthless, but I dont use it, havent had the tremolo bar on for about a year, I plan to stick some shims in there and get some more sustain, which this guitar already has a suprising bit of.

Well, I bought it used. It was my second electric guitar, after my Washburn developed some fret issues (ONLY HAD IT 4 MONTHS!! Washburn not a solid guitar, very dissapointing)

I never needed to deal with the company, but the website is always there, and they provide a user manual.

It was my second guitar, I traded my washburn for it. I started hating it, actually. I thought I had been ripped off. I was totally pissed. But as time went by, I started to love it, its feel is increadible. I hated it when I didn't know any better I was just starting out. I have a Customized Fender Strat, that I did customizations to, and it just doesnt have the spirit the peavey does. Its feel isn't very good.

My Fender is about to find itself a place on ebay, I am dead serious about that.

The typical strat-type body, neck and setup, 3 single coils, trem, contoured body, maple neck. 22 frets, late 80's/early 90's I'd guess. Stock Peavey pickups. Almost a complete strat clone all the way, except for the headstock and a couple of minor touches.

I play everything from classic rock to blues to modern crunch stuff to a litgtle country and jazz. I play in different bands, all of which are fairly broad-based, able to offer up most any genre given the occasion. It it also perfect for slide. Through my Mesa Boogie Mark IIc I occasionaly use a wah and/or Dunlop Roto-Vibe, but more often just straight in with a touch of reverb, and at times, an old Leslie cabinet. When I require a bunch of built-in effects I use a big Johnson Millennium or a little AC-112 Behringer. This guitar continues to amaze me. It's got a better (for me) strat trademark sound than my vintage strat (a real 1957 -- and I know, there are those who'll say I'm nuts, that it couldn't possibly be better in any respect). Something along the lines of a SRV or Hendrix fullness, with a surprisingly creamy and smooth natural overdrive when I want it, from the 3 stock (Peavey, no less) single coils. Covers the whole strat tone spectrum extremely well, very responsive to the electronics; backing off the volume cleans and brightens it up a bit without a significant loss of volume until below 6 or so, with a good taper as it's turned up, eventually achieving the aforementioned overdriven tone and great sustain (especially with slide work). At first, I couldn't quite reconcile how good this thing sounded, especially given some of the high-end stuff I was using for comparison. But I'm convinced at this point that I'm not going to find another strat or strat-type instrument that's going to surpass this one. Just astonishing. The only drawback sound-wise is the typical single coil hum around lights and such in the 1,3 and 5 positions of the pickup selector switch. Goes with the territory and not and issue when you're playing. I considered (briefly) changing them out for noiseless, but I'm afraid it might sacrifice the tones I'm getting.

This guitar continues to amaze me. I've owned it about 3 years now, and I literally bought it off the street from a junk shop for 35 bucks. I was looking for a beater to leave in my room in the media department of a high school and I figured for the price I wouldn't mind it getting beat up even more than it already was. And it deinitely was. It started out had black with a few additional coats of whatever spray paint happened to be around, apparently. I stripped all of it off down to bare wood and discovered very nice looking (ash, maybe?) one piece top and back laminates over poplar, so rather than refinish, I just left it natural and put on a few coats of bowling alley wax to keep from getting dirty (it's got a nice sheen as a result, but not glossy). The factory 8-hole pickguard (like a vintage strat) was a mess from sticker goop and other punishment, so I replaced it with a nice tortoise pickguard that suits the natural finish very nicely. The neck is a moderately beefy C shape and I'd say they "sampled" a 60's era strat from which to modedl it. I can't comment on factory set up or finish , but it can't have been as bad as it was when I picked it up. It didn't take much to get it into fine playing order -- some neck relief tweaking, saddle adjustment, pickup height adjustment, intonation, polishing off some rough fret ends, but it's all been minor. The tuning machines are on the cheap side, but other than that the hardware seems to be at least as good as the Fenders it emulates. Bottom line, everything works the way it should, or better.

I'd speculate that this guitar borders on indestructible under anything but the worse kind of abuse. I've accidentally dropped it, banged it around a bit unintentionally, and a bunch of kids have played it less than subtley. Very rugged. I don't play without a backup anywhere, but if I had to I'd put my complete confidence in this one.

As far as I can tell, they provide out-of-production instrument documentation better than anybody in the business. They have a downloadable manual for this guitar online, and they have an excellent board for hooking up with other users, and it also has regular input and answers from Peavey techs. A#1.

I've been playing since 1963 (yeah, so I'm an old bastard, but at least I'm told I don't look it) and in that time I've owned more than my share of guitars -- I keep the really good ones and let the others go. I currently have a respectable stable including two Gibson L5-s's (the 70's era solidbody); a 64 Gibson 330 (my first good guitar and the one they'll bury me with); the aforementioned old strat; a pair of PRS hollowbodies; a McInturff; a Godin; a resonator, etc. This guitar is almost always the FIRST one I take off its stand and consistently my #1 on stage. It is basic, simple and utilitarian, and while some of those above feature some truly lavish appointments, as a player this Predator compares very favorably to all of the above-named brands and models, and even surpasses a few of the more "exclusive" instruments for pure worry-free enjoyment. I'm sure this will be doubted by some nay-sayers, but if it's any indication, this is the first time I've been so impressed with an instrument that I'ved been moved to submit a review. Also, as a result of my experience with this guitar, I thought I should explore some other, underrated Peavey instruments and have since acquired their old Tele clone and a pair of T-60s. They are all incredible bargains, great players, and not one has cost me more than $200.00. So much for headstock envy. Theft? I have big, hungry, antisocial dogs so anybody trying to steal it wouldn't get it out of the house. This will likely never be a collectible guitar and there are probably a million of them out there, but for a basic, well constructed, USA-made instrument, you can't beat the value on these. I'll be looking to acquire more of them, just to satisfy my hoarding impulses.

I believe it's an early 1990's model, my friend had bought it from a pawn shop, and hadn't played it for a really long time. (her dog had chewed through the power cord on her amp and she didn't bother getting a new one or fixing it, she just played her acoustic), It's been banged around a lot by her, and after my guitar got stolen out of her truck one night, she gave this to me. A friend was telling me that these specific ones were hard to find, with some kind of laminate on the fretboard. 5-way selector, volume, 2 tones, I'm not sure abou the pickups, or the wood, white/white finish, strat style, not sure what the bridge style is, tuners are non-locking, 22 frets, didn't come with anything else

I don't have an amp right now, my amp got stolen along with my guitar, but I rigged it up to my mixer preamp and a Sony Xplod 12.. No effects processors.. but for some reason, it gets a mean fucking distortion like I've never gotten before.. Almost like a Type O Negative distortion, just with a lot more crunch. Harmonics are fucking amazing, I hit a harmonic and it keeps ringing forever. I'm not really sure about all the variations on the sound, I've only had it a couple days, but so far, so good.

The action, pickups, everything.. is fucking perfect. I didn't even know I could play this fast. This guitar just has the perfect feel, thin neck, smooth fretboard, The only thing I've even played that was close to this was a BC Rich Mockingbird that had a few modifications done to it.

I know my friend beat the shit out of this guitar when she had it, as much as she moved, had it sitting in the attic, banged around, etc. I think this fucker will last forever, and the finish is great. Strap buttons are rock solid, and like i said, if it's been untouched for four years, and the only string I even had to fuck with to get it in tune was the top string, I think I could rely on this one easily.

I've never dealt with Peavey customer support.

I have been playing for eight years, currently don't have any other guitar equipment, as I said, it was all stolen, I'm trying to get new shit for that, I own a Shure mic, some cheap ass mixer I got from a garage sale, but I think it might have been modified because when the guitar is plugged into it, it has such an amazing distortion.. If I could find another one like this, I would definitely like it. The only thing I dislike about this guitar is the single coils. But even then, they sound great for single coils. I would definitely recommend this guitar to anybody, beginner or experienced player, it is just so comfortable and has such a great sound, it surprised the hell out of me.. I thought it was going to be a piece of shit before I started playing it.

This is a 92 model i think. Black, laminated neck, some trem sytem (fender type, not floyd type) 22 frets, strat style headstock with old peavey logo. 3 single coils. no idea about the rest of it. Get's the job done

Well, this is the guitar i get out to beat the crap out of. this is the guitar that like that treatment, and i'd like to keep my Wolfgang in good shape.
The tone, first of all, slap some 11 guage strings on it. the action is a little high, but what ever, that's how it needs to be played. i like the tone on it, and i like it a little more than a fenders. (oh, and i can play too. we all just need something to harm)
mine has an odd neck, seems there are 2 sepereate peices of wood, and they are joined between the d and g strings.
otherwise keep it in the 2nd pick up position (the neck and middle ones) and just leave the bridge out at all times.

I've had it for 10 years. it's beat up. still sounds and feels like the day i first got my hands on it.

it is in one peice, ater continued dropping, moving, drunkennes, gerneral inebriation, rain, cold, heat, continued abuse,
and it never goes out of tune. ok much. (i don't use the trm, lost the bar years ago, and it has a really odd size hole for it anyway.)
the finish is very thick on it. and coated in a thick plastic or something coating. (i checked. nice big scratch on the top of it, couged it to make sure it was wood) i see no problems with this thing.

don't know.

I've been playing for about 12 years. i love peavey guitars. i use fender tube amps. i play through a lot of effects. if stolen, people will die. Otherwise this is a great guitar to learn on, and later, to beat up on. Although the new predators, with the EVH deadstock, stay clear. might as well go ahead and buy a korean wolfgang. or a squire. But, if you are looking to find a good guitar, with good tone, and something to use for a nice MBV/Dinosaur JR, lo-fi sound. The older ealy 90's predators are a good start. heck they are cheap. get 3.
And no you can't have mine.

'92 Predator, black, 3 single coils, bilaminate maple neck, 12" radius, 25.5 scale, wide frets, graphite nut. It has virtually the same features as a Strat. The only significant difference being that the bridge pickup has no tone control. The two tone controls are for the middle and neck pickups only. The neck tilt feature is identical to the neck tilt mechanism I had once on a Deluxe Strat Plus.

Given this it seems that people who rate the features much below an 8 are unfairly picking on this guitar. That is unless they would also rate the features of a Strat as a 5.

I bought this guitar for my nephew who his learning to play. I've been playing for over 20 years. I own several guitars and have built several guitars. I say this to demonstrate that I know something even if I don't know everything.

I think it's a nice Strat style single coil tone. It isn't the holy grail of tone but it is really good. My favorite tone came from the #2 notch postition which gave forth a nice dry quack. I've never been a fan of any Strat's middle pickup all by itself and this guitar is no exception. The neck and #4 notch postions have a bit less character than the bridge and #2 notch but what it lacked in character it made up for in nice, round, smooth, usable tones.

I scrolled through some of the previous reviews and actually saw people comparing this guitar to $1,000+ Strats and Les Pauls. I will respectfully say, "Give me a break". IMO too many times people pick up a guitar and compare it to the very best guitar they've ever played. If that guitar was a 58 reissue Les Paul then that qualifies as a 10. By exact comparison then, this guitar would be about a 4. But that's silly. When I pick up a $100 used guitar I look for the following: Is it comfortable to play? Decent action? Is the neck aligned correctly? Is the tone usable with at least a trace of character? Could I play this for a while without getting board by the tone? Is it solid wood or a laminate?

The answers to all of these questions with regard to the Predator were positive. It's a good guitar with solid construction and a very usable tone. If I handed you this Predator and you couldn't get good usable tones out of it, you just don't know how to play. Sorry to be so hostile but if some of you can be that way, so can I.

I will agree that if you wanted to improve the tone noticeably you could put some new pickups in it and would see improvement. But that is not to imply that the stock pickups are crap. They are not. Suitable for the highest of gain on your 5150, Mesa or Plexi? Without a doubt, no. But how many tradtional single coils would be?

In the store I played this guitar along with 3 Fender Squire Strats that were in better shape and were the same price. This Predator's tone was significantly better. By comparrison each of the Squires were thin, bright and harsh sounding. There is nothing thin or harsh inherant in these pickups.

My inclination is to rate this a 9 just to try and offset some of what I think are rediculously low ratings by some of the previous reviewers but I won't. It qualifies as a good solid 8.

Excellent. It has better action than most new Fender Strats I've picked up. I hate picking up new guitars in stores and thinking, "This would be a good guitar if it were set up right." I didn't do that with this guitar.

Once I got it home I cleaned it out. Whoever owned it befoer me must have stored it in a garage. It was fairly heavily encrusted with dirt and cat hair. Even then, it sounded better than anything in it's price range.

Once I got it home and cleaned it up I was impressed with it's unplugged resonance and sustain. This translated well to the amplified tone.

