I am a self taught fingerstyle hack, but I have enjoyed playing acoustic for about 15 years. I am actually a former gigging drummer and have played mostly in western NY and the Philly area. I bought the JF1 at a local music store in Corning, NY because I wanted a hollow body to teach myself Jazz guitar. I really wanted a Gibson ES-175, but did not have $2,000 laying around (who does?) Looked at Epiphone, Ibanez Artcore and the JF1. Paid $300 for the Peavey The JF1 was well balanced, had excellent tone especially when played through a Peavey Delta Blues tube amp, and better quality than the Ibanez Artcores I tried. The neck felt more "fluid" than the Epiphone Casino I tried. About 2 days after I took the JF1 home, it refused to keep its intonation on the E and B strings. This was easily fixed by taking it back to the music store, where their tech adjusted the bridge and neck and put some Elixer Lite electric strings on it. (No charge...the dealer always backs up his sales). It plays like a dream now. Although the body is of a less expensive wood (basswood most likely), The quality and tone of the JF1 is superb Good guitar for a new to intermediate hollowbody electric player This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I purchased my Peavey JF1 EXP at a small shop in Houston, TX. I was in the market for a semi-hollow body styled electric. I found this and paid $300 for it. I could not be any happier. This guitar is beautiful all around. The finish is gorgeous. Red, Black and Vintage Sunburst were available. I chose Sunburst. The gold hardware adds to the beauty. Sounds great, plays great, looks great...what else do you need? Oh yeah, good price. After looking around to find what I wanted I found this peavey guitar to be it...at least for what I had to spend. I checked out the Ibanez Artcore series guitars and found that, compared to this Peavey, Ibanez Artcore guitars were low quality. First, to pick up the JF1 you can feel the quality. Great contruction, practically flawless. Played acoustically it sounds fine...foreshadows of great tone to come when plugged in. The action is great. Of course every player prefers different settings but you can take this baby low and fast. The humbucker pick-ups are awesome, truly high output. I have 3 electrics and this one is the most powerfull. The tones coming out of this guitar are amazing. sweet and mellow to hard rockin' and everything in between. If you need a guitar with that semi-hollow tone this is it. For $300 you can't beat it. Of course if you can afford a Gibson E-335 or other comperable axe then go for it but if you have $300-$400 and want a quality instrument then this is the way to go. The only thing I don't like about this guitar is that the tuning keys are not as precise as I would like but it does the job. If you wanted you could replace them and the problem is fixed. Other than that there is nothing I dislike. It's a great experience every time I play it. One more thing. Peavey now has the JF2, that sucks cause now I'll have to try that one. Very solid construction. Neck thru body is strong and adds sustain. The finish beautiful. Leaves nothing to be desired. As stated before, compared to other guitars of this type and in this price range these seem to be the best built, best quality units. Buy it, buy it, buy it. And then buy the JF2 also. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
