Product: Reverend Rumblefish PJ4
Price Paid: US $724 with gig bag
Submitted
02/12/2004
at
05:59pm
by
Frank
Features
:
10
2003 Rumblefish P/J order 10/22/03 received 12/10/03
standard from the website aged burgandy color
Sound
:
10
the sound works for me I was looking for a P-style bass but opted for the P/J setup, I had flatwounds but on by Reverend, the sound is perfect for what I do which is a blend of motown stax/volt, along with country and blues gigs. Pickups are quiet enough for me more output than my "62 reissue Jazz.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
7
factory set-up was the lowest action I've seen on a bass. unfortunately it was too low for me, I play finger style and tend to play hard, I had to loosen the truss rod a little to raise the action, intonation on the E string and D string was off again a quick fix it's gotta be tough to setup an instrument for someone who is not there to try it out a minor thing.
Hardware and finish as expected.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
semi hollow contruction, it'll hold up over time if taken care off. Been gigging with out a backup (usually do) confident that the Rumblefish will perform.
so far done a half dozens gigs and one recordign session very happy with the performance.
Customer Support
:
10
called Reverend talked to the man Joe very helpful confirmed I just needed to back off the truss rod to get the action where I wanted it.
Overall Rating
:
10
been playing over 20 years, other basses are a Washburn B-20 from 1983 and a Fender reissue 62 jazz purchased in 1991 (both bought new) I like the weight or lack of it on the Reverend the sound is great the neck is comfortable. definately would get another if stolen. overall a great bass from a company that cares thanks Reverend
Product: Reverend Rumblefish PJ4
Price Paid: US $759
Submitted
06/21/2003
at
01:44pm
by
Ryan Ghedotte
Features
:
9
2003 American made (Warren, MI) Reverend Rumblefish PJ4 4-string. Semi-hollow body design with white mahogany center block (augmented by a steel sustain block), injected molded plastic sides, phenolic back and "bugeye" aluminum top. Pick-ups are passsive staggered PJ style with the classic "jazz" control set-up. (vol., vol., tone). The body also has a arm rest mounted to it for comfort. The neck is a 21 jumbo fret North American maple w/rosewood board, lightweight tuners, graphite nut and low friction string tree. Truss rod can be accessed at the headstock. The neck is also finished w/ a vintage yellow satin w/ rolled edges to make it feel broken in. Imagine a well played but well cared for '60's Jazz bass and that's what this neck feels like. Kinda like it was made to fit your hand. Very easy playability and upper fret access. I purchased a very cool two-tone Reverend hardshell with this bass for an additional charge of $89.00
Sound
:
10
The sound and versatility of this bass is incredible! I play a wide variety of music and the Rumblefish is able to handle them all. The PJ pu set-up is a tone chameleon. At different settings, I can go from Jaco type fingerstyle (leaning on the bridge pu), to "Family Man" style dub tones (leaning on the neck pu), to Marcus type spank (wide open!). The pu's are passive, but they have a nice clean, high output. (The output on this bass crushed the output on my Fender Aner. STD. Jazz Bass). I would dare to say that this little passive system would rival some 9-volt active set-ups! These pu's are fantastic!
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
I gave Reverend some of my strings (they use S.I.T.'s standard, I use DR Sunbeams)and they installed them for me and set them up quite nicely. There was no fret buzz or dead spots on the neck. Clean all the way up and down. The bass was well put together, with no noticeable flaws from the factory. Reverend also installed Schaller straploks for the cost of the parts.
Reliability/Durability
:
8
Everthing on this bass seems pretty solid. I think it should stand the test of time. The one comment I can make is that it is a semi-hollow bass, so you would have to be a little more careful than with a normal solidbody. In spite of this however, I think the Rumblefish will stand the test of time.
Customer Support
:
10
Reverend has excellent customer service. Many times you may be talking with the person who built your instrument or maybe Joe Naylor (Reverend's founder) himself! Anytime I had a question, they were more than happy to help me and took the time to make sure I was taken care of.
Overall Rating
:
10
Being a Jazz bass nut, I was looking for an instrument that could capture that vintage tone and vibe. Along with its retro-cool looks, the Rumblefish PJ4 provided that vinatge tone, feel, and look and then some. If you are looking for that "classic" or "vintage" tone with some modern refinements, check out the PJ4. You'll probably be blown away. I know I was!