Since it had been been beat pretty hard the body paint and neck lacquer were a little scratched and dented. Niether was the thick luxurious clear coats you see on more expensive guitars. The neck just needs someone to play it extensively to smooth it out a little. It had no fretwear what so ever so whoever owned it abused it but didn't use it.

It was in perfect playing condition once I gave it a little TLC. Like them or not, Peavey guitars are very durable.

All electronics were rock solid and so was the neck.

Peavey has a good web page with very attentive moderators. They answered my questions about this guitar quickly and I was able to download a manual for it even though this model is no longer in production.

I'm rating this as a beginner guitar that has the ability to morph into something beyond. An advanced player would never pick this up and ask someone to pinch them. It just wouldn't be their perfect guitar. But it shouldn't offend them either. It's a good player with decent tone, a solid poplar body and the potential to be upgraded to the point of being something relatively special within the context of a weekend warrior.

In the mean time I've gotten my nephew a very solid guitar that he will be able to grow into. It's value far exceeds the price I paid. It is a great value!

I picked this axe up for 1 dollar at a school garage sale (i'm not kidding either i don't really care if you believe me or not)

Its got the basic features its laid out just like a strat it is made in the good ole us of a it has 1 vol 2 tone knobs. The tuners are non locking the fretboard is maple it has 24 frets the neck is wide sort of like a 70's strat, it has 3 pickups i'm a punk rocker so this axe suited my needs.

Since i play punk rock it suits my music style just fine. I currently have a 150 watt peavey pacer amp, i use no effects i believe that pickups and your amp overdrive make good effects, it has a really good sound its sounds really bright and clear without an amp.
I'm more of a les paul type person but for 1 dollar it made a good guitar especially for punk.

When i recieved it the neck was warped so i had to get that fixed my local music store did that for free. The pickups i had no problems with the only flaws i found after inspecting it was it had some dents and scratches in it but it wasn't any big deal. The jack for the cord was rusted when i got it i had to get that fixed. Everything else was perfect.

I have played this guitar live with out a backup so it holds up. The hardware seems very sturdy. The finish is pretty thin it scratches really easy but it don't bother me because i put stickers on it and i play punk so it is going to get the shit beat out of it. i am going to give this a 6 because of the finish and you will have to buy straplocks or tape it like i did in true punk fashion, plus i can't afford straplocks.

I have never had to deal with the company, and i have no clue how long the warranty lasts and who cares a payed a fucking dollar for it

I have been playing for about five years now, if it were stolen or lost i would probabally just say fuck it and buy a new Les Paul. My favorite feature would have to be the neck. I didn't think twice about buying it i just grabbed it before anyone else did,

This is 91 peavey predator. Poplar body, maple nech, three sigle coils ect ect. Anyone who has played a strat will know the features.

This guitar is the most incredible bargain ever. You can get them on ebay for under $100. I paid $81 plus shipping for mine. No one wants to give 2 cents for anything with Peavey writen on it. Take advantage of this deal. This guitar sounds better to me than any strat I have heard. The only thing that comes close is an 86 jap strat I played in a store. I play it through a Marshall tsl 122. The tone on this guitar is so sweet. I have other guitars I paid alot more for. For clean tone this guitar beats them all. The neck pickup has a great blues tone. The bridge/middle has a great funky, shimmery tone. The bridge sounds pretty good distorted for that Blackmore kind of groove.
The body was pretty beat up but the neck and playability of this guitar is very good. I just need to clean the pots and refinish the body and this will be my main axe. I have not been able to play this guitar at really high volumes so I can't tell you how microphonic it is.

I covered thia already.

Seems to be built solidly. I'm shure it is durable. 11 years old and still plays nice.

I like it alot.

US-made in 95-96 sometime. 21 frets maple neck with adjustment and torsion rod. Maple (not plastic) body. Mine's pitch black, glossy finish with black pick guard. Three single coils. No name tremolo. No name tuners.

Quote from the manual: "The high-output single-coil pickups are frequency tuned..." - to the mains frequency apparently - "...for maximum tonal response..." - of howling microphonic feedback.
The mics are worthless - for anything but mains hum pickup and acoustic feedback (which is the exact opposite of what you want if you really want feedback). On low volumes they do sound quite bright and gritty. I actually kept one of them which I used in conjunction with one of the EMG mics I substituted. With the phase of the original mike reversed this sounded quite nice with the main character coming from the EMG mike but with some dirt from the original mike thrown in. In the end, however, I had to replace the last mike also as it could not be used live on stage.
Read my lips: Rip them out and replace them, you hear me?

Pretty standard except for the neck which I think is outstanding. Some tweaking necessary to get proper intonation from it. Hardware has not given me any problems. If you replace strings when they get worn (as you should on any guitar) you'll have no problems tuning it or keeping it in tune. I've had it since it was new and gigged extensively with it and it still looks new. 'Ceptin of course my own dirty phingerphrints. (Anybody has a tip for not getting your cables disgustingly dirty?) I've played much more expensive guitars with action very inferior to this.

'Ceptin' those buzzmonsters of stock (schtick) pickups I'd say this is a pretty damn good guitar. I've used it almost exclusively for live playing and it's never let me down. Replace those mikes and adjust intonation and you'll have no troubles.
Try a Steve Vai tremolo stunt and it will go out of tune as any guitar will without locking bridge and/or tuners.
At first I always brought a backup but these days I never bother. I've had it fall on it's head on stage, turned one tuner back to it's position and be ready to rock and roll.

No experience

For it's price (at the time approx. 250 USD - substantially under retail price in Sweden) it's a very good guitar. You should seriously calculate an additional 50-100 bucks for decent mikes tho'. There are certainly better guitars out there - but those will set you back very much more.

Apparently this is made in the USA. This was my second ever electric guitar and I pretty much grew up with this guitar. I don't know which year it was made in but it was bought in '95.
It has 22 frets, solid body with a bolt on maple neck.Strat style.Came with free case and peavey rage practise amp.

Being modelled after a strat it's going to be quite a versatile guitar. A clean sound to die for with a jazzy or jangly, just plain tasty!! Never felt inadequate jamming on my practise amp, but it sounds perfect through my marshall jmp1 - mesa boogie 50/50 - marshall 1960B cabinet. The pickups are single coil and noisy at distortion and high volume with lots of hum. I have thought about changing the pickups to noiseless ones but I actually like the tone. I have other guitars far more expensive than this one, but I still always go back to it.

I don't know how well it was set up when I bought it because I didn't know anything back then. It is very easy to tweak the action though.
The neck on this is so comfortable and the best feature of this guitar.Again I'm not sure if it has been played in or if it was always this good. The finish was quite good when I got it, kind of an Eric Clapton 'Blackie' copy. I have since removed all of the finish off the body(beautiful wood)and it seems to sound even better. The only thing I dislike is the large bolt-on heel and cutaway which seems quite bulky after playing on all access shred guitars.

It really depends on what style of music you play. If you're playing pop music where everything needs to be perfect it could be a bit too noisey with the hum factor. If however you are playing rock or alternative and don't worry about the hum it will be fine. The strap buttons are very sturdy. With new pickups it would please most strat players. I still prefer the originals but that's just me. Very reliable.

Never needed any help

To anyone out there looking for a faithfull dependable guitar , this is it.

Made in USA in 1995, mine is a white strat copy, the only visible difference in relation to the Fender Strat is in the bridge, with only four screws, and in the headstock shape. Poplar body and maple neck (22frets). Three single coil pickups and five way selector.

This is my first guitar, and I wanted a strat type guitar. My effects setup is a Boss power supply , Boss compressor sustainer, Boss turbo distortion, Boss super chorus, Boss Flanger, and Boss digital delay. My amps are a Peavey Rage 158 and a Fender Blues Junior. I can get a wide variety of playing styles with this guitar, from blues to hard rock ex: Jimi Hendrix to Deep Purple. The bridge pickup have a bright sound also because of the poplar body and have hum, so I replaced the bridge pickup with a Dimarzio Fast track 2, that is a humbucker with the size of the single coil. After the replacement the sound get better, with a more rich full sound, lot of midrange and no hum, good for soloing, that's what I like.

This is a good quality beginner guitar, everything was properly adjusted. I have it for six years playing only at home and all is the same,no scratch at all. I own other guitars, but this is my prefered in terms of quality constrution.

I never played live with this guitar, only at home, so I cannot say that this guitar can withstand live playing. But I think for the quality of construction of this guitar it is reliable.

N/A

This is my first guitar, I play for six years and this is my prefered guitar because is a strat type, you can play a wide variety of styles.
The only problem was in the pickups, that have a bright sound and hums, this is a problem with single coil pickups, so I replaced with a Dimarzio Fast Track 2, and now is lot better, good for soloing in the likes of Vinnie Moore, David Chastain, Tony Macalpine etc. I own other guitars: Epiphone Les Paul, Fender Telecaster, Slammer flying V, and a ESP/LTD Viper 300.If this guitar was stolen or lost I would get simply mad.

Great little Strat copy! Popular body, maple neck, maple fretboard, 3 single coils, 5-way pickup selector, 1 volume & 2 tone knobs, fully adjustable neck with truss rod. Mine's bright red w/white pickguard. It's really one of the best strat copies that comes real close to the genuine thing in features, dimensions, looks, etc. The only thing, it doesn't have the skunk strip neck like the Fernandes copies. My Predator is made in the U.S.A. (Meridian, MS), and it is one of the original issues (with the old style Peavey logo on the tip of the headstock).

This thing sounds pretty good. You can get some nice strat tones out of this with a tube amp (especially with the neck pickup playing clean. The pickups are a little weaker than a real standard strat, but I plan on changing mine to Texas Specials anyway (along with a 3-ply pickguard.

The thing I love best about this guitar is the neck. It is smooth and fast and just the right size. This is my first strat type guitar (always played a Les Paul), and I just can't get enough of the guitar's body style. The contour fits perfectly, it's not too heavy (6 or 7 lbs. compared to my '76 Les Paul's 12 or 13 lbs.), and it balances itself real well while playing it standing with a strap. I'll have to admit, the Les Paul has it beat on tone, but I really like playing the Predator better.

I think this is going to be a very reliable guitar. It seems to be put together really well. The finish does seem to chip pretty easily though.

Peavey has the best customer support in the business. Just check out their web site.

I bought this guitar off ebay for $82 plus $35 shipping. It came in excellent condition (like new really) with a nice padded gig bag. For what I paid for it, it is a great guitar. I'm going to put a little more money in it (pickups, etc.) and I'll have a guitar approaching Fender American Standard quality with a better neck IMHO!

Early to mid 90's strat style guitar. Mine is off-white with white pickguard. Great strat copy for the price. Made in the USA. 22 frets, three stock single coils (ass), maple fretboard. Hmmm....dunno what else to tell you. Tremolo is not bad, tuners are pretty damn good.

This was my first electric guitar. I love it to death and will never sell it, but I'll be honest. It's no strat. It does a pretty good job though. One piece of advise. Take the stock pickups out and throw them in a river. These things are shit. My sound rating is based on modifications made by me. I put in a Seymour Duncan lil 59 and Fender 57/62 reissue. That was an improvement. I get some fret buzz from the frets wearing down nowadays, but hey, what can you expect. I've played the shit out of this thing.

Action, hmmm...not too shabby. Nice thin neck for speed. I wish the frets wouldn't have worn so much, but like I said, this thing has taken a lickin. Overall, very well put together. The USA gets it done.

Durability? This thing is the shit. Hands down. It has taken a beating from me. It has some nice knicks and charachter scratches. The only internal problem I've ever had was a wire coming loose from the input jack. So, basically no problems.

Never had the need.

I've been playing for about three years now. I also own a Washburn Grover Jackson and Epi Les Paul, but the Peavey is my favorite. Not for ability reasons, but sentimental value. I would recommend one of these if you want a good strat copy for the money. If you've got 300 bucks, go get a fucking standard strat, but for a little over a hundy, you can have one of these gems and be just like me.

don't know what year, poplar body i think, maple neck/fretboard, 22 jumbo frets, three single coils, 1 vol. 2 tone., white pickgaurd, candy apple red finish, no name tuners

for the $120 I paid for it, and considering it has regular stock pickups, they're not to bad, they do buzz quite a bit at high volumes with lots of distortion, but most SC's do, the neck has a good thick, never use the middle, bridge is bright, but not thin, kind of weak when it comes to arrpeggiating clean chords, but still not too muddy, I think then when I get some more dough I'll change the bridge to a JB junior and the neck to a silver lace sensor

I bought it used from my science teacher for $120, it had a set of .009's so old that they were black, I changed to .009-.046's, the gauge I regularly use, the action did pull up a bit, I'll adjust that soon, the frets stick out from the side of the neck, I don't like that, so I'll file them down soon, otherwise, no adjustments needed.

have'nt been real rough on this one yet, but I have a feeling it's pretty solid

never talked to them

I bought this for $120 used, as is, no gigbag or case, I wanted a stratty sound, this is a little thicker, and considering that I was considering spending $300 + S&H for a standard strat with 21 frets, thios was a good deal, I think I'll replace the pickups, the tuners don't hold quite that well under heavy lead playing with lots of bending, I have'nt used the whammy bar yet, never do, anyway if it were lost or stolen I'd probably look for another one, they're just as good as any standard strat

Pretty standard, same as any strat copy. 3 single-coils with volume controls and a switch between them. A basic but solid guitar.

