Peavey Reactor

Made in USA in mid 1990s. Solid black poplar body with thin white scratchplate. Nice headstock design with Maple neck with 22 nice fat, but not quite jumbo frets. The neck is a maple ???C??? shape with a very flat fretboard, adding to a very pleasurable playing experience. One string tee to tame the first and second strings. I play with fairly heavy bottom strings and the machine heads were not up to the job, so I changed them to a set of Grovers. Ideal solution. The truss rod cover is a little tricky to deal with as it is a very flimsy piece of plastic, so remove it only if you have to adjust the truss rod. The neck is bolted to the body with four screws and there is a tiny ???grub??? screw to finely adjust the angle of the neck. Please note that if you want to change the pickups, you will have to, at some point, remove the neck to replace the scratchplate. Very heavy duty volume and tone knobs and three way selector switch with a chunky plastic tip. The chrome input jack socket is acceptably robust and has a chrome oval surround. The six saddle bridge is easy to adjust and keeps intonation perfectly. String through body. I???ve rated the features as 7 out of 10 for three reasons: flimsy truss rod cover and scratchplate; budget machine heads and; having to remove the neck to get at the electrics.

I have never owned a Fender Telecaster, but I have played one or two in the past. However, I am infinitely under-qualified to comment on whether or not this guitar has an authentic Tele sound. My music style leans toward The Who and Radiohead. I play a Peavey Classic 50. I use two distortion pedals: one as my standard overdrive and the second as a rhythm and lead boost. I also use a compressor. Bridge position pup gives me a wonderfully trebly tone and delivers strongly clean and overdriven. Neck pup was a little light to my ear, but in my defence, I do play a Gibson Les Paul Standard as well and that has coloured my perspective somewhat. In the middle position, you can dial in your desired sound. Pickup height is crucial with Peavey???s stock pups, so I recommend that you take your screwdriver with you when assessing sound. The bridge pup was feeding back a little and is a bit microphonic, so I will be sending it off to be wax potted. I love the sound of that pup too much to consider replacing it!

I bought this used. I had to adjust the action to suit me, but that was all very simple to do. Despite the fact that this was very much an entry level instrument for Peavey and you can see that in the truss rod cover, scratchplate and machine heads, I adore this guitar. The six saddle bridge, excellent neck, bulletproof knobs and decent pups ensure that you get off to a good start and it is infinitely customisable. It is solidly constructed. The paint job is thick and the guitar looks fabulous once it gets a few dinks and bruises, it just drips with authentic vintage vibes.

This guitar had clearly seen action by the time I purchased it and there is nothing about it that makes me feel that I wish I had a real Fender Telecaster (except when I played my best mate???s Custom Shop Nocaster ??? another story for another time). I reckon this could take a good hiding and come back asking, ???Is that all you???ve got????? This guitar is going to be a lifelong companion.

I have never had reason to contact Peavey.

This rating is based on: a) how much I paid for this guitar; b) how it compares to other brand name entry level guitars; c) it is highly customisable; d) how I would feel if I were to lose this guitar and: e) it being USA made. This is the guitar that I play unplugged and plugged in; the one I reach for when I am trying to finish off a song and can???t find inspiration and; the one I practice my bends on. All this despite the fact that it has to compete with my Fernandes Lawsuit ???62 Strat, Gibson Les Paul Standard and my Rickenbacker 330! It is just so familiar and forgiving. Woe betide any fool who would choose relieve me of my Reactor. Let???s hope they have exceptional medical insurance!

As best I can tell this guitar is some what a Custom of sorts. It has a Reactor Body but the original neck has been replaced with a Predator Neck. Reguardless of this modification it still plays wonderfully. It was manufactured in 1994. The neck is a maple with that yellowish vintage look and according to the serial number belonged at one time to a 1994 White Predator. The body, a smoothe Butter Creme with black pick guard, as best I can tell was also manufactured sometime in 1994. I purchased this guitar at a local pawn shop for $150. Bottom line I love the uniqueness of the guitar plus it plays smooth as silk and sounds wounderful no matter what kind of music I "attempt" to play with it.It has all of the usual Reactor features so no need in going into all of that. Its a Tele. I have only been playing for a little over a year but I am to the point that I know a good guitar when I see it.It has several battle scars but they just seem to add to its character.

