PEAVEY TRACER
The Bare Bones Shred Machine
When I first saw this axe a few months ago on a local advert site I was intrigued to say the least. Now 'hair metal shredding machines' are the kind of things I'd breeze past since they reek of late 80s spandex and poodle cuts. Then a strange thing happened. A wave of nostalgia came over me and for weeks I pictured myself plugged into a loud Marshall TSL amp with Boss Mega Distortion, Metal Zone, Metal Core, you name it, shredding like the devil. I couldn't get it out of my head. The colour, the flat neck, the simplicity of one humbucker was all to much and I started asking the seller questions and quickly giving him a deposit, after all the chicken pickin' for the last year or so, I secretly wanted to blow some steam in the high gain metal department. A few weeks later it finally came and when I opened the original Peavey plastic case, I smiled like an infant getting a chocolate bar. Boy, this axe was mint. I mean sometimes you buy an item online and it looks like it did in the photos, but this puppy looked almost new. I was shocked. Zero fret wear, no scuffs or scratches, no dings or cracks. This axe was well looked after. Even the case was in very good condition with it's built in amp still working like it was brand new.
The Peavey Tracer was produced from 1988 to 1994 and these guitars were 'handcrafted in U.S.A.' with poplar bodies and rock maple necks. There is only one humbucker in the bridge with a volume and tone. The bridge itself is similar to a Fender Strat with six cast metal saddles. There was no arm with this axe but that's no problem as I do not use the trem and blocked it down with a wood wedge. The plastic was still on the back plates too so this guitar was possible kept in the closet from rainy days! Once I stripped it down and cleaned it I strung it with D'Addario XL .10s and when I plugged it into the Marshall TSL 602 I almost melted the walls. The sound is massive, very clear and it's great to be shredding again!
The Peavey Tracer was produced from 1988 to 1994 and these guitars were 'handcrafted in U.S.A.' with poplar bodies and rock maple necks. There is only one humbucker in the bridge with a volume and tone. The bridge itself is similar to a Fender Strat with six cast metal saddles. There was no arm with this axe but that's no problem as I do not use the trem and blocked it down with a wood wedge. The plastic was still on the back plates too so this guitar was possible kept in the closet from rainy days! Once I stripped it down and cleaned it I strung it with D'Addario XL .10s and when I plugged it into the Marshall TSL 602 I almost melted the walls. The sound is massive, very clear and it's great to be shredding again!
Peavey Tracer in Peavey case with built in Peavey 50w amp!
The body is date stamped Jan 10, 1989 making it 29 years old! The pickup is most likely a Schaller along with the machine heads.
The built in Peavey 50w amp!
The built in Peavey 50w amp warning!
See my strip down, clean and rebuild video on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxjszwVRAY0