Kind of a weak sound, but then I'm not a fan of single coils unless it's a real sweet strat or tele through an old tube amp. It gets the job done though, and isn't horrible.

Again, very straightforward. Flat fretboard with decent action. Works better with 10 or 11 gauge strings. Finish is very typical too, nothing special. Does have a solid feel to it.

Everything is durable and set up well, the total package is typical peavey, durable, reliable, but not spectacular. This thing will last, though.

never had a reason for customer support

a solid piece of equipment. Has a lot of potential with adding better pickups, though. Very reliable and faithful.

This is one of the old (1984/85) Predators, back when it was actually a good guitar rather than an el-cheapo student model. If you're wondering whether you got a good one or not, look for the telltale signs:

(1) Kahler Flyer bridge (just don't lose any pieces!) and locking nut.
(2) Dual humbuckers that look like they were made out of GI-Joe's plastic gun material.
(3) 23 (!), that's right, 23 (!) frets. Perhaps the strangest feature of an otherwise strange guitar.
(4) Strat-style body with pronounced horns and decent cutaway.

In its prime, it came with all sorts of accessories. When I bought it 15+ years later, it came with itself. Kahler bridge, some Peavey-branded sealed tuners that work well, two humbuckers with monstrous output, a volume knob, and a tone knob. That's it. It is made in the USA, for those of you country of origin snobs.

Peavey, surprising even me, has the manual for this monstrosity up on its web site. Do a search on "predator" in the manual section, and it's the 1984 model.

I expected virtually nothing out of this guitar; I had intended to put it into work as a backup for my backup instrument or to leave at the office as a cheap beater. Uberquiet on all settings, the tone control actually works well, and rolling off the volume knob makes a dramatic change in the character and sound of the guitar. It goes from full-out crunch to near-Strat-like sounds, and I have yet to be disappointed by the thing.

The only problem here is I need a beater for the office now.

I have no idea what condition it originally shipped in; after 15 or so years, it has loads of finish scratches and nicks, the maple fretboard is stained and showing signs of serious playing and the finish has reached that nice orange real vintage appearance, and intonation is still dead-on. The Kahler bridges were built to last, and the pickups are wonderful beasts I haven't had to adjust despite their comical appearance.

I have no idea what 'select hardwood' in the body is, but I do know that it's a near boat anchor for weight. I would gladly duel a late 70s Strat to the death and wonder who would die first from the exertion of carrying it around, but that is part of its charm.

This guitar has survived the worst that previous owners over 15 years could throw at it, and still plays and sounds great. If it was going to break, it would have done so already; in all its years of abuse, the only defect is that part of the pickguard broke off near the input jack. I would depend on this thing to stop bullets and probably remain playable if it wasn't a shot to the neck.

Peavey actually has the owner's manual for this guitar on their web site, available free of charge. That alone is a testament to their support for their pro-grade products.

For the $55 including stand and gig bag it cost me, this guitar is a truly wonderful find. I'd easily pay up to $200 sight-unseen for a good model at this point, having played one and experienced it first hand. It is a shame that Peavey ran the predator name into the ground after such a decent instrument as this established it as something of value.

It coexists nicely with my effects, sounds good with both my Sunn and my Fender amp, and does anything from metal to blues to jazz to noise-freak outs. So you'll get laughed off the stage by vintage snobs, but if you're lucky enough to have a 23-fret monster like this, you'll be able to illustrate the error of their ways.

I've been looking for this guitar for 8 years! I had one in college and it was stolen. This guitar is a Black on Black Dual Humbucking Monster! This guitar has a basswood body, maple neck and rosewood fretboard. It's set up with a Kahler Flyer tremelo, locking nut and it's all chrome. The dual humbuckers are some of the hottest pickups ever made (I would compare them to a Screamin' Demon pickup but there's two of them and their fatter). There is a simple three position switch for singular or dual mode selection. There is also a simple tone and volume knob. This guitar (and this particular "Black on Black" combo) is extremely rare! They only made these from about 1985 to 1987 and shortly thereafter, they changed the Predator to an entry level guitar.

My style of music is "Hard Rock" at it's core. This guitar is probably one of the most unknown greatest rock guitars ever made. I play through a Fender Twin Amp which is the tits so my amp isn't holding back any and that's the way this guitar likes it! Clean or dirty, this guitar can handle anything you send it's way. It'll chew it up and spit it back atcha with a smile. :)

Well, I found this guitar in a pawn shop and it was clear that it had been neglected for some time. I'm having to replace the locking nut due to some pieces missing and I'm having to replace both knobs, a total of about 20 bucks worth of repairs so it's no big deal. There's knicks and scratches and obvious wear but overall, the guitar is in great shape. The action is sweet and fast and the finish resembles a guitar that's spent some time behind bars. Much character...

Before mine was stolen in NC, I played out all the time and never had one problem. All the hardware on this one is excellent! I made a few adjustments and a little tightening here and there and that's it. Think of this guitar as Mighty Joe Young.

Never needed it...Although I am ordering parts from peavey for this guitar as I mentioned earlier...They're super cool at Peavey!

If you ever see one of these, buy it! You won't believe it's a Peavey!
I've heard people say it's the equivalent of a Les Paul. Now I know that sounds crazy but it's true! If you find one, buy it! If this one were stolen from me, I'd hunt them down and then go after their family. So don't get any big ideas! :)

This guitar is awesome. It is my third guitar in 4 years. It has 21 frets. It basicaly is another strat copy. I gig with it all the time. I think it even sounds better than my friends american $800 strat. it has good sized frets and awesome sustain. Harmonics lasst for days. Ive read other reviews that say it goes out of tune bad. They are terribly mistaken. I tune mine about every 2 weeks. And then just barely. It even came with 2 tremomlo bars! what a deal. The only problem ive slightly had was humming, but for this awesome tone who cares!

Like i said this guitar has incredibly good tone. the pickups perfectly suit what i play. I play mostly hard ass metal like korn metallica pantera... and this guitar does the job. ime giving it a 9 but only because the slight humming. i wish they had a 9.8 category.

Seems fine to me. pickups are great and have high output. great finish. only 1 tiny scrath, but im sure the music store did that.

if i was hanging off a moutain cliff , this is what i would use to trust my life with. I can depend on my baby like no other. the only reason i would take a backup is for the unlikely event of a string break. then i would settle for my Less Paul or Mexican Strat.

I called them to tell them how sdatisfied i was and they were very nice.

I really enjoy playing this guitar. it is the best value ive seen and very beginner friendly. This axe is great for the beggining 10 year old or is even worthy to be hely by Jimmy Page himself. The only thing i wish this guitar has is a big blade on one side so that if anybody stole it i could cut their head off!

made in 1997 in taiwan, 21 fret rosewood fretboard, 1 vol 2tone 5way, hss passive pickups, poplar body maple neck, blue finish, strat style body, standard trem, non locking tuners, thin neck medium frets. not the best but not the worst.

single coils- bright and snappy but not as bright as a strat, neck and middle just by themselves are noisy as hell but the 2nd and 4th positions are quiet

humbucker-thick rather dark tone but not excessively dark. not great output but fairly decent.pair it up with a hot amp and youll easily be able to achieve some monster metal tones.

mixed(2nd position)-thick with a slight tinge of brightness. if anyone has heard the solo of queensryche's i dont believe in love, that nails it

pretty versatile. decent sound in all postions. like i said not the best not the worst

very low action out of the factory but i like low action and dont like playing with anything else. pickups were adjusted fine. no flaws really except that the switch seemed to occasionally go dead but a little flick would fix the problem. i foun the switch was very dusty and cleaned it out and that solved the problem

very durable and sturdy. this thing has been dropped by people(mainly little cousins and nephews that snuck in my room while i wasnt looking and started messing with it). hasnt got a scratch, well maybe a few tiny ones but none that are really visible.

havent a clue. probably assholes like all the other people at guitar company but i dont know

bought it cuz it was cheap, very playable, sounded pretty good, and was missing the cheese factor associated with almost all budget strat- copies. i play 80s metal-from megadeth to ratt. if youve heard ratt youve heard imo one of the best metal guitarists of all time. warren demartini is absolutely awesome and has great tone. one of these days ill play half as good as him. but overall a greaty value for a guitar

Bought new in 1996 because of a newspaper misprint. Same basic features as all general predators. Body, neck, and paint still in perfect condition. Paint is scratched in one spot because of my own fault. Great beginner guitar that does not show wear fast at all.

The only pickup worth anything in this guitar is the humbucker. I dont particularly care for it but try playing through 2 Crate 4x12's through a Crate head on stage. WOW! Thats a buzz going there when you are not playing. Seriously invest in volume pedal and dont use the single coils unless you plan to play loud. Perfect for a practice amp. However it puts out perfect crisp bass out of anything from even 4x12's.

HAHAHA! That TriBend 3 tremelo is a waste. You have never heard a guitar go out of tune soi fast after using this. Tuners stat to go bad after a few years and the nuts they use on these guitars tend to be a problem from the get go. Volume and Tone knobs begin to fall off after about 4 years. DECENT AND STABLE ELECTRONICS!!!!

Very reliable and durable. Definately can withstand live playing. Strap buttons are basically cemented in. Never had to use a back up or actually I never even brought a back up to gigs. You can depend on these puppies(as long as you dont use the tremelo).

----

1999
poplar I think
SSH pickups config, passive
strat-style, didn't notice what bridge, locking nuts, thinnish neck

I play jazz, blues, rock of all ilk, punk, alternative, most music that is guitar oriented. Used with a Johnson amp, great piece of equipment, and a Marshall Valvestate 50W head/marshall 4x10 cab

Noisier than it should be, incredibly low action, yet sticky, and no tonal character whatsoever. If you play in a top 40 band, and you need an innocuous guitar sound that won't get in the way of Brittany's dancing or Christina's vocals, this is the guitar for you.

it had a good fit and finish overall, the action was ridiculously low, but the cheap frets seemed to stick, throwing out the bending intonation curve.

I couldn't tell if it would last-- I didn't hold onto it long enough to find out.

kids, buy a cheap Fender
buy a Washburn
buy an Ibanez

buy anythingbut Peavey. It is withouth a doubt, the least soulful guitar I have ever played. Poplar is a nice tone wood, but this guitar is all treble, a little mid, and no bottom. Uninspiring to both play and listen.

hell, the Yamaha Pacificas are a far superior budget guitar.

Copy of a Stratocaster. 3 single coiled pickups. Fat Maple fretboard with 22 frets. White pickguard with solid top. Strat body with solid top. 1 volume, 2 tone controls. 5 way switching. Came with a case.

The sound for this strat copy is awesome!! It is very clear. The sound is also good when it is placed on distortion. Tone is very nice.

The guitar was used, so it had some scratches. The pickups are very good. I don't think there are any flaws in design.

The reliability of this guitar is very good. The finish is nice. Everything is placed properly.

Never dealt with them

This is an awesome guitar. It can be easily mistaken with a Fender Standard Stratocaster. I just wish it came with tremolo.

I bought this guitar new in 1992 (USA Made). 3 single coil PU's, 5 way switch. The body I think is either poplar and Alder and the neck is maple. Paint job was a glossy black but I have stripped the paint off and refinished the body with a wood gain cherrywood stain and then laquered it.

I play many styles Rock, Country, Blues and I have never had a single problem with this baby stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run. I run this guitar through either a Peavey Deuce (Twin 12) amp or a Marshall amp. I also run it through a Zoom effects pedal.

Perfect right from the get go!!!

This guitar has been through hell and back, it's been dropped down a flight of stairs (and it wasn't in a case), it's been stepped on, had all kinds of stuff spilt on it, and this baby still performs night after night. I own a Fender Telecaster and it sounds great but it plays the backup role to my Peavey. I've been playing guitar for 20 years and I don't play the Peavey because I can't afford a better guitar, because I would have no problem buying a Gibson, Guild, ESP and so on. I play the Peavey because it's a DAMN GOOD GUITAR!!!!

