Reverend Avenger TL

Don't know what year it was made, but it has the fabled EastPoint neck, so it must be an earier model. Pickup configuration is s/s/h. Don't know what the body is made of, some kind of weird man made material.

You would think a guitar made out cheap stuff would sound cheap, right? This guitar sound like a good strat should & then some. It's the most versatile guitar I've ever owned. It even sounds great at low volume.

This is just a very weird looking guitar. It's got some kind of industrial metallic finish of the front that took alot of getting used to. But the neck is very nice.It's beefy, but very comfortable.
Overall, very nice.

Very durable. I've used it on alot of jobs & it has'nt let me down yet. I always take a back up, but I've never needed it.

Don't know, I've never needed it.

I've been playing over 30 years & I know good when I see it. When I can only take one guitar with me, the Reverend is the one I always reach for. I often think about buying another & I probably will someday. These guitars are probably not for everyone, but Reverend has definatly got it's own thing going on. If it were lost or stolen I'd buy another as soon as I could

Made in 2004 in Eastpointe, Michigan. My guitar has the simulated maple finish, black pickguard, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, Bigsby tremolo, 5-way pickup selector switch and locking Sperzel tuners.

The body is a solid block of white mahogany set inside of a frame and sandwiched between two pieces of phenolic laminate. If you knock gently on the top, you can hear where it is hollow on the inside. Other Reverends also have a metal sustain bar embedded in the mahogany center, but the Bigsby tremolo makes that unnecessary. The laminate feels like formica, but it looks very nice and "woody" if you're not too close. This is a fairly new finish, but I like it very much. The neck is a satin-finished maple with an unfinished Rosewood fingerboard as requested.

The body shape on a Reverend is interesting. It is at once new and familiar, and I love the chrome armrest at the top. I also love the peghead design, which is reminiscent of a strat but just different enough. This familiar design helps you forget how new the body shape is. I absolutely hate some small-builder designs for their pegheads as they run away from the Fender and Gibson standard. Reverend found a great compromise.

I seperately ordered the hardshell case which is as quirky and cool as the guitar, itself.

The sound of this guitar, like all Reverends, is a big surprise. You would think, with a body that feels like plastic, that the guitar would sound cheap. Instead, it has a rich vibrant sound that makes you forget about the non-conventional materials involved. Just strumming it when it is unplugged will make you a believer.

This is the Reverend-strat with a good bit of Telecaster mixed in. It is very, very flexible and is the guitar I use most often in the studio. At the bridge position, it is very Tele-like. Bright, twangy, and excellent for bluesy soloing. At the second position, it becomes much more Strat-like, with a much more subtle sound. Each switch closer to the neck position increases the mellow, bell tone and decreases the twang.

The tone knob is very sensitive and shapes the sound quite a bit more than most guitars I have played. Playing around with the tone, the pickup selector, and your amp will reveal a bewildering variety of tones. The nice thing is that nearly all of them are good. The output on the pickups is very loud, but there is not a lot of extra hiss compared to typical Fender single-coils.

The Bigsby is a nice tremolo if you're looking for a vintage kind of sound. I would say that the sound isn't quite to my taste for single-string vibrato but comes into its own when you are putting vibrato on chords. Very lush and always returns to tune.

Pefect setup. In tune out of the box, low action...nothing to complain about. I was particularly impressed with the feel and finish on the neck, which seems to be one of Reverend's trademarks. It has a broken-in quality that you normally don't get from a new guitar. The Rosewood fingerboard was flawless, but I've decided that I like the feel of maple better. Reverend has wonderful quality control and clearly take pride in what they produce.

This laminate is tough, hardware is high quality...can't see it having any dependability issues.

Very helpful when you call them. I had some concerns when my order was late to arrive, and they were very informative and apologetic about the delay. They're getting busy, so the build time has gotten fairly long. Fortunately, the wait is worth it.

This is an amazing company. It combines the build quality, customer service, and unique nature of a boutique guitar with the affordability of larger corporations. In fact, this guitar is quite a bit cheaper than a similar quality Fender or Gibson. You really have to get a custom-shop guitar from those guys to reach this kind of sound and playability. You need to get past the nature of the building materials, but that doesn't take long.

I received my Avenger TL at the end of 2003. Lake Superior Blue brushed aluminum overlay finish, locking Sperzel tuners, graphite bridge saddles, Studio switch (which turns on the outside pickups together) and Hipshot Trem system. Basically a classy Strat. I also ordered it with the very cool two-tone hardshell case. Action was set as I requested and it was in tune right out of the box! It was exactly what I ordered, so I would say I have to give it a 10.

I am really impressed with this guitar! Very rich, full sound. I find myself wanting to play it even after a long gig, not only because of the sound but because I love the way it feels. The neck is great!

I play lots of styles, but my band for the last 11 years (Red Beans & Rice) plays danceable Blues (Chicago, Texas Swing, Louisiana, contemporary and original). In a typical set I use pretty much all of the pickup configurations. I like to use the guitar as a color and prefer to switch tones as the song needs. I am one of two guitarists in the band, and I find that the Avenger not only blends extremely well, but also cuts through at the same time! In a seven piece band, that is pretty amazing. The rest of the band keeps telling me they really like it too! Can't beat that!

