Peavey Predator

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.