A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Chad wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 2:26 pm Picked mine up for $75 and did some upgrades. Still have not finished it, but it plays amazing.

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 12:15 pm So a while ago I got a killer deal on a set of Bareknuckle Cobra single coils...paid $100 for a set that is something like $260 new. The plan was to make sort of a Gilmour project strat out of it when I found the right type of guitar for it. Also grabbed a new set of locking Sperzel tuners for $25 from Craigslist, with the goal of putting it on whatever guitar I find.

Did a bunch of looking, really didn't want to spend much since I know this guitar will inevitably get less play than my Warmoth trio, but was hoping to avoid getting something super cheap like an SX...finally hit the jackpot yesterday with this older USA Peavey Predator for a cool $99, loaded with 2 Fender Noiseless pickups (guessing the neck pup is stock). Alder body, maple neck. Going to sell the 2 Noiseless pups since the Bareknuckles are going in here anyway and then the guitar will almost be free .

Also gotta get rid of this hideous green tortoiseshell pickguard...going to go with a black one so it'll have a real Gilmour vibe at the end of it all.

Anyone have firsthand experience with these? Opinions online seem to be overwhelmingly favorable, minus the tuners which are gettin' swapped anyway.

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:21 pm For me the really unique thing about the Peavey Predator is the neck. It's a thin and fast neck, though not like an Ibanez Wizard, or a Jackson, or a Kramer . . . it's just it's own thing. It's a very stable neck made from two pieces of wood running parallel for the entire length. When it comes right down to it the rest of the guitar (despite the fact that it is made in the USA) is pretty lackluster. I'm not sure what the body wood is, the tuners are crappy, and I believe the neck plate and block are some kind of plastic. But there is something about them, which is why I own one. I also have a Peavey Tracer from the same era and the neck is also exceptionally good.

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 8:09 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:21 pm For me the really unique thing about the Peavey Predator is the neck. It's a thin and fast neck, though not like an Ibanez Wizard, or a Jackson, or a Kramer . . . it's just it's own thing. It's a very stable neck made from two pieces of wood running parallel for the entire length. When it comes right down to it the rest of the guitar (despite the fact that it is made in the USA) is pretty lackluster. I'm not sure what the body wood is, the tuners are crappy, and I believe the neck plate and block are some kind of plastic. But there is something about them, which is why I own one. I also have a Peavey Tracer from the same era and the neck is also exceptionally good.

Body wood, if my research is correct, is poplar.

As for the USA thing....not exactly. I have read posts on other forums where known Peavey employees said the bodies are from Taiwan (IIRC). The guy said that he raised the point of the "Crafted in the USA" label, and was told that the neck was made in the USA, and that was most of a guitar anyway. At any rate, the bridge is very clearly an offshore special, and the tuners...eh, they kind of work.

Mine got a set of Guykers from AliExpress, which seem nice (these ones are Jin Hos). Got a Wilkinson (sorta) bridge with a niiiice brass block. I plan on a project thread if I ever have time to get it together and wired up.

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:21 pm For me the really unique thing about the Peavey Predator is the neck. It's a thin and fast neck, though not like an Ibanez Wizard, or a Jackson, or a Kramer . . . it's just it's own thing. It's a very stable neck made from two pieces of wood running parallel for the entire length. When it comes right down to it the rest of the guitar (despite the fact that it is made in the USA) is pretty lackluster. I'm not sure what the body wood is, the tuners are crappy, and I believe the neck plate and block are some kind of plastic. But there is something about them, which is why I own one. I also have a Peavey Tracer from the same era and the neck is also exceptionally good.


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The Peavey Tracer. The guitar hunting pubic doesn't seem to have given as much attention to the Tracer as they have to the Predator, though they should. It's a worthwhile acquisition if you can find one at a good price. Just like the Predator, it has a stellar neck.

fullsizeoutput_377.jpeg

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 8:09 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:21 pm For me the really unique thing about the Peavey Predator is the neck. It's a thin and fast neck, though not like an Ibanez Wizard, or a Jackson, or a Kramer . . . it's just it's own thing. It's a very stable neck made from two pieces of wood running parallel for the entire length. When it comes right down to it the rest of the guitar (despite the fact that it is made in the USA) is pretty lackluster. I'm not sure what the body wood is, the tuners are crappy, and I believe the neck plate and block are some kind of plastic. But there is something about them, which is why I own one. I also have a Peavey Tracer from the same era and the neck is also exceptionally good.

Body wood, if my research is correct, is poplar.

As for the USA thing....not exactly. I have read posts on other forums where known Peavey employees said the bodies are from Taiwan (IIRC). The guy said that he raised the point of the "Crafted in the USA" label, and was told that the neck was made in the USA, and that was most of a guitar anyway. At any rate, the bridge is very clearly an offshore special, and the tuners...eh, they kind of work.

Mine got a set of Guykers from AliExpress, which seem nice (these ones are Jin Hos). Got a Wilkinson (sorta) bridge with a niiiice brass block. I plan on a project thread if I ever have time to get it together and wired up.

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 9:47 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:21 pm For me the really unique thing about the Peavey Predator is the neck. It's a thin and fast neck, though not like an Ibanez Wizard, or a Jackson, or a Kramer . . . it's just it's own thing. It's a very stable neck made from two pieces of wood running parallel for the entire length. When it comes right down to it the rest of the guitar (despite the fact that it is made in the USA) is pretty lackluster. I'm not sure what the body wood is, the tuners are crappy, and I believe the neck plate and block are some kind of plastic. But there is something about them, which is why I own one. I also have a Peavey Tracer from the same era and the neck is also exceptionally good.


fullsizeoutput_285.jpeg


The Peavey Tracer. The guitar hunting pubic doesn't seem to have given as much attention to the Tracer as they have to the Predator, though they should. It's a worthwhile acquisition if you can find one at a good price. Just like the Predator, it has a stellar neck.

fullsizeoutput_377.jpeg

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 8:09 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:21 pm For me the really unique thing about the Peavey Predator is the neck. It's a thin and fast neck, though not like an Ibanez Wizard, or a Jackson, or a Kramer . . . it's just it's own thing. It's a very stable neck made from two pieces of wood running parallel for the entire length. When it comes right down to it the rest of the guitar (despite the fact that it is made in the USA) is pretty lackluster. I'm not sure what the body wood is, the tuners are crappy, and I believe the neck plate and block are some kind of plastic. But there is something about them, which is why I own one. I also have a Peavey Tracer from the same era and the neck is also exceptionally good.

Body wood, if my research is correct, is poplar.

As for the USA thing....not exactly. I have read posts on other forums where known Peavey employees said the bodies are from Taiwan (IIRC). The guy said that he raised the point of the "Crafted in the USA" label, and was told that the neck was made in the USA, and that was most of a guitar anyway. At any rate, the bridge is very clearly an offshore special, and the tuners...eh, they kind of work.

Mine got a set of Guykers from AliExpress, which seem nice (these ones are Jin Hos). Got a Wilkinson (sorta) bridge with a niiiice brass block. I plan on a project thread if I ever have time to get it together and wired up.

The research I'm done seems to indicate that this particular model had an alder body, but I'm not super hung up on alder vs poplar as long as the guitar isn't plywood. I've heard/seen lots of good things written about the neck so that's encouraging.

I have high end parts readily available to upgrade everything that might not be great (even have a spare high quality Wilky bridge I got for free that I think should fit this nicely)...should be able to easily get $60ish for the pair of noiseless pickups so all in all for a grand total of $165 invested including the Bareknuckles and Sperzels and Wilky bridge I think it should be a pretty neat axe