The journey got weird. Fast. We'd found ourselves at a hydroponic sprout farm in Columbus, OH on only our second day. Then, on day three, we sat in our van just a block away from Reverend headquarters in Toledo, OH finishing up our turkey sandwiches...
Once finished, teeth brushed, we walked to Reverend with my Bob Balch Signature in hand. Through what I can only deem to be fault of my own, I needed to have a little work done on the guitar, and Ken and Penny Haas agreed to accommodate me while I was in town gathering material for the article.
She promptly led us to the shop where I was able to leave my guitar with a couple of the resident master craftsmen while we took the rest of the tour. My baby was in good hands...she was home, and this brought me peace.
Next, Penny led us back through the main office where we ran across a guitar crawling with professional-grade autographs. Taking a closer look, I realized this guitar had been signed by all the super mega awesome music warlocks that had visited Reverend headquarters over the years. Huge names like Billy Corgan, Reeves Gabrels, and, Andy Patalan were all over this thing...
We walked past the photography room and into a perfectly-sized and sound-treated room containing tons of Reverend guitars and just about any type of amplifier you could possibly want to test a guitar through; Mesa Boogie amps and speakers cabinets, true vintage and reproduction Fenders and Marshalls, lesser and greater known boutique amps...everything.
The Super Rev, aesthetically modeled after vintage muscle cars, is a newer release for Reverend. Not only does it come in three killer colors ('69 Lime, '69 Orange, and '69 Yellow), it also features a Railhammer Alnico Grande in the bridge, and my favorite feature...the almighty ebony fretboard. This guitar was extremely comfortable and sounded amazing, and now that you're good and jealous, here are a few more pictures of things.
...Penny took me back into the warehouse where they had just received a fresh shipment of Kingbolts. The Kingbolt RA is an incredible new axe that comes in three different and equally mesmerizing flame maple finishes and features one seriously interesting new THANG!
A Blackwood Tek fingerboard. This might be scary for some of you but I promise it's nothing from which to shy away. Blackwood Tek is simply a polymer-injected pine that is meant to exhibit the properties of ebony or rosewood. This seemed like a bold move when I first heard about it, but given the recent revisions to the rules and regulations of international rosewood trade, it makes way too much sense to be overlooked. It's no secret that certain species of rosewood have been endangered for a long time, but the issue has only spread to other species...some manufacturers are taking this as a sign and beginning to integrate new materials into their product line. That said, not only did the Blackwood Tek fingerboard look about as close as one could get to rosewood, but it played as smoothly and comfortably as either rosewood or ebony -- it was almost like a perfect blend between the two. I'd never had the chance to play a guitar with this type of fretboard until I went to Reverend, and now I strongly advise everyone to try one out if they get the chance.
Many moons ago, Mojotone used to put on a trade show in Raleigh, NC called the Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show. Reverend would always run a booth at the show and they would always have the most attractive booth. They managed their image with great care and were always extremely approachable. Not to mention they have released a large number of award-winning products over the years and have never managed to overlook attention to detail or lose quality during growth periods. If you haven't already wised up to what's going on at Reverend, I highly recommend you check them out and get learned. Thanks to everyone at Reverend for having me, and a special thanks to Andrew for hooking me up with what I believe was a milk shake from Chick-fil-a. And also, now that I'm thinking about it, the journey didn't get weird...it was just the sprouts.
...and yes, they were liberally garnished with fresh clover sprouts.
Once finished, teeth brushed, we walked to Reverend with my Bob Balch Signature in hand. Through what I can only deem to be fault of my own, I needed to have a little work done on the guitar, and Ken and Penny Haas agreed to accommodate me while I was in town gathering material for the article.
Penny was our guide for the day...
She promptly led us to the shop where I was able to leave my guitar with a couple of the resident master craftsmen while we took the rest of the tour. My baby was in good hands...she was home, and this brought me peace.
Next, Penny led us back through the main office where we ran across a guitar crawling with professional-grade autographs. Taking a closer look, I realized this guitar had been signed by all the super mega awesome music warlocks that had visited Reverend headquarters over the years. Huge names like Billy Corgan, Reeves Gabrels, and, Andy Patalan were all over this thing...
"Perhaps there's room for a Logan Tabor," I thought. "Nah, I need a cooler-sounding name..."
We walked past the photography room and into a perfectly-sized and sound-treated room containing tons of Reverend guitars and just about any type of amplifier you could possibly want to test a guitar through; Mesa Boogie amps and speakers cabinets, true vintage and reproduction Fenders and Marshalls, lesser and greater known boutique amps...everything.
penny sat me down with a beautiful bright green guitar and said, "here, you gotta play the super rev."
The Super Rev, aesthetically modeled after vintage muscle cars, is a newer release for Reverend. Not only does it come in three killer colors ('69 Lime, '69 Orange, and '69 Yellow), it also features a Railhammer Alnico Grande in the bridge, and my favorite feature...the almighty ebony fretboard. This guitar was extremely comfortable and sounded amazing, and now that you're good and jealous, here are a few more pictures of things.
after many minutes of talking myself into leaving the test room...
...Penny took me back into the warehouse where they had just received a fresh shipment of Kingbolts. The Kingbolt RA is an incredible new axe that comes in three different and equally mesmerizing flame maple finishes and features one seriously interesting new THANG!
ready for it?...
A Blackwood Tek fingerboard. This might be scary for some of you but I promise it's nothing from which to shy away. Blackwood Tek is simply a polymer-injected pine that is meant to exhibit the properties of ebony or rosewood. This seemed like a bold move when I first heard about it, but given the recent revisions to the rules and regulations of international rosewood trade, it makes way too much sense to be overlooked. It's no secret that certain species of rosewood have been endangered for a long time, but the issue has only spread to other species...some manufacturers are taking this as a sign and beginning to integrate new materials into their product line. That said, not only did the Blackwood Tek fingerboard look about as close as one could get to rosewood, but it played as smoothly and comfortably as either rosewood or ebony -- it was almost like a perfect blend between the two. I'd never had the chance to play a guitar with this type of fretboard until I went to Reverend, and now I strongly advise everyone to try one out if they get the chance.
I've always had a deep admiration for reverend
Many moons ago, Mojotone used to put on a trade show in Raleigh, NC called the Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show. Reverend would always run a booth at the show and they would always have the most attractive booth. They managed their image with great care and were always extremely approachable. Not to mention they have released a large number of award-winning products over the years and have never managed to overlook attention to detail or lose quality during growth periods. If you haven't already wised up to what's going on at Reverend, I highly recommend you check them out and get learned. Thanks to everyone at Reverend for having me, and a special thanks to Andrew for hooking me up with what I believe was a milk shake from Chick-fil-a. And also, now that I'm thinking about it, the journey didn't get weird...it was just the sprouts.