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NGD: Korean Reverend (Clip in 2nd post)

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orange-Moonies3.jpg

 

:D

 

 

No, not that guy. This guy:

 

rev1.jpg

 

The light's a bit crap round these parts today.

 

rev3.jpg

 

^^^ The truss rod rout is a little bit LOLWTF- style. I'm sure it works fine.

 

rev2.jpg

 

 

 

Detail inside the trem cavity:

 

rev4.jpg

 

That's not the most substantial block I've ever seen, but I've seen a lot worse too (wafer- thin zinc, anybody?). Dunno why it's painted either, but I don't expect it'll hurt anything. The unit is a Wilkinson VS50, which is described by the manufacturer as a drop- in replacement for the Fender US 2- point trem... so if I ever get mad at it I know I've got lots of good options. I'll say this for it, the little bastard's got a hair- trigger... minimal movement on the bar = big shift in pitch.

 

 

And now, my somewhat mixed opinion of this axe:

 

The guitar actually came in yesterday but I didn't get around to posting about it 'til today because I've been wrestling with it. This guitar has a rotten attitude and not much nice to say about much of anything, really. I'm surprised it didn't drink all my beer.

 

The good:

 

It's definitely well- built. All the hardware (nut included) is of at least standard quality and in some cases is a little bit premium for this price range -- double locking tuners, graphite nut, yadda yadda. Neck pocket is tight, tight, tight. The finish is excellent, with only one spot where a little paint got on the binding; the finish on the neck is satin and unobtrusive, if a bit drab. It's definitely as well put together as my Schecter, maybe marginally better.

 

The pickguard is fully shielded and the pickups are pretty quiet for P90s.

 

The bass contour control is actually pretty cool. I've already taking to calling it "the balls knob" because that's what it seems to control: with my amps clean channel on the right gain setting, balls rolled off = clean and a bit stratty, balls dimed = dirty snarlin' dog. Doesn't seem to do as much on the dirt channel.

 

The hard case I ordered with it is pretty good quality. :thu:

 

However...

 

 

The bad:

 

This thing is uncomfortable and even a bit obstinate. The neck is a harsh and unforgiving place that seems to demand a heavy hand. That combined with the quick- draw trem makes bends a real workout. This guitar claims to be chambered, but ye gods is it heavy... but luckily it's cut like a telecaster so it jabs into your ribs real good. :lol:

 

I think the one I've got has a bad volume pot: jiggle it even a little and there's a big cut in output, move it more than that and it shoots your tone in the face, turns it all weak and muddy. The tone and bass contour controls don't share that problem, so I'm assuming this is a one- off glitch and not a common thing. No biggie, I've got a 250k CTS pot around here somewhere...

 

The "quack" positions are pretty disappointing. You've really got to muscle your pick attack to get any snap out of them and they're horribly muffled- sounding. I'm hoping that replacing the cheapass switch that came with it will fix that, but who knows?

 

And just in general terms this guitar seems to disdain everything that might even potentially be described as "finesse." Nothing genteel about it at all, you've pretty much got to man- handle it. You don't play this guitar so much as you get into a fistfight with it; and yeah, I realize that's a pretty subjective thing to say and YMMV and all, but after 24 hours of living with this thing that's the way I feel about it. As somebody who's been spoiled all his life by Fender necks this guitar is a bit of a rude awakening; it feels like a farm implement.

 

 

The specs:

 

3xP90 (MIA Reverend), 5- way switch

Master volume, tone and bass contour controls -- 250k pots if you're curious

Mahogany body (chambered supposedly), spruce top

2- piece maple neck w/ slab board and no fake skunk stripe

Single bound, top only

Wilkinson trem and tuners, graphite nut

 

 

In fairness, this thing has probably had a rough way to go because it got here 3 days after my CIJ tele, with which I've hit it off pretty well; so that's a tough act to follow. All the same, I don't think I see this guitar becoming my number one but I'll probably keep it around for days when I'm in an evil mood. :evil:

 

If I had to rate it on a 5 scale with 1 being a vintage silvertone and 5 being a boo- teek custom shop drool machine, I'd spot it a 3. It doesn't suck, but I've had nicer without breaking the bank -- the CIJ tele's a 4 easy.

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Here's what it sounds like all raunchy (10mb wav file, might load slowly):

 

http://media.putfile.com/Reverend-Jetstream-390----3-tones

 

Gear used:

 

The guitar in question -> Kustom 72 coupe (dirty channel, gain just under 1/2) -> SM57 -> EMU 1820 -> Cubase. I didn't do anything to the track after recording except normalize it a little to -5db.

 

What you're hearing:

 

The clip is 57 seconds and contains 3 tone settings -- 0- 18 sec = Bridge pup, bass contour dimed; 19 - 37 sec = bridge pup, bass contour rolled all the way off; 38 - 57 sec = neck pup, bass contour rolled all the way off. Like I said, the bass contour doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference under gain; if I sit and really think about it I can kind of hear a difference between the first two sounds but it's not much.

 

 

 

It'll definitely make bad music for bad people. It doesn't seem to like too much gain however, as it has a capacity for getting harsh. The cleans aren't terrible, especially with the bass contour rolled off.

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I'm sorry to hear about those issues.

That is one mean lookin brute.

 

 

Yeah, I had big expectations for it and it didn't quite live up to them.

 

I don't want to bag on it too bad, it could be that that neck and my hand just aren't well- suited to each other. But it definitely hasn't squashed my GAS for a P90 strat.

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metallica_00 Newbie

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Appreciate the honest review. It's always a struggle between the side of you that wants to like everything about it because you just dropped some serious dime and the other side that says, "hey, this isn't perfect!". Not everything can fit your style, you know? I'm more of a finesse player with a light touch myself, so I hear where you're coming from. Very nice looking guitar though!

