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!!!!

Everything you'd want in a Telecaster, but mad ein the USA and at a better price.

This guitar sounds good. I have a 1986 G&L ASAT and it is close to replicating it.

It had a two spare drill holes showing, but a little paint did the trick. The body has a thick black poly coating which when polished shines really nice. The maple neck is fit nicely and is almost a birdseye maple. Everything else feels great.

This guitar is bullet-proof. I have knocked it over a dozen times, banged it into things, dropped it and it still works with no problems.

I downloaded the manual from the website no problem. Other wise I haven't had to deal with Peavey.

I have three guitars, and this is the one I practice with and play for recordings. It beats out my Fender Squire Stratocaster, though the Strat is much louder, in many ways. My Peavy is a close second to my G&L ASAT, but is a much better value, since I only paid $100 for the Peavey Reactor. Can't beat that. I was just visiting a used music store for effects pedals for my G&L, and they handed me the Peavey Reactor to try out the effects pedals, and as soon as I started playing, a smile came across my face and I bought it there and then.

Just basic Tele features

This guitar sounds great in any style. I play a lot of Nirvana and Mudhoney, but the sound is so great I can go from that to Pink Floyd and Modest Mouse. Just amazing!

It sounded good stock

This guitar is as reliable as they come. It withstands all kinds of torture and still plays perfectly. The hardware will last. I would gig with this guitar without a backup. Only one complaint: the strap buttons aren't that great.

Never needed it

I love this guitar! I will play till one of us dies.

I bought this guitar as a project after reading here that the Reactor is a well built tele copy with cheap hardware. And now that I have one, I agree - that's exactly what it is. I bought it second hand, as a project, for NZ$290 (US$180), including hard case, and I put another NZ$220 (US$140) worth of parts into it (not including labor costs - I did the work).


Features when I bought it:
Mine was fire engine red, has a 2-piece solid poplar body, has 1 replacement tuner, and had a malfunctioning pickup selector switch (easy fix). Everything else was stock, as described by others, below.

I really like the 2-piece maple neck, which seems a bit wider and flatter than a MIM Fender standard tele neck. It also has nice medium jumbo frets with clean fretwork and a nice light gloss finish. The maple has aged to a nice, honey colour.

Other features I was after for my project tele included through-body stringing, six saddle bridge, solid wood body, and a headstock that looked OK (there are some strange headstocks out there on some tele copies!). The Reactor headstock looks OK - like a tastefully modernised tele headstock design. I'll agree with a reviewer below - it looks sportier than the trad tele headstock.

I didn't like the cheesy red body colour (probably why I got it so cheap!). I also didn't like the stock overwound pickups - hot and lacking in character and musicality.

I had read here that Reactors have cheap tuners. The high E tuner had been replaced when I bought it. I haven't had any problems with it staying in tune.


My upgrades:
1. I installed a 2nd-hand pair of Fender samarium cobalt noiseless (SCN) pickups (designed by Bill Lawrence). These pickups are so much better sounding and more versatile than the stock pickups, which were only suitable for twangy, agressive, or overdriven playing. The SCNs really opened up the sound of the guitar.

2. I installed a 5-way pickup selector switch and wired it like this: 1. neck, 2. both, 3. bridge, 4. both half out of phase, 5. both off.

3. I stripped off the red paint and sanded off the wood sealer. Then I stained the body dark walnut brown (transparent) and finished it with Danish oil, buffing it out with a 50-50 mix of oil and beeswax. The white pickguard now looks great on the walnut stain. The gat now smells real nice, too!

4. I cleaned up the neck pocket. The woodwork and finishing in there was very rough. I sanded it down to bare wood to improve the transfer of string vibrations at the neck joint.

5. I slightly bevelled the heel of the neck to change the angle of the neck joint. I did this because, in the guitar's original condition, the saddles needed to be set quite high for the strings to clear the frets. I didn't like that, so when refinishing the body I sanded a slight bevel at the base of the neck. Now the neck joint is bare maple onto bare poplar, and the saddles can be set to a normal height for the action that I like.

My upgraded Reactor gets a 10 for tele features.

The Reactor has a definite tele vibe. However, when a/b-ed against a MIM standard tele, the stock Reactor has a more open, brighter tone. The MIM tele sounds mellower with a very characteristic alder, fenderesque tone. Along with a greater apparent frequency response, the Reactor also has more sustain than the MIM tele. I think that, except for the MIM neck pup, the stock pups in both of these guitars are not great.

Stock, the Reactor sounds a bit better than a cheap tele. It has a typical tele tendency to be muddy on the neck and harsh and brittle on the bridge. IMO the stock Reactor tone is hotter than a standard tele, lacking in character and OK only for twangy, agressive, or overdriven playing. It does not do nice glassy, chimey or jazzy tones.

With the mods I have done, the Reactor really shines. The SCN pups make this gat sound like a professional instrument. They provide great tones for many different applications from classic rock to blues, from jazz to country, and I can even get some metal-esque tones on the bridge. Somehow these pups can produce both modern and vintage tele tones - convincingly! No wonder Fender are supplying their top-of-the-line AmDx teles with these pups!

Somewhat surprisingly to me, the refinishing of the body and neck pocket opened the tone of this guitar up even further. I am astonished at the sounds that this guitar now makes. The typical single-coil attack is still there but underneath it is some serious depth, clarity, power, and sustain. The guitar now responds really well to a variety of different EQ settings, picking styles and picking dynamics.

