Peavey "Jack Daniels" Composer

When I first started out in Rock'n'Roll many years ago, the Bass player I was working with had a Peavey T40 bass, (well the first decent Bass he had anyway), and since then I have had a soft spot for Peavey. As soon as Peavey started making Ukuleles I knew I would have to get one because of this, even though they were all laminate and surprisingly cheap; and looked it? And there was this Jack Daniels promotion? JD and a Uke not two things I would usually put together, a Banjo maybe or a Resonator, but a spruce top Uke?

Anyhow, since I like Jack Daniels as a drink and I already had a couple of Spruce top Concerts with offset sound holes I decided I would get the Jack Daniels one as it would stand out more in the corner; and this choice was helped out a lot by one coming up cheaper still on eBay So here it is the Peavey Uke...

As I said, it is all laminate, this includes the spruce top as well as the sapele back and sides; and when you look closely at it you can see it wasn't made with love. Its not badly put together but there are some varnish runs in the satin finish, the frets are still a little sharp, there are a lot of glue marks inside, that sort of thing. The materials used are good, the sapele is quite attractive, so is the neck. The tuners work well, but it does still come out oddly design wise? It feels a bit neck heavy and doesn't balance well, the back of the headstock looks distinctly crowded, (can't say I'm wild about the headstock shape generally anyway), and the rosewood bridge sits oddly in the graphic like its some kind of afterthought?

All bad then? Not by a long shot; what the reasons for the design are, I'm not sure, but if it was for sound and playability then its absolutely spot on! This is as good as any laminate Ukulele I have ever come across and definitely better than most. Its also loud, (well for the player anyway with the top sound port), but it has a very good definition. You can hear the individual strings clearly so a C does sound different to an A minor and they both sound different to an open strum. Then once you get over the odd balance its a very forgiving player; the frets might be a little sharp but they don't buzz and they still intonate correctly wherever you put your fingers in the space between

To sum up this would be a great first Ukulele for someone who was willing to pay a little extra for something that clearly was never meant to be a toy. It's got the name, its got the performance, and its a big Concert scale so size is less of an issue too. You can even get a plain one if you don't like Jack Daniels - or if you're like me you can start learning drinking songs

Those two final UU Questions for a "proper review of the Peavey Ukulele" Will it last? and if I lost it would I get another one?

To answer the second question first - Yes I'd get another one. Given its price and all of the great sound qualities this is my go to "beater" Ukulele now, The one I can take anywhere and rely upon. So the answer to the first question is how disreputable are the places I would take it? Its solidly made and as an all laminate less likely to dry out and split, It should last fine unless I have to...

Let's say use it in an un-ukulele like manner!