Never dealt with them if there is any work to be done I do it myself.

Great Guitar will keep it forever.

American made strat copy with 22 frets. Laminated top. Includes 1 volume switch and 2 tone switches. Comes with 3 single coil pickups. The frets are jumbo. Neck is maple.

The sound is very good for rock, although it is sometimes sensitive. Has a very clear and solid sound.

The finish is very nice. If you don't look at the neck, you could easily mistake this for a Fender Standard Stratocaster. It's got a nice look and finish.

It's ok when it comes to reliability. This guitar was very used. It had a few scratches, but they're hard to see from a distance. I think the strings really have to be replaced.

Never dealt with them

This is a great guitar at a reasonable price. It's almost the exact same as a fender strat. I wish it had tremolo, though.

Late 80's American made strat copy. Maple neck and fret board. 21 frets. Neck is excellent and is the main reason I bought it. Basic strat style clone.One volume, two tone controls. 3 single coil P/U. Heavy wood body, probably ash with a very thick finish. Basic black finish like liquid kevlar. Frets are medium jumbo. Generic tremolo with whammy. Everything is solid as a rock except the tuners which are economy grade. But they work and it even returns to tune after the whammy dive.

I've read some criticism of the stock pickups but I've found these to be quite acceptable. Neck P/U is good and blusey. Bridge has substantial crunch for AC/DC types, without the ear splitting highs common to many strat stock bridge P/Us. Bridge tone control has little if any impact on P/U performance and sound, but sustain is surprisingly good for a bolt on neck. Much less hiss from the single coils than what I experienced with my previous Fender Mexican strat. I play mainly blues and rock and this fits both styles nicely.

Bought this used and reworked the set-up. Micro-adjustable neck is very handy to get low action with NO string buzz. Selector is firm shifting. No wiggling or pops when changing selections. Hardware looked like it had been dipped in stale beer and nicotine. But it cleaned up like new. Control knobs are smooth without any hiss or popping. Must be all that bar resin holding everything together. The pickups must have gotten a good coating too as they don't buzz like normal low end stock P/U's.

I haven't had the opportunity to use it live but I wouldn't hesitate to do so. The finish appears to be bullet proof. Strap buttons are solid. I would depend on this to hold up but would never gig without a backup. Shit happens to the best of equipment.

I've used Peavey's website in the past to determine the production date of a Peavey T-60 and to inquire about replacement parts for a T-25. Answers to inqiuries have been returned in 24 to 48 hours. Sorry I can't say the same for the other brands I've owned.

Got back into playing about 5 years ago. I have three guitars, a Zoom 505 which I use on and off and a 25W Fender amp.I like the strat sound and wanted a strat style guitar to replace the Fender Mex strat that I traded. I just wasn't very impressed with the Fender. I started looking for this model after reading some of the reviews on Harmony Central. If stolen I would begin the search for another. I believe this guitar holds it's own with Fender's American Strats at a third of what the Strat would cost. I got lucky. If your're looking to buy, quality control appears to vary significantly between the same models and companies. I've encountered rough, sharp frets, finish flaws, buzz and hiss on several name brands including Peavey. So be wise and check it out close before you buy it.

U.S.A. made Peavey Predator (1995) - standard strat set-up (poplar body, maple fretboard, 3 single coil ceramic pickups)

The ceramic pickups are a little on the harsh side for my taste. The 2 and 4 positions don?t quite have the same quack as a strat. Clean sound at low volumes is good. Distorted sound is good. Sounds better through my tube amp than my solid state. Good sounds with various effects. I may upgrade the pickups.

This is where this guitar shines. The action, fit and finish are outstanding.

This appears to be a very well made, solid built guitar.

I?ve been playing for over 30 years and have owned many different guitars (Fenders, a Gretsch, Danelectros, etc?) and amps. For the money, this is a fantastic value. This is very comparable to my Mexican made Fender Strat (also an excellent buy); but less expensive than a Fender. The neck is very different from a Fender, it?s thinner and the radius is flatter. It?s fast and feels great though. The polyurethane coating is thinner than a Fender, which has it's pluses and minuses. Plus because the body will sustain better, minus because it will nick a little easier. The tuners could use an upgrade. The neck has an angle adjust which is a nice feature. Intonation is good. This is a very easy guitar to play. Unless there is a lot of variation between guitars (the one I have is great), I can?t understand why the U.S.A. built ones sell for so low. A used U.S.A. made Predator is one of the better values out there.

I'm a begginer and I bought this guitar from ebay and it's in really good condition. It was made in the US nd i think it has 22 frets. There is 1 volume knob and two tone knobs, a 5 way switch and a powerbend tremolo system. it has a S/S/H setup and the pickups are pretty decent. It has an alder body and a nice finish. Its a strat style guitar and looks real nice. The tuners are non-locking and basically stay in tune. It has a thin neck and it's comfortable to play.

I play rock, alternative, metal, etc. and this guitar gives me the sounds I need to play. I use a Stephens 20 watt amp and a Rogue DST-5 distrotion pedal and i get a pretty good sound. It's nice and bright and I get a lot of high end sound. The pedal helps out for producing a better low end sound. I'm just starting but I think this is a great guitar.

When I got the guitar from the guy on ebay it was in good condition...a nice paint job, no scratches. The 2 single coil pickups were good but I needed to adjust the humbucker to get a better tone. The bridge is really low, sunken into the guitar. Also, the action was set really lowand I was getting bad sound but when i raised it it sounds beautiful.

I'm a beginner so I realy wouldn't gig yet. I imagine this guitar would hold up. It seems really durable. THe finish is good and the strap buttons are solid.

I've never dealt with Peavey.

Like I said I just started but it's a great guitar and I really like it. If it were stolen I'd probably try to go woth the upgraded version, the Predator Plus. The only problem I really have is that the spot where I like to use the tremolo is blocked by the volume knob so I have to come closer to the strings. No big deal though. A great overall guitar.

strat copy with micro-adjustable Maple neck with Maple fret board.

At the time I was just starting to take up guitar again after about a 15 year lay off and this was the first guitar i bought. For that purpose it worked out great, never did really care for strats though even when i use to play alot, the middle pickup always got in the way and my hand always seemed to hit the volume control, but thi guitar did the best stat imatation of any strat copy i have ever tried!

Like I pointed out at the start, this guitar came with a micro adjustable neck, you don't get that on a mexican copy, only on the amer strat, the guitar set up great, as good as any strat I have played!

when i got it it needed some solder work and pot cleaning, after that i never had a prob, as good as any fender product!

never had to use them

If i rated it on the price I paid I would give it a 20, but I will give it a solid 9, this is by far the best strat copy you can buy without buying the real thing! I did sell it to a friend that wanted to get his first electric guitar, for me it served it's purpose, since buying this from the pawn shop I have fallin back in love with the guitar, so thanks peavey, ya did good!

This is an early 90's Predator. Made in the U.S.A., 21 fret maple neck,solid body strat style guitar. Has the classic strat configuration of three single coils, one volume and two tone controlls. with a fulcrum type trem. Everything on this guitar is pretty solid except for the economy tuners.

This guitar sounds pretty cool for strat sounds and strat sounds with light trem work. Great for blues and rock and roll. Gonna need to change at least the bridge pickup though if you want some chuga chuga rythm sounds.

I bought the guitar used so can't comment on the factory setup. The guitar plays great after I gave it a complete setup.

With better tuners on this guitar, I would have no problem playing this guitar in any situation.

In closing, I would like to say that not all guitars are created equal. My previous predator model guitar was a real hunk of junk. It sounded and played like crap no matter what. This one however is a real players guitar. With some quality tuners, I would have no problem playing a gig with this axe...it really smokes!

Black. 3 Single Coils. 22 fret Maple neck with maple fretboard.

Stock pickups suck. I advise a combination of two Seymour Duncan Coolrails (Neck, middle) and a Hotrails at the bridge

Except for the stock pickups, everyrhing on this guitar is perfect

Very Reliable guitar.

No need to call Peavey.

There's a very good reason while it's been my fav since the beginning: It kicks ass! If you can find a predator with the 3 single coils (The new one sucks), buy it. If not, but a guitar from www.route101guitars.com

I would like to make it clear that this Peavey differs greatly from the newer basic Strat clones. They began production on the Predator in 1985 in the midst of the "Super Strat" era, which can basically sum up the idea behind the original Peavey Predator; The body is made of a curious select hardwood, making it surpisingly heavy. The ultra-hot pickups (dual humbuckers in middle and neck positions) are housed in black covers, and feature two rows of adjustable pole pieces. The locking bridge system (Flyer by the Kahler company) is very easy to use, but isn't nearly as stable as it's obvious rival, the Floyd Rose. The neck is the guitar's best feature, and perhaps one of the best I have ever placed my hands upon. The neck's dimentions are quite strange as it only has 23 frets(no kidding, 23 frets), but it's 12" non-compound radious and top crowning job on the frets give you the freedom to shred or the option to really dig in and pull out an incredible slow blues feel. There are only two knobs, tone and volume. As with nearly all other Peaveys, the Predator was hand assembled in the USA. Also, Peavey also used to offer something called the Electric Case which included a playable, portable amplifier. The case came with the guitar when I bought it, but all electrical parts had been removed by the previous owner(that, or the store ripped me off).

The sound of this guitar is quite amazing. It has a remarkable full tone in the neck, very, very near a Les Paul(sorry LP freaks) and a chugging quack in the neck. This guitar was clearly made for speed metal, the neck almost begs for it, but given the proper respect it can give a great blues tone. This guitar has a crystaline quality when played clean through a decent amp. The tone might not be for everyone, as the pickups are white hot, but if you're confident in your pick attack and your string muting techniques, this guitar will reward you to an extent that is beond belief. If you can find one in decent shape, plug it in and try it.

I can't begin to imagine what tortures this guitar was put through the 14 years before it found me, but the only problem I can find is that there is a slight buzz through the amp when modestly distorted+. I suspect the may be a wire loose from the rest. I will find and fix the problem when it becomes time to do so.

This guitar obviously didn't spend 14 years in a case. There are nicks and scuffs all over it, and it appears to have been used as an ashtray for a short period of time. If it's lasted this long I can't see a reason why it would fall apart any time soon.

Yeah, maybe I'll call Peavey and ask for a replacement tremolo arm that was made by a company that stopped making bridge parts when it I was watching Saved By the Bell and Family Ties...

You've read my review, you know my feelings on the subject. I've been playing since George Bush SR. was president, and I've been around the guitar block a few times. To me, this ones is a momento of guitars' past. I would put it up against any electric guitar. As far as super-strats go, this one puts to shame production guitars(Ibanez, Jackson, Charvel, Hammer...) and more expensive guitars. Gibson, for one, is a company content to rest on it's name. Rightfully so, maybe... Sure, the Predator is out of date, it's heavey and it looks like most every guitar produced 1978-1990, but for some reason it stands out. No guitar I've ever owned had a better feeling neck. This is also the best sounding guitar I've ever played. Which says a lot considering my arsenal of 121 guitars. If you can find a good one, pick it up. I promise, you'll find it to be one of the best guitars (not)available today.

The Peavey Predator features 21 frets, a humbucker inthe bridge position and two single coils in the middle and neck positions. One volume and two tone controls and a five way pickup selector. The bridge is a basic strat style copy. The wood used for the guitar body is poplar.

I play many different styles of music. My two favorites strangely enough are blues and punk. The single coils when combined give off a wonderfull blues type sound when you lower the volume and the tone a bit. For punk, the humbucker has wonderfull distortion ability. It can scream and crunch and the sustain lasts forever. The sound quality is better than most guitars even up to twice the price. Wonderfull sound!

The action on the guitar is not set as low as I like.(which is just a whisper above the frets)I sent it to a local music store get the action lowered. The pickups did not need to be adjusted at all. They are perfect for my style. The only problen I had with it was when the nut where you plug in the cable became loose. I just got out a pair of small pliers covered the with cloth and tightened it. NO problem since

This guitar could stand live playing. The hardware seems like it will last if you treat it sensibly. The paint is extremely durable. It takes a beating and still lookes new. I would gig without a backup.

I have not needed to contact them before.

I have owned it for almost two years. I also own a peavey Envoy 110 amplifier.(very nice) If it was lost or stolen I would probably buy the Predator plus model wich was not out when I bought mine. Just a few more little features. Other than that it is a value monster.

