Reverend Rumblefish 5L

This bass was made in Michigan. Reverend stopped making basses in September 2004, but recently found enough parts to make about 30 more. I snagged one of the new basses. This bass is the phenolic resin model that Reverend is known for. It has the lava swirl finish which is very cool. 5 string, rosewood fingerboard, long scale. It arrived ready to play. It has passive pickups and it just plain booms. There aren't any special features unless you count playability, tone, vibe. I still give it a 10 because I am a firm believer of less is more

Where to start. I play rock, blues rock, blues, jazz, maybe even country rock if the money is right. This bass suits all of the styles I play. I don't do metal, thrash, or industrial, but with effects I would imagine this bass will perform. I play finger style and have not really developed slap. I've read that the reverend isn't the greatest for slap, but I don't know.
This bass can play lots of different sounds. The tone knob actually works and the pickup switch gives you good options. The sound is warm, rich, full, whatever. Our current producer calls it God. The sounds from this bass are truly amazing. I hear the bottom of an old saloon piano sometimes, but mostly I hear the best bass sound I've ever heard.

LIke I said previously, this bass came from the factory ready to play. No flaws, no issues. I will probably leave it as is for the forseeable future. The neck is perfect, the pickups are adjusted flawlessly. I also play lead guitar, so I'm a neck fanatic. The neck on my rumblefish is number one.

I did replace the strap buttons with straplocks, mainly because I bounce around a lot and the old strap I was using did slip off the factory buttons a couple of times. I didn't drop the bass however. I do gig without a backup. I read a review of one of the Reverend Slingshots where the guitar had played a few hundred gigs and came back to the owner with a big crack in the back. He superglued it and all is good. This bass is solid, solid, solid. The body is so unique that I don't really worry about it holding up.

I've emailed Joe Naylor a couple of times and the responses are always quick, friendly and to the point. From what I've read I wouldn't have any worries about getting repairs whether or not any warranties were in effect. But, because of the solid nature of this beast I don't expect any problems along those lines.

I've been a player for over 40 years. Mainly lead guitar. I've only recently picked up the bass again (the last time was in the mid 60s) but I've been involved with bands for the entire time and I've seen my fair share of basses. This one wins hands down. I haven't played a Warwick yet, so maybe I would change my opinion, but I doubt it. If it were lost or stolen I would be sorely dissapointed, but would replace it with another Reverend. That might be difficult though because you don't see a lot of people letting go of these beauties. There is nothing I don't like about this bass. The bottom B articulates fantastically. The note that I play is the note that you hear. Even low C above bottom B rings out as a C. Very nice. Given enough Watts, the B string will do structural damage. I love this bass.

35" scale, passive- all I wanted in a five.

I have use dthis on almost every gig since I bought it, and done many recordings. perfect every time and I get a lot of compiments on the sound.

I bought it used, but it was fine. I changed the roundwounds to flats, other than that, I had it set up for the first time 2 weeks ago, only minor changes needed (I bought it about 4 years ago). This bass just fits me perfectly, feel sbetter than basses I've tried that are 5 times the price.

Awesome, no problems with it yet. I always bring a backup, just in case, but it never comes out. In fact, just for fun last week, I played my jazz bass (my backup bass) and switched after the first set. My jazz bass is now being sold so I can get another reverend.

Never need3ed support, but I emailed Joe Naylor after I bought this to tell him how much I liked it and he replied right away.

I love htis if you can't tell. I've been playing for 15 years and finally found my instrument! One hting I did discover though, is that this bass really works well with modern amps. I used to use a 63 bassman and a 60 somehting dual showman (67?) and loved the sound, but the reverend didn't work too well with them. I now use an eden and it really sounds great with the reverend. I have also tried to through an aguilar- that is a sound to die for but out of reach financially right now. All in all, he should charge much more for these instruments, but don't tell him that!

