Repairing a Peavey Predator--I'm Impressed!

[Platefire]

I've always looked down on Peavey Predators but a friend ask me to repair one for him that needed a nut and tremolo arm. Just put the nut on tonight and I'm blown away that it's sounding and playing so good. Pickups are S/S/H and I love the tone and the action is great. I'm also working on his precision bass knock off by Regal the just need setting up and a tuning key. I've got my mind made up that I am going to try to work out a deal to get that Peavey and try to trade my Ibanez 450 for it. That Peavey Predator Rocks! Platefire 

[bigsbybender]

You know, I've played several great Peavey guitars. I still love the heavy old T40 bass.... Solid tone, solid construction, but not very sexy.

I think the knock against Peavey is the inconsistency in many of their products.  One line of an item will be great (for example a stage monitor mixing board that I have). Then they may come out with something similar but not the same and it will be a flop... So many people knock Peavey because they don't know if what they're going to get is good or bad, so they err on the side of caution.

I'm open to anything they make because some of it can be very good, I just do the research and/or try it for myself.


j.

[stingray_65]

I'm not a musician, not even a little bit.

But I do know that a cheap guitar with a real good set up sounds and plays better than a great guitar with a bad set up.

When I bought my son his first guitar, I got him a First Act acoustic from WallMart.

Yeah he caught crap about that guitar from his friends, but I bought along my bro-in-law, He's a very accomplished musician. we went to 3 different Wally worlds, to every guitar out of the box, strung them up, tuned em in and played a dozen if we played one. all of a sudden my bro Thomas says " this one"

Through the years, every time I find a better guitar tech than the last one, I haul that scrapwood in for a tune up.

People pick up that old box and are amazed!

That peavy just might be like his First act, just a good one. But a good guitar is great,no matter who built it.

Just my .02

Ray

[Platefire]

bigsbybender---I remember the T-40. I use to own a T-60 Guitar. They were Hartleys P first.
I also had a Horizon II that was a strat type with H/S/H. So this will be my third Peavey Guitar.
I think the Predator will be the most usefull yet for my style and purposes.  
 
Ray-Yeah I  hear ya. I picked up a First Act very small acoustic red with flames down the side at a flea market for $5.00. To my amazement it tuned up and plays is tune pretty good. The grandkids piddle with it when they come over. I grab it from time to time and whiz off a few notes. If a guitar works it works, plain and simple.

I tell you what, Peavey Parts have been so helpful. I sent them the serial number and they sent me a new nut and whammy bar arm. The nut was correct but the arm was wrong. I took pictures of the Tremolo/Bridge and sent it to them letting them know they sent the wrong arm and they sent the correct one, no charge and didn't even request I send the old arm back. I going to send the old arm back just because they have been so helpful.

As far as the guitar, I talked to the customer/owner today, who is an old friend and told him I had become ratrher fond of the guitar and would like to trade him either my Ibanez RG-450 or either a Fender Squire Bullet and he agreed to trade for the Bullet. This Predator just sounds awesome with the switch set to mid position Single coil and bridge humbucker pu. The other positions sound good to but that position is got that fat strat quack with drive that just makes my tube amps just come alive. The action is great too. I've been tweaking to get the Kailer Tremolo to not pull the strings out of tune. I've improved it a whole lot but not perfect yet! I'm getting there. The guitar looks pretty cool, with a matalic dark blue, rosewood fingerboard and white pickguard. I might post a picture--its just your typical strat look with a peavey headstock. Platefire

[jjasilli]

Played a used one at the Guitar Center -- $65.  I wasn't in the market for another Strat, but praised it highly.  A salesman bought it right afterward!

[Platefire]

