Re: Thoughts on Reverend guitars??
I am pretty familiar with Reverends, as my bandmate of 8 years is really into them (I think he has 4-5 of them). Initially, they were made in the U.S.A., and they were high quality, low-production guitars. They eventually moved overseas, but they were actually very well built for non-Japanese Asian guitars, and very affordable, hence a huge bang for the buck. My bandmates' Reverends are what I'd call a notch below Japanese Fender construction quality (which is still good). I've noticed the retail prices have crept up quite a lot since then, so they aren't such a good bang for the buck any more IMO – not horrible, but not a GREAT bang for the buck, like they used to be. And I've seen some newer ones in shops that I thought didn't have the best quality of construction like some of my bandmates'. Like most mainland Asian guitars, the electronics and hardware can benefit greatly from being upgraded (but can do okay if you aren't that picky). That said, Reverend's "bass contour" control (same deal as G&L's bass control) makes the cheap pickups very passable, because it can pull out a lot of the mud.
I like them, or what they used to be not too long ago, but they simply aren't attractive guitars to me, so I wouldn't bother to own one unless it just happened to really knock my socks off tonally. Ignoring looks, and looking only at quality and price, I wouldn't buy one new, and I wouldn't play one in any serious use without doing a few upgrades first. Others do, including my bandmate, but I wouldn't, myself. They are good values if you buy used for a good price and make a FEW upgrades, like tuners and maybe a pickup or two, possibly a new nut. I don't think they are worth making major upgrades on (i.e. replacing every last thing but the wood and paint), unless you score one for an extremely good price (like $150 or something). If you want a Tele-like thing, IMO G&L Tributes now beat Reverends in the bang for the buck department. They are very easily affordable, they are usually pretty well made, and they come with the same pickups as G&L U.S.A. ASATs. (The humbucker-equipped Tribute models are a different story; their hardware and electronics are not as good.)