I suggest that, after swapping the stock pickups for something better, cleaning up the neck pocket and removing the thick enamel finish will deliver noticable improvements to the tone of your Reactor!

After my modifications, the sound and verstility of this guitar are amazing. I couldn't ask for more out of any tele.

I bought this guitar 2nd-hand so I can't comment on the factory set up. However I can make a few comments about the guitar's construction.

The neck on this guitar is the best thing about it. Very nicely designed and finished and fully adjustable, with a truss rod that does its job and a micro-tilt neck angle adjuster. You can set this baby up any way you like.

The paint is thick and durable. It was sloppily applied around the string ferrules on the back of the guitar. The worst aspect of the fit and finish was the woodwork and finishing inside the neck pocket. I had to redo the pocket with some agressive paint stripping and sanding.

Note: my Reactor was not routed for a neck humbucker.

Note: if you plan to refinish your Reactor, plan on using a dark stain as the two, or three, pieces of poplar wood that make up the body of your guitar can be quite variable in colour.

With the single replaced tuner (high E string), I have no problems keeping the guitar in tune.

Otherwise, it is a solid tele copy. It should put up with lots of (ab)use.

I've never dealth with Peavey.

As others here have said, the Reactor is a solidly built tele copy fitted with some cheap hardware. As such, Reactors are great value for the prices that most people pay for them.

As many here have also complained, Fenders are over priced. Lets face it, a tele is a couple of slabs of wood bolted together with some old style hardware attached. They were being produced 50 years ago. Building these things is not rocket science. The genius of the Telecaster is in Leo Fender's design, which allowed a great sounding instrument to be mass produced cheaply and reliably. So kudos to Peavey for bringing telecaster ownership back down to earth with the Reactor.

I have been playing for around 25 years and I have a few nice electric guitars including a Yamaha SG2000, a Steinberger GM5T, and a Gibson L6-S. My modified Reactor is up with the likes of these guitars in terms of playability, versatility, tone, and looks - at a freaction of the price of those instruments.

As a stock guitar, the Reactor is very good value. With a bit of imagination and elbow grease, it can be upgraded into a great player at a fraction of the price of big name telecaster guitars.

Made in USA
My favorite feature of tele-type guitar is 1 volume and 1 tone so simple! Thanks Leo, and Hartley!
22 Frets which is nice.
Three piece basswood(I think) body
Standard 2 tele type pickups
Maple neck separate fingerboard also made of hard maple
glossy finish
Tele body
Six individual saddles string through body
Cheap tuners
Thinish neck long scale

Twangy and lots of sustain. I had a 300 dollar early 90's MIM tele with bridge that did not go through the body, and I think it makes a huge difference, this guitar sounds great! Of course as a telecaster type guitar it has major treble. The neck pickup is a little muddy, but the combo of the two is really nice.
I use a peavey classic from the 70's with tremelo, you can get country, western, and the sort of classic Les Paul sustain/distortion sound, it also sounds pretty good through my volume only Gibson Skylark.
Pickups are really hot, hence the possible les paul sounds.
Volume and tone pots are pretty dynamic and smooth sounding swells and finger wah.

I bought this off ebay from a guy (dogsdoom who I would recommend as a seller) who had replaced the nut and saddles, and the action is low. I am used to high action arch tops with 13s. Heavy strings feel light on this guitar.
Frets are nice, smooth, and intonation is right on. Tuners are the only weak link (although I never played it with original saddles and bridge.)

It is reliable, hardware is sturdy w/ exception of the mediocre tuners. Finish is thick. Strap buttons I must say are pretty bad. It is very dependable, very solid guitar. I would gig with just this guitar, except it does break stings (what Fender style guitar doesn't?)

The web sight has any manual that peavey ever made, but I have never tried to contact company.

I have been playing 17 years, I own an old gretsch orchestra model acoustic w/dearmond pickup, and a Dearmond Starfire Special, I hjad a 92 or 93 MIM tele with a non string through body bridge(the reactor is a way better guitar pickup/pot/neck everything especially sustain.) I would get another. IT is definately better and usually cheaper than G&L tribute teles, have not tried string through bridge Fender MIM teles but I think that the reactor has much better craftsmenship/quality control than MIM Fenders.
I have decided that some peavey products from the 70's and 80's are kind of like the Fender products from the 50's and 60's.
If you want a tele for less than 500 bucks this is it.

This is a standard telecaster copy, which is pretty slim on features. However, Peavey does a good job of copying Fender, although there isn't a lot to copy. $300 for an AMERICAN made solid body is a steal.

For $300 new, this has unbelieveable sound. I give it an 8 only because it isn't a PRS, Les Paul, or Strat Reissue, for which you will be paying $2000. I've played for 25 years, owned 10+ solid body electrics, and this is by far the best bang for your buck I've seen or played. If you want a 9 or a 10, pay another $1500.

I've played with the factory set up for 4 years, and its fine. It probably can't be set up like high end guitars, but I didn't buy it with those expectations. The pickups are set properly and there are no dead spots on the board.

I've used this live, haven't abused it, but haven't given it any special care. The pick guard warped after about 3 years. When I took it off, I discovered the neck pickup was attached to it. I then taped the pickup back in the hole, with minor adjustments, and it works fine.

