February 1, 2008 In an unusual move for a sporting motorcycle design engineer, Eric Buell has turned his eclectic eye to faster frets and pumping pickups for a brand new custom Peavey electric guitar, the MS-1.
Buell was introduced to the idea by close friend and shredding metal guitarist Mike Stone of US band Queensrÿche; “Erik had a Peavey guitar with orange and red flames on it,” recalls Stone, “and one day he said, ‘You’re a Peavey guy, you should play this!’ I started playing it and I could just smoke on that thing! Then Peavey sent me a few HP™ Special guitars, and they were just as killer.
“One day I asked him if he’d ever thought about designing a guitar, and it all fell into place from that moment. Erik’s thing is balance, and his designs tend to be very unique and forward thinking. For this collaboration I wanted a modern, crushing guitar that can do everything, but be very curvy and sexy.”
Peavey have been manufacturing guitars, amplifiers and electronic gear in Mississippi for 40 years and have provided equipment for a wide range of players as diverse as Scotty Moore (Elvis), Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), Steve Morse (Deep Purple), Bonnie Raitt, Joe Satriani, Dwight Yokam and Philip Glass just to name a few.
But don’t think that the MS-1 by Eric Buell is the first motorcycle influenced guitar from Peavey. Some may remember an episode of American Chopper where the Teutuls created a custom chopper for Peavey which included a working amp! Peavey in turn then created the American Chopper custom guitar with plenty of chrome fancy bits designed by the OCC boys.