Kelley Fron
Eastland Texas

The Reactor is a Telecaster, pure and simple. Made in the USA with a poplar body and maple neck. It weighs around 8lbs, not the lightest, but the poplar seems to work well.it has the normal 3 position switch with 1 volume and 1 tone control along with a 6 saddle bridge which helps cut out the usual intonation problems associated with the classic Tele 3 saddle bridge. As far as Im concerned, thats all the features I need, but I know that some of you like all the bells and whistles, so Im giving this section 7/10. If you want more features, why look at a Tele?

I use a Peavey Deuce for most gigs, and for practice, an old Laney Linebacker 65. If you want a 'Twin' tone, but with a bit more guts, check out a Deuce, or, if your arms are up to it, a Peavey Mace. They are great amps and amazing value - maybe thats a Peavey thing..
With the stock pickups it was perfectly adequate, as good as my mid 80's MIJ Tele and not too bad compared to my USA 78 model, maybe a tad 'lightweight', but ok. I put a set of Dimarzio Twang Kings in - now its sounds as good as I could possibly hope for. I had considered several other pickup options including several of the expensive 'boutique' makers, but the Dimarzios were much cheaper, and I thought I'd try them out first. Not only that, but I've been playing for over 25 years and have replaced more pickups than I care to remember, including the very expensive ones, and never really found the price justified the cost. Anyway, Dimarzio's and Seymour Duncans are used by and have over the years been used by so many top players, how bad can they be? The truth is, they're good. just 'cause they mass produce, don't make 'em bad. Mercedes mass produce. With the stock pickups 7, with the Twang Kings it has to be a 10 for both tone and value.

Bookmatched???Factory set up, no idea. All I can say is its the best playing Tele Ive owned, Ive had others as good, but none better. Its the neck. A smooth slim C, not too wide and nicely tapered off at the headstock end which I found perfect for more complicated chord positions. I'm not a fan of V necks as I cannot see how a V shape can comfortably fit a human hand - unless youve got V shaped palms! It certainly has a few flaws now, but as its around 14 years old, who cares. Anyway, a good bit of advise that I unfortunately received around 10 years after I should of done is, and its THE BEST TIP; Always try out a guitar with your eyes closed. In other words, dont get taken in by a pretty face, nobody cares if your guitar looks like a piece of art if it sounds bad, but nobody, unless its those idiots that buy those 'one maker' custom shop models, buys a Tele for its looks. Having said that, to me, nothing looks better on stage than a Tele. 9 because of the ubber plain finish.

Unless you know how to change a string in under 10 seconds, always have a back up. Of course you can gig with it, thats the whole point of these things. Can I depend on it, obviously, its beauty, in part, lies in its pure simplicity. Everything has lasted and works fine.

Never tried them, but I love the idea that there's a 'Mr' in charge.

Playing since Please Please Me came out - had almost everything and all that remain are my 1960 Hofner President, a '69 Gibson J50 - these are still seriously undervalued - a fabulous Pederson electo acoustic with a quite unique, weird 'snake' shape bridge and this Peavey. Ive been through the stage of having 25 guitars at home, but foe electrics, I always go back to my Tele's. This Peavey is great. Its the best Tele that Fender never made. I also tried a couple of G&L's which do sound great, but I dont like the necks, but they might suit you. In any case, a good one will cost you around $1000, a Reactor + Twang Kings, around $400 - you choose. Its unlikely it will get either lost or stolen, but in my house, it could get broken! If it was beyond repair,[how?], I would buy another in a flash.

I got this one at a pawn shop. Basic telecaster look. Pretty beat up the body. The maple neck and fretboard were in awesome condition.
3 way selector with 2 knobs. Non locking stock tuners. Hold tune very well. For what I play this little baby had all the features I need.

This guitar fits my style of blues/classic rock perfectly. It can get a bright trebly sound or a low growling sound and everything in between. I play it through a crate 65w combo and it sounds awesome.
No hum - crystal clear. It can fit right into rythym or great in leads.

The action on this guitar totally captured me. The maple neck and the set up on this guitar feels as smooth as butter. I played it once in the pawn shop and bought it. This thing actually has made me a much better guitar player just because of the neck action.

This thing is built like a tank. Well made and durable.

No need.

I have been playing and gigging off and on for 30 years. This guitar was made way back in the 80's I think. It has held together like a tank. I played a new fender MIM telecaster yesterday at Guitar Center and this Peavey Reactor has a much smoother action that the Fender Tele. You find one in decent shape - BUY IT!