I've played 25 years, semi-pro, in church worship bands, jazz, rock, and blues. I play it through a Mesa Boogie Formula, a Mesa 50/50, and a 4x12 Marshall cab. The guitar amazingly does not bring down my high end amps. Its not like the PRS I used to own (before it was stolen) but hey, it WAS $300.

I bought this guitar new back in the early 90's. It's a solid body, Tele style ax, made in the U.S.A. This guitar has a maple neck with black dot fret markers. They were offered in three colors, white, black and red. I got mine in red. Everything is pretty much standard tele style out of the box. I originally bought this guitar after reading an excellent review of it in Guitar Player Magazine when the Reactor was first released. The review said that it was a well crafted instrument that only lacked top notch hardware. I have to concur with that appraisal. I bought it because I wanted a guitar that I could modify without sacrificing it's value. It has served its purpose well.

Although it sounded fine right out of the box, I bought this ax to modify it, and that definitely has altered its sound. Originally, it was equipped with Tele style pickups. I've since routed the body to install a Gibson PAF in the bridge position, and a tapped Seymour Duncan Hot Tele Lead in the bridge position. To go with the new pickups, I replaced the stock three position switch with a Strat style five position switch. I now have either the tapped or full lead pickup, the same along with the PAF, or the PAF alone. This thing is now a tone monster!

The factory setup was really good right out of the box. The black finish on the body was flawless, and everything fit right, especially the neck/body joint. The stock tuners were on the cheesy side, about what you'd expect at this price point. I've since replaced them with sealed Grovers. I've replaced the pickups and selector swithc, as described in another section. I installed a pearlized red pickguard in place of the stock, single-ply white one, and the bridge saddles have been swapped out for a set made by GraphTech. This ax would have gotten a ten except for the upgradable hardware. Don't let that stop you from buying one of these if you can find one used.

This baby's held up for over ten years so far! It's built like a tank. If nothing else, Peavey builds a solid ax, at least the U.S.A. built guitars. I haven't owned one of their newer imports, os I can't judge that.

I can't say much about customer support because I've never had an occasion to use it. A friend who also has a Peavey said that the one time he had to deal with them, the service was good.

I truly feel that this guitar was worth more than I paid for it new, and that it is highly underrated. It had a better fit than comparable Fender Teles (both foreign and domestic) that I checked out at the time, and it was much cheaper to buy. This guitar was an excellent value, without a doubt.

As I said in the other sections, I've modified mine extensively since I bought it, and I'm not done yet. I just read in a forum on Peavey's site, how to install a piezo transducer under the bridge, and that will be my next mod.

This baby's definitely a keeper, and yes, if it were lost/stolen I would search the Earth for another.

I also own an early G&L S-500 which is a beautiful guitar, but this Peavey, with the changes I've made, is still my hands down favorite.

'96(I think), 22 fret, Standard Tele

I play country, southern rock, new age, heavy metal, etc. This guitar keeps up with it all. I play thru an Ibanez Virtual Amp so this guitar can do it all. The sound is awesome especialy when using a brass pick. I love the sound of this thing!

The guitar was setup fairly well, although it had to be sent back to be re-adjusted. I recently had to install another 3-way switch. But other than these issues, it was great. Everything seems to be of high quality considering it is 8 years old and still glossy, besides the neck.

This thing has been thru hell and back. I've dropped it, (then bought straplocks) drunks have kicked it off the stand, swung the neck around and hit mic stands, mixer boards, you name it. It has some dings in the body, but the paint is still there. Excellent finish!! The buttons are solid, and the guitar is very dependable. Seriously, don't ever go to a gig without a spare. Although i never use my spare, you never know.....

Peavey was easy to work with. Fairly fast ship-back. Warranty repaired.

I've been playing for 10 years now, 8 of it with this guitar. I'll eventually buy another one, but this one will never leave me, she's my baby! I've compared it with several others, and the only thing I wish it had was at least a dual-humbucker, which i might install.

USA made tele copy with gig bag standard tele stock features

i play everything from blues to thrash metal this one fits all.
when i went to the local music store i had no intention of buing a peavy, i tried every other guitar in the store ,but as soon as i picked this one up i bought it no questions asked

this guitar fits my playing style like a glove the action was perfect but the intonation needed some minor tweaks (only because i play in drop C)

ive been playing this guitar for 3 years now the hardware is indestructible the finish is very durable but ive dropped it on the gararge floor a few times (oops)ive even droped it on the neck .
this guitar is very dependable i wold definatly use it without a backup

N/A

for the price ive not found anything better ive been playing for about 14 years and have owned many guitars. i play the reactor through a behinger v-ampire 100 watt amp the only thing i wish it had was a bridge humbukker (coming soon) i added a other pickup close to the bridge for more sound variety. i am currently shopping for a new guitar and ime considering getting a peavy evh wolfgang but if anyone is selling a reactor drop me a line

I think this guitar was made sometime in the 90's, Its your standard tele setup. The body is made of 3 pieces glued together on mine. The neck is so playable and comfortable, it once had a glassy finish on the neck but it's hardly glossy anymore , i bought it second hand so they might have sanded it off of just worn it out. The hardware is pretty solid and so our the electronics, though when i bought I had to repair the pickup seletor. I bought this guitar second hand, so of course it came with a few dings and scratches, and i also never dealt with the original tuners mine came with a set of gold textured tuners that have "gibson" stamped on the back, they hold up well. all the features of a tele.