We'll I did it last night. I traded one of my old favorite guitars that I haven't been using much lately for this Peavey because I continued to be impressed with it after having it around for several weeks for repair. I litterally love the sound of the in-beween position with the middle pickup and bridge humbucker. The other positions are great too, but that sound is outstanding for my purposes. It has IMHO the right combination of fender classic bite and Gibson mellowness. Got it set up where the Kahler Trem don't go out of tune. I had to disconnect the D & G strings from the string tree because of too much drag. The angle of the pull is too radical even with lubricants. I left the e/first and b strings in their tree with plenty of graphite lubricant. I also had to remove a couple of the springs from behind the bridge saddles on the e/6th and G strings to get the saddles far enough back to achieve intonation/octive in the 12th fret. Got the action set a little high, the way I like it. I did add a new set of knobs, the old ones where floppy loose. The electronics are presently working great. All fretting is right on and on the money. I did make an attempt to find out what the body wood is on the net but no info there that I could find. I did look in the tremolo cavity but the paint so covered the wood grain I couldn't tell if it was a laminate (plywood) or not. Guess I should have scraped some of the paint in the trem cavity to see! The body is petty heavey. At least it's not neck heavy--(laminates are pretty heavy). I'm almost afraid to find out what the body wood is!! :shocked: ----anyway I guess you can't argue with success if your happy with it. I do like the color blue, the general appearance, never had a blue guitar before. Guess this is my Christmas Present 

[gmoon]

You're preachin' to the choir about older PV Predators--I've got two, an "International Series" (asian made, I guess?) and a USA one.

I literally found the International on the street--partially stripped (paint and components) before it was abandoned. When it came time to rebuild it, I wasn't very picky about the pickups/pickguard I installed on it. Being a "found" guitar, I just bought a used HSS pickguard with ceramics and threw it on.

Much to my surprise, it is a great playing, great sounding guitar.

I liked it so much that I bought the USA-made Predator earlier this year at a local music store.

My International does NOT have a one-piece body, it's laminated, FYI. No idea about the MIUSA body.

The necks are very nice on these guitars. I think the USA neck (maple/maple fretboard) has a slight edge, but the feel is nearly identical. The USA neck also has a micro-tilt adjustment. Love these necks. The music store guy said that the MIUSA necks were "farmed out" to an American guitar manufacturer--Fender. I'm not sure I believe it, but it makes a good story...

That's a Kahler tremolo, then? My Intn'l PV has one, also. The MIUSA tremolo has a much lighter block, and is also non-standard as it uses four pivot screws instead of six (or two). I'm a little disappointed with the USA trem.

Which guitar is better? They both have ceramic PUs, though the configuration and wiring is different. The USA has lower action, but the International has the edge in sound--but I spend months tweaking that guitar. It has a nice "voice." The stock USA tremolo is probably not the greatest, and might be the single largest difference between the two. That and the stock pickups which aren't fantastic, plus the wiring and PUs are a little noisy. Also has a graphite nut, which may or may not effect my opinion.

Too bad I can't compare the original PUs for both guitars...

Anyways, I'm a fan.

[Platefire]

  har! I kind on suspected the body being laminated. The 1987 MIK Squire Bullet I traded for it was also laminated---so I got laminated for laminated. Both bodies are heavy almost as much as a Les Paul which is almost a dead give away that it's probably laminated. It sounds good though and the neck and action are so fine.
  I don't know if you've dealt with Peavey Parts department but my experiance is they are great to deal with. Got a precut nut and the tremolo arm for less than $4.00 and they didn't even charge me shipping.
Also the last year or so I've been having real good results on setting up strat type tremolos so they will return to 440 tune. The main thing is having the trem base bottom out on the body at 440 when released and having the nut slots and string trees finished and lubricated where they don't restrict movement of the string. On my Predator I removed the d & g strings from their string tree because the angle was to sharp to stop restriction and left the B and E in its string tree. It's staying in tune almost perfect now. I don't get radical with it so that also helps.
  Thanks for showing pictures of your Predators and good job on the one you found. I have a new found respect for Peavey stuff now. Platefire

[gmoon]

Thanks for the tip about PV parts. I think I'll replace the graphite nut.

The USA tremolo, similar to a stock fender, actually stays in tune. I set it up per the instructions in the "Fender Stratocaster Handbook" (Paul Balmer). I have no clue as to the "standard" setup for a Kahler, though. Regarding location of the pivot point, etc. It's OK, I don't use the trem very much...but I prefer the bridge to float and not be blocked.

I removed the lower string tree, too (actually, they were both missing). I set the height of the remaining tree kinda high, with two spacers instead of one.

[Platefire]

gmoon

I've only had two guitars with a classic strat type trem that would returned to 440 everytime that was set to float and that was the old MIK 1987 Squire Bullet that I just traded off(for the Predator) and a 65 strat that got so valuable I had to sell Har!