Telecaster copy that was unknown to me until I came across one at a yardsale. He was asking $75 and I offered $50. He took my offer. I didn't even know if it worked. It was in immaculate condition. I took it to a friends house to have him set it up for me. He offered to buy it on the spot. Mine's white with white pickguard. Standard neck and bridge pick-ups. Hardshell SKB case I would assume comes seperate. I basically bought just the guitar, without strings..strap...or anything. Passive pick-upss and a 3 way selector.

I play dirty punkish rock and roll. This works great. I like a hot nasty distortion. Always wanted a tele. Figured this would get me through until I bought a Fender. But this actually has me not wanting anything else. I play it through a cheap Fender practice amp. But have cranked it up loud through a Fender Hot Rod Deville. Sounds bright and hot. I like playing through the far more trebly bridge pick-up. A slight buzz when I crank the tone all the way up. But that doesn't really matter for the type of music I play. On the middle pick-postion OR the neck pick-up postion, with the tone about half way back, this makes a great Sabbath stoner rock sound.

I got this at a yardsale. But you could barely tell he played it. Not a scratch or ding.

Everything seems fine. I usually play bass. But when I do start my side project and play live...this will be my main guitar. I would have a back-up. Not because this is unreliable, but I just think it's retarded to NOT play with a back-up incase strings start breaking. It seems to stay in tune very well and I've had no electronic problems with it.

I haven't dealt with them for this particular model. But I did for my T-40 bass and they were very accomodating!

I mainly have played bass but have owned a few guitars. I scour yardsale for old beaters that I can smash on stage. I originally was going to buy this for that reason, but fell in love with it before I got it home. I'd own this now before an actual Fender and yes..I'd replace it. This sounds great. Even though it doesn't sound EXACTLY like a Tele, it has it's own sound that I've never heard before. Can't wait to record with it.

Plain Jane Telecaster... With a wicked neck. My model is a 1995. Black with the standard telecaster pickups. Nothing fancy. But beautiful. Maple Neck. Poplar body. 22 frets. Nice string thru body design. MADE IN USA 3 way selector switch with a big tip. ITs your standard tele in the working mans price range. Would have gotten a ten cept i really dont like the big white pickguard. oh well

Guitar playes excellent. I love the sounds that i pull from this guitar. I play through just a little practice amp that just has a volumn control. Turn that up to 5. Turn up my volumn on my guitar. Turn the tone down. And i can play any sort of blues on that neck pickup. So mellow. I love it. Switch it up to the bridge. Turn on some distortion. Whoo hoo it rocks. Then il pull a mark knopfler trick and put it in the number 4 positon like on a strat. I get just a beautiful tone. Hard to explain. This suits all the styles i play. I go from stevie ray to doobie brothers and even throw in some country and bang, its all on the same guitar.

Bought this used. It had been 12 years since this thing has seen the factory. The action was nice. Only a little bit of buzzing up high on the neck. Need to get that adjusted. But other than that it sounds great. The tuners are actually very good. I never go out of tune. They happen to be the nice sealed ones. Sorry everybody else that you got those crappy ones. I like the saddles on the bridge too. 6 individual ones. So a lot more control. String thru body is so much better than those MIM teles. OVer all very nice

This guitar has been dropped. It has had stuff thrown at it. And yet it plays and looks beautiful. It has some wear and tear but i like that. That means it has been used and abused. So it has a history. Fancy shiny things dont interest me. All in all SOLID

I contacted peavey about its history and anything they could tell me. Ten minutes later they were back to me. Amazing response time. I dont think il ever have to deal with them other than that.

All in all ever since i started playing guitar (ten years ago when i was ten) i have dreamed of owning a telecaster. I use to go in and play and play the fender americans and just dream that it would be mine one day. Well i never had the money. So i came across the beauty and i said id take it without even playing it. Course then i went and played it and fell even more in love with it. The guy at the store even said that if he hadnt purchased his brand new custom shop tele he would have picked this up instead. This is my third peavey (american made mide you) and they continue to surprise me. A lot of bang for 135 dollars. If you find one. Pick it up. You will not be disappointed

finiture semplici ma ben fatte, tastiera molto scorrevole e di buona fattura , legno in acero stagionato perfettamente e laccatura perfetta,il body ?? di ontano un po pesante pero offre un ottima risonanza, meccaniche decenti ed elettronica soddisfacente

Using VOX ac-30...GRAT sound wery similar at telecaster style... I've modified circuit because is not similar as tele circuit... now the sound improove . I like this bright sound , perfect for blues and country, but also rock rif, Fabulous SOUND!!!