It sounded almost dreamlike when i played it. I played it through a peavey triple x head, a vintage marshall 100 watt plexi and a vint boogie, i dont remember the model but it had blonde tolex with a matching cab. The pickups are single coils so they have some noise to them but hardly any. And no hum! It has a pretty bright sound very rockish at times. I use it through a marshall avt 50 head with an old crate slanted cab from the 80's, and for the most part a digitech whammy pedal, boss digital delay, dod death metal, a few fuzz boxes 3big muffs and a modified flanger, oh envelope and a crybaby. Not at the same time of course. I used to use a metal zone at full distortion levels but it sounded too much like a humbucker, and i didnt like the metal zone so i sold it. it sounds great with my amps overdrive alone but when i want to play something down right nasty i use the dod. it holds up well when i use my whammy pedal surprisingly well for single coils. I wasnt looking for a particulr tone or sound when i got this guitar i knew it sounded great and had possibilities. it has a nice blues tone for instance. but i dont play the likes. i mainly try to get different odd sounds out of it and ive been able to do so. I mainly listen to the melvins, and ween so you get the idea.

i dont know about factory setup, i cant really comment, it's great now though. second hand..yadda yadda yadda. Beautiful neck!

Of course it will withstand live playing. ive bumped it around a few times around the house when i turn around quickly for instance and i was surprised that ive made no marks on it myself. the strap buttons are pretty solid im a little paranoid about fiddling with straps so instead of getting straplocks i just duct taped a strap securely to it. I wouldnt rely on this guitar alone for i have different sounds i can conjure up from different guitars. it's my only tele though,,, so maybe if i wanted just a tele sound yeah i wouldnt worry about it.

peavey..? i dunno

i like this guitar i guess you can say its almost as good as a high priced fender or a fender standard, whatever doesnt really matter i like it.

Peavey Reactor (Fender Tele-style guitar). "Crafted in the U.S.A." Year unknown (serial number: 07208913).

I got this thing as a project (found it on eBay). The body was trashed and most of the parts were missing. The only thing that remained relatively unmolested was to neck, so I decided to comment on that...

Mine came with a maple neck. It is made of two pieces; a separate maple fingerboard glued onto a maple back and headstock. There is no "skunk stripe" on the back, so I assume that it was done this way to attach the truss rod.

Before I even bought this thing I already knew it was going to end up being a "Frankenstein" guitar, due to missing several parts, but since I have tons of guitar parts laying around that wasn't a problem. I wasn't quite ready for the condition of the body though!

There were holes drilled all over it, some for no apparent reason (?) and the neck pickup cavity had a huge ugly hole routed into it. The body size was also a factor, being of a non-standard size overall; For instance, my standard Fender pickguard would not work on this body (the pickguard was too big for it).

At this point I was feeling fairly stupid for buying such a piece of crap, until I took a good look at the neck...

The first thing I noticed was the quality of the wood. The maple they used is very hard and nicely figured. Not "highly" figured, but still very pleasant to look at. "This is one serious chunk of wood!" I thought. I soon regained my enthusiasm.

Other attractive features include smoothly finished 22 medium jumbo frets, nice and fat. The fretboard is also wide, which I like (better than a scrawny, narrow neck anyway). I even like the shape of the headstock - and I'm extremely picky in this area. It has a handsome "sporty" look to it.

The rest is fairly straight forward; black dot inlays and side markers, black plastic "bone style" nut, truss rod adjustment on headstock and a single string tree - although someone drilled a hole for a second one, which appears to be an add-on. I'm not sure if the tuners are stock, but - if they are - they're pretty crappy (easily replaced though).

I was so sure this neck would make a great player I bought a nice solid alder Tele-style body (transparent blue), slapped on the extra parts I had from various other guitars (most came off my standard Fender Tele) and soon had a fully functional axe. After a little fine tuning, the guitar now plays like a charm! The neck in particular is fast and straight, a real joy.

I originally built this thing to give to one of my nephews or something, but it's now actually too nice for a beginner (it'd be a shame for it to be trashed AGAIN by some smartass punk)!

Anyway, I feel like I saved this poor thing from a life of torment and misery and it is now safe in the loving arms of someone who can appreciated it!

If asked to comment on the quality of Peavey guitar necks based solely on this one example, I would honestly have nothing but good things to say about them.

I am certainly not suggesting that you buy a Peavey Reactor just for the neck, but I'm sure most people would agree (if you happen to get one as good as mine anyway) that the level of quality is definitely above average.

I own several high quality guitars, including a bunch of Fenders (Standard Tele, 50's reissue Strat, Toronado, Lead-I and a DG22CE acoustic) a Gibson Les Paul Studio, a PRS Custom 24, an Epiphone Casino, a vintage 1965 Epiphone Century archtop and a Carvin DC200.

I've been playing for over 23 years but have only recently gotten into building my own guitars (mostly due to the fact that I have so many parts lying around). I first started tinkering with guitars by replacing pickups and hardware, etc. So far it's been a lot of fun.

My latest Peavey/Frankenstein project was the most ambitious yet and a real success as far as I'm concerned. I'm very happy with the results.

I have no doubt that the quality of the Peavey Reactor neck is a crucial factor in making this guitar such a pleasure to play, so I have to give them ample credit for doing such an exceptional job in this area.

Thanks Peavey!

