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A few years back, I came across a guitar in the staging area of a pawn shop. I saw it, played it briefly, and bought it immediately after. I know nothing about it, but I'm hoping to gain some more knowledge about it by running it by the collective.

First things first - here's a picture:

This is what I know:

  1. I believe the pickguard is nickel. There are four custom parts; the guard, the bridge cover, the plug cover, and a truss rod cover.
  2. The body is swamp ash.
  3. The neck is from a Peavey T-90 - however, it is clearly not a Peavey T-90.
  4. It's a telecaster-style body

I think it is custom engraved - I haven't seen anything else like it ever (Teisco's from the 70s were close), but I'm hoping someone knows something about this that I don't. The engraving is absolutely stunning, and it really doesn't look like an amateur did it. Any information about value would be awesome as well. Is there anything I can look for to get more information about it?

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  • Looks very good; I like the scratch plate a lot. Whatever it is now it started out as a telecaster for sure.
    – Bella
    Jan 31, 2011 at 19:47
  • Very difficult to tell. I'll research it though. I like challenges like this :D. Do you know if there was anything printed/engraved inside the neck pocket?
    – Jduv
    Jan 31, 2011 at 20:02
  • Jduv - it's been a while since I had the neck off, but I don't remember there being anything there. Would that indicate that it's not a Fender? If needed, I can take the neck off.
    – Anonymous
    Jan 31, 2011 at 20:19

2 Answers 2

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I reckon that the Guitar is a Peavey Reactor Telecaster, probably a Reactor AX, because only they had the Swamp ash bodies, whereas the standard Reactor had a Poplar body. These guitars are quite cheap, and so a lot of people buy them and customise them up. I have been searching for the pickguard for sale for a bit now and I cannot find it anywhere, sadly, as it is awesome. I am particularly intrigued by the bridge pickup cover.

Sorry I can't help more.

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  • Any idea on how to confirm that? Were they swamp ash?
    – Anonymous
    Jan 31, 2011 at 22:20
  • Check my updated answer, the AX series were swamp ash, but the base model was not. :)
    – Ali
    Jan 31, 2011 at 22:34
  • Very interesting information, thank you! One interesting detail though is that the pickup selector on the standard Reactor AX is completely different than this one. It could have been frankensteined together, but wouldn't you think the controls would have been left?
    – Anonymous
    Jan 31, 2011 at 22:43
  • I noticed that, and it surprised me a little! How exactly does the selector work? Is it a dial or a lever, I can't really tell from the picture. These guitars are apparently great guitars to customize and mod, so I assume someone used this to experiment with. But if it works, then great! The pickups look fairly standard as well, are they?
    – Ali
    Jan 31, 2011 at 22:57
  • The lipstick up top has awesome tone - I haven't disassembled it to check their make/manufacturer though. Here's the type of switch: img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/2/9/4/431294.jpg
    – Anonymous
    Jan 31, 2011 at 23:07
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If you think that the neck isn't stock,and the pickguard doesn't seem to be, it is fully possible that it is a partocaster :) I am actually currently toying around with the idea of assembling a Strat from parts.

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