Peavey Reactor

it has a 22 fret maple neck w/ maple fretboard on a tele body w/ custom strat cuts on front and back. the controls are a 3-way toggle w/ 1 volume and 1 tone to control the tele style pickups. the body is repainted from red to black with a white painted silver pickguard. it has a tele style string-thru body bridge w/ standard tuners. i replaced the strap button w/ schaller strap locks which are on all of my guitars.

sounds great through my crate gfx-120. delivers my punk rock bs as well as it can handle metallica. it is a very versitile guitar.

I can proudly go on stage and play this guitar. it always delivers when i need it to.

it isn't my main guitar ( due to the lack of a whammy bar ) but is my drop-d main. it's a little heavy but i like it.

Red, Maple neck, plain white pickguard, silver hardware...typical telecaster setup. I've had this one for about 5 years maybe...I can't remember.

I run all my guitars through homebuilt copies of early Fenders. I pair this one up with the 5e3 tweed deluxe clone. It pops, pings, farts, splats and rumbles as good as any real telecaster.

I bought it from a lefty who gouged the original nut to fit the strings upside down. Pots didn't work. Output jack wiring disconneted. It was a mess. Not Peavey's fault. Fixed all this and it shreds. I love Peavey necks. You can set them up for extremely low action with an acceptable amount of fret buzz. If I can't hear the buzz through my amps I don't care about it.

I'd use it anywhere, anytime without a backup.

Roughly 25 years of playing. Peavey is, IMHO, THE most underrated guitar maker out there. Sure, there're some clunkers they've builtbut those are usually meant for the absolute beginner and they're still so much better that the Korean piece of pooh I started on. Their Generation Series Telecaster would get a 10 from me. I love this Reactor though and would readily buy it all over again.

This Reactor was probably built around 1996. It features the black plastic neck adjustment cover and softer, more rounded, headstock. The headstock is as large as a standard, small, Fender Stratocaster headstock. It is made in the Unites States of America.

It features 22 medium frets, 3 piece poplar wood body, two piece (STRONG AND SOLID) maple neck. Three way selector, 1 tone, 1 volume & 2 Peavey single coil, imitation Telecaster, pickups. It has strings-thru-body and low budget tuners that look like what you would find on a Chinese Affinity Tele. However, they work and hold pitch very well!

The Reactor has a standard Tele 25.5" scale and a 12" radius. I have 3 Stratocasters so, this guitar feels at home in my hands. The neck feels very good. Not fat like a low end Gibson, nor thin like an Ibanez shred machine. Just right. The neck finish is thin and feels like you're holding bare wood. The neck is a great piece of maple with tiger stripes. Absolutely gorgeous! There is a micro neck tilt adjustment on the black neck plate. Yes, it's a bolt on neck.

Since it has all the features of a Tele, I give it a 10, not for quantity of features, but for all the right ones.

I got the Reactor for a Tele sound. I play in a church worship team. The Reactor also does the Tele-blues thing very well. My music style is rock, jazz, pop, new-age, country, R&B, gospel, etc.

The pickups are powerful & overdrive my amps much easier than my Strats. I use a compressor, Tube Screamer, MIJ Boss DS1, Ibanez chorus and a homebrew Fender Deluxe.

It sounds like a Tele! The front PU is as powerful as the rear PU. Something most Teles can't do. My only gripe is that the rear PU is microphonic at high gain. The tone is good on the stock pickups.

Surprizingly, the front PU has lots of harmonics when using massive doses of distortion! Cool!

Over all, very good tones.

This guitar has more sustain than other Teles I've owned because of 1) Strings through body and 2) the larger-than-Tele headstock. More mass at the head = more sustain.

I got this used over the internet, after reading the good reviews here @ Harmony Central. I do not know how this was setup from the factory.

The frets had no wear and are leveled well and seated properly. No factory flaws are evident.

This guitar came from a store in Texas,to California,in an unprotected cardboard box, via the US Postal Service. There was no pading, bubble pack or other insulation. The box was taped and half ripped apart when I received it. It could not have been handled worse if it was delivered by the Chinese AF from Hainan Island!