"Crafted in U.S.A." in the 90's? Basic traditional black string-thru body Tele, medium weight, two piece, satin finish, thin , maple neck, high radius (flat) maple fingerboard, one ply pickguard, POOR tuners but the other Hardware is nice: the two singlecoils (definitely no need to exchange) and the bridge, the "controll panel" is very good and effective. This thing IS a tele, which I bought it for, so it would be a 10, if it wasn't for the poor tuners and the coarse feel of the neck (I like the laquered type much more).

I play everything and I own quite collection of guitars; three nice accoustics, a Tokai LesPaul, two Strats, a Gibson ES-335, Fender Bronco. My next guitar will be a Gibson SG. No need for another tele, because THIS GUITAR IS A TELECASTER!. It sounds great to me, just as it should. Very good attack and rather surprising: LOTS and LOTS of sustain. Punchy, woody, "natural" sound. Agressively trebbly "cutting" on the bridge-PU and wonderfully bluesy ("hollow-woody") sounding on the neck-PU. These two very different sounds + the effective tone controll= Tonns of sounds. If I was allowed only one guitar, I would chose this one for its variety of very nice and useable sounds. For the price (and not only for the price) this has to be a ten!

I got it used from a professional musician, so it was set up very well. Low action, no buzz. Well crafted for a budget-guitar, no obvious flaws. Frets are O.K.. The high-gloss bodyfinish is nice and durable. If you hold it up against the light though, you can see where the solid pieces of wood were put together. Though the guitar has been played a lot, the metal parts look like new! (even those darned tuners, that just won't stay in tune). Ugly black trussrodcover and Peavey-headstock. The finish of the neck appears to be a bit coarse, but that may be a personal dislike. Overall and considering the price it has to be a 9

Just don't know what should break on this Guitar! And a mentioned above this axe IS durable and doesn't wear off that easily. ROCK-SOLID!

I will surely never deal with them.

If it were stolen or lost, I would definitly get another Reactor. No chance I would pay for a "big name" and get a Fender (allready got two). This Guitar is crafted almost as good as any Mexican-built Fender and it SOUNDS just as good (in some aspects even better, more versatile) as the american-Fenders (even the vintage ones), which I know well.
This guitar was an incredible bargain (and there is still lots aroud)! I will get some high-quality tuners and maybe the neck laquered and we will live happily ever after....

Maple neck, 2 single coil pickups, solid wood body. 1 tone, 1 volume control, string through construction

The guy below is right. This is one underrated guitar and very well built. I had to put some work into it to make it what it is now, but it plays way better than any MIM fender I've played and has great action, feel, and tone. Mine is hum-cancelling in middle position, I left the original pickups in(i just don't wanna screw with a good thing right?). Actually in the hum cancelling position I get a believeable strat tone, in neck that bassy tele twang, in bridge a cutting spanky tone. I don't think I've ever ever given a guitar such a high rating in this category but I'm really happy with this piece.

I bought this guitar used, it was pretty beat up. I did a whole new paint job with a nice clear coat. All the hardware was good. I installed new sealed tuners though, I just can't stand that 2 screw vintage style crap, they always go out of tune on heavy bends. I also scrapped the cheap plastic nut and installed a real bone nut, I recommend this for these peaveys, I get more sustain now and smoother tuning. The neck/frets was in good condition, but was sanded down for some reason so I recoated it in clear lacquer. It is faster now. I was able to get the action surprisingly low, lower than any of the teles I have owned. This thing is a dream to play now. The tilt screw on the neck is handy for setting the action. The bridge saddles seem to be higher quality than MIM fenders also. Though I had to put some work into this guitar, I enjoyed it, learned a lot, and the payoff was a quality USA built guitar that plays just like my higher end guitars and sounds better than most of them.

This is a solid guitar. I did install straplocks, since I'm a straplock freak now.

I did email peavey about getting a new pickguard, they responded right away saying they are out of production and not available anymore. I guess they only made these peaveys for a couple years back in the 90's. So I can't get mad about that. The pickguard is not standard fender size, it's a bit smaller, so if you need a replacement or upgrade you'll be paying about $50 or so for a custom cut pickguard(try pickguards.com). I have contacted Peavey on other issues in the past(amps) and they have always been quick to respond.

I put about $100 in parts/materials in this guitar, making my total investment $250, every cent was well worth it. I'm very pleased. I'm thinking of getting another since they are so good, but I've had trouble locating them, which is good, there aren't massive quantities out there(or people just don't wanna sell, hehe). If I find another under $200 I will snatch it right up.

I play this guitar through clean & high gain amps, through open & closed back(marshall) cabs. Of course clean stuff is the bomb with this guitar, it's got that famous twangy sound, but high gain works too for a believeable 70's rock tone, especially in the hum-cancelling position. This guitar is very effects friendly too.

Others have covered most features,noting its tele likeness.However over the years I have owned several and examined others and it appears there were 3 versions:
1.cheap tuners and Gibson style truss rod nut;
2.cheap tuners and modern fender allen head truss rod nut;and
3.decent sealed tuners and truss rod nut as 2 above.
#1 did not feature a reverse wound/polarity front pickup while #s2&3 did[thus making the middle switch position hum cancelling;a real plus]If you own the 1st version simply remove the front pickup;gently pry off the ceramic magnet on the bottom and glue it back on UPSIDE DOWN.Now put the white lead on the switch to ground and remove the black wire from ground and attach it to the switch where you removed the white wire.....you have now achieved a hum cancelling middle switch position with no downside.