This is your basic strat setup. The guy at the store said it was made in the US. Bought it 2 and a half years ago, i just never got around to writing one of these things. Its been my main (only guitar) till now. Its got 21 frets, 1 volume, 2 tone, S-S-H pickup setup, standard tuners (go out of tune some times), standard nut, and a simi-floting bridge (not to good, makes it go way out of tune if you try any floyd-rose like things to it.) Body is alder, maple neck and rosewood fretboard. I give it a 9 because its more than what you need as a biginner, which i was when i started.

Sound is pretty good. The humbucker is preety good, i'm using a peavey classic 50, i did use a squier 15 when i first got it. My effects are a crybaby, ZOOM 505 (this made the guitar sound much better, because i use the compresser, which really broadend the tone of the guitar), Boss DD-5, and a DOD chorus. The single coils are great if you dont use distortion. If you do use distortion, use the humbucker, because its not too good clean. I play everyting, i started playing metal only, but have gone from that to SRV, Van Halen, Satriani, Floyd, and so may more. With this guitar and a few effects it can get to just about any sound. I gave it a 7 because the pickups arent EQ'd any way spiecal, just like all 5's, but it helps you develop your own tone. i've made them higher and lower to make a diffrece, and it did. I'm getting locking tuners and an EMG-DG20 David Gilmore pickup set put in it, it will sound great then.

This is where the points are. I loved the neck on this guitar. Its just the right amount of thick and thin. I've cleaned it every time when i change strings it keeps the neck fresh feeling. It took a long time finding a guitar that comes close to this neck when i got my new guitar (Ibanez RG520). The necks are completely diffrent, but thats a diffrent story. This neck just makes me play blues i love it, i've gone from 9's and i'm going with 9.5, and soon 10's, string wise, and i like it a lot better. The finish is preetty good, its no gibson sunburst or PRS, but its perfectly fine. I got sunberst, and from far away it look kind of dull, but who cares really? Its the sound and feel that matters.

Ths guitar has so many nicks and scraches and still is great. That's another thing i like about it, it's part of the feel. I never giged with it, but it is my backup now. The only problem id have with playing it live would be going out of tune. The past year i just havent used the tremelo because i'll use it too much and it will go out of tune. I can't compare it with the floyd i have now. This is a pretty solid guitar, but because my stupidity and dropping so many times, there are some nicks, and the bridge, it gets a 7

I got it repared once and had it set up at the peavey place i gor it at, no problem it was still under warrenty and was free, i think a screw came loose on teh bridge. i cant remember exsactly waht it was, but they were really nice about it.

I dont know if it were stolen or lost i'd buy another. its my first guitar and i deffinatly got some attachment to it. Its just somethign i fool around with. I compared it to a squer, and other guitars around that price. Its an International Series, if that maters. It was priced at $250, but the guy gave me a deal because it was my fist guitar and i got that squier amp wit it. It had everyhting i was looking for, i guess. Pretty much everyhting i wish it had over the years i got in my ibanez (24 fret, floyd-rose, locking nut, adn 2 humbuckers) and you wont get that in this price range. For a beginer i would give this guitar a 10!! But now i look back and i'll give an 7-8, 8. So it averges 9. Not perfect but its gotten me where i want in playing and has allowed me to shape my sound. I have recommended this to friends starting out and they have NOT been dissapointed. If you want a great first guitar get this dont look at squier because they SUCK.

I bought this guitar used at Midwest Music in Hays, Kansas for $130. I got it because it had the third best keyboard among 20 or so electric guitars in the place. Those that beat it were a Brian Moore C-55 and an Ibanez SC - 620. We're talking in the grand range for those, and in the hundred dollar range for the Predator. I don't know what the body is made of. It's laquered up with some sort of indestructable black goop with a little clarity. It could easily be described as ugly. It's got 22 frets and a maple neck. There's a serial number stamped on the back of the (oh, you know,) that thing that has the tuners on it. There's a five way switch on the front, and three knobs.

What I do is sit in the basement and play songs out of fake books; have for years. Some songs are almost like second skins to me now, yet if I pass them up for a few years, then come back to them, It always seems like I never really knew the song at all. I pick the notes from the chords; the object is to have a rhythm going all the time, a little simple base line, and the melody or the voice line flowing through it. Some days, I'll play "Pinball Wizard," the next, I'll concentrate on "Beautiful Dreamer," which is a song made to pick. So is "Crazy," by Willie Nelson. Did you know that? Since the object of my playing is first to accomplish the finger work, I often play this guitar with no amplification at all. I have both a crate CA 60D and an old giant Ampeg head of some kind, with a speaker box I can't carry up the stairs by myself. Sometimes I play through one and sing through the other, and vice versa. Sometimes I play and sing through the Crate, which seems to sound best. The son of a bitch hums like a bastard. I think the sound is probably pretty anemic, Really, though you can make huge squawks with the big amp. I'm not in to those. I have to wear ear protection to run a lawnmower. The truth is, I think it's a mellow little guitar, that plays just fine, if you don't make it play to loud. The keyboard is wonderful, just as facile as a Gibson Les Paul Standard I had years ago. The Gibson is now owned by a kid who plays fifty-eleven times better than I ever did and has tripled in value since I sold it. Set on the rythm section the guitar drones at such a low frequency it almost causes pain. It can also provide an incredible background against which to pick those notes. On the picking or lead side, I find it to harsh usually, especially when I use finger picks. You can really set up some rythm with it between with picks, though. But I usually play it bare handed, plucking the strings with the pads of my fingers. I'd rather play with nails, but usually they're worn off from guitar strings. By god, even without fingernails, I can make it sound real nice.

Bought used. Great action; no big flaws; the electronics seem crackly.

It's made of maple; ever work that stuff. It won't break. The electronics will probably have to be replaced.

I've been playing for 35 years. I have a bunch of unplayable cheap acoustic guitars. My main alternate ax is an Ibanez 70-string. Wonder warm sound; a bitch to play. I wouldn't look for one if it were lost, but if I saw one cheap, I wouldn't hesitate to get another one. The best thing about it is its playability.

This guitar is just basicly your beginner guitar, it has a maple neck standerd pickups (i quess) its a strat style guitar and comes with three single coil pickups.

I play manly hard rock, ad blues, this guitar can't really play any spacific tunes it is a good beginner guitar but once you get more advanced you will dread it. I am using a marshall VS100R with a Jimi Hendrix Jh-1 Wah Wah pedal and a chorus pedal, this guitar actually can get some pretty good tunes when i plug in the chorus and tweek with the Fx loop on the amp. This guitar cant hold notes very well and has really bright sound when played clean. The gutar isn't very versitile at all.

I got this guitar used and dont know if the person that had it before me messed with the pickups but they were set so high that the strings would hit them when played, but that is an easy fix. Other that that it is pretty well put together.

This guitar isn't that reliable, i have had it cut of on me several times because the wires inside came loose, but that comes with ware and tare. Everything on it is screwed in tight and seems pretty durable. The is no way in the word i would gig with this thin period.

I have been playing for abou 7 years and have a fender standerd strat and a fender big apple strat and they both blow this thing away. It doesn't even compare with those guittars. If it were stolen or lost i would be upset because it was my first guitar and you always should keep it, but i wouldn't but it again. This is the perfect beginner guitar because its cheap and should last.

As far as the year this guy was made, I'm not sure. I think its a 96/97. It's an American guitar, which is nice. It has a solid poplar top, and a bolt on maple neck. It has 21 frets and no name tuners. It's got a S/S/H setup, and i think the single coils may be high output. As on any strat-style, it has the basic 1 volume and 2 tone controls. It's also got a 5 way selector. The tremelo is a Power Bend 3...not the same as a basic strat one. Go to the peavey site to see exactly what it looks like. It's mettalic red, with a white pickguard.

Well, I play ska/punk, and it suits it decently. I play with a Peavey Transtube Blazer (Only a 30-watt amp) and i use a Crybaby and a DOD distortion pedal. At first i used the humbucker alot, but the single coils actually give you a better sound. The humbucker is kinda cheap, so i stay away from it. But the single coils really shine when you play with the tone. At high distortion, it gives a little bit of buzz, but turning down the tone takes that away. The single coils give a suprisingly rich sound, especially when you use them both. For ska, I usually use the neck single, with the tone all the way up. For a strat copy, you can't get much better. My only big dislike is the humbucker. But you can by a Duncan or a Dimarzio for pretty cheap.

The only actual flaw was that the volume control wasn't glued on, but that was no big deal. The action is decent, with 9's. I play with 10's and the action is still pretty good, and you get a deeper sound. The only annoying thing is the string buzz you get when you break another string. The neck isn't set, so its not top quality.The finish is pretty nice, except for one flaw on the back. My biggest complaint would be that the tremelo can set the guitar out of tune pretty easily. I dont use it alot though, so it's not a problem.

I've had this guitar for three years, and it's taken alot of abuse. But it still looks really good. I wear my strap low, and some guitars fall off easy. But this one is great, and the strap buttons are solid. The only thing is the string breakage...specifically the high E string. It's partially cause i play it hard, but it had a tendency to break sometimes. As for using it in a gig, i was surpirsed at the sound it gives. For a really rich sound, you need a more epxesive guitar. But for one under $500, it's not bad.

Never dealt wiht the company (never had to.)

I've been playing as long as I've had this guitar, and it's been pretty good to me. Peavey is a solid american company, and it shows in this guitars orkmanship. The humbucker stinks, but thats ok, cuz the single coils make up for it. For a first guitar, I'de recommend it. For the money, I think it's a great value. Compared to a gibson, it has no chance. But when you're just starting to play, you don't need a gibson. The most important thing is that you know your guitar and how to get the right sound out of it. Email me if ya have any questions...

1994 Predator "crafted in USA." Standard strat style guitar that only wishes it could be as good as a strat. Has a maple neck (and fingerboard) that isn't that bad, body made of some sort of polyuerethane.

I play blues, blues rock, and good old rock. I've been playing for about six years and like SRV, Van Halen, Clapton, Creed, etc. This guitar suits pretty mush none of those styles, but if that's all you got, it works O.K. with a good amp and pedal. The only thing it's got that I admire is a crystal clear clean tone, but has no "ring" or any distinctive characteristics.

I was surprised for such a horrible P.O.S. , that when I got it, it looked fine, and pretty much flawless. Over the years though, it wore down quicker than a better crafted guitar. I've actually tried to dent or damage the body, but not much happens due to it's plastic body. That's cool about it, but, if it gets scraped up like Kenny Wayne's or SRV's guitar, it becomes completely obvious that it's not wood.

Sure, it'd withstand live playing, considering your crowd doesn't ditch you because of your crappy sound. Most everything seems like it'd last a couple of years more. HELL NO!!! I'd never use this thing without a backup. Anyone whose was unlucky enough to get one of these jewels, don't get cocky, it's really a bunch of recycled garbage behind a Strat.

It had a one year warranty, and they [Peavey] purposely rig it to show its true shitty face after the warranty is up. I dealt with Peavey once, and hung up the lady because she was stupid and didn't want to help me. That was a while ago and hope Customer service has gotten better.

I've been playing guitar for about 6 years and am pretty damn sick of it. I've played Standard American Strats, a '57 reissue (Fender strat) Epiphone Les Pauls, and lots of other cool guitars. It doesn't compare with any of those. If it were stolen, I'd feel sorry for the dumb bastard. He (or she) wouldn't get any money or a good guitar. I feel sorry for the Peavey Wolfgang considering it's cousin is a piece of shit. When I get a new guitar (soon I hope) I'll hang it on my wall for the Hard Rock Cafe effect, not that I'm proud of it. Bottom line: don't buy it!!

Possibly made in 1980's Standard frets Solid top 3 pickups Standard Peavey pickups Passive pickups Body is Popular Neck is maple Finsih Black painted Tremilo Bridge Standard Tuners

Just Replaced the Peavey pickups and 5 position switch. With AGI-LACE Holy Grails and fender 5 position switch OEM Left standard 500k pots and capactor in pickguard. Sound before was around a 5 or 6 now a 10 May change to AGI-LACE recommended 250k pots later. Now has full range sound. This unit was made in the USA. Sounds now are better than a Fender with the standard laces Neck gold center Gold and Bridge Silver. The AGI-LACES installed on this are Holy Grail Neck Gold Center Gold Bridge Red. Looking at a Wolfgang with Drop Bridge D and Tremilo. Will see how this compares sound wise to it next week when I check them side by side.

Purchase From Rondo music years ago new. Setup was fine except had to raise the pickups for more guts. No flaws in the guitar at that time. Now after years of just normal playing got some nicks etc. Orginal Pickups have hum and other noises. Not Laces.