I don't know when it was made, I bought it used. Standard features, nicely set-up, with good roundwounds. I'm not really looking for bells and whistles. Sturdy, reliable, solid sound, decent electronics,
very good quality--if you're looking at a new Fender, I'd recommend the Rumble over a new Jazz. This is a excellent, American-made instrument.

It sounds great. I've locked in to the humbucking mode, tho all sound great (parallel and neck only, I guess they could offer a bridge only if you want the Jaco sound, but I never use that sound on a gig). I don't have a Stingray 5 to compare it to--but it compares very favorably to my Jazz w/ Barts and a J-retro. Good solid sound, definition w/o that "modern" sound which is not really what I'm after, it is a bass Fender and MM players would be immediately comfortable with.

Set up, fit and finish are perfect as far as I'm concerned, everything works perfectly.

I'd have to reserve judgement on this until I'm gigged with it. Typically I gig on the upright and do a few tunes on electric (typically a P w/ flats or a J w/ rounds). Seem as sturdy as a Fender tho.

No experience.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I like the styling and the general approach of Reverend, they seem to be the successors to the old Fender company. The Rumblefish is a good, solid instrument, sounds excellent, they are light on the shoulder and the wallet, and made in the USA. I don't think these can be beat for sound vs. dollar.

Passive electronics are the way to go!

After owning dozens of modern and vintage basses over the years, I can honestly say that this is the best souding bass I have ever owned! Other manufacturers have been trying to improve on the Fender sound for nearly 50 years, and this is the first bass to acomplish this!

I had to lower the pickups, and raise the action a little. The strings were also changed to DR High-beams.

I don't really need a backup for this bass.

I have been playing for about 15 years. My other basses include a '78 Fender Jazz & 2 custom built Haynes fretless basses. I have no regrets whatsoever about purchasing this bass; in fact I'm glad that I went into Bass NW when I did, or the bass would have been snathed up by some other lucky person! I only regret having wasted my money on some of the other basses that I have. I hope that Reverend will expand their lineup to include fretless & 8 string (octave) basses.

PICKED THIS BASS UP A YEAR AGO FROM A REVEREND ENDORSEE WHO DIDNT LIKE IT,ROSEWOOD FINGERBOARD ,FEELS LIKE A FENDER ,A BASS THAT I'VE AVOIDED FOR MY ENTIRE PLAYING LIFE ,BUT THIS THINGS GOT SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON ,YEAH ITS UGLY AND NOT REALY THE MOST COMFORTABLE THING BUT THE SOUND IS JUST KILLER IF YOUR PLAYING THE BLUES

THIS BASS IS AWESOME FOR A TRADITIONAL BLUES SOUND...THINK HOLLOW BODY JAZZ BASS ,LEAVES ME WARM AND FUZZY ALL OVER ,BUT IT IS LIMITED TO A TRADITIONAL SOUND IF YOUR A SLAP PLAYER .......FOGETABOUTIT!

ACTION IS VERY LOW WITHOUT ANY BUZZING WHATSOEVER

VERY WELL BUILT ,THOUGH MINE HAS THE CHEAPER AFTER MARKET TUNNING PEGS AND BRIDGE ,NOT THE HIPSHOTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE..HAVE USED IT ON GIGS WITH NO BACKUP NO PROBLEM ,,,GREAT BANG FOR THE BUCK IF YOUR A BLUES PLAYER ..SLAYS THE SOUND OF ANY FENDER