I don't use effects. Just guitar, cord and amp. In most clubs I use a Tweed Fender Pro Junior (15 watts, 10" speaker, Volume and Tone). If I'm playing a "new" place, I bring a Tweed Fender Blues Junior and outdoors at festivals and concerts, I use a reissue Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb. The Avenger sounds great through all of them, and the sound guys usually come up to tell me they really like the warm and punchy tones! These guys hear all sorts of stuff and when they hear something they like and it makes their job easier, I'm happy with that.

I love the range of sounds it gets, from swampy to sweet. From jazzy to gritty. It does everything I need it to. Better than a Strat, but with sustain and controllable feedback too!

Again, I am really impressed! In a way I didn't know what to expect, buying sight unseen and all. The guitar is beautiful and well made. I looked it over and everything just seemed so flawless. Everything was so polished and shiny clean. I kept looking for some sort of blemish so I could go AHA! It took two days before I started seeing the slightest little things.

Only upon being super picky did I notice things. What were they? The otherwise shapely pickguard has a slight flat spot on the upper curve! Could that be where it was grasped to do the shaping? I don't even notice it any more. The 5th, 6th and 7th frets are just slightly raised from the fretboard as though they were not completely pressed in or the slot was not shaped correctly. Does it impede playing or cause any problems? NO, again, I don't even notice it anymore. I've seen more blemishes on much more expensive name brand guitars and they didn't even feel this good or play that well.

All of the components look and feel great. The knobs are smooth and silky with just enough resistance so you know they won't move on you. They have an even response throughout their range. This is a classy, well made professional instrument. I'm totally convinced. I will however knock a point off because the frets could have been a problem.

I have been using this guitar for 7 months now without any problems whatsoever. When I got the guitar in December 2003 it was in tune right out of the box, and literally I didn't even have to tune until April!!! No adjustments or anything! Unbelievable but true. I have since then adjusted the neck and even had a slight fret mill done to it. It is still highly reliable and stable.

We've played festivals in blazing heat in direct sunlight and also cold windy evenings, and this guitar is right in tune everytime! I can't ask for more than that. Haven't broken a string either. I bring back-up but don't think I need to.

I take real good care of my stuff and I don't feel that this guitar is anymore fragile than my others. However, I did get a scratch from who knows where, on the aluminum, and boy did that hurt. Kind of like that first scratch on your new car, but worse! Maybe I will have to be even more careful. Okay, that's a 9.

I have only dealt with Steve when I order my stuff. He is professional and friendly and quite thorough. When I requested the Hipshot Tremolo, he asked me if I wanted it floating or not.....silence. I hadn't even thought about it! Duh. Steve has always been very easy to speak with and very helpful, I have no doubt that Reverend stands behind their products and appreciates their customers.

I?ve been playing about 33 years now, 28 years in bands and about 26 years recording.

I learned to play on my Granfather?s hand made acoustic guitar that had heavy gauge strings on it. You learn to appreciate things when you start out rough! I worked my ass off when I was fourteen to get my first guitar, an early 60?s Epiphone Riviera 12-string electric for $240 with case! Can?t do that anymore. I usually played it with just 6 strings even though the strings were offset for 12, the neck is so nice. I also have a O63 Gibson ES-125TCD, O73 Gibson Les Paul Special (with wrap around bridge & P90?s), O96 Gibson Blueshawk, O64 Strat, Reissue O62 Tele Custom, O95 Custom Shop Tele Junior (set neck and P90?s) and a Custom Tele Thinline made for me by Bill Delap (a long time friend of mine who built guitars for Alan Holdsworth). I don?t really use effects although I do own some Boss and Danelectro stuff. I have the aforementioned Fender Pro Junior, Blues Junior and Deluxe Reverb amps as well as a Fender Concert amp, a Carvin Nomad and an old Peavey Vintage that somebody tricked out with a Master Volume and Celestion Speakers.

I?ve had several other guitars through the years and have played some really great ones also, thanks to friends like Bill Delap. Still, I was always looking for something that I was missing. Somehow, that Epiphone Riviera with mini humbuckers never left my consciousness. Later, of course, I got into the whole Fender thing, something I thought would never happen. The Tele Thinline I had made for me has a mini humbucker in the neck position, a vintage strat in the middle and a stacked Tele bridge pickup with tap and on/off switch. I was trying to kinda get everything all in one, which usually never works. But I have to say Bill did a hell of a job and that guitar really does get alot of what I was after. As you can imagine, it is very versatile and quite lively, however, I am much more drawn to the Avenger and its feel and tone. Eventhough the Tele neck was shaped to match my O64 Strat and it plays like butter, I still prefer the Avenger and the way it feels. It also has a more robust, full-spectrum sound to it.

Now, I?ve got another guitar builder friend who wants to build a guitar for me for free just so I can OendorseO his guitars by playing them on stage! I can?t let him put in all that work, I told him I would pay for the parts just because I know I?m still going to love my Reverend! Plus, I told him he?s going to have to make the neck like the Avenger!!

Overall, I am extremely happy with this guitar and it is all I have been playing since I got it. Several festivals and gigs later, I still have not broken a string or needed a back-up for any reason. Okay, so I have been playing a Slingshot Custom also, but I just got that last week!