No regrets though, we had out times and now it's time to move on. I've always read that the classic strat tremolo set to a floating position was suppose the provide the ultimate airy strat sound but
I've set my strats both ways to A/B them and to my ears the blocked position sounded best to my ears plus for me a more stable trem---so it's all subjective depending on the player. Platefire

[billcreller]

It does seem to be true about identical guitars being totally different in tone etc.  The local music store has guitars built in Korea, with their own logo on them. They also have the big name stuff.  One day a guy came in while I was there and was playing some big-buck flat-tops in the temp/humidity controlled room that they have there.  I told him that there was a cheapie flat top from Korea that sounded really good.  He played it, and was amazed that it sounded so good.  So he bought it. Around $169. bucks.  It's must be the wood (?)

[Platefire]

Well being a self confessed poor boy, cheap guitars that play and sound good are a temptation to me and other folks too. I had a Stagg White Les Paul Custom that I thought was awsome and a professional player friend of mine came by and tried it and made off with it saying he had to have it--so I swapped it for one of his teles. I've also got a Area TA-50 335 copy that I will not be parting with if I can help it! I guess the most expensive guitar I've got is a Tacoma Acoustic ER-22C--the only guitar I got made in the USA, Har! Platefire

[John]

A buddy has a Tacoma acoustic as well, and I was amazed at the great, big, round tone it has and how easily it plays. Another friend has a Taylor ($3500) and while sure, it's a nice guitar... it ain't $3500 worth of nice, imho.

I like my Epiphone electric just fine. I just gotta learn how to play better.

[Platefire]

I came very close to buying a like new Epi Les Paul Standard with the flame sunburst the other day in a pawn shop with nice hard shell case for $250.00 that had a Bill Larance (spelling?) pickup in the bridge position and still had the removed epi humbucker in the compartment in the case--but that would put me to work having to sell one of my existing guitars to make room--so I talked myself out of it.

Also, I forgot, I do have one other USA gutiar--a Hwy 1 Teleacaster. Plate

[gmoon]

Cracked open the white Predator a week or so ago. Cleaned up the grime, improved the shielding a bit and sprayed the POTs.

Something, either the improved grounding from cleaning or the sprayed pots made a positive difference, especially to the neck and next/middle settings. Not bad. Someday I'll learn to apply the lessons I've learned from amps--CLEAN it up before replacing parts.

I nearly traded this guitar for a Peavey Bravo combo-to-head conversion, from a nice guy with a minor peavey obsession (I'm guessing he had 8 or 9 peavey amps, and a few guitars). Eventually, we did a cash deal (for not very much cash).

Ran it through a 2x12. Seems like a fun amp.

[Platefire]

My favorite and only peavey amp now is Peavey Pacer that has been re-worked to retain it's original Pacer looks but it's actually a Pacer incognito and is a AB763 Deluxe reverb, bias Tremolo and Mid/raw control underneath. This will be an amp that will be passed on to my grandchildren as I go out!

I played it with the original solid state circuit for years and it was my first departure from large high power amps to a small combo--it was a loud 45 watts. So it's the only equipment I have left from my old outlandish insane 70's playing days. I had quit playing through the old SS circuit and was using it as an extension cab--so nothing lost on the old SS circuit. Guess I'm pretty much tube saturated now days!!  

[gmoon]

Wheee! Nice retrofit!

Was the Pacer any good, stock?

My roommate in college (late 70's) played a SS Peavey combo. I can't recall the model, but tone-wise it was harsh and forgettable. Kinda turned me off of Peavey for years. Yeah, I knew of the 5150, etc., but that's not really my thing. The Classic amps sound good though.

I'm more than pleasantly surprised with the PV Bravo. Maybe I my expectations were low... Running though a 2x12 cab, it's excellent. Great clean tone, has a higher gain channel, EQs, serviceable reverb (not exactly "Dick Dale," but OK in moderation). Nails a lot of 70's rock, sans pedals. You can set the "ultra" channel so it's just over-the-top. Sounds like a classic-era EL84 amp.

Looks like a typical SS Peavey, too--the tubes are tucked away inside the chassis. Even has a fan.

I never thought I'd be playing a Peavey guitar through a Peavey amp ;-). But I'm also dragging out and playing my 70's Les Paul again, after loosing interest in the humbucker sound years ago...

OK, we've strayed a bit from the "guitar" subforum theme...