EXCELLENT ...SEVERAL EMAILS ANSWERED BY JOE NAYLOR (DESIGNER) WITHIN A DAY OR SO

IVE BEEN PLAYING NEARLY 26 YEARS ,HAVE OWNED OR PLAYED EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN ,MY MAIN AXE FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS HAS BEEN A STEINBERGER XQ-5(GRAPHITE NECK )W/ ACTIVE/PASSIVE BARTOLINI'S I FIND MYSELF USING THE REVEREND BASS MORE AND MORE ,ON THE OTHER HAND IM PLAYING MORE BLUES THAN EVER ,AND IT REALLY WORKS BETTER THAN ANYTHING , SOUND WISE THAT IVE HEARD IN RECENT MEMORY ...MY ONE COMPLAINT IS THE ACCESS TO THE UPPER REGISTER / THE NECK JOINT ARE RESTRICTIVE ,LESS THAN ELEGANT IN DESIGN ,VERY DIFFICULT TO GET TO THAT 21ST AND 22ND FRET ,THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT ALL REVERENDS GUITAR AND BASS APPARENTLY USE THE SAME BODY STYLE SO ITS A COST EFFECTIVE MANUFACTURING THING ,WOULD BE BETTER WITH A SLIGHTLY REDESIGNED BODY FOR THE BASS .BUT WHAT A SOUND WARM AND FULL

I bought the axe new sometime in July. The serial number is 1251, but I don't know exactly when it was built. Within the last year or so, I imagine. I live in Northwest Ohio not far from where these babies are made, so I might be tempted to visit the company sometime. So far they seem very customer oriented.
I am a sax/flute player who is finally acting on a 20+ year deire to learn the bass guitar. I have been playing the bass for less than a year at this point, so my evaluations of features will suffer by my lack of experience, but I know the feel of it and the sound of it which is waht sold me in the first place.
The previous 2 reviews have nailed down all the physical features of this guitar. Reverend doesn't offer much variety in its basses. I acquired one of the two tone hardshell cases along with the purchase price. The case is adequate, but not quite as protective as a molded plastic one.
I would characterize the features as good, solid and appropriate to the needs of a professional instrument, but not extradinary. The lack of options is a little frustrating.

I am primarily a Blues and Jazz player on the horn, and that is my interest for the bass as well. While I was shopping fos an axe, I was going strictly on sound and feel, since I have yet to learn the ins and outs of the equipment. I favor the kind of sound that Berry Oakley had with the original Allman Bros. Band, deep but clear and well defined. I tried a lot of more expensive basses that never impressed me, but the Reverend had it right from the start. The separate tones are so clear even on the low B string, which was also the tightest of any that I played.
THe original setup had too much piano-like sound for me, plus being genrally too bright, so I switched the round wound strings that came on the axe for a set of GHS "Bright Flats" ( modified flat wounds ). The result was much deeper without being too dark, and I am still able to dial in some of the piano sound with the tone control. My local guitar technician flattened out the neck bow and lowered the action quite a bit and I get a neat-o percussive sound when I dial in the treble all the way.
I am using a Polytone Mini Brute amp that has 120 watts and a 12" speaker. The Reverend is a little noisy on the middle switch position, but mostly the sound is its best quality.

I am assuming that the original setup on my axe was from the factory. The store I bought it at is not known as a technical shop. It was setup good and I was happy with it, but the guy that set it up with the fat wound strings did a much better job. With the action lowered, I still get very little rattle and can easily hammer notes. It plays very easily and the sound of it and the range of sound it has keeps me playing it sometimes for hours without stopping if I have the chance.
However, it is not the most comfortable axe physically. The lack of contour to the body and the weight of the neck ( 35" scale w/ a large head stock ) are the two biggest problems. I had to finally buy an expensive, wide, non-skid strap to support the neck. Letting go of it with my old cheapie strap the head would fall to below my waist. As far as looks go, I am neutral. It is not the best looking bass guitar I have seen, but it is kind of intriguing.

Everything appears to me to be solid and up to the quality you would expect from a professional instrument. The finish on the body would not be harmed by anything short of hammer blows.

I have emailed the company and gotten fairly quick response from Joe Naylor ( the owner ). All other support experiences were from my local guitar tech.