Opening it, I expected splinters. It stood the test! This axe is rock solid and had no shipping damage! A Gibson would have been DOA.

No comments on finish durability as it was used when I ordered it and it was abused by the previous owner. (An irate child or other deluded individual.)

I will depend on it & use it without a backup. If it can survive the Chinese AF, er... USPS, it will survive my playing.

The rating S/B 11 but Harmony Central only goes to "10."

I would not contact any manufacturer for out of warranty support. My luthier will take care of things I cannot service.

I have been playing 37 years and own 2 many guitars and amps.

If it were lost I would find another. I would not buy a Squier or Standard Fender Tele, though.

As other reviewers mention, the neck is the best feature. The body is pretty hip & is slightly smaller than a Fender Tele. the black body, maple neck and white pickguard look great.

I compared it to Squire Teles, Affinity Teles & Mexi-teles. This is one fine Tele clone!

If you find one, buy it!

My paperwork shows that this thing sat (aged in) the sellers store for over 2 years. I cleaned it up and touched the finish. The neck had never been adjusted. After a new set of strings & tightening of all the hardware, the Rector holds tuning very well.

It's a pitty Peavey does not make these any more. Since they are American made, I expect the price to enter "collectors" territory. this guitar has sustain for days. It has a good tone, unplugged, too.

Because of the microphonic bridge PU, I will replace it with a DiMarzio Pre-B1 that I have. I wanted to post this review before I modify the guitar.

The body had dings, chips & scratches when I ordered it. It looked like a kid had it in a closed full of toys. There were even crayon marks on it. The lack of fret wear indicates it was never played. It even had 5 of the original Peavey strings on it!

After TLC, the Reactor looks pretty again. YOu can see 2 lines in the finish where the blocks of poplar are bonded together, if you hold it just right. It is not a plywood guitar. There is lots of tone complexity generated by the poplar.

The way Peavey made its 2 piece necks makes for a stiff neck. The 12" fretboard radius makes strings bends a joy.

The reviews for the Reactor are true. It's a good guitar. If you buy one, you will be glad you did. Get one quick; they will become scarce soon...

telecaster body style,red finish......nice bland tele.

i was really suprised at the pick ups on this "budget" guitar! i tried the mexican made fender tele and this one and this reactor is a lot quieter! it fits my style of music.i play anything from blues to metal and thease stock pickups handle it all!
some may want to change them but for me they were fine.

PERFECT setup frm the factory!!!! :) nice and low action...even the entire neck length!

i've never seen a telle fail yet

never had to bother yet

i've been playing for 4 yers and this is the best guitar i've owned. i've had a yamaha pacifica(piece of crap) and an ibanez gax70 (way to muddy sounding and crappy action). this guitar should last me the rest of my life because i take quite good care of my guitars and amps.
you can't get a better tele for the price.if it were lost or stolen i'd be pissed but i woulden't mind too much case of the low price.
the only thing i wish it had was a 3 ply pickgurd but i can always buy one and put it on.i'd recomend this guitar to anyone weather its a beginner or a giging musician.

Excuse my bad english .. i'm czech.

I know louder guitars than reactor. This isn't right guitar for loud, expressive big beat, but with my hybrid of blues, boogie, funk, beat works OK. It's clean sound is really teleclean as .. light going through the morning cloud's sky, nicely sharp. I'm looking forward how it will work with my new PEAVEY CLASSIC 30 tube amp. Both of Peavey's = maybe there waits some sweet sound surprise..

Better average

IT's neck is narrow - it's pleasure to play, BUT! as i'm playing it two years, you can really see, that it had been played. I think in another two three years i'll have to change neck (or buy new one but not this tele). The mechanic on the head of reactor is of average quality, i've lost one small piece of it (how to call it in english? I call it in czech PRTAVEJ SPRCLIK) The body is OK but heavy.

Can't say..

As i am using it for few years, i'll probably buy for more money some other real piece of guitar (what plays John Lee Hooker?) What to say? Reactor works fine.