I love teles and have owned dozens of 60's teles,a 59 and a 51.I play all styles mostly tru nice blackface fenders,occaisionly using all the usual suspect stomp boxes.I currenly own a 'keeper' light swamp ash 69 tele and a very nice swamp ash ASAT Classic.Both of my Reactors produce sounds that are as cool as ANY of the above but please realize that they ALL sounded "different".....I'm just saying that these inexpensive Reactors can really cut it sound wise.If you back the volume to about 8.5 they sound quite like a 60's tele on 10.....open up the volume and it kicks like a slightly overwound Broadcaster.....I can live with that!

In my experience factory fit is good and the neck is easy to adjust for 1st class playability.....especially for low action lovers.This guitar deserves better tuners[if you don't get one with the sealed
tuners replace them immidiately].Like any electric the sound changes significantly with pickup hieght adjustments so experiment.

Looks very solid to me;except the switch[but I can't seem to break it so the CRL switch I bought is still in the bag].I depend on this guitar.....if you find it hard to trust because of the price, change the switch,output jack and resolder all the connections....

Don't know.....I do however think it was real friendly of Mr.Peavey to release a bunch of these guitars at a price anyone could afford[why did he do it?;why did he stop?......anyone know?]

Playing for over 30 years;had/have most of the cool vintage stuff plus PRS and G&L moderns.One of my Reactors is too heavy,the other acceptable.For the longest while I hated that the body is 1/8 inch thinner than a Fender and that the headstock looked kind of dorky,but now I kind of dig it.But right from the start I loved the sound and the neck.....its erie how good the neck design and execution is and how consistent they are from guitar to guitar.I will buy more of these....not just good 'value' but a great guitar.

Standard Tele type instrument, solid poplar (3 pc laminated body from the looks of the lines through the paint, middle piece is sold w/two "wings" to either side, very evenly cut and assembled into one the body) painted black w/wht one piece pickguard, wonderful maple neck w/a maple fretboard cap, med jumbo frets, 12" radius, stock Peavey standard tele type pickups, graphite type nut, cheap stock tuners, chrome tele style bridge...strung 9-42. Features...everything a tele should have...taking points off for the cheap ass tuners and for slight off centering of the strings...ever so slightly off center alignment of the strings towards the bass e string side.

Suprisingly good. I went to Guitar Center Denver looking for a Maple Neck Floyd Rose type guitar and wound up playing this one for about 30 minutes through a Crate DSP type amp...peaked my interest. Went back the next day and played it for about an hour through a Mesa Blue Angel, Fender Blues Deville and a Marshall DSL 2000 Full Stack...I was impressed enough w/the sound and "tele character" of the stock pickups that they'll stay in the guitar indefinitely. It cuts through everything hard rock and metal wise on the bridge for leads, etc and sounded quite nice for a blues/blues rock tone on the neck pickup. Excellent Tele Tones!!! I'm sure Duncan & Dimarzios would be better but why mess w/something that's perfectly fine to begin with?

Pretty damn nice. I bought it used so I'm referring to the prior owners adjustments. 12" Fretboard Radius w/low action. Only issue at all w/the Fit & Finish would be the ever so mild slightly off centerness of the strings riding towards the bass E side of the fretboard. Other than that, the neck is extremely sweet and playable, satin finish that feels like the raw wood on my B.C. Rich late 80s Gunslinger. Nice and tight in the neck pocket. Tuners are crap and will be the one thing that I replace. Pickguard is warping and rising up in the middle above the bridge. Deduction for tuners, string alignment and pickguard.

It's a tele style guitar, simplicity at it's finest. It'll sure as hell live longer than any Mexican Tele and is quite a bit nicer than a lot of the Fender Teles costing 3-4 times as much. Finish is nice, components are solid, except the tuners. It's tough enough to take a beating w/o missing a lick.

Never...but they've gotten good reviews from the other people here.

Been playing for about 14 years. Own several other electric guitars, one acoustic, one amp (Marshall 1978 JMP 2204 50W 2 x 12 Combo...heavenly tube sounds) and a couple of effects boxes...if something happened to this one, I'd definitely buy another if I could find one, especially at the price this one cost. A hell of a value for an American Made Guitar that needs nothing more than a set of tuners to be a capable and fun WORKHORSE of a guitar. I love the fact that it's simple and sturdy, the neck is the most oustanding part of this guitar...an absolute joy to play. Compares to my USA B.C. Rich Gunslinger for playability. Butter smooth. Pickups were suprisingly good and sounded like...well...a Telecaster. Big bonus there. Based on my scores for the categories...it rates out at an 8.5...therefore I'll leave it at an 8 as it didn't quite add up to a 9. I'd definitely recommend buying one at a good price as I did. Unless you're looking to spend a ton of cash on looks and brand name, this one's worth keeping. This guitar is a joy to play and hard to put down once you start...and to me...that sums it all up.

All of the features have been detailed in previous reviews. As we know a Tele is a basic config, but thats what I expected from this guitar and it fits the bill.

Sounds great, plenty of classic tele spank, and much to my suprise.. sounds quite insane with the gain kicked in. I'm not big on using the neck p/u on a tele by itself, but the middle position sounds excellent for blues. The neck p/u takes the edge off the bridge pick up nicely.

very quiet.

