Peavey Generation EX Tele thoughts?

[Wildhawk]

They look like a good base to upgrade on. Feedback from any owners/players of them appreciated.

[ole6string]

I had one a couple of years ago. Was a great guitar for the money. I really liked the body shape, it seemed to balance well and was comfortable to hold. I sold it in a moment of insanity. I should have kept it. It would have been a fun guitar to mod.

Maybe I need another one.

[Jack Wells]

Why bother? You could get an Affinity Telecaster for less and have something that looked like a Telecaster and not like this...........

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[Momotoro]

why do non-tele shape garner such responses from some great thinking people?

[incaowns]

mmm...sexy...

[EunosFD]

Agreed, it's refreshing to have some variety and the Omniac (as pictured above) is a decent looking guitar. However, I believe the Generation referred to by the OP is their older much more Tele'esque looking model. They had a model called the Reactor as well which was even more traditional. Most if not all Generations I've seen were rear routed with either a flat or carved top (some with figured maple) whereas the Reactors had a pickguard and were top routed like a traditional Tele.

[Jason R.]

I modded a '94 Peavey Reactor I got on eBay for $150. Jerry Donahue in the bridge with a SD '59 HB in the neck. Love it. Solid guitars.

[RomanS]

Originally Posted by jwells393

Why bother? You could get an Affinity Telecaster for less and have something that looked like a Telecaster and not like this...........

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From testing both at guitar stores a number of times, I have to say, the Peavey is much better by far than the Squier Affinity Tele, both in construction/playability and sound - while the Affinity feels like what it is - a cheap entry level guitar, almost more of a toy - the Peavey feels like a well-made, but competitively priced real guitar...

[tlsmack]

Not a huge Peavey fan, but they are nicer than most Squiers. I think the Gen Ex ofers some great pickup combinations also.

[ole6string]

Oh great! Thanks for this post. Now I think I have to have one of these. Uhg!!!

[franchelB]

I played a friend's Peavey Reactor (T-type guitar), and I swear I was hearing Tele sounds! Highly underrated guitar!!

[Jellecaster]

No idea about the Generation FX or Reactor, but I have an Omniac JD and say what you will, it is a GREAT guitar. Sounds good, feels good, looks good, is good - mmmmm good.

[Sleph]

while the Affinity feels like what it is - a cheap entry level guitar, almost more of a toy - the Peavey feels like a well-made, but competitively priced real guitar...

+1

[ole6string]

Well I played a lovely Peavey Generation EX today in a very nice tobacco sunburst finish. I gotta tell you, I think this is a great guitar for the money. Workmanship seemed great. Finish was flawless, frets were perfectly dressed which is the first time I have seen that on a chinese made guitar or most any guitar anymore. The neck is big and fat and felt very comfy in the hands. The neck appeared to be tinted and had a lovely feel. Vintage style tuners.

I was pleasantly surprise with the pickups as well, both pickups sounded great but the neck pickup sounded exceptionally good. The design of the body is very comfortable to hold and not too heavy.
I used to own one of the Generations that had the HSS configuration and to be honest the quality in this guitar blows that away.

Electronics are what you would expect, could stand a new switch, jack and pots but they still felt reliable.

All in all I was very impressed with this inexpensive little guitar. Now I have to try and talk myself out of going back tomorrow to buy it.

[jtricer1973]

Hey guy's , I am new here but thought I would put in my 2 cents. I just bought a Peavey Generation EX sunburst finish with standard tele setup. It was $10.00 more than the Squire and I have to tell you it is far and away a much better guitar. Believe me, play the Squire then play the Peavey and you will agree. Also the pickups in the Peavey sound great. The finish is excellent and the neck is finished with a nicely tinted finish giving it a vintage look. Also the peavey is string through the body while the Squire is not. Now that I think about it, my Generation is about 3 times the guitar the Squire is and I LOVE it!

[RetroDaddy]

Originally Posted by Wildhawk

They look like a good base to upgrade on. Feedback from any owners/players of them appreciated.