If I were for some reason not to have either one of my Reverends, I most definitely would reorder exactly what I have now. I?ve never experienced guitars that were this much fun and pleasing to play and actually make me want to play even more than I do now. They are indeed inspiring.

Made in 2004, semi-hollow body, double cutaway, phenolic top and back, polymer rims. On the inside, there's a mahogany block with a steel bar attached for sustain. Maple neck with 25-1/2" scale and a rosewood board with a 12" radius and 22 medium-jumbo frets. Three pickups; strat-style neck and middle, tele-style bridge. Five-way selector wired like a typical strat, passive volume and tone controls. Mine is the Workhorse version in sky blue, with die-cast tuners and a non-beveled white pickguard. Even though the feature list is pretty vanilla, I'm still going to give it a "10" because it's obvious that a lot of thought went into every component.

My first guitar was a '57 Duo Sonic, my first "pro" guitar was a tele, and there has been a long sucession of teles and strats over the 30 years that have passed since. I've always hated the stock chrome tele neck pickup, and the stock strat bridge pickup. This guitar solved both problems for me. The high points of the Fender catalog are all here; strat neck and in-between tones, and tele bridge. I should say the high points of the old Fender catalog are here, because every tone is definitely vintage, but with a touch more beef and bunches of sustain. The in-between settings are hum-cancelling, but it really isn't very noisy on the single pickup settings. This is also a very responsive, dynamic guitar which faithfully reproduces the slightest change in technique (or lack of, in my case). The tone and volume controls are voiced very, very well. I use either vintage Fender amps, or a new Tech 21 Trademark 60.

The fit, finish and especially the action on this guitar were completely without fault right out of the box. The neck has a feel like a good old strat, but with a nice satin finish on the back. The only word I can use for the fretwork is wonderful. The only beef I have is the chrome arm rest. To be comfortable for me, it could be an inch or so longer towards the rear strap button. But this isn't a problem that everyone is going to have, so I won't deduct for it.

I always dismissed the Reverend guitars out of hand because I thought they looked like toys. It wasn't until the recent article in Guitar Player, where they explained Reverend's construction methods, that I gave them a serious look. I have no fears about gigging with this guitar without a backup. It's light, but built like a tank.

The warranty is one year. I haven't had any issues yet, and the way this guitar is put together, I don't think I will. But I'm not concerned; these are nice folks who honestly still care about their customers.

From this glowing review, one might suspect that I'm either a Reverend employee or endorser. Instead, I'm just a semi-pro player who hasn't been this pumped about a new guitar since he can't remember when. I'm currently busy eBaying strats and my tele so I can buy a Wolfman with a Bigsby and a Slingshot Custom. These guys are making the real deal.

Ordered direct from Reverend in 2004, delivered about 11 weeks later. Made in their Eastpointe MI factory.

I can't give this guitar a "10" for features, because on this forum that implies a lot of doodads. However, because it is a direct order, it has exactly the features I asked for. I ordered my guitar with a rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, Bigsby tremolo (way cool!) and an extemely nice (and rather convincing) faux-maple finish on the phenolic back and top. The guitar is, for all intents and purposes, the "Strat" of the Reverend family, incorporating three single coil pickups with a 5 way switch.

The body is made of that wacky phenolic laminate materail and is semi-hollow with empty accoustic pockets surrounding a solid, mahogany middle section. The phenolic laminate feels a lot like plastic, but it resonates like crazy and the wood-like finish is actually quite good. The neck is real maple, of course, and has a smooth satin finish that I love. I wish other guitar makers would ditch the poly coating they slather all over their necks!

Compared to the older model Slingshot that I own, the tuners are a new model, although I couldn't tell you what brand they are. They seem solid as a rock with a nice aluminium finish.

I would never have a fine instrument like this shipped without protection, so I bought the cool Reverend case...another unique design and quite attractive and functional.

Wow.

After a couple of hours playing with this guitar on my Mesa Rect-O-Verb 50 amplifier, I can say that it is a sound that, for lack of any better word, is complex. Certainly it has more dimensions than the p-90 equipped slingshot that I bought two years ago. It is going to take some time to sort out all the possible sounds I can get out of this axe, but here's my initial impression:

Pickups: Naylor does not use stock Fender pickups on his guitars, which is a good thing. Compared to the Fenders I've owned and played, the pickups on this guitar have much more oomph to them. They balance the sound just right, giving you enough bite to cut through the mix without sacrificing depth and becoming tinny...a flaw which mars my otherwise perfect telecaster. With a 5 way switch, there are a lot of tones to play with.

Bridge Position: I've heard this described as a Telecaster pickup, and I guess that's a good way to describe it. It has more punch than the bridge pickup on my Mexi-Strat, that's for sure. It isn't quite as tinny and twangy as my Telecaster, but hell...it's not a Telecaster, is it? Leads sound excellent on this setting and it is very sensitive to tweaks with the volume and tone knobs.

