It had been a while since we aimed this high with Peavey. How do we fix that? Simple: “Give me the best you've got.” And no wonder. Considering the excellent results we've had with this company's products, even in the most modest price ranges, the least we could do was find out what its bigger siblings can do. Not a drop of skepticism can dampen our conscience after the results we got some time ago with the made-in-Korea version of the same signature series: the HP Signature XP, in the Tiger Eye finish. Pure cream that, even before it's unsealed from its packaging, oozes true Custom Shop charm. Let's go!
Introduction
Before getting into it, I should make clear that I'm an extremely demanding musician when facing cherubs with sky-high prices, like the one we're testing today. The reason? Tastes differ, and each guitarist chooses the instrument that suits him best, but he shows (or shouldn't show) the slightest sign of generosity when he shells out almost three thousand euros on an instrument. It simply has to be a perfect guitar on every level, always within the limits that constrain an instrument in terms of the style it's aimed at, in sound as well as materials, design and ergonomics.
Unboxing
As I expected, the first thing I see is a sturdy cardboard shipping box with “anti-shock” systems to protect the case that houses the guitar. The case is, in fact, the pleasing kind: black tolex, with aluminum edges and good-quality chrome latches. That's welcome, because I know of cases whose latches break or stop working as they should after four gigs.
After opening the case, I see the guitar resting on fairly attractive blue padding. Next to it are all the documentation, adjustment tools and the tremolo arm. The moment I saw it, the impression I got, judging by its looks, was of a PRS with “a few extra pounds.” This design truly makes me think it's an update of Peavey's classic EVH Wolfgang.
Without further delay, let's begin the review, taking it piece by piece.
Neck, Body and Finishes
Without a doubt, the strong point of this guitar. It has bolt-on neck construction, with a contoured heel at the body joint to ease access to the highest frets. Five thick screws secure the perfect joint and guarantee good sustain. Bombproof construction. A real tank.
The only thing I missed was binding on the fretboard, since that extra protection for the fret section wouldn't have hurt.
And what can I say about the materials? Select woods seal this guitar's top-of-the-line status: an American basswood body with a thick, perfectly carved and contoured maple top, and an asymmetric figured maple neck and fretboard in birdseye pattern, with graphite reinforcements.
The finishes also deserve praise. The neck has a thin oil finish that provides an exquisite smoothness, a foretaste of the feel I'm about to experience moving along it when the time comes to test the instrument.
The body, for its part, has a wax finish in Transparent Cherry Burst, which, as the name indicates, is a transparent red that yellows as we move toward the center of the body. It is a satin finish and there is no pickguard, so our fingerprints are bound to show on the guitar, but that's the only downside of satin. Shine and an attractive finish; everything is dialed in for our visual delight.
Hardware
Right away, the chrome finish of the hardware stands out. Every guitarist has his preferences, but I think chrome is, along with black nickel, a smart finish, since gold, though a beauty that adds elegance to the whole, ends up deteriorating over time. That's life.
a) HEADSTOCK
Let's start with the headstock. It has Schaller 3+3 tuners, sturdy, precise and good at holding tune. However, as we'll see below, the nut has a string-locking system because of the floating bridge; this means tuning is at the mercy of the bridge's fine tuners, and the tuning pegs have no effect.
b) BRIDGE
As for the bridge, it's a mixed bag. The reason? It's a floating bridge with a Floyd Rose license. It's quite solid and has some worthwhile peculiarities, but I think on a guitar at this price and level, if they include a Floyd Rose, it should be, at the very least, an Original. As is well known, the main difference between a licensed unit and an Original (and Original derivatives) is the type and density of the metal they're made from, and companies usually put licensed ones on mid-range instruments, since the purpose of a licensed Floyd is generally to cut costs compared with the Original. From my point of view, and considering the excellent construction and raw materials of the body and neck woods, the choice of bridge detracts from the otherwise excellent harmony of quality the guitar offers.
As for the peculiarities I mentioned, there is one detail I loved: the Lok Block technology, which allows the tremolo to work in both directions or in the downward direction only (slackening), with upward movement (tensioning) locked out.
c) TRUSS ROD
This section deserves a special mention. I've tried guitars with plenty of options and configurations. Yet something as simple as making the truss rod easy for the player to adjust is often overlooked. On our guest, the truss rod is adjusted simply by inserting an Allen wrench perpendicularly into a gear, whose cavity is at the base of the neck, next to the neck pickup. A nice touch that was taken into account back in the day with the Wolfgang.
D) FRETS
The guitar has twenty-two medium jumbo frets on a 25.5” scale. They are well installed and made of quality material. As we'll see, they feel pleasant under the fingers and produce not the slightest buzz. A fret job that is simply impeccable.
Electronics
The electronics are also quite complete, despite their visual simplicity. Let's see what they offer.
a) PICKUPS
We have two passive Peavey HP Signature humbuckers in the neck and bridge positions, Custom wound and covered, designed specifically for this series. They have open coils, no bobbin frame, and four conductors. That foreshadows the unavoidable coil wiring options, which we can take advantage of.
b) POTS
The guitar comes stock with two 500 kΩ pots: master volume and tone, with push-pull switches that allow independent series or parallel configuration of the bridge and neck pickups, respectively. Given that the pickup selector is three-way (bridge / bridge-neck / neck), in total we can get... twelve different sounds!