This unit is built like a tank. None of the hardware has been changed except to upgrade the pickups and switch (old parts are packed away) just in case I decide to sell it and keep the Laces (of course I would keep them) They cost me more than the Guitar did.
The finish has lasted for this time but due to banging into things it has some chips but that is pilot error not hte guitars fault.
The strap button have never fell off.
I depended on it for at least 10-15 yrs.
I don't need a backup unless I have pilot error and then it would be because I fell off the stage and would be in the Emergency Room anyway. And then they could use the neck to brace my broken leg or arm.

They have support? Never needed any rock solid AXE. O yes watched the 1/2 video thing on their website about the WolfGang

The Predator was made maybe four years ago, in Japan of all places. It has your standard number of frets, volume control, two tone controls, and a three-way selector switch. Body is great, neck is also finely constructed. Plastic nut, non-locking tuners. The pickups are not the greatest but they will please the beginning guitarist. Comes with a whammy bar but I got rid of that due to the fact that I get pissed off when I have to tune my guitar every 10 mins. Frets are a good size. Read someone else's posting if you want the details because I dont have the patience.
I gave it a 9 because It has pretty much all the features you would want from a guitar.

It suits my music style just fine- I am a Zep fanatic and also play van Halen, metallica, etc...I also play some bouncing-souls style punk and it is great for that. I have played this through a cheesy 15 watt Crate amp (the thing is crapping out on me as of late) and also through a 50 watt Marshall, not to mention my brand new Vox mini-amp which by the way is impressive for 1 watt. Variety is good- you can go from a deep, base tone to a cutting sound with a flip of the selector switch. The sound related problems I experience are usually a result of the amps I use. I dislike the mild hum that is distinguishable when the tone is up.

Guitar action set-up from the factory was not that great. I had it professionally adjusted after about a month of dealing with a high action. But don't hold that against the guitar-it was a 175 dollar guitar, what can you expect. Pickups, as I have mentioned before, are a little on the budget side. I am in the market for new ones as I type this. Top, bridge were great. No flaws on the guitar when I bought it- I bought a royal blue color and after about three years of daily playing it has that brand-new shine to it. Pickup selector seems a bit on the cheap side.

This guitar will withstand live playing. Problems with the hardware:After about three years of playing it, the pickguard screws as well as the selector switch have started to rust. You would think that they could have gone for better quality screws for crying out loud. My advice would be to replace the screws with high quality ones before they start to rust. Finish will definitely last. Solid strap buttons, dependable, but would not use it on a gig w/o backup.

Never tried to repair it, believe there is a 1 year or so warranty on it. Peavey seems like a quality company-check out their website for some cool stuff such as if you have a Peavey, you can enter in your serial number and it will give you the year made.

Ive been playing for about 4 years now and what I love about this guitar is its durability and playability. After adjusting the action, this guitar was a breeze to play on. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend this guitar to all beginners out there. This is definitely where you want to start learning the electric. A friend of mine owns one of those 1400 dollar Les-Pauls and I have played it- the sound quality was definitely better on the les paul but the playability was worse-the owner of that Les paul admitted the same thing! Plus it is lightweight and cheap price-wise. If run through a good amp, this guitar is as good as any 700 dollar strat-and at 175 dollars it is not out of anyone's price range. Some last minute advice to people looking for their first electric- DO NOT buy a 99.00 guitar. They suck and you will get discouraged rather quickly from playing. Spend an extra hundred bucks (or more if you have it) and buy the best guitar you can to start out with.

Just like the other entries, the basic strat rip-off w/ 3 single coils. I think it was a 93 or 94. I think I got a gig bag with it, and some spare strings. Generic tuners that are touchy. Good, really good actually, maple neck.

For classic rock in the house it has decent tone, and take effects well. I played it through various Peaveys, and a Fender Champ. Much better through the Champ. It gave the sound much more body. Through the Peaveys it lacked bass and fullness. I rewired it several ways but sold it before I replaced the pickups.

I did a bunch of different stuff with the action and it took all of it well, but always had more string buzz than my Peavey Reactor. The thing was set up well from the dealer (Alamo Music in San Antonio), but action is personal, so I played around with it. The finish held up pretty well. I don't consider a guitar as something to beat up, though.

This guitar never missed a lick. I would definitely bring it to a gig rather than an expensive strat.

It never broke.

A great piece. I wish I had kept it. They do vary from guitar to guitar, so be careful. I have seen some crappy ones. If it were ripped off, I would find another. I am, in fact, looking for a good one. I wish, however, that the dealers would be more helpful in pickup upgrades, I.E. knowing what comes in it from the factory to avoid a potential downgrade.

US made economy guitar. Body is poplar, 3 large chunks glued together as with most decent guitars. It is then faced back and front with a thin veneer - presumably to allow sunburst finish. This is an OK way to make a body and its NOT ply!
The neck is two part maple, cleaved up the middle and the truss rod inserted sideways before glueing back together, ala G&L guitars. The maple is not top grade flame, but rather aneamic and plain. The neck, however, is very well made and would put some more expensive guitars to shame. It has a smooth matt finish, the frets are well seated and ends properly dressed. Machine heads are functional but seem reliable. The neck fit to body pocket is extremely good and the neck comes with a tilt adjusting screw. The neck plate has to be the ugliest ever - a sort of crackle finish black. The nut was not well cut on this example, being far too shallow.
Body hardware consisted of a rather well made traditional trem, with cast bridge assembly, rather than the usual bent bit of metal. I didn't want a trem so I screwed it down tight. I've no idea how well is works. The intonation was not properly set.
Pick-ups consisted of 3 single coils. At best, they can be considered at the top end of the 'budget' class of pickups. They consisted of a ceramic bar magnet under 6 pole pieces and looked similar to Chinese made pickups used on low end Squiers. Switchgear was all standard stuff.

Sound was somewhat generic of cheap Strat style guitars. The pickups were prone to pick up noise from flourescent lights - this was despite me spending some time screening it. The sound was rather weak. The bridge pick-up was rather brittle and harsh sounding. The neck pick up was quite mellow sounding and the in-between sounds were a passable imitation. I replaced bridge pickup with a DiMarzio SD Humbucker and suddenly it sprang into life! What a difference! Rating is for the HB upgrade. Deduct 5 for original.

The guitar needed a bit of fiddling with. I hated the colour - an ugly red, so I stripped it, resprayed it white, fitted a black scratch plate and black pickup covers. The set up was very poor, but this was a junk shop special. After adjusting truss rod, recutting the nut and setting the intonation and height of the bridge, this guitar played very well indeed - ridiculously well for such a cheap guitar. Rating is for after fettling, deduct 7 for before.

Seems solid enough. I can't see any problems with using this at a gig. Everything is solid and well made.

I got this from a junk shop. No warranty!!

This is potentially a very good guitar. The neck is excellent and the body well made. It is let down by a poor set up and cheap pickups, both of which can be easily dealt with. As the basis of a project guitar which can be upgraded as you go along, it is an excellent base. At the price I paid for it, it can only be fantastic value so it gets...

This is a brief addendum to my 7/11/98 review of my '94 USA pawn shop Predator. I recently replaced the pickguard assembly of this guitar with a Fender Lone Star Strat pickguard assmenbly (two Texas Special s/c and a special design Seymore Duncan Pearly Gates hummer).
This has significantly improved this guitar for me. It was always a nice body and neck with okay electronics but this Peavey *Lone Star* has quickly become one of my favorite axes. The tuners really should be replaced as Peavey used (on this model anyway) very inexpensive machines.
I'm now into the guitar $200. $100 for the original guitar and a $100 for the LS assembly (purchased right here on HC). I also own four Fenders (USA '52 Tele reissue, USA '62 Strat reissue, MIM Jimmie Vaughan Strat, and a MIM Standard Tele with an aftermarket custom one-piece swamp ash body and '52 bridge, pups, and pickguard). With this electronics upgrade the Peavey now compares favorably with any of these for sheer mojo and tone. I couldn't be more pleased with this little pawn shop special!

Plenty of features, more than on most other guitars in it's price range. The guitar I am reviewing is an older model. It was made in the USA, and was discontinued in 1995, i think. The difference in features between this one and later Korean-made is significant. The old USA type has a bridge humbucker, coil tap, slightly different cosmetics, and overall better build quality. The new one has three single coils and low quality components and build quality. Mine is built of poplar, has 2 single/1 slanted humbucker, a master tone pot, a coil tap switch, and the standard strat body style.

The other people to review this guitar seem to be beginning kids that don't have much experience. I've been playing for a long time, and this was my fourth guitar. I think it sounds great, contrary to the other reviewers who claim that "humbuckers have more of that Fender sound", and "I only use the front pickup because it sounds warm". This guitar has the fenderish, chirpy, neck and neck/middle sound. It is plenty bright, has more than enough output, and isn't muddy. The humbucker is mounted at an angle, like a standard strat's bridge pickup. I wish they didn't do that, but it sounds fine anyway. This guitar can get any tone you could need for rock, blues, electric jazz, experimental, and almost anything else. It doesn't sound as good as a 63 strat at stratty tones, or as good as a Jackson at metal type tones, but can do most anything well. It is an excellent stage axe, as you won't care if it gets thrown around.

I don't really remember exactly how well it was set up from the factory, but do know that it was good enough to play right from the store. I changed the strings to 11's, but the stock set-up was fine for what it was. The finish is great; it is a nice thin polyester finish that doesn't wear off soon. The pots wore out too soon, but for the price of the guitar I felt I got much more than what I paid for.

This guitar HAS withstood live playing for several years. It will hold up to anything reasonable, don't worry about that. The hardware hasn't rusted yet.

Guitars aren't Peavey's main business, so customer support won't be too great. they will help you out, though, as I found out when I called for some replacement parts.

As I said, Ive been playing for a looong time, and own tons of other gear. I love this guitar for so many reasons. Nobody else plays them, so I look different. It was inexpensive, so it makes a great beginner's guitar. If you want a guitar that you can mess around with and customize, this will be perfect. Basically, this guitar will be just fine for anybody. I love it's versitility. If I'm playing a strat type tone, and need just a little more power, I just click on the humbucker and I'm all set. It is plenty durable. I don't hate anything about this one, it has treated me fine. I highly recommend this to anybody. Try it out fot yourself. You might find that you like this guy.

22 fret, two tones, one volume, 5 way selector, humbucking, whammy bar very nice paint job, great appearance.

The tones are decent, I like playing very hardcore such as Metallica, Pantera, and Van Halen. I use a Peavey 158 Blazer and it sounds very nice. I generally play on the 4-5 volume, in my bedroom, which is plenty. The distortion is a little better than average for beginnger axes.

Never had a problem with it, don't expect any either. Peavey makes a great product.

Again service-wise I never had to deal with them, because I never had a problem. The warranty for both amp and guitar is one year.

I been playing for a couple months now seriously. I love the nice distortion it has, though it could use more. I hate the clean sound, it doesnt have it there. My next guitar is a Peavey Wolfgang and that is coming into my house very soon.

Made in the U.S.A. Made in 1998. 24 frets, 3 controls (1 volume, 2 tone, 5-way selector switch). 2 single pick-ups, 1 double. Fret-board is maple, the body is poplar. The finish is gloss black with white pick guard. Has a Fender Strat style body, with a Power Bend III tremolo system. Came with Rage 158 amp, gig-bag, hook-up cord, picks, etc.

I think that this guitar is good for a beginner to find what kind of music they want to play. It suits all types of music, but if you want to really get into a certain kind of music, then go for another brand. For me, I like playing heavy distorted stuff (Metallica, AC/DC, etc.), and it works for that, espically with the double pick-up in the rear. I use a Peavey Rage 158 amp with it and it sounds fine. I also use a Zoom 505 pedal, and it's kept on Metal Distortion effect. Probably the thing that bugs me the most is that you can't get this model of guitar with just double humbuckers, which is really what I was looking for.

When I received the guitar it was straight out of the box. The pick-ups were sounding great, and the strings were all in tune. The finish was flawless, and the hardware was spotless. It had never been used.

I do jam with this guitar alot and I have broken a few strings because of hard hitting. But hey, that's what I like to do. I would recommend having a back-up for a gig because you never know what's going to happen. Everything on it seems to be holding up just fine.

Never had any problems yet.

I have been playing for about 7 months and I still like this guitar. If this guitar was stolen, instead of buying another one I would probably buy an ESP or a Gibson. Sometimes I wish the strings were raised higher above the fret-board. They always seem like they're too close. I wish they would offer the Predator model with a double humbucker setup. I think alot more people would consider it then.

I bought this guitar about two years ago now. My guitar teacher (the bastard) raved about this guitar so much that I felt it was the only guitar in the world worth buying. Being USA hand made I felt that I was buying a quality instrument. It's a basic strat shape, and to be honist it's pretty dull to look at. The scratch plate and pots are pretty run of the mill. The pick ups are just basic single coil. The back pick up has a real bite to it but I find the others arn't worth bothering with as they don't suit my style of playing. It has a maple neck which is well made but the body is cheap and doesn't have that feeling of real quality. When I purchased it I recieved no extras.