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That clip sounds pretty good.

 

Thanks. :)

 

I like the bass contour control.

 

Could you tell a difference? At that level of dirt I kind of can, but it's not really obvious to me.

 

That's a nice sounding amp.

 

Yeah, I like it. It does a decent- enough Marshall impression but it's a little more tricked out. It's very tight sounding. At 72 watts it'll get plenty loud but it also sounds pretty good with the master turned down IMO... I've checked it and at the level that was recorded at my neighbors wouldn't have heard it (house).

 

It gets kinda semi- boring cleans though and doesn't have enough reverb on tap for my taste. I need to get a DRRI or something to go with it, then I think I'll be set pretty well. :thu:

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Ultradust Newbie

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No, not that guy.

 

 

Haha, there's very little to revere when it comes to Mr. Moon. No one should be under the influence of a Korean man who calls himself King Jesus.:p

 

Could it be that the minimal quacking is due to the pickups simply being too hot? I've found lower output p'ups(in a Strat's case) have more funky nuances by far than hotter wounds. If the P90s screws have any more room to clamp down, I wouldn't be afraid to try lowering all three p'ups a tad, as they look maybe like they're a little high(I could be wrong, somewhat hard to tell). A hot single coil can really get thumpy if too close to the strings.

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Could it be that the minimal
quacking
is due to the pickups simply being too hot?

 

 

That occurred to me and you're right, it may just be the nature of the beast there. I haven't tried adjusting the pup or polepiece heights yet, so I should probably have a go at that.

 

But on the other hand there's still the muffling thing going on which I don't get on my other P90 guitar in the neck + bridge position, and that's what's making me want to point a finger at that switch.

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nuke_diver Newbie

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Well HNGD

 

I gather you ordered it online so you never got a chance to play it prepurchase. Always a risk. I was quite worried when I got my Blackout Tele but for 250 new I figured it was worth the risk. As it turned out it was. I'm seriously considering the Manta Ray but I will have a chance to check it out so if I ran into similar issues it would kill the deal for me

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Joe Naylor Newbie

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Hey SM,

 

Appreciate the honest review. Sounds like we dropped the ball on the faulty pot, which might also be causing the dull tone.

 

Anyhow, if you like we could send a UPS call tag and pick up the guitar from you (assuming you are located in the USA). We'd replace the pot, and could install a fourth trem spring to tighten up the response. While we're at it, I'd check over the set-up and tone as well. There'd be no cost at all to you.

 

If you're interested, contact me at sales@reverendguitars.com, or 586-775-1025.

 

Thanks,

 

Joe

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Hey SM,


Appreciate the honest review. Sounds like we dropped the ball on the faulty pot, which might also be causing the dull tone.


Anyhow, if you like we could send a UPS call tag and pick up the guitar from you (assuming you are located in the USA). We'd replace the pot, and could install a fourth trem spring to tighten up the response. While we're at it, I'd check over the set-up and tone as well. There'd be no cost at all to you.


If you're interested, contact me at
sales@reverendguitars.com
, or 586-775-1025.


Thanks,


Joe

 

Very impressive Joe

 

:cool:

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Hey SM,


Appreciate the honest review. Sounds like we dropped the ball on the faulty pot, which might also be causing the dull tone.


Anyhow, if you like we could send a UPS call tag and pick up the guitar from you (assuming you are located in the USA). We'd replace the pot, and could install a fourth trem spring to tighten up the response. While we're at it, I'd check over the set-up and tone as well. There'd be no cost at all to you.


If you're interested, contact me at
sales@reverendguitars.com
, or 586-775-1025.


Thanks,


Joe

 

Heh... caught in the act! :eek:

 

 

;)

 

Thanks for the offer Joe, but I don't think it'll be necessary. I've got some extra aftermarket pots lying around that were meant for one thing or another but never made it, so I'll just throw one of those in there. Don't sweat that pot too bad, I figured it had to be a bum one because the other two are actually pretty nice for a guitar in that price range.

 

As for the extra spring, that's no problem to scrounge up either and only takes a few minutes to get worked in.

 

Which reminds me, I did neglect to mention that the tuning stability on that trem is really quite good... so cheers on that score.

 

Anyway, thanks for the follow up. You obviously care about your product and that's always a good thing. :thu:

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Geeter Newbie

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Congratulations and Happy New Guitar Day!

 

Huge props for the clip. That is sure helpful to anyone thinking of a purchase.

 

Thanks for the review. I have wrestled with an axe before. I ended up loving that guitar. We just took some time to understand one another.

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The Bear Newbie

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I love Reverends, and tha's a beauty.

Too bad about the stuff you don't much like about though.

Maybe you'll pick her up when you get in the mood for a good streetfight.

I think the more you play it the more you'll come to enjoy it.

It does have nice tone.

 

Enjoy

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Joe Naylor Newbie

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Heh... caught in the act!
:eek:


;)

Thanks for the offer Joe, but I don't think it'll be necessary. I've got some extra aftermarket pots lying around that were meant for one thing or another but never made it, so I'll just throw one of those in there. Don't sweat that pot too bad, I figured it had to be a bum one because the other two are actually pretty nice for a guitar in that price range.


As for the extra spring, that's no problem to scrounge up either and only takes a few minutes to get worked in.


Which reminds me, I did neglect to mention that the tuning stability on that trem is really quite good... so cheers on that score.


Anyway, thanks for the follow up. You obviously care about your product and that's always a good thing.
:thu:

 

Ok, if you don't mind dealing with it. Offer stands if you change you mind.

 

I'd be curious to know how it plays/sounds after you tweak it, and maybe throw a new set of strings on her.

 

Good luck! ...and if you have any questions you know how to reach me.

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