Peavey Reactor

Made in USA like all Peaveys; don't know the year, but looks recent. Standard Tele look, shape and configuration -- two single-coils, volume, tone, three-way switch, maple neck. Black finish on this one, I believe over an alder body. Strings through the body. Neck is middling thick, with a fairly flat radius. Feels medium wide, too -- a little skinnier across than my Ibanez Roadstar. Flat finish, not too glossy. Not *quite* my dream neck, but I get around on it fine. This doesn't have any frills, but what the hell: It's a Tele-style. If I wanted built-in fuzz/wah, I'd have bought a Vox.

I use it through a Peavey amp and a Boss distortion box (mostly in the basement.) Most of what I play is crunchy blues-based rock, like Crowes and old Aero. This guitar works just fine for that -- sound is most impressive, considering what it cost. Also does nicely on the clean country twang, as you'd imagine. Neck pickup combines roundness and bite nicely. Back pickup seems a *little* thin, but then again it is a Tele ... and for what I paid, I could drop a Duncan in the bridge and still come out ahead. There's your usual single-coil hiss, but that's the nature of the beast. Also, it doesn't quite hack the really heavy AC/DC-type stuff as well as other guitars, but that's more because of its inherent qualities than any shortcoming in manufacture.

I got mine used, so don't know about the factory setup. (I have been satisfied with other new Peavey gear.) The thing came set up fine -- could've been Guitar Center. I haven't had it quite long enough to give it a 10 in this category -- something could still flake out. But for now it seems plenty solid, in the Tele tradition.

Again, it's a little early, but everything seems solid here; you could swing your way out of fights with this thing. Finish seems solid, though I haven't dropped it down any ravines yet. I generally wouldn't gig without a backup in any circumstance, but if I had to, I'd feel comfortable getting by on this.

No reason to call Peavey on this one. Again, past products have been satisfactory.

I've played bass for 13-14 years, guitar maybe seven. I also own an Ibanez Roadstar strat-style, and Peavey and Squire basses. (Comments from this list led me to check out the Reactor.) If the Reactor got lost, I'd definitely pick up another one,and would recommend anybody seeking an inexpensive Tele-style do the same. This doesn't sound, feel or look cheap.

American-made Tele clone, poplar body, maple fretboard, string-thru body. I couldn't agree more with the below reviewer's comments on Fender products. Their guitars are way-over priced.

Origional pickups (OK, but no character) replaced with SD's Jerry Donohue Lead and Alnico II Pro rhythm. They give this tele a warmer more sustained sound, but yet decent punch and brightness. I play blues, rock and country through a fender blues jr. Now I hear the exact same tones an old, old friend got from his jazzmaster/twin reverb - 33 years ago! Also, I think it's safe to say that *most* single coils these days are as quiet as humbuckers. so who needs 'buckers?

Excellent neck, excellent finish on fretbrd, average action. Hardware seems to be of good quality for the price. No matter what guitar you buy in store, it's always good to check out at least two of the same model for variations in sound/assembly. There were some minor flaws (ground-down machine head screws, poorly seated strap button) on some of the other reactors.

Nothing's gone wrong after 2 years. I've only used it for practice/studio so far.

I e-mailed a tech just before purchasing. Got an immediate response. Peavey makes a good product.

Without becoming a gearhead, I wanted a righteous-sounding, american-made and inexpensive tele. Now i've got it. I would buy another peavey. The only regret is that the body isn't butterscotch, but that's a cosmetic thang.

It is a popular body telecatser for all intentional purposes. Maple neck, etc...Nice feel better than most fenders and it is dirt cheap, as well as American made. Its a telecaster so it is kinda limited on features.

Pretty damn good, I rally can't stand strats, but i like really mellow telly's. This worked, and i didn't have to pay a small portion for a fender.

Finish on neck was great, much better than Fenders which tend to be over laquered were it gets tough to play then, this was pretty damn smooth. The body finish was so so, nothing spectacular.

YEs, it words, and like most tele's you can pound the shit out of it...

Donno

Lets put it this way, peavy, seagull, as well as a few other companies are putting out some damn fine guitars that do not cost alot of money, and are american made. I am really begining to question companies like fender, gibson, and martin and company who tend to charge far to much for their guitars. If i can get both a seagull and A peavy Telecaster, for about 300 dollars less than the low end fenders, martins and gibsons there is something wrong. These companies are using their names to sell guitars and one day people are going to realize that they can get quality american made instruments for the same price or less than their imports. I love the peavy and I love seagulls, they are provig good instruments do not have to cost a fortune.

Tele-copy, two single coil pickups, maple neck and fingerboard, three way switch - nothing fancy, but well constructed, balanced - feels good to hold.

Adjusted the pickups so they were quite close to the strings. This is an easy adjustment with a philips-head screwdriver. Has that ol' tele-tone. I'm not an expert on this but I was surprised how good the Peavey pick-ups sounded on such an inexpensive instrument! Also, good feed-back and sustain with little effort. I have been playing it though my Crate GX-40M amp (solid state - clean and overdrive channels, reverb, chorus) and it sounds mighty good.

Bought the thing used so I can't comment on factory set-up. It seems very solidly put together- all parts work - feels solid.

Not much to break in a tele. And if something does, easy to fix.

Peavey has a great web site - lots of info at www.peavey.com. Never called them for help, though.

I'm an amateur player and really enjoy this instrument. My criticisms are minor - the worst is the color of the instrument (white with white pickguard) but that will be remedied soon as I am having a three ply black-white-black pickguard cut and installed. This is the bottom of the Peavey guitar line and I paid very little for it second-hand so I didn't expect much. There's no doubt in my mind that for the money its a great buy. Sounds good, feels good, has a nice neck and frets, and even good sounding pickups. I was all ready when I bought it to replace the pick guard, nut and install new pickups. After playing it for a week, the only work I am doing is the pick guard. That's pretty good! It's a good choice for someone looking for a US-made tele-style guitar for less than the cost of a Fender Mexi-tele. I also have a Mexi-Strat (amazing for the price - but I played close to 100 before I found the one I bought), an old Epi Melody Maker (modified to scream with 2 humbucking pick-ups), and a Gibby dot neck 335. This tele has quickly found its own nitch in my collection. I am really enjoying it!!

US made Tele clone w/poplar body, maple 22-fret neck, two standard single coils

Stock bridge pickup was a little too twangy for my tastes but very quiet; replaced it with a SD Broadcaster. Neck pickup is nice and clear, also quiet (and reverse wound). I couldn't improve on the neck pickup with a SD replacement. For the money the electronics are very impressive. I play through a 50-watt Carvin XT 112 tube amp.

The fit and finish and electronics are amazingly good for such an affordable guitar.

Any Tele worth its salt should be like a hammer.

I posted a question regarding the pickups on this guitar to the Peavey Message Board and got an answer from a Peavey rep in about 2 days.

Been playing on and off for about 10 years. I recommend anyone looking for a Tele equivelant give the Reactor a test drive first.