I play rock and blues based music.

I've bought and sold many guitars over the years, so many that my wife would "Lorraina" me if she had any idea. My particular Reactor was put together extremly well with one exception which I'll detail at the end of this section.

The neck pocket is dead on with zero slop. No need to adjust the neck angle at all. A huge plus and rare for a bolt on in this $ range.

The neck is properly aligned with the bridge, so the strings are centered on the frets.

The graphite nut is cut correctly.

The pickgaurd is where it's supposed to be.

I mention these things because I've found that a lot of Fender's MIM and Squier offerings are lacking in these areas.

The bad news...The Bridge.
This was a tough one to get a handle on. I noticed when I got the guitar home that the string saddles didn't fit tightly together. They were tight at the end, but tapered apart towards the back. So I figured that somewhere along the line the American width saddles were replaced with import width saddles. I went out and bought a set of Graftech Vintage saddles and installed them. Sure enough they fit perfectly. I re-strung the guitar only to find the neck too narrow for the wider spacing AAAARRRRGHHHH!!!! I should've just lit $33.00 on fire!

Anyways to make a short story long....
I have a Squire Tele which "donated" it's bridge. I re-dowelled the holes and mounted the bridge the next day. Voila! the correct bridge for this guitar!

I don't know if mine was a freak of nature, or if this is common. You guys might want to take a closer look at your string saddle fit.

Anyways, all is well now. This guitar plays better than any guitar I own. The action is superb and buzz free. I almost said "off to eBay with you!", and didn't bother with the bridge change out, but now I'm glad I did. Something about a guitar you have to put a little TLC into.

It's now my #1.

I'm going with a 7 because the important things are dead nuts on this guitar, the other stuff I can deal with.

we'll see.

This guitar is a great value considering what I paid for it. I stumbled on a real player. This doesn't seem to happen too often in this price range. I would replace it, but I don't know if I'd specificly go out of my way to locate one, there's just too many guitars to be had!

Again I'm going with a 7 because of the bridge, but as far as how much I like this guitar I should go with a 10, but this is a review so I'm trying to be subjective.

solid poplar tele body, maple neck and fretboard. standard tele hardware (kluson tuners,2 single coil pickups, neck pickup w/ chrome cover, flat mount bridge, etc.) . i actually prefer the look of the peavey peghead over the standard fender tele. crafted in the united states. :) i would give it a 10, but the stock tuners that i got were not good. i love the peghead!

incredible soind, to say the least. it's extremely versatile! neck pickup sounds great for blues and jazz, and the bridge pickup is the twangiest damn thing i've ever heard when distorted, and i love it. :) you can go anywhere with this guitar. it's so incredibly clean... a tele player's dream! the stock pickups are wonderful.

construction is perfect. everything fits together perfectly. action is super low, and frets are a great size. all the hardware is smooth and very responsive (if that makes sense). the finish is a very nice solid white.

i could play baseball with this guitar and it would be fine. can't break the damn thing!

peavey was very quick to respond when i had a simple question about fitting schaller tuners in my peghead. never had any trouble with the guitar so i'm going to give an n/a to this. :)

i don't know what else to say besides that this is one hell of a guitar, and especially for the price. it's top quality, and rivals even fender american series teles. i would buy another one if it was stolen without a doubt, if i could find one! it has a true tele sound, and it's worth far more than you'll pay for it.

-Peavey Telecaster Reactor, USA Made believe to be around 1996
-22 Frets
-solid top, maple neck medium thickness
-Three way selector switch, volume and tone, passive electronics
- black lacquer finish with a white pick guard.

The Peavey Reactor Telecaster is a Fender copy. It is also a very competent copy by not just appearing the same, but by being very well made as well.

This is my first guitar after surrendering the rental. I'm using it with a Peavey transtube amp and it's very clean and precise sounding.Put on the reverb and you have a very 50's rockabilly 'in the gym'sound. It's nicely balanced to play while standing or sitting. It doesn't have expansive bandwidth, but in it's range it has excellent tonal quality. You'd have to invest a lot more than I did to improve on the sound of this Telecaster.

It was very well assembled and is constructed 'tightly.' The chrome on the guitar is very nice quality and shows no galvanic or oxidation corrosion problems. The paint is a soli lacquer that reflects nicely, but not pristinely.

I bought this used and it has a couple of 'dings' etc, but the rock solid construction and excellent quality of the electronics give this quitar excellent survivability.It's nicely balanced to play while standing or sitting. The strap buttons are well anchored, but there's no substitute for stap buttons or duct tape to make certain it stays on the strap.

The Peavey folks responded very promptly and effectively to any email question I sent.

I'm a new player and found this Peavey, especially as a first guitar, able to meet my current needs and be something I can grow into. What made the difference for me is that this is a very easy to play guitar, especially compared to what I found in the Fender Squire or Gibson Epiphone series.

This is a USA made Telecopy with the standard tele features we all know and love. This one has a maple fretboard with med/jumbo frets and 6 saddle fully adjustable bridge. It came with a super nice heavy gig bag loaded with cool compartments. Even a loaded tele is pretty basic, so features can't be more than a 7.

