I had a Mick Fleetwood Blues Band concert on YT this morning while I was installing handles on all the kitchen drawers and cupboards. ( I get every other Friday off - although I don't, because I probably work harder at home those days than I do at my actual work) They were not too bad (the band, that is, not the drawer handles, they were perfectly aligned and fit for purpose ). Their lead player was a gent name of Rick Vito who I am not terribly familiar with, other than he played in Fleetwood Mac a few years ago. He sounded pretty decent and his voice was a reasonable facsimile of PG. What caught my attention, however, were the guitars he was playing. I couldn't catch the name on the headstocks of the ones he was using but I googled his name and discovered the name of the guitar. Reverend. Interesting look about them. Kinda retro / art deco look about them. I read a little more about them and came across a comparison review between them and the PRS SE line (yeah, I was eventually getting to PRS!). The review was pretty much wishy-washy nonsense but the bottom line they came up with was that the somewhat garish looks of the Reverends would not likely sway folks looking for solid quality and a traditionally good guitar look. The one comment that struck me though was that the reviewer thought that a lot of folks are put off by the glossy, glamorous look of the PRS guitar. Seriously? I absolutely am NOT going to knock the Reverend guitar brand - their business is their business - but I truly cannot imagine anyone thinking that a PRS is anything but fabulous, from bottom range to top. Anyway, coda to this long story: So I went on Amazon to see if they had any Reverend guitars, to check prices, and I should not have done that. Amazon always gives you comparable items to look at and they had an SE Custom 24 Limited Edition in Trampas Green. Sweet God in Heaven. And it was calling to me. And it is beautiful! And I am in deep, deep trouble.
Reverend have a growing rep and users. I've never played one personally, so have no informed opinion. I love all the SE Custom 24s I have played. My own one gets far more use than my USA PRS.
I had two Reverend Flatrocs (solid body with Grestch style pickups) that I played for years, as well as a Club King RT Semi-hollow. I sold all three and replaced them with PRS guitars. The Reverends are extremely high quality, with locking tuners and a bass roll off knob as standard features. The more affordable ones are Korean made. The models I had, with the Grestch-style pickups and 25.5 inch scale, were ultimately too chunky and vintage sounding for me. I find my SEs and S2 to be much easier to play and comfortable to hold. These are purely subjective considerations, though, and I could easily imagine someone preferring the Revs over the PRS. Both Mr. Smith and Joe Naylor, the creator of Reverend, are true innovators and guys who care about their product. But the Reverends are outstanding if you get the one that suits your needs. For example, if I wanted a Tele style guitar, I’d probably grab a Reverend Buckshot before anything else.
Reverend instruments rock... and they are growing and getting better. More comparable to the S2 line quality wise... and then some. I've owned / played them for some years now (the 'newer' import line... none of the originals, sadly...) I have 6 Rev's in the quiver so far...eyeballing a few more.. They are an awesome company with great people. The whole thing was created by a guy named Joe Naylor, and everything he designs and builds is innovative and solid (kinda like someone else y'all are familiar with...) He's also built a few amps in the past... the first line were called "Naylor", then those were followed by a "Reverend" line. I'm fortunate enough to have one of the 'Reverend' amps, and it's a keeper...
It's in the cart. I try to avoid the cart. I truly do attempt to not look. Because if I look I will 'pull the trigger'
It’s a hair trigger anyway... just say it went off by itself! The other guitarist in my band has a Reverend, a Tele type the looks well made. I’ve only played on it a little, and thought it played much similar to my American Standard Telecaster. Somehow it comes off a little more retro, if it’s possible to be more retro than a Tele, but the look feels intentional whereas the Tele seems more historic. All in the mind, I’m sure. Whatever the case, he likes it and gigs with it on occasion. I thought it sounded fine in the band mix when he’s used it.
Rick Vito and Greg Koch were gigging together last summer. I saw them play their Reverends at a Nashville bar while at summer NAMM.