When I first purchased this guitar I found that on the front pick-up the tone had a very rich warm sound. On the back pick up it has plenty of bite and it suited my style of playing which is mainly heavey rock/grunge style. After about a year of playing it, I found that the rich tonal qualities that it once had began to fade. I don't know what it was maybe missuse but the guitar started to sound rather crap!

There was no factory set up on this guitar when I purchased it. I had to do it all my self. Overall the build quality is very good. The kneck was flawless although I did notice rust on the saddle after the first year, but that's probably just me, as I'm a sweaty bastard!

I would never use this guitar to play live with. I use a basic Fender Strat when I play live. The Peavey Predator is just a dull guitar which seems to have no charisma to it. I just don't enjoy playing it. The hardware is good. I havn't had any problems with it since I purchased it. Everything is solid and well made although I find that it goes out of tune quickly if you move around a lot.

I got it from a guitar shop who offered little support, just a basic year warranty.

I've been playing for 3 years now. I own a Trace Elliot SuperTramp. This amp is highly reccommended. If my peavey was lost or stolen then I would be very releaved as I never play it and I think its a pile of shite. There is nothing I like or hate about this guitar. I would reccomend it to a beginner guitarist, but if you've been playing longer than a year then this guitar just won't cut it. It offers an experienced guitarist nothing in playablity or feel.

This Guitar was made in 1993 in the U.S.A. Basically it is a strat. Red finish white pickguard three single coils (peavey Stocks), 5 way selector, 1 volume 2 tone, Cheap Peavey tuners that are actually quite nice, and a standard one way fulcrum tremolo. Not that biog on features, pretty Basic.

Sounds very nice, I like to play allot of things and so far it is nice for almost everything. It's very bright in the lead, and you can really change the sound of the pick ups by changing their height. I am using an HM-2 Heavy Metal distortion pedal it can be ,a little bit noisy at times. When you combine the end pickups with the middle one it cancels the hum though which makes the guitart very versitile. Any sound you want it can do more or less.

Everything is very well made, in fact I don't think you can destroy this guitar. When I got it it was stickered up retty bad but most of them came off without harming the finish. The intonation is tricky but it can be done, it took a generic brand new pick guard very well with almost not problems, I like to play kinda high but the action was very low when I got it and it sounded fine. The only thing I would do is maybe drop a set of grovers in it and maybe put a scremin demon in the lead but right now it's almost perfect, it's been beat to hell and back and returned unscaved. The previous owner actually threw it into the audience at a school talent show. No one caught it and it hit the tile floor onll to return and play the rest of the show with no problems.

You should not mistreat your instrument but you could take this gutar anywhere without a backup and you would be fine. As before the tuners could do with a changing but they are fine tuners as they are.

Got it used so there is no warranty besides it's never broken so why call?

Would buy another peavey guitar if the price was right

Poplar body, Maple Neck, standard strat style. Better neck design than Fender. Truss rod is pressed between two sides. No skunk like bore.

The guitar is a price/value monster. It is a standard strat. Sounded good for a while but pickups had to go. This is where Peavey went cheap.

The finish is nothing special. Basic colours only. I had mine refinished in a white gloss. Cheaper finish means more quality somewhere else.

Been using this guitar since 93' for all sorts of stage work. Also been used for recordings. Comes out nice. Bit better becasue it is slightly larger than a strat.

Peavey customer support stands behind its product regardless of how much you paid.

Been my main guitar since 93'. I've owned various kinds of guitars but htis one is great. The most important factor is that it has potential for expansion. I have since replaced the pickups with 2 Texas Specials and a SD Pearly Gates. I have also replaced the neck with a Warmoth Rosewood. For the total investment I have built a Lone Star Strat (1300.00) for about $800.

standard strat copy. 3 single coils 5 way selector one volume two tone. maple neck & fretboard

I play it through a fender blues deville 410 with a tube screamer.or clean . good sound on bridge & middle pickups but i battle a wall of mud on the neck pick up . i use 11s on it and it stays in tune always.usually in tune right out of the box . Run through my amp it is virtually indistingushable from a standard strat

took the stings off immidately after i got it . pu 11s on it & set the intonation and saddle height ..hardware seems fine. i take very good care of all my guitars so the finish is in great shape . had it four years and its the only guitar in the band that has required no repairs .

never needed a backup. cant seem to break it! it gigs almost weekly and withstands practice twice a week .mine is bullet proof

no breaky no cally!!

i have a tele,several acoustic electrics and a jap strat. this is the only one that has needed no work .might try some different pick ups to get some brightness but as is it it works for me . for the money its tuff to beat .if it got stolen i would prob bite the bullet & go gibson but ill use it till it breaks . overall i dg it

This is an American made Stratocaster similar to the Mexican made Fender Standard, but slightly better. I believe it was made in 1993. Three single coils with 5-way selector. Master volume with two tone controls. Body is poplar with maple neck and fretboard.

I play a lot of hard rock, like Nirvana or Metallica. I use a small Crate amp without any effects equipment. The pickups give off the hum that you would expect of a stock pickup, especially in the neck and bridge. They're pretty weak but still give off a decent tone. But their tonal range is limited to rock songs with light distortion and lots of mids. I replaced them with Seymour Duncan humbuckers, to get higher output and more of that Fender sound.

The action on this guitar in great considering it's price. The fretboard is painted over in black, which I've never seen on any strat before, but it still has the same feel of any other maple fretboard. The finish is wearing off slightly on the fretboard, but it is barely noticeable, and that may be due to the fact that I don't wipe it off after I play a lot of the time. It stays in tune very well, despite the fact that it has pretty crappy tuners. The bridges are very loose and it seems as if they are beginning to rust. The nut could be cut a little better.

The finish is beginning to wear off. The hardwear is probably going to stard rusting any day now. But it still sounds just as good as the day I got it. I have never had any real problems with it. And I'm sure it could survive a gig without a backup, although I'd never risk it.

I've been playing for three years now. When compared with a Fender Standard Stratocaster, I think the Predator comes out on top with superior sound and action, and especially considering the fact that it usually sells for about $75 less. Its an great guitar to start out on or turn into a project. But as a quality instrument it just doesn't cut it. If it were lost of stolen I definitely wouldn't but it again, but only because I'm now looking for someting in a higher price range. I'm considering getting Floyd Rose bridges with a locking nut, and maybe Sperzel tuners. As far as overall value goes, the Peavey predator can beat any Fender or Yamaha in the same price range.

Strat type. 3 single coils. 22 frets. Poplar body, Maple neck & Fingerboard. Black. 5 way selector. Standard tremolo. Non locking tuners. Thin strat type neck.

I play the thing through my Line 6 Axsys 212 with upgrade, and so it really sounds good. This is due to the amp, which pretty much takes the guitar and pickups out of the equasion. You could play any peice of junk through this amp of mine and it would sound good. As far as the guitar goes, the single coil sound is not for me. I always use the bridge pickup to be as warm as possable. I plan to put some dimarzio humbuckers (Evolution bridge, Tone Zone neck) in it and the I know it will then really sing. If I were to play the guitar through another amp I believe I would not be happy with the sound of the single coils.
The wammy bar makes some noise if jiggled around because I stripped the insides by tightening it up to much the first day I got it. DONT DO THIS!
*9 rating for sound with Line 6 amp. Without Line 6 amp probably a *2, but only because I cannot stand thin sounds. The *9 rating will be a *10* soon because I am getting the dimarzios.

Really good factory action. Very low with no buzz. I even lowered it by slight adjustments to the bridge saddles, and now the action is extremely low, still with no buzz. When I bought it, the salesperson and I looked at 3 or 4 of the same guitar to find the straightest neck possible. This was most important to me. It plays excellent. I have played almost every guitar out their including top end guitars, and I can say my neck and fretboard are the very best save one: a Parker Fly Deluxe. In my opinion their is no better neck or fingerboard than the Fly. Finish good. Fit fine. Volume knob cuts out at 6, but not a big deal. The nut is a cheap plastic one, so I filed the grooves a little, and I put lubricating oil in the grooves everytime I play it, so it stays in tune quite good. I wammy a lot and like my Elixor super light strings streached out. 10 for neck, action, and playability.

Guitar holds up. I will upgrade the hardwear soon to the highest grade. Hardwear is ok. Black finish is good and lasts pretty good. Strap buttons are fine. For a $250 guitar it is pretty good.

I bought this guitar for its playability and because it was cheap. I am extremely happy with its neck, frets, fingerboard, and overall playability. I plan to turn it into a GREAT guitar by putting sperzel locking tuners on it, some sort of fishman peizo wammy bridge, some dimarzio humbuckers, a more flexable pickup swich (including a split signal), and by getting a new volume pot. Then it will meet all my flexability demands.A good value for the buck in my opinion.

This is a 93 I believe. Made in the USA, although I believe Peavey is a Japanese company. It has a poplar body, black with all the standard strat features. The pickups are Peavey single coils. Hardware is about what you'd expect on a guitar in this price range.

I play a lot of classic rock, jazz and funk type stuff. It seems to suit it well. This guitar is bright. I use it with a Peavey Audition and a Line6 AxSys 212. It was bought as my primary guitar when I started playing and now I've retired it and given it to my brother after using it as a backup for a while. The pickups are complete crap, I could probably wind better pickups. They're slightly noisier than the average single coil.

The factory action was excellent, especially for a guitar in this price range. The fretwork is not very good, as should be expected. Poplar is a decent wood considering how cheap it is.

Withstands live playing well, but I sure as hell wouldn't gig without a backup. The finish chips off easily through normal wear and tear. I'd say it is reliable, but I wouldn't even gig a PRS without a backup.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 5 years, and own an Alvarez acoustic and a Univox 335 copy. I've been shopping for a new guitar for the past year and have played countless PRS's, Gibsons, Fenders and Hamers. Peavey is definitely the bottom of the barrel here. If I wanted another Strat style guitar in this price range I would get a Yamaha Pacifica 112. [I would NOT buy a Fender in any price range: Yamaha, G+L and Anderson are far superior.] But, if you can grab a used Predator very cheaply it might be worth picking up as a cheap backup.

Inexpensive American made Strat copy. Similar feature as a vintage Strat (not same quality).
Poplar or Alder body. No one at Peavey was quite sure (this is a '94 used model). Maple 21 fret neck. I worked the back of the neck with 0000 steel wool and wax to give it the feel that I like.

After reading some of the comments preceding mine I would say this guitar gives you 70-80% if not more of a Strat sound. As a 30+ year veteran, I can tell you more of the sound is dependant on the amp and not the guitar. Pickups matter but less than most people think! The wood matters even less.

For a used pawn shop special everything was pretty good. I've made no adjustments so far. The frets need to be dressed a little but the original fit and finish is pretty impressive for an inexpensive guitar. Certainly, on this guitar at least, very close to an average American Standard with regards to fit and finish.

I wouldn't use this ax for a gig but a guy could. Don't know how the new imported models compare to this American made one. This one is solid although the parts are basic and medium/low quality. Overall, the guitar feels solid.

Contacted them to date the guitar and get a few questions answered. Prompt and helpful answers although there is some confusion as to the body wood.

I bought this as a lark because I was able to buy it cheap. I wouldn't replace it with another but I feel it's a great guitar for the money I paid. Certainly a fine student instrument. Doesn't make lots of sense to me to replace tuners and pickups. Mine work fine and the guitar stays in tune reasonably well (I did block the tremelo because I don't use them). Remember, it ain't the guitar, it's the guy playing it.

Made in 96 I think. Strat style body, tremelo, 5 way selector, 3 single coil pickups (which you should replace), well you know what a strat style guitar is like.

I play thru a 30th anniversary Marshall Combo. This guitar is very noisy in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th position. The selector is very noisy too. I replaced the pickups with Texas Specials and that really helped. Now if I could get the thing to stay in tune.

The action is horrible on this. This guitar was poorly set up. But what do you expect for $129?

I would trust it once I changed the pickup selector and the tuning keys. Right now it needs an overall adjustment. It's not a bad guitar to throw into a crowd because I wouldn't miss it.

Never dealt with Peavy

Basically, if you want to buy a cheap guitar to give to your kid one day or spend some time and money on learning how to fix a guitar, this is the one to buy. I have been playing for 2 1/2 years now and I barley play this guitar. I play my Epi Les Paul all the time. Before I bought it, I wish I would of played it a little longer. It never stays in tune. A stick with strings would stay in tune better than this guitar. But hey, one day, my kid will love this, because I will let him smash it against the wall and get crazy with it. My opinion, don't buy this guitar, it stinks.

mine had a mapple neck/figerboard. The tuners were allright for now.. I need to try to get new ones cause they dont stay in tune for long. It came with some crappy bridge but I didnt use it much anyway. the pickups suck. Im thinking about putting in humbuckers.

