Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

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sabasgr68
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by sabasgr68 » Fri May 20, 2011 7:50 am

Rollo: How did you make the new pickguard? Materials? I´d like to replace mine, but I haven´t found original peavey pickguard replacements. If you could post something like a tutorial on that (if you actually made yours on your own), stating materials used and work procedure, would be just great!!

Thanks!

PD: Really like the new looks of your "new" Raptor!! Great job, man!

Rollo
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by Rollo » Sun May 22, 2011 5:03 pm

Thanks for the compliment sabasgr68.

Making Pickguards is a lot harder than it looks, but like anything else it can be learned by practice and experience. It also depends on what tools you already have available.

It is possible to make one with simple hand tools. You need a coping saw, needle files (flat and round), medium sized files (flat and round), a hand or electric drill, drill bit set and countersink tip, medium/fine sandpaper and a vice... plus a sharp eye and steady hands.

Power tools (drill press, bench scrollsaw, mini-router) will make things easier and quicker, but the same can be said for the potential for mistakes!

If you've never made a pickguard before, it's best to make your first one out of cheaper MDF plastic (you can get 3mm thick scraps from your local signwriter). It's softer than proper pickguard laminate which can be quite expensive. Once you're confident enough, then progress to pearloid sheets... which can cost about a third of what you paid for your guitar!

Unless you want to approach this as a hobby, it might be better to get one made by a specialist - or try to ask your local Peavey dealer to source a replacement for you. Purchasing the basic tools alone will cost a lot more than a new pickguard.

Check this out:
http://forums.peavey.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=16911

If you're still keen to have a go, let me know what sort of tools you have, and I'll try to talk you through building one and give you some tricks and pointers to make straight cut-outs and beveled edges.

sabasgr68
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by sabasgr68 » Mon May 23, 2011 7:41 am

Wow! No way, my friend. Have no such tools and no such skills. Will try to find one replacement, will be less costly and faster. But I really, really like yours (not only the pickguard, the guitar itself looks very good, and if you like it that way and it´s more comfortable to play for you, well nothing to say. Perfect job, and perfect job to you!).

Thanks anyway, and thanks for the comments on the humbucker issue too!

Sabas.

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RaptorMan
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by RaptorMan » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:32 pm

My Son has a Peavey Raptor Plus that I just finished over the weekend putting two staggered pole pickups from an american standard strat from my past & a vintage fender blue lace sensor from around 87-88 into his Raptor Plus.. The lace is in the neck & the factory fenders are in the middle & bridge.. They sound way better than the factory pickups & the neck pickup is smoooth & creamy..
I know this is an old post but what better place to post my first post in a great old thread about mods to the guitar I'm working on at the time..
I took a picture saturday night before I put it back together after the wiring was done before I strung it up, did a setup & intonated.. My bench was a mess after all the stuff I had done to this guitar..

Image

Classic30inCincy
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by Classic30inCincy » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:49 pm

RaptorMan--

Xcellent Raptor Project 8) :wink:

PAF Classic Series Tube Kit.......Created By Classic30inCincy
Majic Mojo Tradename..........Created By Classic30inCincy
Graduate Of Joe Friday / Dragnet School Of Correspondence
Doctorate Degree Diplomacy From Royal Order Possum Lodge

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RaptorMan
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by RaptorMan » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:14 pm

My Boy says it plays better than any guitar he has..
That being said he has a Gibson Blueshawk that I always thought was his #1 but He swears the Raptor is his favorite & being I found this guitar in the basement of an empty apartment house with the neck broke off like Pete Townsend had been using it that's pretty hard to believe..
I reset the neck several years ago with thread in inserts & JB Weld & it's 100%...
It even came in an old Charvel case to boot.. 100% FREE..
I bought the inserts & strings & everything else was labor & time..
The body was covered with hundreds of stickers & took hours to get them & all that goo off the guitar without damaging the original finish..
I just gave the fretboard a lemon oil rubdown while the strings were off & removed all the dead skin & dirt & just gave the frets a rub with white scotch brite pads being the pickups were installed..
This guitar now sounds just like a Strat with a 5 way switch except the 60 cycle hum is gone in position 5 as the shielded blue lace sensor has no noise & sounds really nice in the neck where all the yummy blues come from..
My Son is 20 & I'm 45 JFYI.. I've been playing for longer than I care to admit..