I have been playing bass guitar for 9 months. I have been playing sax and flute for 30+ years. I own a Washburn XB200 Bantam Bass which is what I started on 9 months ago. I quickly figured out that I wanted a 5 string and began looking casually at Yamaha, Ibanez and Washburn American series. ALl of these were in the $1500 plus range and I wasn't in a hurry to buy. None of them impressed me overly much especially considering the price.
The Reverend had something the others lacked from the first time I played it, and when I learned the price I jumped at it without any hesitation. I would buy another immediately if I lost this one, in spite of the uncomfortable body (sometimes) and the top heaviness.

I ordered a "stock" off-white/gold pickguard Rumblefish 5L from the only Reverend dealer in Colorado, Wildwood Music in Louisville. This was in the spring of 2000 so I've had mine here at mile-high altitude for about six months now.
Like all the hype and reviews say, it's a bare-bones, cheap-material instrument made incredibly and cleverly well. Right now the biggest "feature" of this particular bass is that nobody else has seen another one yet and it invariably get at least one "what the hell...?" look or comment per show.
But the secret gems here are the neck, the custom-wound pickups and the massive bridge piece. They are unique, and have to be played to be appreciated.

This sucker HONKS! I'm sorry, but that's the most technical thing I can say about it. It has this unique, low-middy tone that is PERFECT for classic rock, blues, fingerstyle jazz and rootsy country or folk.
It has a 35" scale that gives the same sustained, piano-like tones as my Modulus, but much less modern-sounding. But it is AS LOUD (or in some cases LOUDER) than my active Modulus Quantum 5. These pickups are DYNAMITE! Especially in full "humbucking" mode.
What it is NOT: a slapper's bass. Slapping is lost on this instrument, because it has the wrong kind of bounce. The pops disappear into the hollow body and the whole effect is very "compressed" sounding. Flatpicking is less effective than on a regular solidbody bass as well. This one's purely for the fingertips. by playing hard, you can actually get a nice overdrive RIGHT FROM THE PICKUPS! Used tastefully, it's a nice dynamic. Thus the honking.
The middle-switched, bridge pickup setting is single coil only, and therefore prone to noise, but the other two settings are very quiet.

The finish of the body is like an RV countertop, which is part of the funky appeal; the fit is chunky but elegant, like an old Fender married to a large Danelectro; and the action comes pretty standard, which I immediately raised. For a wooden neck, it has evened out quite nicely here in high/dry Colorado. Most wooden necks, like Warwick's, for instance, shrink somewhat here after a few months, leaving a spiky row of fret ends along both edges. Must be the big aluminum rod that runs through the Reverend's neck. Very stable.
The main reason I ordered the Reverend, after playing a used one, WAS the neck. My hands are getting more rickety with age and need a change after a few hours, and the Rumblefish is the Anti-Modulus when it comes to neck profile and string spacing. Completely different and much thicker, yet very workable at the same time.
It's quite a bit heavier than I thought it would be, though. About the same as my Modulus, actually.
And you HAVE TO have extra-long-scale strings for this puppy, because that D string tuner is WAYYYYYY out here on the headstock. If you like bright strings, this scale of bass can be expensive to re-string often.

I think you could fire bullets into this thing without messing it up too much. For a hollowbody, it appears to be a tank. The neck and headstock are of very soft wood, however, and I scratched up the deep trussrod adjustment trough while making adjustments the first night I had it. I also replaced the strap buttons with Strap-Locks, but everything else is of very high quality. The pots are all extremely quiet and smooth.
I did put a rubber bolt cover over the toggle switch on the front, so it wouldn't feel so much like a dull nail sticking out of the instrument.

Reverend is great about answering emails and letting me know details like who finished and initialed my bass. In fact, my emails were always answered by Joe Naylor himself.

Okay, it's not gonna be for everybody, and it may look weird and feel clunky to some, but it has that "instant vintage" vibe both in appearance and feel, and a sound somewhere inbetween familiar and brand new. So far, sound guys are intrigued with it and studio engineers love it. It records extremely well and stays in tune as well as expected for a hollow instrument.
I happen to love mine, and I hope the company keeps up this level of quality and creativity. It sure beats having another Jazz bass clone.