This guitar is so basic, 1 three-way switch, 1 tone, 1 volume knob, Tele pickups, that it's easy to lose sight of it's capabilities. There isn't much for features. Mine was purchased in 1996. The neck radius is 12" while early Teles were 9", as I understand. I appreciate the wider string spacing on this Peavey while retaining the Tele virtues. The weight and balance of this guitar are almost Les Paul-like with a heavy body bias. Blonde, well-done maple neck. American made, and it really does show in certain aspects of the quality.

I can't say this is better than a Telecaster as far as sound goes. I can say that it is as good as a '71 Telecaster I once owned and as good as any stock standard Tele I've played. The question is, do you like Telecasters? I found the shielding on the Peavey to be better than on the Fenders. Noise and hum are minimal, and I don't find that it twangs too much. I don't feel the need to replace the pickups. Surprising thing about the sound of this guitar is that while practicing alone, I think about needing a humbucker or another kind of guitar, but I'm always going back to this guitar because I can dial it in quickly and get it to sound as I want with minimal fuss because the ergonomics make me feel comfortable with both left and right hand work. A great utility guitar. Does a fine, ballsy overdrive, decent neck pickup clean to breakup. I play classic rock, clean to breakup overdrive through three different amp/effects combinations.

The neck is wonderful, much better, in my opinion, than Fender's product. It is a barely-finished maple, well-done. The finish is OK, but after four years has a few bumps and scratches. I've had to do some re-soldering and retapping of screws and stuff. The position switch is cheap metal and bends too easily, but works fine. I don't consider any of these to be unreasonable, any worse than the Fender. The weight and balance of this guitar make string bending and left-hand vibrato a pleasure. Mine has a graphite nut, the tuners are OK, but the neck alone is worth the price of the guitar to me and I would choose it over a Fender without cost considerations as semi-finished necks are more comfortable and appealing to me.

I resoldered the connections and I'm constantly retightning things and fussing with the setup. I've had to do that with most guitars. This one is fine for it's genre. I also own a Rickenbacker 330, and I don't have to do anything but change strings and clean it, but it cost a lot more. I'd use this Peavy without a backup before I'd use a lot of other guitars without backup. .009 E strings break a lot if you don't get the bridge saddle perfect, not a problem once the saddle is right. Tuning keys hold reasonable tune, not as good as the best, not as bad as many are. 3 to 5 songs hold a tune unless a lot of string bending is done.

Nothing to say.

I've played since 1964. I also currently own a Rickenbacker 330 and occasionally use a 1974 Fender Mustang. I've gone through some popular guitars in my day, Gibsons and Fenders. I try not to take price into consideration, but in this case, I have to mention it. When I bought this Peavey, it was the first step in replacing some stolen gear, mostly Fender stuff. I immediately found that I preferred it over the Telecaster due to the neck and the balance. I understand that Peavey doesn't make this one anymore, and that's a shame as it stands by itself as a good piece of gear with no apologies. I like my Rickenbacker for it's sound and it's construction quality, but I find the Peavey to have a superior neck action for leads and it's heavier weight allows me greater single-note bend and vibrato capability. As far as Peavey goes, they're as good and bad as any of the "classic" makes. I played a "classic" Gretch Country Gent the other night that had me dragging the Peavey out, just like a "classic" Les Paul did not long ago. Hartley Peavey and his company are as good now as Leo Fender once was with his; not taking anything from Fender, just a reminder that the name on the headstock isn't always a guarantee either way of quality or even innovation. Leo Fender himself was the first to say that and formed G&L to prove it. Time to grow up and get used to it. I was buying and playing the stuff all these years, and quite frankly, the audience 99% of the time doesn't know or care about what the headstock says except for your buddies at band practice and the wannabees at the music dealer's, but they'll walk out if it doesn't sound good, I don't care how much you paid for it. I'd buy another Reactor. I wouldn't hesitate. Shame they don't list them in the catalog anymore and a genuine Tele would be the only choise at whatever the market price was for Fender that day. Not another Korean Strat copy with the Peavey name which are generally awful, but this model, actually made in the USA by Peavey workers who seem to care about their work. They probably were losing money on it. It's a good guitar.

This guitar is very standard in most respects. The tele-style body style is quite authentic, however, the finish and headstock give away its maker. The guitar has a maple neck with all chrome hardware. The guitar has passive electronics with standard tone and volume controls. This is basic nuts and bolts guitar as is not loaded with bells and whistles.