I now have a Zoom GFX-707 Pedal Board on my bench that has six cracked/cold solder joints in the circuit board, I'm gonna resolder them & hot glue gun the parts to strengthen them internally at the input & output 1/4" plugs.. I can see the problem, so it's as good as fixed..

retrogamah
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by retrogamah » Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:50 pm

I bought 3 used Raptors in the last 3 years...

The first ones i tried was around 2006 in a pawnshop and compared to my now-ex-Jay Turser Strat, i liked their sound, better than the JT Strat

3 years ago I got a job in the music shop that belongs to the same pawn , i went into total GAS, i bought entry-line Gretsch & G&L guitars, several Epiphones, a Stagg Les Paul-style... I bought a ES-335-style Peavey JF1EX and a beat-up Peavey Reactor...

Late summer 2010, I bought 2 Raptors, one is a 3-tone sunburst EXP 3 single-coil and the other a purple Plus EXP with H-S-S pickups... i played them in a Marshall 15 watt MG and liked their sound ... since 2006 , i went always back to play Raptors... i had discovered how hollowbodies, semi-hollowbodies, Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, SGs, Flying Vs and other budget guitars sound... i went into a total Les Paul phase that lasted one year, and you know what ?

I came back to Raptors !!!

I bought a blue Raptor Plus EXP recently and stringed it with Ernie Balls, i play my purple one with old cheap Dadi strings, and last week i modded my 3-tone, replaced neck & bridge pickups with golden Ibanez humbuckers, now my 3-tone sunburst sounds real sweet !!!

I just found this awesome thread and i'm discovering lots more... i'm planning to replace other pieces as well on my 3-tone ... it became my number one guitar of all my 11 guitars

Congratulations of the awesome works you did on your Raptors!!!

jonny g
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by jonny g » Wed Jan 13, 2016 4:34 pm

I got a peavey raptor custom for Christmas. I am impressed with the body and neck work. The inside impressed me to. Nice and clean work.
tone is good but not great. I have some single coil tex-mex's pickups I will install. thinking about upgrading pots to quarter size 250k, orange cap,
fender 5-way switch and new 22 awg cloth push wiring. Think all that will fit in the control cavity are will I have to route it ?

ximStudio
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by ximStudio » Mon Feb 01, 2016 9:59 pm

Even though this forum discussion is from years back, I wanted to thank you for this inspirational post. Years back my wife surprised me with a Peavey Raptor Plus for Valentine's Day from a pawn shop. I was at a point in life where I had sold my guitars (reluctantly), and I think she snagged it for about $70.

I had to promise I would never sell or pawn, even if it wasn't my "dream guitar" as she called it. I was pleasantly surprised with the guitar and her gesture. I was always a fan of Peavey gear, had previously owned several amps, and a number of high and low end Peavey basses. It is now my main recording guitar, and lays as my only electric in a sea of acoustics and bass guitars.

Over time it's connection has become very crackle and unpredictable, and rather quiet too.

Long story short, I've decided to replace posts, puckups, and input....just at the start now, and upon investigating ran into this post, and very, very inspired. So, all in all, thank you for sharing your journey. It is now 2016, and looks like one other user that acquired one for xMas is about to undergo the same adventure. Cheers!

I'll try to post the adventure. :)

jonny g
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by jonny g » Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:26 pm

Just finished a new raptor custom mod. took out imported switch, pots, cap and pickups. put in a fender deluxe wiring kit and tex-mex pickups.
Had to route about 3mm from control cavity both depth and sides. I used a dremel drum sander. The basswood body was soft enough I did not need
a full size router. I used copper tape and shielding paint to keep all those bad sounds Faraday talked about. I have been playing guitar since I was 14, I am now 69. this my first mod of this size but I have built a tele. and a lp style Gibson. Peavey makes a great guitar for the money, easy to upgrade
or mod.
peavey guitar $ 162
wiring kit $ 30
tex-mex pickups $ 50

Total $ 242
LABOR priceless (loved every minute of it)

jcerio
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Re: Peavey Raptor Plus - Modding Project

Post by jcerio » Sun Oct 23, 2016 11:02 am

I have a Raptor Plus EXP. I just slapped some Ernie Ball .009 - .042 strings on it and gave it a thorough set up. I need a tremolo arm for it and I think the trem needs adjusting. It's either that or I block it. It sounds pretty good! I'm a bassist so it's just for noodling woth. I have an old Crate 30 watt SS amp that I run it through and a few effects pedals to play with. So, if I were in the mood to do some simple mods what is recommended?

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