My Latest Guitar

I recently came across a used Peavey Limited ST in the "tiger's eye" finish with a nice quilt, and snapped it up. I have been playing this instrument for a little while now and I still feel like I made the right decision when I bought it. Why?

- This is an American-made instrument. There is an "EXP" model available, made in Korea, but I really want to support American manufacturers. (I realize they don't actually get paid when I buy a used guitar, but I can at least voice my support by promoting the American-made Peavey instruments by my example).

- It has an extremely nice neck, with very low action. This makes it easy and comfortable to play for long periods of time.

- It has a nice tone, with a lot of twang. The humbucker in the bridge position is loud and crunchy. The two single coils sound nice as well, but I have not yet fully explored the different tones I can get out of them.

- The body has chambers cut into it, which not only improves the sustain, but makes it very light.

- The tremolo is the best I've used -- the instrument doesn't drift out of tune.

- It has very nice locking tuners.

- The "fit and finish" is flawless, absolutely flawless -- practically the best I've ever seen.

- Last, but certainly not least, the price was outstanding. Peavey instruments tend to be less hyped; they don't have the reputation of Paul Reed Smith or Gibson Les Paul instruments. Less hype means a much lower price.

There are a couple of downsides; this used instrument has some noticeable fret wear, and so will need a fret job pretty soon. That's OK. It doesn't cost that much, and I live pretty close to Elderly Instruments in Lansing. They do good work, and even taking into account the cost of a fret job in six months or a year, it was still a bargain.

There are only a couple of things I would possibly change. First, because it has a flat top, this instrument doesn't have the contoured arm rest, so that can become slightly uncomfortable to play after a long practice session. Fortunately it does have the "belly cut," although I've been losing weight so I have a little less need for this feature than I used to.

I would like to have an instrument with a 24-fret neck at some point.

If all other things had been equal, I probably would have preferred the HB model with two humbuckers.

If all other things had been equal, I would have preferred a blue top. I have a thing for the "whale blue" or "slate blue" or "midnight blue" colors. But when you stumble across a used instrument you can't choose the finish.

Maybe someday I'll stumble across an American-made Limited HB in flawless condition with a blue quilt top at a ridiculously low price. But until that time this is my main instrument, and I'm quite happy with it!