Very easy to play this nek... easy to make setup and tuning offer long durability ...

very solid guitar... weight is heavy but it is possible live playing.

solid guitar, not too heavy not too light. fit and finish excellent. basic tele style with vintage style tuners (may replace..they are ok but locking would be better) wide-ish neck, 12" radius, very fast but not too thin....an EXCELLENT NECK..looks like two pieces of maple joined vertically! so almost like a solid slab and probably really helps with any warpage, alder body MADE IN USA and shows it, something about USA guitars seem more durable or ??? hard to put finger on what it is but it's seemingly tangible made in '96? frets last forever 3 way selector switch. If you get over that its a tele which has no features really, the rest of it is really amazing I never new peavey had this kind of quality in lower priced guitars, they should be selling them like doughnuts! at least more than fender's under 500 dollar guitars. string through body and nickel bridge....great features, minus one point for tuners.

authentic tele sound. i know, i owned 2 "real" teles. played this one and bought it, then sold the fenders. really. and one was a $700 model. oh well, you just gotta play one to realize what it has. I really like the orig. pickups, especially the bridge, but never really cared for ANY tele neck pickup so put in a strat p'up and now its all i ever wanted. tele bridge spank and strat nuance, perfect.

very well set up, one quibble that turned out to be nothing...the neck pocket wasn't perfectly mated to the neck...but after a year it doesn't bother me...it did at first but nothing came of it sound or durability wise...the fenders i owned had a better fit, but this one is a real players axe. The finish is thick! I don't care for thick finishes but after banging this one around it hasn't chipped yet which really amazed me...i mean dropping it repeatedly on stage and whatnot

the most durable guitar i ever owned (have owned at lest over 40)

peavey is a great co. i found out with this guitar. emailed them about buying another neck for backup and they got back within a day! unbelievable. try that with any other guitar company (rondo maybe but their guitars are definitely not in this ones league)

gotta give it a 10 overall especially considering the price. the only guitar that is equal or better that i owned was a tokai, valley arts and maybe an electric guild. but for value, i gotta laugh, its sooooooo above any imports and anything else in its range....especially fender squire stuff...what a joke compared to the reactor, even the mexi-mades aren't as good in my humble opinion.

Typical Tele layout. I purchased my '94 Reactor used from eBay in 2006. A little banged up but in a good way. The neck is two-piece maple. Very similar to a modern Fender profile. Unsure of the type of wood.

I never tried the stock pickups. I purchased it for the sole reason of customizing. I removed all the electronics and lined the bridge pickup cavity with copper tape to shield the single coil. I had the neck pickup routed to accomodate a full-sized humbucker. I ended up with a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck and a Jerry Donahue in the bridge. They sound GREAT. I have four other guitars ranging in price from $800 to $2700 and believe it or not, this is the one I go for first now. $150 from eBay and $350 in parts and service.

The bridge saddles from the factory looked terrible. They were corroded, but I have a feeling this guitar spent a lot of time out of the case. The string tee looked bad too. The stock Peavey tuners were cheap. I put on Gotoh tuners, a graph-tec string tee and Tele replacement saddles from Stewart Macdonald. Replaced the input jack with a electrosocket. Replaced the pots and switch when I had the pickups done. And just because I like they way they are knurled, replaced the knobs with '52 Tele copies from Fender. Had to have a pickguard cut to accomodate the humbucker in the neck. (By the way, Fender pickguards don't fit Peaveys.) Replaced the strap buttons with Schaller straplock buttons (standard on Fenders).

Built like a tank. A solid body that can take a beating and stay in tune as well as any Fender. I know I replaced a lot of parts, but I only had $150 in the guitar to begin with. It is a solid player and a great project guitar.

Emailed the factory with the serial number to check the born-on date. Got a response less than 24 hours later.

Been playing 12 years. Own 5 guitars. 2001 American Strat, 1994 American Tele, 1998 Gibson ES-135, 2003 Martin HD-28. And this Peavey. Love it. If you have it mind to do a custom job and want to tinker a bit...and if you are looking for tone not a piece of art...try a Peavey Reactor. They pop up on eBay ALL the time.

Finish is very basilar, but efficent and solid.

sounds of this guitar is very greath! Blues, rock , nice CRUNCH
like a real telecaster...
GREATH bridge pickup!!

Good manuality... easy to setup it...

long durability sensation... my is of '95 and it's like a new guitar...
very SOLID!!

Compare reactor with a Squier Affinity series telecaster....

Squier is a toys!!!!