Peavey's aim with this model is to produce an affordable instrument that can cover edgy styles, from country and ska to metal, with a fiery sound and incisive highs. For 199 €, the guitar is well built and has a design air that oozes Telecaster, in a gold finish with a black pickguard. In this case, I knew the price before doing the test, which is why I didn't expect much, since it's cheap and carries a full complement of electronics (which made me think the pickups ate up most of the price).
Generation EXP Gold
We continue with this 199 € EXP Gold. Two single-coils and an open-coil humbucker. Even before plugging it in, I was surprised by the feel of the strings: smooth, soft and easy to play. The best part came once it was plugged in. Often when string gauge is low, you gain flexibility but lose body. The balance of this Peavey is really good, even more so considering that 199 €. The instrument is fast, thanks to how easy bending is and the strings' great sensitivity, and at the same time it has truly raw, gritty sound characteristics for anyone who wants to start out with an instrument that rises above the average among its competitors.
Thanks to the 5-position pickup selector, we run through a varied assortment of sounds, and although I liked the whole variety, what really grabs me are its highs, its mids, the great attack and brightness, without losing an acceptable consistency of body.
Generation EXP ACM® Black
Continuing our Peavey investigation, we now raise the bar a little, moving to a higher-range guitar than the last one, at 399 €. I find some substantial differences that justify the price increase over the EXP. For one, the upper back edge is contoured and the guitar fits our rib cage better. Second, this model introduces the ACM (Analog Acoustic Modeling) circuit, powered by a 9V battery included in the back of the instrument.
Analog Acoustic Modeling
To control its greater electronic resources, the guitar adds a third knob. So here we have volume and tone for the magnetic pickups, acoustic volume and a mini toggle selector (mag/both/piezo).
The original intention of the electronic design is to model the guitar's sound to get acoustic sounds in addition to electric ones, generating a wide range of possibilities in blending the two. Opinions vary and I know people who are quite drawn to getting this from an electric, so the best thing is for you to try it and decide for yourself. If, instead of looking for more acoustic sounds, you use the circuit experimentally, you get a strong punch in the low end without losing definition in the mids and highs.
Letting the instrument take me wherever it wanted, I ended up with a wild distortion spiced up by engaging this system. The sound gains in harmonics and it is easy to provoke saturated feedback, resulting in very peculiar sound characteristics for these Peavey guitars, which give them a personality of their own.
Generation™ Custom ACM® - Sunburst (00462640)
Comments on the third Peavey model
We come to the highest-range instrument of the three: 675 euros. Three rotary controls: volume and tone for the magnetic pickups and acoustic volume. A five-position blade pickup selector and a mini toggle switch for the ACM (mag/both/acoustic). There is little to add about this technology since it is the same as described on the previous model.
As for the sound, it is a versatile guitar with plenty of top-end power, brightness and attack, in addition to the powerful electronic tool described. The instrument offers a wide spectrum of resources in terms of timbres and "colors," with quality in the more incisive parts. As with the previous one, and although its original purpose is acoustic simulation, engaging the ACM gives the instrument a powerful adrenaline rush of low end under distortion, increasing sensitivity and harmonics.
Conclusions
An ascending test that has run from the simplest model, the EXP, through the EXP ACM and the ACM Custom. Details such as where they are made, the addition of piezos in the saddle, a basswood body versus alder, the ACM system with an added acoustic volume pot, mini toggle, stereo output with mag/piezo and so on are what affect the possibilities of these three instruments and, consequently, their price. The ACM development and the generally competitive prices deserve a special mention.
I recommend doing two tests at your usual stores: first, ask for any PEAVEY guitar with the ACM circuit and have a poke around, both with the acoustic modeling and with free experimentation with the resources the system gives you, which this time I decided to try even though I made that decision outside the recommended instructions. The second test: pick up the basic Peavey Generation EXP, at 199 euros, and be amazed by it, because it is without a doubt a guitar that stands out by a wide margin from its competition at these prices. It's the one I liked best, considering what it offers for the price.
* Written in June 2006, updated in September 2020.