Wildhawk, I thought the same thing. A nice looking, inexpensive, Tele platform that I could mod into a really good sounding tele. Today I had thirty minutes to kill before my business luncheon. Went to my local shop and they had the Tobacco burst version of the Gen Ex telecaster.

The burst finish just blew me away. It's a complex, flawlessly done, see through burst finish on a fantastic piece of wood (basswood I think) with a black pickguard. The perfect combination. The last guitar I saw with a burst finish this good was from the Gibson Custom Shop. Pictures don't do some guitars justice and you have to see this finish in person to appreciate it.

Others have mentioned the nicely shaped neck and tinted finish. The tint is perfect, nails the Fender look and it makes the whole guitar look vintage and proper. The maple fretboard is fast and the frets on the guitar I played were flawlessly installed and properly finished. No fret buzz or sharp edges. The maple used for the neck of my axe has lots of figure and is surprisingly high quality. Same with the maple used for the fretboard.

They really nailed it by putting vintage Kluson style metal tuners on the headstock. They work great and complement the rest of the vintage look of the guitar.

The POTS and volume controls don't seem cheap like Squire POTS or Hamer Slammer POTS, they look and work like high quality Telecaster POTS and the chrome housing appears to be of high quality.

The chrome ashtray at the bridge appears to be adequite. I had to adjust the set up because the action was too high and it was easy to adjust the height and intonation.

The thing is a tone monster! As others have said the tone from the neck pick up is fantastic. Might be the best Fender sounding pure rythm or warm bluesy lead pick up I've ever heard on any guitar I've ever played at any price. The neck pick up totally blew me away through a Fender Blues Junior. The middle position sounds fantastic as well with the neck and bridge pick up both activated.

The only thing I found not to my taste on this guitar might be the bridge pickup. Others may disagree but in my opinion the bridge pick up is not as hot nor as good sounding as the neck pickup at least to my ear. That might just be because the neck pickup is so extraordinary. I think it may be a reverse wound Keith Richards style neck pick up. I'm going to play the guitar as is for a few months just to see what I think long term before I swap out the bridge pickup.

You really don't have to do any upgrades on this guitar. It's a $500 guitar masquerading as a $200 guitar. I bought it today on the spot!

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by jwells393

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It could very well be a $ 500 guitar passing for a $ 200 guitar.

It'd be far better if it looked nothing at all like a Tele. I'd rather a product have its own separate visual space. An ambiguous 'Changeling' is always my last choice.

It looks like a man passing for a woman. Sorry.


Bubbanov

[scottwatermusic]

I think the newer Peavey models look pretty good. There are many more less appealing models out there. As far as quality... Yeah these things a definately better than an affinity series Squier (and I'm a fan of those too).

As for the Peavey Reactors, well I have a '94 model (white) and it is my main guitar for gigging. The only thing thing that I want to upgrade would be the tuners. But it stays in tune gigging for 4-5 songs. Just picking it up at home and playing it, it's almost always in tune.

[RetroDaddy]

To each his own. I think the shape of the Peavey Gen Ex body looks as good or better than a Tele body. I've not seen a Fender tobacco burst finish as good as the burst finish on the Peavey. For those with similar tastes this is one hell of a Tele for the money.

I am partial to the shape of the headstock of a Tele but the vintage tint on the Peavey neck and the vintage tuners and the shape of the neck and the quality of the piece of wood on my guitar is so good there's no reason to replace it.

But for those of you that have to have a Tele headstock you could easily buy a licensed headstock from Warmoth or get a used tele headstock and put it on the Peavey body and use the Peavey tuners and the rest of the Peavey rig.

That's one thing that is so cool about buying inexpensive guitars. You have so much money left over you can have fun making all kinds of mods if you want to. The set up on my Peavey was way to high so today I spent 45 minuts adjusting the truss rod and string height and intonation. I can't find any flaws with this thing now that it's set up right.

Incredible bargain for under $200 brand new.

[bluescube]

Seems similar to the old Yamaha Pacifica tele styles, eg. the 311MS for example