[Platefire]

The Pacer was an OK budget SS for it's day. The OD knob worked pretty good for rocking out in that you could back off of the guitar volume and it would clean up and had a good distortion sound when cranked. With the master volume you could dial in some pretty responsive clean channel tones but it just didn't have that clean fender tube tone thats hard to beat. I use a Route 66 OD with the pacer now and real happy with that sound. This is the pedalboard I use with my amps. Platefire

Yep we've strayed from the Peavey Predator topic. I still look at them on e-bay--some of those same international series goes for pretty cheap! My predator sounds great through this amp.

[gmoon]

A quick look at ebay, I see Predators of all models are less expensive than the last time I checked. Huh. One of these days I might pick up an really early one, which is less strat-like, especially in the electronics...

Great looking pedal board. Way more stuff than I have. I've just got a Thomas Organ wah (bought new in the 70's), an MXR Phase 45 (also bought new in the 70's--couldn't afford the 90 back then) and a couple of cheezy digital FX, one that I normally just use as a noise gate/booster/tuner and digital reverb if the amp doesn't have it. My old Electric Mistress is defunct  .

The guts of the Bravo:



The chassis is hand-dated 11-9-92. From their PV branding and baked appearance, I'm guessing the tubes are original  , other than one Sovtek 12AX7. That's an easy fix.

A gallery with more photo, which I will update from time-to-time:
https://picasaweb.google.com/evendistempered/Peavey_bravo_head#

[Platefire]

Wow! I haven't seen that before--with the tubes all enclosed in the chassis like that. How does it sound?

My amp history progression was something like this--Mid 60's Silvertone 1482/Gretch Variaty, early 70's Silverface Deluxe Reverb/Bandmaster, Mid 70's Peavey Roadmaster 200 watts/6-12 cab, Late 70's & Early 80's Peavey Mace/Peavey Pacer, Late 80's and 90's Peavey Bandit, Late 90's Fender Hot Rod Deluxe/Silvertone 1482---this was my entrance back into full tube amps that I now presently have 12.

I've always eyeballed those Peavey classic 20, 30 and 50 but never have tried one.

When I played clubs in the 70's I used a couple of barrowed pedals that worked great--one was a "Nu Fuzz" and the "EH Big Muff". I also had the now famous Univox "Super Fuzz" but it died. I used a "Cry Baby" wah back then too. My main effect now is a delay pedal and good tube tone. Even though I use other stuff occationally, that's the main deal! Platefire   

[gmoon]

Ten Twelve tube amps, eh? I guess the forums attract an audience with a disproportionally large number of 'em  . Counting projects, I've got 8 or 9. Nothing (previously) that counts as high-gain, though.

I borrowed my share of pedals, too. Didn't mention it before (shame), but I also bought a Digitech GSP 5 rackmount unit back in the 80's. I kept trying to use it, but it all sounded the same to me. You could switch guitars or switch pickups, but it still sounded the same (eeh). Wasted $400. It did have an OK reverb setting, though. I still enjoy using a Crybaby now and then. There's a lot to say about those wahs, (why do younger players fixate on the inductors, and ignore the stuff external to pedal that shapes the sound?), but I won't go there...

Honestly, I never even heard of the Bravo until recently. Yeah, it's definitely put together differently. That fan isn't optional. Interesting design--it does a lot of clever stuff with relays.

Sound-wise, I really like it. Of course, I've never heard it through it's original 1x12 cab and speaker. I'm using a 2x12 cab.

It's certainly versatile. The clean channel is great, it has a nice lush, full sound, with sparkle. More mid and bottom-toneish than Fender, but there's a bright switch and three-knob tone control (they call it "equalization," but it's passive--passive in the sense there's no feedback, or fancy inductors like Mesa--I guess that still counts as eq).

The "ultra" channel switches in two more preamp stages (4 total), and has separate tone controls ("voice") from the clean chan. Also has "pre" and "post" level pots, so post is a bit like a master volume control (there's a "boost" setting, too, but it's noisy. At best that's OK for a load of preamp distortion at low volumes.) It's really not a modern metal amp. Personally, I'm not really interested in metal tones so that's OK. But you can dial in the gain channel pretty well for 70's rock or stoner bluesy stuff. I wouldn't dare compare it's sound to a classic-era Marshall, but hard not to...