I think this guitar sounds awesome. It sounds killer through my boos ds-1 and my marashall 8020. It sound very bright and the guitar is good for alternative and amazingly jazz. I love the thing!

My guitar was perfect. No dings no mistakes no scratches. Everything was perfect.

This guitar is sometimes my main guitar. but how can I play this over my les paul? but when I feel up to it this sometimes is played more than the les paul. It is more reliable than any other guitars I've ever had. Always working and always sounsd good.

I got is used so I dont have anything like this. but who needs it it cam perfect.

I think it is made out maple. It is one of the orignal predators which looks like and strat. It is also made in America. So if your on the market for an predator try to buy and U.S made predator over A new one!

I'm not sure when It was made bacause I bought it for $140 dollars used. Decent Pickups with 5-way selector switch. Maple Body and Neck. Strat Style but with a little larger body. Tremlo Bridge that stinks so bad I took the Bar off.

Great Sound. It sounds wonderful on all settings and Kicks on Distortion. This is the best thing about the guiar

Peavey did a good job making this they put on the Pickups properly and and it was some nice wood they used

Definitly good. I can depend on this guitar and it can take a major beating.

Wouldn't now never needed it

I bought this guitar because I wanted to learn how to play and it was cheap. I was surprised to find that the Pawn shop was stupid to sell this for such a low price. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to play. I use a peavey amp with Overdrive Distorion(I have an obsession with Nirvana). SO for all you beginners try this guitar it rocks.
PEACE OUT

alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. H-S-S pickup configuration. I beleive this guitar was made in Japan. Not shure. Strat shape.

This guitar sounded O.K.. Replaced the pickups with a Dimarzio PAF-PRO in bridge and a pair of Dimarzio HS-2's for Mid and Neck. Now it sounds like a real guitar. I play through a Peavey Audition 110 and a Zoom 505 Multi Effects unit.

Guitar was set-up well and the pickups were adjusted good too. evrything else was fine. This is not a top of the line guitar but you can make it one.

I wuld not gig with this guitar now. I plan on replacing the nut with a graphite one and changing the tuners with Sperzel locking. I also may change the bridge to any Wilkinson that will fit. I have played on and off for roughly 12 years. I have owned an original Fender Mustang, and a G&L Legacy. This guitar does not compare to either.

Never had to deal with them. However, I did have questions about what wood was used and they were very helpful. If your serial number starts with a 0 than it is alder.

As I said earlier I have been playing for 12 years on and off. I bought this guitar for the time being until I fing the G&L I want. I do however plan on keeping it. With the modifications I plan for it , it will be a good back-up and practice guitar. My favorite feature is the neck, beleive it or not. For a $200 guitar the neck feels great. This guitar is better than any foreign fender I have ever played. Great guitar for the money.

Features: I believe it was built in 1996-7, in Korea, for PEAVEY. I originally was planning on buying a Fender Squier Strat w/ s s h pickup configuration. But as I cruised music stores on that fateful day, I was persuaded to test play a PEAVEY PREDATOR. On first examination, it had what I was seeking: a basic Strat (or clone), 5 way selector, and V, T, T controls.
Though it cost $39 more than the Fender, I feel I received good value in that the hardware was robust, the tuners were better, and the bridge was sturdier.
The neck had a rosewood fingerboard, and the action was adequate.

But what sold me was the sound. I planned to play it through a Digitech GSP-2101 so I wasn't too demanding on the guitar's native tone. But I was pleased with the tonalities, from the humbucker's power, to the "between" pickup sounds.

For a instrument that was no doubt built with robots and automation, the quality of manufacture was good. The real test will be time and the vagaries of wood, which can fool the best machinery.
Overall, the quality was consistently good. No glitches or problems were observed.

After owning many instruments, from the cheap to the cream, I have been burned on both ranges. But I am happy with the price / performance of this guitar. Many new players are led to believe that the "special axe" will cut the forest down, but old-timers know that it's practically impossible to be EXACTLY like a recorded sound. The best we can achieve is a copy that is a tribute to the original. I think this Strat clone is a dependable axe, and those who find it unwieldy should not fuss - just find the tool that makes your muisic play.

I've been playing stringed instruments since 1970, starting with Bass and Ukelele, then Banjo, Lap Steel (Hawaiian), and later Guitars. Like many musicians, my vice is wanting to buy new toys. Unfortunately, I was forced to part with many that today would be worthy of a collection. Having once owned a Gibson 335, Carvin SC, Ovation, Guild Starfire Bass, Fender 6 string Bass (old one), Carvin LB-60 Bass, and a Fender Jazz Bass, I know how frustrating the search for THAT SOUND can be. I decided that it would be impossible to recreate the past so I am moving into the 21st century with compromises and adaptations that will have to make it. And with that in mind, the versatility of the PEAVEY PREDATOR fills a major niche in my guitar dreams.
Now if only PEAVEY would make a decent 30" scale (short) bass with noise cancelling single coil pickups.

The guitar is an American made Strat clone. It has 22 frets. It has a master volume switch and a tone control for each of the single coil pickups(neck, and body). The pickups are all passive and there is a humbucker(which is really two singles wired together))S/S/H). It has a nice alder body with a good paint job. Though ifyou drop it on tile itll chip off(not too badly). It has a maple neck and a very nice rosewood fretboard. It has a floating bridge that you'll have to reset yourself if you change string guages(its set for 9's). The intonation was set properly when i got the guitar. The tuners are non-locking but they stay in tune well. The only problem I have with it is that becuase of the floating brifge when you tighten one string it pulls the bridge up making all the otehrs go flat.

I play everything. But my mainstay is Metallica, not the new stuff(that too) but the classic stuffm off of Ride The Lightning, etc. With my Peavey Envoy 110 I get a kick-ass palm-muted sound and pretty nice highs. I can get great sound out of it but the pickups arnt sensitive enough and thier almost touching the strings too(so i cant get any better than it is), Im planning on upgrading to the KH EMG set though. The humbucker(bridge position) is quiet. The singles are ok. There is a very bad hum that you get on high-gain amps becuase the bridge is somehow connected to the electronics or the ground so that the tuners,strings, and bridge make the giutar one big antenae, but as long as your touching the strings it goes away. The bridge has also shocked me a few times(static electricity). Overall i get a great clean tone and a versatile distrted one. One last thing though, without a bluse driver pedal or something else to that effect you can get harmonics on clean.

The guitar came set up great from the factory, beatiful. The only thing is some glue by the 18th to 20th frets, everything else was perfect. The nut was cut fine. The 5-way selector does lcik when you use it though. I had to reset the intonation, hieght, and spring tension on the bridge because i use Dean Markley 10's. The guitar comes set for 9's.

I beat on this thing everyday, have dropped it on hard(cement, tile, wood) floors about 50 times, accidentally rammed it into a jagged cieling, used it as a shield and weapon, spilled food and drink on it, and fell upon it(tripped at rehearsal), and only thing is the out jack came unscrewed.

Never had a problem with the guitar.

I've only played 8 months but im schooling 3 year players(they said, not me I have a Peavey Amp and a Boss DS-1. If it was stolen or lost id cry about(first guitar thing), but im saving up for an ESP guitar and dont plan to buy anything except pro level guitars from now on. I hate the tuning with a floating bridge and that the bridge screws strip every allen wrench i have, and the damn 1/4 jack comes loose. I wish it had beter pickups(mine will soon . . .) For $150 its a great beginners guitar, but if i could go back i woulda gotten a mexican strat for the same price.

The Predator is a Strat copy with three single coil pickups, tremolo, single volume and two tone controls. I'm not sure what the body is made of, but it's got a maple neck and fretboard. The scale length is the standard 25.5". The neck is fairly meaty and feels great. The frets would probably be classified as mediums. It looks pretty sharp in black with a white pickguard and electronics and the maple neck. The headstock shape is kinda ugly with the new style Peavy logo.

I mostly use this guitar to play rock with moderate overdrive and blues. It's fairly noisy(esp. at high gain), but that's just the nature of the beast with the single coil pickups. This is a very bright sounding guitar in the bridge pickup combinations and the neck pickup sounds full.

It was setup fairly well from the factory, but being the beginner I was at the time, I lined up the bridge saddles so they were in line. Whatever intonation it had needed a re-adjustment. All in all, the construction wasn't perfect, but was very solid.

I don't gig, but this guitar looks very dependable. It's a very simple guitar(esp. with the bolt on neck) so I can't imagine very much going wrong. Besides, it's a made in the usa Peavey(unlike the new Predator with a bridge humbucker that's made overseas).

Anytime I've written Peavey or requested information, they have always responded and tried to help out as much as possible.

I bought this guitar when I first started playing and it never let me down. While it's a pretty cheap Strat copy, it totally gets the job done. I would recommend this guitar to people just starting out and to guys that might need a backup guitar. Sure it's not as nice as a more expensive Fender(Amer Std), but it offers incredible value and can get you basic Strat tones for little money.

The peavey predator is a Stratocaster copy with two single coil pickups and a humbucker in the bridge. It has a 21 fret rosewood fretboard and maple neck and mine (a '96 model) has a solid alder body. The new ones are supposed to have poplar according to the web site. Its got a powerbend III tremelo.

I play rock and a little country. It gets a decent rock tone i guess. I play it through a fender ultimate chorus. It seems to lack highs though and seems to be overly twangy if playing clean with the bridge. Playing distorted yields pretty good results with the bridge pickup but not enought umph with the single coils. Its pretty versatile though.

The factory set up on this guitar sucked. The strings were too low for my tasts. Also looking in the control cavity yielded a lot of saw dust. I still havent gotten it all out. The pickup selector switch is also very crackly.

Ive used this guitar in my two live outings (im just in high school), since it is my only guitar. It stays on the strap so long as you dont sling it behind your back. The jack becomes loose sometimes and has to be tightened. It stays in tune fairly well but i can never intonate the 6th string(im currently using dean markley 10-46). As long as you dont dive bomb the tremelo it will stay in tune. Im gonna have to detract a few points though because ive only had the guitar since december of 96 and this week the humbucker quit working.

Ive emailed the company about the bridge pickup and always got a response by the next day. The person I emailed from the website seemed very helpful and friendly. Im not sure about how long the warranty is. I do think mine is expired though.

This guitar is a good guitar to learn on but not great for a gig. It is very difficult to do slack tunings on because of the tremelo uprouting. It has a good neck by my standards. (Ive been playing about 2 years). I wouldnt buy this guitar againg though. It was my first guitar and only guitar and I probably would have gotten a different model if I'd known more at the time. I wish the humbucker had a coil tap on it. Having the humbucker in the bridge does make it versatile though.

Made 1996. 22 frets, Solidbody Strat configuration (S/S/H w/5way Switch. Basically a Strat copy. Maple neck, Ash body. Blue metallic finish (Gorgeous!!). Factory everything for hardware. 25 1/2" scale. Bridge is a factory whammy setup.

Has that rich Strat tone in second and fourth switch positions. I can get a really wide range of sounds out of it. Grounding/noise control questionable in some switch positions, though. First switch position gives a really rich Telecaster single-pickup sound, real good for Country tunes, and the 'Bucker position is genuine rock and roll. My favorite positions/tones are second for clean progressive chording and fifth for rock lead riffs. I've played this through my Crate CR-1, Peavey Bandit, Spectra 220, and an old Fender Tremolux with incredibly good tones throughout, even with my DOD TR3-M or Boss Chorus.

The only complaint I have on the action is the whammy. If I use it, the G and B strings go sharp, regardless of tuning or brands of strings. Not much can be done about this, other than going to graphite bridge parts. I don't recommend changing the bridge. Factory action setup was good, but I fine-tune my actions to my own feel on the guitar. This was easy to accomplish. I have a set of Elixirs on it now, feels like silk. Feels great with D'Addario EXL-130's on it too.

When setup properly, this one will go beyond the distance. It's well- built and very playable (and I'm not crazy about Strats either) for a low-buck guitar. I wouldn't be afraid at all to use this one for every song at every gig.

Warranty is excellent (one year parts/labor), I can always get a straight answer from these people.

I've been playing for about 25 years, and have had a variety of gui- tars ranging from dog logs to Vargas beauties. This one rates in the Vargas class. Graphite parts would be nice on the bridge, possibly a locking system. If I were to lose this one, I'd replace it with the same.