I play a lot of different styles, but this guitar is for country, blues and classic rock. I bought it as a backup for my Custom Shop Fender or as a main axe for ugly gigs. That said, the sound is actually better than I expected. I play through either a Roland JC120, a Peavey Classic 100w tube, or the JC120 w/the Peavey as an extension cab. I'll usually choose a preset on a Boss GT-3 and tweak it a little or just use a LITTLE bit of Danelectro Daddy-O. This guitar is virtually noise free (WOW!), and has plenty of punch to cut through with ease. It is not as full as the Fender and takes some skillful amping to satisfy on quieter passages. I would not use it in the studio. For the big noise and country twang, it does a great job of copying a basic tele and kicks a Squier's butt.

I bought this guitar used, but with a micro-tilt neck adjustment, functional truss rod, and six saddle adjudtable bridge, you can set it up any way you like. It came to me with feather touch, buzz free action. I'm a little heavy handed so I took it up a hair. It is very practical mechanically and the neck is dead on (again, way better than a Squier). Intonation is good. The black finish has held up very well to normal use.

This guitar was already a few years old when I got it and has stood tall. Unlike the offshore junk that sullied Peavey's reputation, this USA built model is tough. Other than being a little lighter, it feels as solid as my high end Fender and shows no signs of letting up. When I get around to it, I'll change the tuning machines to sealed, finer tooth units; not that they are needed, just better. I have no reason to doubt the dependability of this guitar, but as stated earlier, I bought it as a backup. Never leave home without one!

No contact with them.

I've been playing a while and a lot and have what some (yeah, her)would call too much gear. (I love her anyway). I spent a lot of time as an anti-Peavey snob. Peavey's were right up there with letting chicks in the band. When I got a Peavey tube amp in a combo purchase I decided it was time to look again. Remember, this Reactor is NOT the offshore junk the garage bands can't keep in tune. This is a made in USA genuine guitar. If it were lost or stolen, I know that it would find another loving home. Good guitars do that. I really pretty much like the whole guitar. My favorite feature is definitely the neck. This is the one place (and the most important place) where this Peavey actually meets my Custom Shop Fender. Playability is EXCELLENT! If you're looking for a tele, unless you're willing to pay for the top end from Fender, a good used Reactor might be your best bet. Overall for the money - a definite 10. Overall - still an 8.

well, It's a Tele...nothing much to say about features except that it'
s deceptively simple...1 tone Knob, 1 volume, 3-way switch, adj. Neck, VERY LOW ACTION, Incredible neck...2 piece bolt-on that plays like a dream, headstock is kinda small, with very gentle curves...nothing too round. tuners look a little cheap, but work great The finish is a little banged up because I got it used, but otherwise seems really durable.

cutting tele sound. this guitar can burn right through the sound of any double coil, but the pickups are passive, and not really loud(this might be a good thing, considering I tend to overpower other members of my band) the neck pickup has a wonderfully sweet sound if used correctly, and can really belt out some fine tele-style blues

well, I know the Whole thing is solid Poplar (except the neck, of course, so there's no worrying about tops, or book-matching because it's enameled red. Nothing at all to complain about, it's kind of hard to criticize this guitar because there is almost nothing wrong with it (except a few dings and the dumb-looking tuners)

This is one tough old bird!! I've played live without a backup, and plan to continue doing so. it has never let me down, and in my opinion, you could beat a man to death with it and not notice any adverse effects (except the possible Jail time). I takes an average amount of re-tuning....usally half way through our set some solo pieces get played, and we all go backstage one at a time to tune.

never had to get it repaired, and I bought it as-is, so I can't really comment on this section

I absolutely love this Guitar. I've been playing for 6 years, and run it through a peavey special 212 Transtube amp, and it really sings and cries. you can get all the articulate Tele sounds from this Axe, and having such a simple Guitar really improved my playing. I've learned to produce the sounds I want without any Technical Mumbo Jumbo. I use only Reverb, Distortion and Fuzz effects, and I'm perfectly happy. This Guitar feels great to play and hold. I've found it comfortable enough to play for 5 hours without discomfort, and the acoustics when unplugged make it perfect for Midnight Practices. I would recommend this guitar to anyone as a learning tool for articulation. If you find yourself relying too heavily on electronic and mechanical devices for your playing, then definately buy one of these Guitars, it will open your eyes to the wonders of simplicity.

This has a poplar body made in the US, black, stock with no mods done to any of the hardware. It's a tele and it just doesn't get any simplier than that. The bridge is thru the body with an uncovered single coil pickup in it. 25.5" scale neck finished satin including the fretboard.

I was trying out the tele style guitars at a guitar shop looking for one that sounded like the '62 model I used to play in the seventies...I just couldn't find it in the Fenders. I finally picked up the Peavey and the more I played it, the more familuar it sounded. I don't usually use Peavey products at all but I had to buy it!! I added one feature in the tone curcuit, I made a mid controll out if it and it works good.
It is quiet enough for recording and sings out onstage with a twin reverb amp. Lots of bass. was going to change the three way to a five way and make series/paralell positions, but why?
I like the way it sounds! It sounds like a good tele sounds and that is what it's designed to do.

Action is alway a compremise but I was surprized at how well it adjusted out. Pick ups adjustment is subjective, they do adjust well and the machine heads work well although a little cheezy looking.
I would say the pickguard could be better but for the price it's pretty good although a little thin. Bridge needed a few adjustments

It's tough! It has survived Dallas Texas for years.

You can go out and spend more money if you want to but for the money, this is a real USA made value.

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.

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.