"Middle" Positions: Damn, this is where it almost gets confusing. With my old Mexi-Strat, I usually just skipped these positions altogether. With the Avenger, there is a usuable tone at every position. The sound on the 2nd position (up from the bridge) has a sort of nasal quality that reminded me of the solo from "Ringing in the Years" by Steely Dan when played with some distortion. As you switch closer to the neck pickup, the treble backs down and you get a much more mellow tone that I will probably rely on for rhythm work.

Bridge Pickup: Again, it beats the Strat at its own game. Mellow and ringing, but not as flabby as my strat's bridge pickup could get. I guess it quacks...I've never really used that term to describe the sound of a Strat even though everybody else does. Excellent for clean picking and chord work.

The guitar is very quiet considering the single coils it uses...in fact, its so quiet, I really couldn't hear much in the way of hiss. Overdriven, with some tremolo rocking, it feeds back like a dream. Just a sweet, singing hum...music to my ears.

The Bigsby is a real trip for me, because I haven't used a whammy bar in years. I actually took the original one off my Strat and through it away because it hated the way it felt. This design is far superior to the "floating bridge" concept...its much more sturdy and holds its tune even if you rock it hard. The design is going to take me some getting used to...its a little awkward to hook the lever when I'm playing, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. It creates a smooth vibrato and feels solid as a rock...looks cool too.

One thing I noticed about this guitar is that the tone knob actually does something! Yes, this was news to me. Normally, I just peg it on "10" and leave it alone. On my Tele, I would back off a little so that I didn't get the "dentist drill" effect, but I didn't see that much of a use for the thing. With this guitar, the tone knob makes a real difference in the sound beyond just making it sound "dull" or "bright." I'm going to have to spend a lot of time playing with it to get used to this, but it will be a pleasurable learning experience!

Perfect, perfect, perfect. Not a single flaw...not one. I looked it over very carefully after I unpacked it because of its long journey in the brown truck, but nothing was out of place. Action was fairly low (as requested) and it came strung with the .010 strings I asked for. The grain on the top and sides, while false, is also remarkably realistic to look at. All of the hardware, from the tuners to the Bigsby tremolo, are solid and in perfect condition.

When I got my first Reverend, I was worried about how delicate and light it felt. I no longer think about it...in fact, I worry less about this guitar than my others because that phenolic laminate is tough as nails. I don't see any problems for the forseeable future. I'd gig with this guitar without a backup any day of the week, but my Les Paul is just too darn purty to leave at home.

They're busy right now, so you'll be waiting a bit longer than you might expect to get your instrument. That being said, they replied to my queries about the guitar's status quickly and with perfect courtesy. Nice people.

As a guitar player, I'm at the point where buying off the shelf is becoming impossible. I love the Fender/Gibson designs, but getting truly high quality guitars from these guys requires a lot of money as well as a bit of luck. For example, my Les Paul is a wonderful instrument, but too pricey. My Telecaster was more fairly priced, but the wood isn't as lively as I'd like it to be and the thick poly coating annoys me.

At the same time, I'm not one of those hand-crafted guitar fetishists who dreams about spalted maple and exotic tonewoods that can only be found on a mountain in Tanzania. I don't have that kind of money and, honestly, I don't like the look of these guitars. All show and no go if you ask me.

Reverend guitars are the perfect compromise. They have the vibe of vintage Fenders but the quality control of pricey boutique-quality guitars. Best yet, they have a damn reasonable price tag. There is no other guitar that I've ever played that sounds this good for under a grand. In fact, there is no other strat-like guitar I've ever played that sounded this good, period. Reverends sing...they sound great unplugged and better plugged. They look cool, and they feel great. They are, in my opinion, about as close to perfection as you can get in an instrument these days without spending ludicrous amounts of cash. If it were lost, I'd buy another one.

I've been playing guitar for twelve years. I own a Taylor accoustic, a Les Paul Standard, a Reverend Slingshot, a Fender 52 RI Telecaster, a Mexican Strat, and a truly craptastic Squier Bass. I'm a serious home-studio hobbyist and this guitar is now set to become my second workhorse along with the Taylor. The other guitars are pretty, but this one does it all.

I think that buying a Reverend right now is like buying a Fender before CBS bought out the company...they have really hit their stride and are turning out amazing instruments. In the future, when more and more people discover this, they may have to cut corners to meet demand. Until then, they represent a sort of hidden treasure in the guitar world and I'm glad I picked up a few when I had the chance.

2003 Avenger TL, sky blue, rosewood neck
I got this guitar about six months ago direct from the factory. Here in Ireland, we're seriously ripped off on guitar prices (new Mex Strats go for about $1,000 or more), so this guitar represents terrific value, as far as I'm concerned. The only extra feature I ordered is what they call the studio switch, and it's the best $25 I ever spent. It allows you to select the neck and bridge pick-ups together, or all three pick-ups. Both of these options give a lovely, mellow, spanky tone, a bit like the middle position on a Tele. The only reason I can't give it a 10 here is that I could really use some numbering on the volume and tone pots. I have to back off on one or both of these at various times when playing live, and it's guesswork at the moment as to where to set them. I'm considering replacing the pots, but I like the solid metal feel of them.

