Peavey Destiny and Nitro III

[tt8]

Hello all

I'm new to this forum. I'm trying to learn more about the Peavey Destiny and Nitro III line of guitars. I've read the manuals and at least know the specifications.

1. What timbers were used in these models? Solid timber?
2. In the Peavey range, in terms of value and craftsmanship, where do these two models fit?
3. Apart from black and white, what other finishes do they come in?
4. Why are these US made guitars affordable in comparison to the major brands?

Cheers from down under

[Xander_X]

Both are amazing guitars with excellent build quality; however they really are completely different from one another. Peavey guitars, at their original MSRP, were rarely priced as high as their competitors. Poor marketing, plus the fact that Peavey had some serious design A.D.D and never left a model on the market for very long before trying something else would lead to them never being appreciated as much as their competition. That answers your #4 question.

#3 - They came most of the base colors, ie black, red, blue, white; don't think green was available, but on a rare occasion you could find a yellow or coral Nitro, or Raspberry Pearl Destiny.

#2 - Current value is in the eye of the beholder. A plain Destiny would probably book for around $400-$500 in mint condition, but I know I wouldn't sell mine for $1000 or probably even $2000. Sounds silly to some, but as far as the Destiny goes, I'm not going to find a guitar for under $2000 that I'll like better (except maybe a Vandenberg Custom and that could cost me close to $2000 in mint cond.) so there would be no reason selling it. Nitro's can go for anywhere around $100 - $500. I recently sold a mint Nitro III Custom for $300 and probably could have gotten $400. A Nitro Limited can easily fetch $500.

This leads me to another worthy note, which can tie into your first question. There is the Destiny and Destiny Custom, as well as the Nitro III, Nitro III Custom, and Nitro III Limited. All of which are made of different wood and different design.

Destiny - Rock maple neck Neck Thru Body (NTB), Poplar body, rosewood fretboard, Kahler Spyder trem
Destiny Custom - Bilaminated flame male neck NTB, Mahogany body w/ quilt maple arch-top, Ebony fretboard w/ custom inlays, gold plated hardware

The Destiny is essentially Peavey's version of a Jackson SL1, though it has 24 frets with a Gibson 24.75" short scale and a crazy thin neck.

Nitro III - bilaminated maple neck bolt on, I believe the body is poplar, rosewood fretboard, standard Kahler
Nitro III Custom - bilaminated maple neck bolt on but with the Tracer/Destiny/Vandenberg scalloped headstock, upgraded pickups, poplar body, rosewood fretboard, Kahler Spyder trem
Nitro III Limited - Unsure of the wood for the neck and body, neck thru body, only came in a burgundy color w/ gold plated hardware and an Ebony fretboard, kahler Spyder trem. Only 400 or 500 made, can never remember which.

The Nitro (in general, not just the Nitro III, etc) has 22 frets with a Fender 25.5" scale and a thicker neck.

Ken usually pokes his head in here once in a while like me. He knows as much, if not more, about the 80's USA Peavey's as I do. Maybe he'll chime in a add to this. Don't forget the Peavey Tracer and Vandenberg either. They are more closely related to the Destiny.

[tt8]

Cheers Xander_X. I greatly appreciated all that information.

I'm leaning towards the Destiny model as the neck specs seems to be more what I prefer but I'm open to the Nitro III. Whichever I find first. I've looked into the Tracer and Vandenberg series but cosmetically I'm leaning towards Destiny and Nitro. I understand the Vandenberg is more popular and probably has better hardware from what I've read.

Again, I'm really appreciative you took the time to provide this detail!

Are there any known negatives about the hardware and/or construction on the general Destiny and Nitro III and Nitro III Custom (which I asume is the C-3) models?

[tt8]

Ah, the Peavey Nitro III that I've seen on google have different headstock shapes. The one that I particularly prefer is the banana pointed headstock, like the Destiny, which feathers into a couple of layers. If that is what you mean by scalloped.

[Xander_X]

The Nitro C-2 and C-3 are later versions of the Nitro and are closer to a Tracer design.