This guitar suits my style quite nicely. This guitar sounds better through my Marshall JCM 800 than my Gibson Artisan. I originally bought this guitar as a back up for my Les Paul, and ultimately, I made the decision that it sounded better. Anyone who has ever bought an expensive guitar and have it "bumped" by $250 guitar knows how hard that can be on you mentally. I initially liked the sound, but resisted using it because of my preconceptions about Peavey. It wasn't until my band went into the studio did I fully make the transition. The Peavey was quiet, articulate, and full. This is not a metal guitar, but if you like classic sounds this guitar is excellent. The guiar has good brightness and sounds excellent through my Marshall at about 3/4 gain. I prefer the mildly distorted Stones and Black Crowes sound and this guitar does a good job in this respect. Furthermore, the upper register is clean and clear and is doesn't "fret out" like my Artisan.

The action from the factory was on the low side. If you use to light a gauge of strings you will get fret buzz. I raised the action slightly to account for this. I do not care for the saddles because the tend to adjust up/down on their own. When changing strings you will notice saddles that are higher on one side than the other. This can be an irritation, but this is an easy adjustment to make.

The finish is very durable. I do not think the bridge will endure the test of time, but for the money, you can't expect this to be a 20 year guitar. I've never encountered a problem when using this guitar at a gig.

As of yet, I haven't dealt with Peavey on this matter or any other.

I've been playing for 14 years and I own a Gibson Artisan, and a Mountain acousitc. This guitar has taken over as my main guitar because of its good sound and nice feel. If this guitar was lost/stolen I would buy a fender telescaster as this guitar was my experiment to see if I would like them. This guitar is an excellent value and I wish that when I first started playing they had guitars at this price range that are as high in quality.

Telecaster copy. This should be an early/mid '90s Peavey Reactor. Not the AX model. Made in USA! Looks almost exactly like a tele except for a little higher pickup profile, headstock and neck shape at upper registers. Single coil bridge pickup and (lipstick?) style pickup for neck. 22 frets. Modern neck with probably 9.5" radius, like newer Fenders. Maple neck with maple fretboard. Fully adjustable bridge with six separate saddles(great for intonation!). Solid body, not laminated. Just your typical Tele copy. It's a 10 if you wanna Tele!

This guitar has a tone in between the modern American Standard teles and the Mexican teles. More vintage than modern tone. The bridge pickup is the traditional "more treble than should be legal" Tele sound. With tone control offers some tasty possibilities. The neck pickup is great, but for some reason, highs seem more rolled off than your typical Fender. This isn't bad, because it's a very smooth, almost crying sound. For blues or jazz, a person would still probably roll the tone control down a little more, but I would just prefer more brightness as an *option*. I'll eventually mess with the tone capacitors inside to see what possibilities open up. Honky tonk twang and smooth neck pickup tone are all in there.

The tuners and bridge are chrome. This is a moderately used guitar(equivalent to what the Fender "relic" series look like). All the metal parts are still nice and shiny. The neck is fantastic. The finish makes for easy movement across the fingerboard. The paint seems really thick and strong, which is not necessarily good for tone, but it's a nice job. Nothing is skewed or installed weird, like you see with cheaper copies. The pickups seem to stick out more than your typical Fender, but with everything setup, the action is still fantastic. Only the player would ever notice, but it doesn't hurt the guitar-just means it's not a 100% copy of the Fender Telecaster.
The only problem with this guitar is the tuners, which are cheap. They aren't as smooth as your Fender Am. Std. Strat tuners, for instance. They seem to drag a little bit and take some finesse to not overturn the strings, especially on the sixth string(low E).

In a gig with some hard playing, this guitar needs to be tuned every 3 or 4 songs. Everything else seems solid. I had to resolder some ground points in the guitar to minimize hum, but other than that, it's all good.

NA

Been playing 10 years. Love strats and tubes. Always wanted a Tele to see if it would fit my style. I love to play this thing! Fits me almost as well as my strat(and I despise many guitars in terms of feel). If it was lost/stolen, I'd go out and buy a Fender Std Tele immediately, just cuz I now know that it fits me. I wouldn't seek out another Peavey specifically, but if one came along for the right price, I'd take it. With decent tuners this would be a really great axe.