The sounds are the business. I've played American Standard Strats for years, but not since I got the Avenger. It does all the Strat stuff, and adds a little extra clarity and chime. In addition, the bridge pick-up is not the thin, harsh wash-out I've always found with Strats. If I roll off a bit of treble, the sound is punchy and biting, like a nice Tele. Combined with the studio switch options, the guitar has a range of sweet sounds beyond the Standard Strat.

I'm not an expert in this area, but everything sems fine to me. I asked for a medium-low action, and that's what I got. The fretwork is definitely better that on a stock Strat - smooth and buttery. Graphite nut, locking Sperzels and heavy duty pots all contribute to the feeling of quality.

I've done six months of gigs with the Avenger, and it's been fine. I have to admit that the light weight and composite front/back give me a little cause for concern as to how it'll hold up over the years. However, I reckon a little extra care will ensure it stays in fine condition. There's certainly no question mark over the hardware, which is rock solid. The lightness (it weighs about 6 pounds) is a plus when you're standing for three hours playing a wedding. All the same, I can't give it more than an eight here.

Terrific. I was afraid they wouldn't be bothered shipping to Ireland, but I needn't have worried. I got regular updates on the guitar's status as it was being built (build time is 4 to 6 weeks). When you consider that the purchase price included a hard case (cool, retro) and about $80 for shipping, the value of the guitar is even more apparent.

Playing semi-pro for over 20 years. Currently in wedding/dance band...Sinatra, Chuck Berry, Hank Williams...you get the idea. The Avenger handles everything with ease, plus it gets serious interest from other players. I would definitely order a replacement if it were stolen or lost.

Blah, blah, blah, read the other reviews.

OK, here's where the rubber hits the road for me. Sound-wise this guitar was a TOTAL DUD. Maybe I just got a bad one; it happens. But I can't describe the amount of disappointment I felt when I struck the first chord (guitar unplugged) and realized this was a bust. I plugged it in, and was not surprized that there was no improvement. This poor excuse for a musical instrument sounded so dead and unresponsive that I wanted to smash it on the spot. If I hadn't sunk $950 into it and knew I could get my money back, I might have done just that. But let me not bore you all with the gory details. Let's just say it was a huge mistake that resulted in a "hit you where it hurts" life lesson. The lesson learned is this: don't let someone else pick out your guitar for you. If you buy a guitar sight unseen, you are doing just that. Some guy who doesn't know or care about you picks up the next guitar off the rack and sends it to your house. In this case the guy actually built the guitar per my order, but that doesn't matter (because since I already paid for it he doesn't give a rat's ass what it sounds or plays like). The principle is the same. Someone other that YOU picked out your guitar. You didn't get to hear it, you didn't get to play it, and you were a moron just like me for having bought it.

In this department they did decently well. The finish was as good as any high quality Strat. The neck pocket however showed a significant gap at the bottom - a dead give away that the neck had been shimmed; in other words the pocket or neck was not machined corerectly to begin with, thus the shim to adjust the neck angle. This is not bad in itself, as there will probably not be much of a difference in tone, but it just gripes me. I would never pay $950 for a guitar that did not have a tight neck joint. Just another reason not to buy a guitar sight unseen.

No idea.

I have to give Reverend a 10 here. The took my guitar back no questions. The only thing that sucks is that it cost me $44 to try this guitar out. I had to pay the shipping both ways. Yet another reason not to buy a guitar sight unseen; duh, you have to pay just to play.

I don't want to make a blanket statement and say "Reverend Guitars SUCK", because most of then are probably pretty decent, or they wouldn't have gotten such good reviews both from guitar mags and players alike. As far as this guitar goes it did suck...royaly. In fact I've never played a more horrid sounding guitar in my entire life. It remided me of a $50 1/2 size guitar I bought for my 4 year old nephew; really that bad.

Herein lies a VERY valuable lesson for guitarists: NEVER buy a guitar that you did not play beforehand. Good guitars can not be cookie-cutter'd off the assembly line like toasters. A toaster only has to brown a piece of bread and not burn it to be considered good. A guitar is not a toaster. A guitar has not only to brown a piece of bread, but it has to make you cry while doing it, or it's not worth playing.

2002 Reverend Avenger TL. Made to order in Eastpointe MI. 22 Fret. Unique semi hollow body design with Space Race Silver brushed aluminum top. Pickups are Strat neck, Strat mid, and Tele bridge (all single coil for those who don't know). 1 volume 1 tone 5 way selector with optional "Studio Switch" allowing both neck and bridge p/u's to be engaged no matter what position the selector switch is in (thus allowing all three p/u's to be engaged at once if in the 2,3, or 4 position) Neck is maple with rosewood fingerboard, satin finish (the best). Body is two pieces of phenolic bonded to an injection molded outer frame with the aforementioned brushed aluminum top. 3 ply white pickguard. Non-trem strat style bridge with string thru body. Sperzel locking tuners. Graphite nut. All in all a VERY well thought out design! This doesn't have "Tons of features", which HC lists as a criteria for a "10" rating. However, it has exactly the features I want, so I'll have to give it a "9". But for the money you spend, the unique design, locking tuners and graphite nut as standard and a well designed and well built guitar, it probably should warrant a "10".

