Peavey Rockingham........anybody had one /got one ?

Dominic

Cheap Gretsch alternative , Peerless made ?
Wossit like ?

fields5069

I've only heard good things, I remember they were reviewed in Guitarist years ago. I was always put off by the bling, and the F'tron-esque humbuckers, but I used to see second hand examples going for pretty cheap - £200 to £300. Of course these days they're vintage so prices have probably gone up.

TheMarlin

I had one. Nice enough, but not a patch on your falcon. I’d take a sorted G5420 over a Rockingham. 

HarrySeven

I had one. Couldn’t fault it at the price.

ten77guitar

Good guitars if you can live with the headstock...

musicman100

If your on a budget I’d go with a used a post 2016 Gretsch 5420 all day long. 

pintspiller

I still have mine. Not used much, but I can't set it down when I do.

Mine is Chinese-made. I think originally made in Korea(?). Genuine Bigsby. The Electromatics seem to have better pickups. I replaced the bridge pickup in mine with a Seymour Designed boy from an Eggle I got from eBay. And coil-tapped that.

Dominic

I have a Falcon but I have a friend selling one for £200 who asked  if I was interested so was curious -looks like a lot of guitar for that price

ten77guitar

Dominic said:

I have a Falcon but I have a friend selling one for £200 who asked  if I was interested so was curious -looks like a lot of guitar for that price

I wouldn’t hesitate at £200 especially if it’s got a Bigsby. The neck is quite thin at the nut though so if you like chunky necks maybe not for you. I thought the pickups were absolutely fine.

DB1

I wouldn't hesitate at £200 either. I had three - Chinese with Bigsby, Chinese without Bigsby and Korean without Bigsby. Chinese with Bigsby was the best one. It was a good guitar. 

guitars4you

I've sold 2/3 over the last 2/3 years and they are fine, certainly in that price range - At £200 then well worth it - Great for rock a billy and swing/jazz etc

AlexO

Good enough for Darrel before the Gretsch endorsements came in,  got to be worth a gamble at that price.

guitars4you

AlexO said:

Good enough for Darrel before the Gretsch endorsements came in,  got to be worth a gamble at that price.

I thought he played one - Could not quite remember - Know he used the small valve PV combo as well for live work

Dominic

He actually designed it according to his interview about his guitars........seems to me he copied a Gretsch and didn't have a lot of"designing" to do .
I bought it and it's surprisingly good .......may put a set of Filtertron types in it but actually the ugly Gretschbuckers sound perfectly ok just not quite as crisp as the Trons

pintspiller

@guitars4you Darrell Higham is said to have helped to develop it, although some say Peerless already had a Falcon body with the same neck (different headstock obviously). 

The Peerless/Korean model is said to have better bracing. The blonde/maple one doesn't sound as nice as the others imho.

AlexO

Dominic said:

He actually designed it according to his interview about his guitars........seems to me he copied a Gretsch and didn't have a lot of"designing" to do .
I bought it and it's surprisingly good .......may put a set of Filtertron types in it but actually the ugly Gretschbuckers sound perfectly ok just not quite as crisp as the Trons

Let's see a picture Dominic...

I love Darrell's playing and singing, one of the few rockabilly players out there who isn't a Setzer clone.

TheMarlin

The first model of Rockingham was made in the Peerless factory in Korea. At the exact same time, Peerless were buildings the Gretsch Historic range. 

Aside from the headstock, it’s identical to the Gretsch Historic G3131. I think it might even have the same pickups. 

So, Peavey didn’t really have to do much to ‘design’ one, the design pretty much just runs to the headstock. 

Dominic

The neck is nothing like a Falcon......its very narrow at the nut.....too narrow ;that would be the only fair criticism
The neck is quite Musicman-Like for want of a better description.
Falcons are very broad

guitars4you

pintspiller said:

@guitars4you Darrell Higham is said to have helped to develop it, although some say Peerless already had a Falcon body with the same neck (different headstock obviously). 

The Peerless/Korean model is said to have better bracing. The blonde/maple one doesn't sound as nice as the others imho.

I recall an internal tie in with this as well at the time - Ken Archard (ex Top Gear/Denmark Street) was head of Peavey Europe and is a massive Eddie Cochran + 6120 fan - His connection with Darrell at the time would have not just been about an artist liaison deal - They had a common bond 

ten77guitar

 guitars4you said:

pintspiller said:

@guitars4you Darrell Higham is said to have helped to develop it, although some say Peerless already had a Falcon body with the same neck (different headstock obviously). 

The Peerless/Korean model is said to have better bracing. The blonde/maple one doesn't sound as nice as the others imho.

I recall an internal tie in with this as well at the time - Ken Archard (ex Top Gear/Denmark Street) was head of Peavey Europe and is a massive Eddie Cochran + 6120 fan - His connection with Darrell at the time would have not just been about an artist liaison deal - They had a common bond 

Correct. He explains it all in this video. Some great playing too.

https://youtu.be/iEQSjgBxzHE

OilCityPickups

Having worked on a couple now ... including the one @TheMarlin had ... I really like them. Not a Gretsch style neck, more modern feeling, and the standard pickups are okay, but not inspiring.