I expected the pot casings to be metal, for example, since the ones installed on this guitar are plastic (I've had mid-range guitars with steel pots). Worse, their design makes the coil-tap hard to activate, because your fingers slip easily when pulling them. I think it would have been smarter to install one or two mini switches for this, or to swap the pots for ones with more friction to the touch.
HANDS ON: ACTION, FEEL AND SOUND
The moment has come. Let's start by playing seated and unplugged. After strumming some open chords, I feel excellent resonance, and the smoothness of the neck makes the feel truly exquisite, with its fine, well-polished finish. It isn't excessively thick and lends itself to speed quite well. The quality of the birdseye maple used for both the neck and fretboard stands out.
I move on to solos, and I'm satisfied: a slim, very comfortable neck, extremely easy to play.
Bolt-on construction often makes it hard to reach the highest frets unless the neck joint is properly contoured. Well, they haven't neglected that detail on our guest, which definitely removes any doubt about feel.
Now let's plug the guitar in and confirm its stability and action.
First, I must admit the factory setup is excellent, and the instrument arrived practically in tune, which says a lot about its resistance to intonation drift and its build quality. All the more so in this case, since the instrument traveled from the US to London, and from there to different parts of Spain, so it has been constantly subjected to changes of state (road movement and pressure changes from air transport, as well as other equally influential climate factors). A big plus.
Now it's time for some arpeggios through the amp's clean channel (a Mesa Boogie Roadster was used for this test, with the guitar plugged straight into the input).
I hear a warm sound, but with a strong crunchy edge that makes the tone truly balanced, round and full-bodied. I smiled when I remembered the text on the HP Signature, which mentioned that although this guitar approaches Les Paul / PRS sounds, as we play, the sound turns out to be perceived differently and doesn't land on any specific familiar tone. Not better or worse, simply veering off down another path. Well, with the big sister of that guitar in my hands, I must say the sensation I got is similar to that of the Korean Peavey, which led me to discover Peavey's intention to innovate in quality and tonal variety.
Let's test the fret leveling. I run up and down the neck with low action, with no buzzing problems, which is confirmed after playing chromatic scales. Not a single buzz. And the guitar is as docile as you can imagine, since it “lets itself be played,” without the slightest extra effort. Another plus, since I dislike guitars that “resist” being played or tuned.
Now let's focus on the pickups and the different electronic configurations they lend themselves to. First, I should say that the configurations I liked best were the three basic ones in humbucker mode, since the sustain and warmth of tone provided by the wood match perfectly with the thick, velvety, dark sound of the dual coils. And no wonder, especially when we switch on the distortion channel. These Custom pickups have a high output and won't disappoint modern rockers. I would venture to say that the bridge pickup's EQ characteristics are quite close to those of the famous Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB, with good mids and pronounced highs; and the neck pickup reminds me a lot of the ’59 from the same company, with a marked PAF character but higher output.
After playing some riffs and solos with distortion, I find how well this guitar lends itself to playing harmonics. It shows high aggressiveness, much more than I expected given the “formal” lines of its design (I repeat, the pickups have high gain). The sound is round, warm and crunchy. After a bend, I almost fell asleep waiting for the note to die away. In short: eternal sustain. I liked that this guitar is, once again, balanced, in that it doesn't stand out in cleans or in distortion but offers the same level of excellence in both.
And what about stability? Exceptional. I was able to use the tremolo in both directions for an entire song, leave the guitar resting on its stand for several days, and find it exactly as I had set it when I left it.
Apart from all the wonders mentioned, can we draw any negative conclusions? In my view, mahogany would have been a material more in line with the price and more focused on the sound one would expect from this guitar. However, it may have led to a tone closer to PRS/Gibson, which apparently isn't what this instrument is after. Besides, there are those who unquestionably prefer to steer clear of mahogany, so it comes down to each person's taste.
The basswood this Special CT is made of is of great quality, and its lightness makes the whole instrument lighter and better balanced on the shoulders, a trait you notice and appreciate at long gigs.
Conclusion
Truth be told, this guitar has, as I said earlier, its best in construction and sound, and its Achilles' heel in details I would have overlooked on any other, lower-priced guitar: the material of the pots and how stiff they are to turn, as well as the construction of the bridge.
To give you an idea, in my view this guitar would be the ultimate purchase for someone who previously fell in love with the Wolfgang and wasn't entirely satisfied with a PRS Custom.
The instrument sounds excellent, is extremely reliable, and special attention was paid to the selection of materials for the body and neck.
A 3,000 € guitar has to be examined under a magnifying glass. When making a purchase decision of this size, each musician's personal tastes get very fine-grained. It's risky or bold to pronounce emphatically in this regard. Without a doubt, we have to be extremely demanding before investing such a sum of euros. We have to be sure the instrument gives us exactly what we're looking for, down to the small details. Personally, I'm clear on my opinion. To shape yours, try the instrument yourself. Trying instruments in such a high range is always a pleasure. You'll be surprised, to say the least.