When are a vintage '62 Strat and a vintage '57 Tele not a vintage '62 Strat and a vintage '57 Tele? When they're combined into the Reverend Avenger TL! No joke! This thing has that vintage tone out the wahzoo. Vintage tone is extremely dependent on the interaction of all components of the guitar. Neck style, fret size, body wood, bridge type, string gage, all have some effect on the harmonic overtones captured by the pickups, not to mention the pickups themselves (well, DUH!). The unique design of this guitar uses the best of all of the above to capture that elusive vibe. The sound is very round and full, yet sharp and expressive. Notes are clear and the picking nuances come right through. The Tele style bridge pickup adds that fuller upper mid bite that is lacking from most Strats. The middle pickup alone, usually the least favorite of Strat players, is very crisp. The Studio Switch that I had installed allows for seven different pickup configurations. The resonance and sustain created by the semi hollow body and steel bar mounted in the white mahogany center block adds a richness not normally found in most single coil guitars. Playing through either a Vox Valvetronix AD120T, a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, or a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 combo. Effects are pretty basic: a Reverend Drivetrain OD pedal in front and a Carl Martin Delayla and a vintage Pearl flanger in the effects loop (except for the Vox, which I plug into directly with no effects). Clean, it shimmers and sings. Dirty, it grinds and wails. Very versatile! I play anything at all and no style in particular, whatever I feel like at the moment. For Metal I've got other guitars for that. That's not what this guitar was designed for, but with the right gear you'd probably get by if you had to (sort of like driving your $150,000 Porsche on a snowy day. The car is out of it's element, but if you work at it you'd probably do OK).

It also gets high marks for the neck. It has that "played in" feel of a vintage Fender neck with rolled edges and a satin finish on the back of the neck (I'm not a big fan of the polyurethane finishes that all the big guys are chosing for their neck finishes now)

The guitar was set up as requested with medium action and .010 strings. Seeing as how this guitar was made for me (I placed the order via phone and they started building it within a day or two after) it's just like getting a USA made "Custom Shop" guitar for the price of a high end mass produced import. WOW!!!!

There has been quite a bit of controversy, to say the least, regarding the phenolic top and polymer sides of the Reverend design. Well, I'm here to set the record straight. Phenolic is TOUGH STUFF! I say that because I used to be in manufacturing and we used to make gears for the military out of that stuff and it's tough as nails. It would burn out our carbon steel tooling almost as quickly as if we were cutting stainless steel. Now, having said that, I would NOT recommend setting it underneath your full stack in the back of your van...it is, after all, a semi hollow body.

I guess what puts people off is the lighter weight of the materials. For some reason we tend to associate weight and heft with strength and endurance. If that's the case with you then you better not look too closely at the internal airframe of any of those jets that are always flying over our heads. I personally enjoy the lighter weight. It makes it a heck of a lot less strenuous when playing for long periods of time.

Solid harware all around. No chintzing there at all. Quality components.

Will the brushed aluminum finish last? Hmmm...better not take a bench grinder to it...

Oh yeah, if it's really important for you to know, the strap buttons are HUGE!

AND ALWAYS GIG WITH A BACKUP! THAT'S WHAT FENDERS ARE FOR!

Joe Naylor and company have set the standard for customer service. If you're lucky enough to have a local guitar show in your area at least once a year chances are Joe and his wife Kristen will be there with all their wares. They're great people. Stop by and say "Hi!". They love to talk about their products and meet their customers. Joe cares enough to ocassionally post here and to other forums with helpful info too.

This is a great guitar! It looks really cool too. The way I would describe it would be to think of a Popular Science magazine from say 1959 with an article on "The Home Of The Future", with their stylised vision of what items of that time would concievably look like in the future. You have Mom and Pop running around in their metallic jumpsuits with the fyling car parked in the garage and the mechanical pet dog running up and down the moving stairs. And there hanging on the wall in Junior's room is the Strat of the future. And it's shaped just like a Reverend!

This is a Reverend Avenger TL with a lake superior blue brushed aluminium top made in the USA. Features 2 single coil and one tele bridge pickup. Joe Naylor refuse to disclose the type of pickups he uses or who he commissions to make them. One volume and one tone with a five way switch. Maple neck with rolled edges and with maple fretboard. The reverend website specifies the frets as jumbo frets but they dont look at all jumbo to me. I think the frets are kinda short! Hard tail bridge and grover locking tuners makes it so easy to change strings and tune. You know the deal!

I'll give my guitar a only an 8 because it has most feature that you would need but not everything that could be useful. It can however be a 10 with all the other extras Reverend offers. If I had a choice I would get the studio switch which allows both neck and bridge, or all three pickups, to be on at the same time. A blend pot will also be an interesting idea. I would also like to hear noiseless pickups with his guitars. Say kinman......??

The hype is true! It sounds like what a perfect strat should! It has that tone you hear on records. It has all the clarity and chime that you expect when you think strat. I didn't think very much of reverend guitars when I first heard of it. I though it was like one of those rainsong guitars kind of thing. I wasnt used to the idea of a guitar made of plastic. After trying one, I went back several times to try it and eventually bought one. It is probably because of the body material and construction that the guitar posseses the sound it has. It sounds very alive with lots of overtones and what some will say the bell like tones. Full and rich, notes just seem to bloom when picked. Bass is tight. Highs are present. It sounds great unplugged, naturally translating into a great tone when plugged. The guitar is very bright and yet smooth at the same time. It is not harsh with that ice-pick-in-your-ear sound some guitars seem to have (which may not be so bad actually once you get used to it, hmmmm....).