This piece started out as the basic Reactor with a red body and two stock pickups. I got it trashed, with the 3-way switch broken off. I put in 2 micro switches instead, and modified the switch bar to fit. Since then, I have put in a Carvin bridge pickup, which I had to fabricate a mount for.

I am playing this through a silver-faced Champ. The sound is great, and with the new bridge pickup the versatility in tone is also great. The Carvin is much louder and fatter than the stock bridge pickup was, and since I was always satisfied with the mellow, full tone of the neck pickup, I am really satisfied with the sound. I may swap neck pickups just to balance the volume for quick pickup switches, though. I play mainly classic rock, and the guitar holds up through the usual effects well.

Since I basically rebuilt the guitar through a full overhaul, I can't say how it was set up originally, but just like the Predator I used to have, the set-up was effortless and the guitar can take a pretty low action, especially for it's price range. I have more expensive guitars that have much worse fretwork and less adjustability. The neck angle adjuster, similar to a Fender, is a great feature.

The finish was beat up when I got the guitar, but it seems reasonably durable. I would go with a longer strap screw if I was going to thrash it.

Our local Peavey dealer is willing to order parts if you need OEM stuff. Most generic parts work well. I have never had new Peavey stuff.

I also use a Gretsch style Electra, and really prefer the Peavey. It is probably the easiest playing guitar I have owned, and I buy, repair and sell stuff on a regular basis. I have heard that it has the same neck as the Predator, but I prefer the neck on mine for some reason. This one is not for sale. If it were stolen, I would get something with the identical neck (my hands are big, so some people might want a faster neck). I do wish that it had a better plug jack. Like most cheaper guitars, I will have to replace this one before it goes live in a band because it will cut out. I think most people would pay the extra 5 bucks for better jacks.

Mine is a 1994 model with a solid poplar body, maple neck/fingerboard, 2 "classis series" pickups, and 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Its a Tele so naturally there isn't going to be many features.

The guitar has great sound for country, rock, and blues. I use it with a Boss Chorus and an Ibanez Tubescreamer an a Marshall Valvestate. The picmups are silent, as quiet as the humbuckers on my Les Paul, and these are single coils. They used great shielding I guess. Being a Tele, it isnt very vesatile but its great for my style of playing which is mainly stuff like Waylon Jennings, CCR, Tom Petty, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The only thing I dislike about it is that it doesnt sound like a vintage Tele, it sounds identical to an American Standard, it isnt a bad thing, I just prefer the vintage Tele sound.

The setup was perfect, the action low, and everything was adjusted good. The only problem was it had a lot of chips in the finish, on the sides and towards the bottom of the guitar, none on the face. Ive had the guitar for about 3 years and everything is fine except the finich looks awful. Its black and chips and scratches really easily, it looks more like Ive had it for around 10 years not 3. It doesnt bother me much, Teles are supposed to be beat up. Other than the finish, this guitar is great, everything is good and secure.

This guitar is very solid, the hardware looks like it will last for a long time. The only problem is the strap buttons dont hold the stap very well and has a tendency to come loose. I was using the guitar with a strap once and it completely pulled out the stap button, screw and all, when I was playing. It is extremely durable once you put some strap lock buttons on it and line the threads of the screw with super glue before installing.

Ive never dealt with them...I heard they had great support though.

Ive been playing for about 5 years and this is my favorite guitar. I also have a Fender Sratocaster, Fender Redondo, and an Epiphone Les Paul Custom, and the Peavey Tele is the one I play most. If it were stolen I would buy one of those new mexican made 50s reissue Fender Telecasters since I really want a vintage style Tele and can afford the real thing or an American reissue. I wouldnt be able to buy this guitar again since Peavey discontinued them, if I could find a used one in decent shape I would give buying it some serios thought, but I RWALLY want a 50s reissue Tele more. If youre looking for the look, feel, and sound of an American Standard Tele but dont have that kind of cash, this is the guitar for you. If you want the sound of a vintage Tele you should go for a Fender Reissue instead, but give the Reactor a test anyway.