Built in 1999. Made in USA. Semi-hollow body, some sort of phenolic-like laminate used for the top and back, wood block inside (similar to Danelectro construction) with bolt-on 35" graphite reinforced maple neck (21 frets)and rosewood board with similar dimensions to a pre-CBS Jazz Bass (if adjusted for extra string and scale length). Two Reverend J-style pickups, mounted at a slant and spaced close than a real J-Bass. Passive wiring: master volume, master tone, three way pickup switch (both on series, both on parallel, bridge only). Finish is molded into the laminate, seems durable enough. Smoked silver pickguard. Bridge looks similar to an All Parts design, tuners are Gotoh enclosed, 4 + 1 headstock. Gig bag is standard, I got the optional case which is a very cool two-tone thing...50s retro styling like the bass. Nothing earthshaking, just the meat and potatoes features done perfectly.

I use it mostly in my zydeco band. Ihave roundwounds on it right now which makes it VERY twangy; with flats it would kill for blues. I use it mostly with a 400W solid state amp and 15" EV speaker, it gets classic Fender like tones with a bit more "air" probably due to the hollow body. Two of the switch positions give the most popular J-bass sounds, the series setting fattens it up...not quite a StingRay but like a P-Bass thickness with extra top end sheen. I use this setting all the time but J lovers will like the other two settings although you can't balance the two pickups to taste. Very quiet for a passive bass, seems to be well shielded, actually quieter than my two Fenders or my G&L. This is a good "all purpose" bass although if you need super-modern bass tones it might come up short.

I bought it used, the dealer (Bass Northwest) set it up before shipping. It played like a dream out of the box. No construction flaws that I could find except that due to the longer scale, one corner of the bridge hangs over the edge of the body maybe 1/8"; pictures I've seen in ads make it appear this is by design! Fretwork was very impressive, totally smooth edges makes the neck feel like one that's been played for thirty years. This is not a masterpiece of woodworking like an Alembic, but considering the materials that were used, it's out together very well. A very well-executed "working man's" bass.

Long-term reliability is hard to judge as the bass is less than six months old. It's been gigged steadily in that period and seems more than up to the task. The hardware is all good quality and I suspect the finish on the laminate will last along time as it's not painted on. Ask me after next summer about the truss rod but the neck seems quite solid, the graphite reinforcements should help here.

I bought the bass used, yet when contacting Reverend with questions about it they were quick to respond and quite helpful. Each bass is hand numbered and signed by the owner (at least so far). More of an issue for long-term support will beif they can stay in business. Most of the hardware can be easily replaced if it fails, but the proprietary pickups and body design might be something to worry about. Then again, Danelectro was out of business for thirty years but I never had trouble keeping my Danos in service.

I have been playing over 20 years and have used Fender, G&L, B.C. Rich, Danelectro, Steinberger, Godin, Supro, Kramer basses. I find this to be one of the nicest basses I've had yet, especially in terms of the feel of the neck.
Yes, I would definitely get another one and have considered asking Reverend about custom ordering a fretless (they don't offer one).
What I love is the feel and sound, it just makes me want to play.
The retro look (sort of art deco via the Jetsons) is a love/hate thing. I like it but many be turned off by it. I don't mind at all that the body isn't wood, but some might.
I bought it on impulse. I already had a G&L L-2500 and had previously owned a Fender Jazz deluxe 5 (which I hated and sold). I bought it as a backup but now the G&L is the backup!!! I have basically retired all my four strings at this point except for a P-Bass which has flats on it that I use for blues gigs.
I guess the only thing I might wish it had would be contours to the body, but the construction precludes this.
My rating of 10 may seem silly since I rated features at 7, but let me explain. Since this bass normally sells for a mere $700 new, it is the best value in a five string bass on the market today in my opinion.