Like a typical strat, it is noisy on the 1,3&5 positions. Nothing really to be bothered about unless you play in front of the pc like me.

It has a really killer clean sounds. I have not explored the overdriven or distorted fully so I can't really comment on it right now. I will however say that this guitar is not that versatile in that it primarily still is a strat copy and wont mimick the humbucking type guitars (not that it is suppossed to anyway). You can still play different genres of music and get by.

With the hard tail bridge, the guitar has tons of sustain. Notes seem to go on for a very very long time. I suspect the string through body bridge and the steel sustain bar adds to the complexity of tone acheived by the guitar. Just a hypothesis.

Overall, I'm most pleased with the sound of the guitar. It does the classis strat thing and does it extremely well. It truly deserves a 10. It beats some of those so called boutique guitars in the tone department. I believe that wood is inconsistent and therefore not all boutique quitars sound good. With something like the reverend, the inconsistency is removed as the material is consistent. As a consequence, they all sound pretty darn good.

The guitar was already set up when I bought it. I'm used to medium action and found it to be abit low. No biggie, I'll probably adjust it some time later or get used to it, whichever comes first. The fretwork is excellent. The frets are very nicely crowned with no sharp edges or anything like that. My only gripe is that the frets are short. I'm more used to taller frets. It seems abit more difficult to dig in when bending.

The neck is just the right size, comfortable with its 'rolled edges' and very smooth. It feels like a comfortable neck that has been seasoned through years of use. The nut seems abit short with my low e sitting only 3/4 inside the nut. It doesnt give me any problems though.

The tone knob was able to rotate even after the pot was rotated to the max in each direction. I just had to pull out the knob and bend the split shaft of the pot outward to ensure a tigher fit when the knob was put back in.

As the body is built more like an acoustic guitar with top, back and sides, the comfortable forearm and tummy contours are missing. The forearm portion is still quite comfortable because it has the armrest. The tummy portion however digs in abit onto your ribs. It would be real cool if Joe Naylor could look into somehow making some sort of countour to make the guitar more comfortable.

The reverend seems to be reliable enough. After all how complicated can a strat styled guitar be? I dont foresee any problems with reliabilty, unless of course you spilled beer or something on it.

Durability, I dont know. Not enough time has passed to prove that something like a reverend can last like an all solid wood guitar. Its built abit like an acoustic guitar with top, back and sides. I'm wondering if this kind of construction makes it vunerable to the stresses placed on it through the years. The sides are made of molded plastic. I'm also not sure how long the plastic will last and if it will degrade with the passing of time. There is only a one year guarantee. I'm hoping its not because the guitar will self destruct after a year.

It seems like a real workhorse of a guitar, not that I gig anyway. I think I can leave it on a stand and not have to worry too much about it. Its not made of wood in the traditional sense so environmental conditions is not too big of a worry. No humidity and all to worry about.

Having said all that, I certainly think it is a very well build instrument. I would think that Joe Naylor must have also done his research into the durability of the contruction method and the type of material used. I certainly hope it will last (I own one, I need it to).

The only dealing I've had with the company was an exchange of emails enquiring about things like options, shipping, etc. Did not really have too much of a chance to interact with them. Though Joe Naylor himself replied to my emails.

Everything is perfect right now and have not needed to get any work done. From what I read on the forums, Joe Naylor will bend over backwards to ensure that the customer is satisfied with his purchase. I hear all these stories about him sending customers replacement items free of charge and even offering to pay for return shipping for the defective item. Hope Joe keeps it up. Thats probably one reason why he gets a seemingly ever increasing demand for his products. So much so that he can afford to raise prices two times this year and yet still have people order his guitars.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my guitar. For the price, I think you can't get a better sounding guitar. For three times the price, you also may not get a better sounding guitar. It will blow away many boutique guitar in terms of sound (which is subjective anyway). The new design using phenolic needs a bit of getting used to by the guitar playing community, but I believe these will be the design of the future. There is still an attraction to the classic guitars made of wood. The look and feel of wood and the sentimentality of people. There's something about the feel of wood placed by the body and the heft of wood. The reverend does feel abit like a toy with it only being 6 1/2 pounds and all. Still its a blessing as your neck and shoulder will thank you!!

I'll recommend the guitar to people who want an affordable guitar with great tone and feel. For the price it cant be beat. The neck is just amazing. So comfortable to hold and smooth. Makes moving aound the neck very easy. If I had loads of spare cash, I'll still buy a normal guitar made of solid wood. Just can't resist a traditional looking guitar. Till then, this will do very well. If you're not a snob and can get past the fact that the body is made of phenolic, you'll love this guitar. I may just get another of his guitars sometime later. Probably a rocco. Maybe a Goblin too.

Don't believe me however. Try one and experience it for yourself.

Same guitar as the one in the previous review.