The PI seems to be a Cathodyne, with another fixed gain stage preceding. The reverb is opamp-driven, which isn't unusual in a cheaper amp. It works fine for me. It's not a Fender reverb sound, though. You wouldn't want to turn it up above 4, unless you're looking for a BÖC (Cities on Flame) tone, a "dark" blues tones or some of the cool stuff Los Lobos pulls off.

There is an issue with the send/return, and I've got a patch cord plugged in all the time. Unfortunately, I don't see a direct replacement in Doug H's store, but AES stocks Peavey jacks.

Cheap amps that try to "do it all." usually don't do anything well, yes? Given what I payed for it, I like it well enough that I'd buy another one for twice that amount, if one comes up locally again.

[Platefire]

Yeah I'm not interested in the high gain metal type channels. I only have one amp with a drive channel but it's a Mesa Boogie Rocket 440--Great sounding amp! The Hot Rod Deluxe I had also had a drive channel but I never liked it. I just used the clean channel and pedals for drive.

Speaking of the Bravo, I can't pass up a good deal either. I got a Pignose G40V I picked up for $45.00 in great shape. It worked good but didn't sound too hot. I took the original 10" speaker and baffle out and retrofitted a 12" speaker/baffle in it, installed some new tubes with 12AY7 in V1 and now that is a great sounding little amp---it's smaller than my DIY champ! ---but packs a whallop.

One of the sweetest amps I got is an Allen Accomplice. I've about decided one of my all time favorite circuits is the AB763 deluxe reverb and the accomplice is a great modified version of that. Platefire

[gmoon]

I recall looking at the Pignose schematic a couple years ago. That was a great find @ $45.

That Allen Accomplice looks like *kandy*. I'd be loving that amp, too. Nothing like a Fender from that era. The earlier cathode-bias amps were great, but so are the blackface amps. I'm sure it's PLENTY loud enough, too.

I've had a few good scores. I bought an Ampeg Gemini II in college for $65. I used that on-and-off, usually goosed with pedals. It developed problems over the years, and I sorted those out a couple years ago.

Also picked up a Lectrolab R600 recently for $70. The amp wasn't branded. I knew it was an old PP 6V6 amp, but I didn't know what I had until I took off the back and found the schematic. It's got a very tweed sound. Gets a little noisy at full volume, but it's really sweet at 3/4. Has a Quam-Nichols speaker...I tried replacing it with a couple vintage speakers, and a Weber sig, but to my surprise, nothing matched the original...

[Platefire]

I had a Bogen CHB 20A given to me yesterday. Didn't waste no time with playing around with it. At first I had my doubts and wasn't sure it was working but with a little contact cleaner on pots and tube pins got it to making a racket again. I took out the Aux pot, inputs and wiring to move the Mic pot and wiring over in the Aux hole and then added an input jack and wired it up to the mic gain stage. Wow! the thing actually sounds great with the existing circuit---been jamming on it off and on all day. Platefire

[gmoon]

I had a Bogen CHB 20A given to me yesterday.

Time for a new thread...

[Platefire]

yeah, i did on the tweaks location.

[Platefire]

After having this guitar a couple of years after the original post--I've discovered something in this guitar that has become rather special--fat quack!! I have my 54RI SSS strat with Texas Specials that gets great classic quack even though I read where some say you couldn't get decent quack with Texas Specials, but my SSS strat does!

This peavey takes the quack to a whole different level. If you like classic strat quack and like a fat strat tone, this Predator in the Bridge Hum/Mid SC position has a special fat quack like I never heard before. I sure like it and to get that tone, I've only found it on this paticular guitar.

I'm also really liking the Kailer tremolo. It has a lot of mass and produces a lot of sustain. I just recently loostened the tension on the trem springs becasue the feel of the trem was kinda stiff.
The adjustment really freed it up where it is more responsive than ever. Also that adjustment took some tension off of the string action and made the strings easier to bend. Stays in tune great long as I keep the nut and string trees lubed with every string change--but boy do I love the fat quack sound I'm getting! Platefire

[alerich]

A while back I traded two of those absolutely horrid Celestion G12T-75 speakers I had collecting dust for a Peavey EXP guitar. Sorta like a budget version of the Vandenburg model. String through body - two humbuckers - bolt on maple neck - reverse hockey stick headstock. I gave it to my girlfriend's son. He has an Epi Les Paul and a Schecter Synyster Custom but that little Peavey has become his go to guitar. I was amazed at how great it plays. Even the stock pickups sound pretty good.

