AMPED: Peavey Omniac JD Review

Two or more guitars in one 10-Sep-09

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Amped: Peavey Omniac JD

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The JD stands for Jerry Donahue - one of the finest country rock pickers on the planet. The concept behind this guitar was to create an instrument that enabled you to do a gig that usually required hauling along two or three guitars with just a single guitar that covered a range of classic tones.

That's a big ask no? A two pickup instrument that can sound like a Tele AND a Strat or a Les Paul, You must be avin' a larf surely?

Maybe, but with the use of some cunning electronics and the use of custom Jerry Donahue Seymour Duncan pickups, it may just work.

Rob Chappers, A.K.A the Monkey Lord, gives the Omniac JD some good blues lovin'

The guitar is beautifully built with a lovely one piece, Birdseye Maple neck with 21 frets and a single piece, Ash body. The body is available in Vintage Natural, Sunburst and Blueburst. The pickups comprise of a Jerry Donahue Signature Seymour Duncan® bridge pickup and a custom Seymour Duncan neck pickup. The pickups are controlled with a custom five-way switch and provide five distinct tones:

Selector Switch Positions
Position FIVE: The neck pickup yields the rich, sparkling tone of the traditional three-pickup guitar. The result: that unmistakable single-coil sound that echoes the soaring, majestic blues tones of the '60s and '70s.

Position FOUR: The neck pickup with a special cap engaged, affords this position a special tonal quality you would ordinarily expect to hear from a full-body jazz guitar! Also great for the classic "Woman Tone."

Position THREE: The neck and bridge pickups are in a customized parallel wiring, producing an enhanced, more contemporary version of the customary middle position timbre on the classic two-pickup guitar.

Position TWO: By combining both pickups with a capacitor and resistor in a controlled degree of reversed phase, this position offers the popular "in-between quack tone" found on three-pickup guitars.

Position ONE: This is an updated stock-style bridge pickup with symmetrically staggered pole pieces for great string balance and a special wind for increased sustain. It captures that amazing gutsy lead sound found on the very best of those traditional two-pickup guitars!

In practice what you get is a really usefull set of classic guitar tones that cover classic Tele, Strat and even Jazz and lead tones.

This guitar is obviously not for the casual player, the price making it a considerable investment, but you do get a lovely instrument for your hard earned $$.

The Peavey Omniac JD is available now.
$1599 RRP / £1537 RRP - cheaper on the streets

10 Comments... Post a comment original story

ShadyDave Said...

That's a fair amount of cash for what appears at the outset to be a "mere telecaster" but as this review proves this is an awful lot of guitar. Convincing tones across the spectrum, as well as a gorgeous finish and the usual high Peavey build quality - it sounds and looks absolutely stunning - helped no doubt by Rob's impeccable playing and the rather lovely Coolidge Outlander amp.

Excellent review.

10-Sep-09 02:23 PM

Mojo292 Said...

Very nice looking and sounding tele. Love the birdseye neck on this baby, wow! Very good pairing with the Coolidge Plexi. ;-)

10-Sep-09 02:51 PM

Mojo292 Said...

Very nice looking and sounding tele. Love the birdseye neck on this baby, wow! Very good pairing with the Coolidge Plexi. ;-)

10-Sep-09 02:51 PM

Darfuria Said...

A perfect example of why you should never judge a book by its cover (or guitar by its manufacturer). I'd never have thought about grabbing a Peavey guitar, but this beauty, although perhaps a little out of my current price range, has an awesome range of tones. Love that blue, too

10-Sep-09 02:54 PM

Adji Said...

Great review by Rob as usual. I don't really like telecasters, but Rob makes me want it!

10-Sep-09 03:08 PM

Coolidginator Said...

My Tele GAS expands, ha gas pun. Great video review Chappers as always. I will give this guitar serious consideration when I'm shopping for my tele next month, Fender now has some competition. I was surprised at all the different tones.

10-Sep-09 03:08 PM

Nick B Said...

Yeah kudos to Rob, I'm not a real guitar head, but I was really impressed by the tones this guitar was capable of producing - very nicely demonstrated by Rob

10-Sep-09 03:35 PM

Cderycke Said...

Nice!!! Thats a serious contender for anyone in the market for a tele. Impeccable as ever dude!

10-Sep-09 05:17 PM

sted Said...

Great review roberto! That will give the tele fans something to think of, if JD likes it, it must be good!

11-Sep-09 03:24 AM

Griffo Said...

Only bad thing i could say about the guitar is that i don't like the headstock that much. Other than that though it seems like a fantastic guitar. Nice review man :D

11-Sep-09 03:45 AM

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AMPED: Peavey Omniac JD Review