I've own several tele's and never had much use for their neck pups. Conversely, with the strats I've owned its been the bridge pup that has been the one I liked the least. So when I read about the Avenger TL I just had to have one. Well the pickup combo is every bit as good as I imagined it would be. The strat mid and neck pups are great in their own right; warm and vintage sounding with a bit of "cluck" from the semi-hollow. Need to cut thru the mix? No need for a stomp box, just switch to the tele bridge pup and let that authentic tele tone work for you. The mid-bridge inbetween setting is very cool also. Similar to the traditional strat "quack" but with a bit more edge. There's no doubt in my mind that at this price (or any price) this guitar earns highest honors in this catagory.

Very nice feeling playing neck. Lowered the action a bit, otherwise I haven't needed to do anything to it. I wish the arm rest bar was toward the back of the guitar a bit more, the way I play my forearm rests half on half off of it.

Todays guitar buyers have some very cool options and this is definately one of them. There's just one thing...The body's plastic. Ok, its some kind of composite of wood + polymers or something but it feels plastic and that's hard to get past. I love the feeling of a wood guitar. But then I don't doubt Joe could make a very nice wood body guitar, but that guitar would undoubtably cost quite a bit more then these do and I'm not sure that it would sound any better.

This is a new Reverend Avenger TL. Three single-coils(tele-style in
bridge position). Lava swirl finish with rosewood fingerboard.
The neck is the USA not Eastpoint MI. One Vol. One Tone. 5 pos.

The sound is great for blues, rock, country, and some jazz. I'm
playing this through a Reverend Hellhound Combo. The only effect
I use is a Visual Sound Jeckyl & Hyde Overdrive. It sounds very rich. You can get great "in between" sounds, much like a strat.
Very little noise. Bridge pickup "honks".

Set up fine. Lowered strings. Switched to 011's from 009's.
No noticeable flaws at all.

Everything is high quality. No reason for worry. Holds tuning well.
I would use without a backup.

N/A

I have wanted to try a Reverend guitar for some time. I have had
a Hellhound Combo Amp for about 4 Mo. and love it. I finally
found a good deal and snagged it up. GREAT BUY!!! I would like
to get a Rocco or Slingshot next.

This is a brand new, made in the USA, 2001 Reverend Avenger TL. Basically, an update of the previous Avenger model with a Tele-style pickup up in the bridge position instead of a Strat-style pickup(the middle and neck pickups are still Strat-style). I ordered mine with the new Moroccan Gold metal top, and creme pickguard(the neck & middle pickups are white, the Tele bridge pickup is black. The overall effect is stunning). Simple controls: 1 volume knob, 1 tone knob, and a five way pickup selector switch. As I mentioned, the top is metal(brushed aluminum laminated to phenolic). The back is black phenolic, the sides are mold-injected plastic. Semi-hollow construction with a white mahoghany center block(with a steel bar imbedded in it). High tech and retro at the same time.
22 Jumbo, BEAUTIFUL frets, tinted maple neck(with a gorgeous grain)with aluminum reinforcement running the length of it (inside). rosewood fretboard. Comes standard with Grover locking tuners, and a graphite nut. I opted for the hardtail version over the fulcrum tremolo.

VERY versatile blues & rock guitar. I'm using mine with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amplifier, and it's smaller sibling, the Blues Junior.
The Tele pickup twangs with the best of them, and has an authoritative grind with overdrive(great for power chords). The "in between"(positions 2 or 4 on the selector switch)are great for jangly clean and funk chords. The neck pickup has a sweet, singing quality for slow, bluesy leadwork. The guitar is VERY loud unplugged. Some single coil hum, but FAR LESS than a Strat & Tele. It has a much fuller, more pronounced tone than either of those instruments(with a LOT more sustain), while displaying all the most desirable sonic characteristics of them...times TEN! I'm a fan of Strats & Teles at heart, and this outdoes ALL of them at their own game.

Setup was perfect. I tuned the guitar after they unpacked it at the store, haven't touched the tuning since. I have REALLY put it through it's paces though(went directly to rehearsal with it). The fret work was phenomenal, the hardware top-notch, and I don't think I'll be changing the pickup heights anytime soon. These metal tops are beautiful.

Reverend guitars, despite the semi-hollow construction & light weight(6 & a half pounds)feel incredibly solid. Treat it with respect, and a little care(it IS semi-hollow...don't put your TV on it), and it will be with you a long time. I'll let you know.
I'm careful to polish & clean my metal top Reverends after paricularly sweaty playing(and wipe it down EVERY time I finish playing, even if I only play a few minutes), I don't want any rust;^)
I'd gig with this guitar WITHOUT a backup. Just bring some extra strings...

Can't say enough about Joe Naylor. Answers all my e-mails, set-up my guitar exactly the way I wanted. Noone takes care of you like Joe & Reverend.

I've been playing for 15+ years, I've owned lots of gear. I've been searching for the guitar that suits my personality, and needs as a player. I've found that with Reverend Instruments. The Avenger TL was even better than I'd hoped it would be, in appearance(photos DO NOT do it justice), tone & playability( BTW, it plays/feels exactly like my Reverend Rocco. It's wonderful to grab a very different sounding guitar during a set, and not have to adjust to the feel of it).
If I have my way, I will always have a Reverend guitar.