My guitars were stolen a few years ago. Since then I have completely rethought the whole instrument buying model. We waste copious amounts of money on nothing but a name or status. There are outstanding guitars out there for a fraction of the price we think (or I used to think) we have to spend.

[Platefire]

Alerich---I hear ya! Sorry about getting your ax's stolen. Early in my guitar playing years I bought top name brand guitars and even had some top guns that were duds! Now I go strickly by feel and sound regardless of whats wrote on the headstock. Most currently amazed at a ION strat copy
I bought at a flea market for some reason this one caught my attention because I usually pass over cheap strat copies without a second thought. I think the 20$ price got my attention first and even though it only had two strings on it, all the parts were there and intact--so I took it home, put on new strings, cleaned it up and set it up for my taste. Now whats getting my attention is the action and feel is so good it's bringing out sides of my playing I didn't know existed--and that's how a good playing guitar should work--inspire you and bring out new facets of you playing. I like that because I get tired of hearing myself rattle off the same licks all the time. Another thing it does is stay in tune as good or better than any ax I have even after severe string bending. I'm sure I will eventually install new alinco pickups and new wiring in the ION but even the existing ceramic pickups/wiring don't sound half bad. It's just funny that such an experiance could be had from a cheap begginers ax. Platefire

[Slimtim]

My roommate just purchased a U.S. peavey predator in the hard case from his cousin for $75 today.Sweetest deal i've seen in awhile.Awesome guitar,all original but missing the whammy bar.

[Platefire]

When you consider the price of original fenders, the Peaveys are a good deal. Being an old Hendrex fan, I've been looking at the artic white ones with white pickguard and mapel neck. I've been wanting a all white/mapel neck strat for a long time. Plate

[Slimtim]

His is white with black guard,covers and knobs.i myself love the Gilmour black strat color combo.

[Slimtim]

hey platefire there is an all white usa predator on ebay right now.$120+shipping and it's in Orlando.

[Platefire]

Yow, thanks, I seen that. The price is right but the body finish is kind of marred from the stickers once on there. The pickgard looks kind of light tan--don't know if that's original or not? I just wonder if those are ceramic or alinco mag pickups on those old usa predators? Plate

[Slimtim]

i'm thinking ceramic

[Platefire]

I've recently changed the whammy from decked to floating after successfully changing my MIJ Fender 54 Strat RI from deceked to floating. After a lot of adjustments, tuning and playing, adusting, tuning and playing--I think I've got it set right. I've recently learned the whammy system is a peavey power bend II--not a Kahler as I originally thought. Also learned that the allen screw in the side of the bridge mass that holds the slide in whammy bar in place was missing. I called Peavey and they sent me a new one free. My experiance with Peavey parts has been great!! So I've got the action down low and the bar tension a lot easier/smoother and staying in tune well. I've never pulled the pickguard off to see if the pickups are ceramic but would bet they are but still pretty happy with the sound especially the two quack positions. Plate

[Slimtim]

Sorry but when the predator was here we never took the pickguard off to look at the insides.That guitar was minty fresh and we didn't want to go inside it and now it's gone  .

[Platefire]

It's pretty much a given---Most of the USA Predators had ceramic pu from what I've seen researching the subject and you know the imported international series would surely have ceramic also. Two of my strat type guitars have ceramic and my Fender strat has alinco 5 Texas Specials. Some ceramics are pretty awesome in my opinion. I played a 1987 Squire Bullet for years that had ceramics in it and didn't know it. After I found out they were ceramics, I felt bad about all the bad discussion for those type pickups and bought a used set of alincos out of an American Standard and put in the bullet---it just didn't sound as good as the original ceramics.
I ended up trading the bullet for this predator I have now with ceramics. Guess I got a new respect for ceramics that I didn't have before. Platefire

[Platefire]

After playing on this predator for a couple of months after setting it up floating, I proclaim success! I did lower the action slightly a couple of weeks ago. Action is silky, stays in tune, whammy is smooth and not too stiff. The power bend II tremolo is quality made with a lot of mass for good sustain. Took a lot of set and playing, set and playing but the end results are great! Platefire