I would say all USA made Peaveys are well made guitars. As far as the the 80s models, the Destiny, Vandenberg and G Ninety are the cream of the crop. That being said, the Nitro, Tracer, Impact, etc don't fall far behind.

Yes the headstock that you are describing is called "scalloped". It shares a designs with early model Vandenbergs, all Destinys, most of the upper model Tracers, and G Ninetys. I BELIEVE the only Nitro to have this headstock is the Nitro III Custom and the Nitro Limited.

While both the Nitro and Destiny are great quality guitars, and the Destiny is technically a superior guitar, keep in mind that they play and feel completely different from each other. Buy the one that's more suited for your playing style.

I know Ken has been trying to unload a nice Nitro Limited. IDK if he ever sold it or not. He's always got something for sale. I've been trying to get him to sell me his blue Destiny Custom cause he's got 2 others ... But he's being a D-Bag and bogarting all the Destiny Customs!

[tt8]

Much appreciated Xander.

Can we go back to the neck thickness of the Nitro III Custom and the Destiny. You said the Destiny has a very thin neck but the Nitro III Custom is thicker. What other brands would you compare the thicknesses to? I know the Les Paul Standard and the Modern Fender and the early 60s C-shape Fender. Where do these fit if you can give me some idea. I happen to have a Westone Pantera x300 if this is soemthing you know. This has a good shredder relatively thin neck.

Now, the pickups in these two models. What can you tell me about their quality?

I think that would be it in terms of the information I need.

[Xander_X]

Well, its a bit hard for me to compare them to Gibson and Fender as I've never really been a fan of either and have only picked up a handful in my 20 years of playing.

From what I do remember, I would say the Nitro III is more like a modern stray neck, or a Jackson DK2 neck (I'm much more familiar with Jackson). It also tapers and is wider towards the body, where the Destiny's neck is like an Ibanez Wizard and is pretty much the same radius all the way through.

The Destiny also has a lower action than the Nitro III.

The old factory Peavey pickups are pretty decent as far as factory pups go. But they're going to sound different between, well, they're different guitars, and for some reason you can take two of the same old Peaveys and they're going to sound different. The last Nitro III Custom I had sounded DARK, with a lot of mid and crunchy highs.

My Destiny sounded good from the factory but it sounds amazing with a JB in the bridge. While my Vandenberg screams with the factory pick ups.

[tt8]

Cheers Xander. That's very informative. I would expect the Destiny neck specs do give a closer action.

I did forget one more thing, the tremolo units on these models, are they good as they are or do they need to be upgraded?

This will finally be it.

[Xander_X]

It depends what your style is really. As far as build quality is concerned, the Kahlers are awesome. You have very little to worry about as far as failure goes. They are getting up there in age, so you always run the risk of stripping one of the threaded parts.

But they're extremely solid, and I actually prefer them to An OFR myself. The problem with them is they're not upgradable; so not big brass blocks. If you use your trem a lot or are one of those that need to get ever bit of sustain they can get out of their guitar, I suggest replacing it with an OFR.

I play a lot of 80s myself, but I stay away from heavy trem use. I like that its there when I want it, and that the Kahler is a stiffer unit so just touching it or even giving it a decent bump isn't going to move it.

Now all my Jackson's have OFRs and they're great too, so no hate for them, I just prefer the Kayler. My favorites are still the 2300 and 2700.

[tt8]

Thank you again Xander. You have been of great help. Very much appreciated.

[supercoupe]

old thread, I know, but stumbled onto it doing a web search. I've had a few of the last generation Nitro's (all with the scalloped headstock and Kahler 2710 system). I currently still have 3, a blueish-turquoise Nitro III Custom (H-S-S) and two black Nitro Custom (single pickup). One of which I bought brand new in 89 and it's still my Number One when I play live!
Yes poplar bodies on these. Amazing necks. I LOVE the Kahler Killer bridge too, just a bigger PITA to intonate than the FR is. Not crazy about the 3 mini switches on the H-S-S either but...
Soon I'm going to build my own take on a Nitro with a flamed maple neck and fretboard, highly figured body and different switching layout, using the hardware from a donor Nitro I put away.
Criminally under-rated guitars, but easy on the wallet for sure!