Reverend Rocco

always in the search for cool gear, about 18 months ago I found myself in a store checking out the reverend guitars. the first thing that caught my eye was the finish, it looks and feels like a textured Formica countertop,and was extremely light. I played a few models there, The slingshot (2 P90's) the Commando ( Single coil in the neck, HB in the bridge) and the Rocco (2 HB) I thought" sure they look cool", very retro, but when I plugged it in I was very pleased, no surprise as far as what they did, I mean I know how a guitar with 2 p90s will usually sound, but amazed at how well it sounded, like buying a Volkswagen and the realizing it's as fast as a Mustang (Ford, not Fender) since I already had a G&L ASAT Special on order, I really didn't need another guitar with 2 single coil pickups on
it. so I tried out the Commando, very cool guitar, again sounded amazing, very fluid, like you asked for a sound, and it delivered, no BS. I then tried out the Rocco. very cool, coil taps that actually worked and sounded great, with a few flicks of the wrist I realized this could easily keep up with my PRS..I know kind of hard to believe...I ended up ordering a "Rocco". in black (Finally a black guitar) silver pickguard, zebra coil pickups, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and locking tuners..amazing..just a little tweaking on my amp (H&K Triamp) sounded GREAT. the neck is like an older strat, and feels like its broken in very comfortable some where between a strat plus and a SRV Strat neck, nice deep color on the rosewood too..I added the locking tuners for $70. I know on a non trem guitar it shouldn't really matter but I thought it would be worth it time wise for restringing..

Ok So the pickups switching is done by a 3 way switch, like a strat's
switch but only 3 positions instead of 5. 2 mini toggles split the coils,now I've had problems with coil taps in the past, most have a very trebly, tinny sound, with a big volume drop. like a telecaster with a broken pickup. amazingly enough these coil taps are actually musical sounding. now granted there's no real way a coil tap can recreate that true strat Single coil sound, but these ones give enough cut and the volume stays pretty consistent gives you that strat vibe with a bit "More" all the stuff youd hot rod your strat for is already there, and you dont have to give up the depth of a humbucker either!!

I can pretty much say that all the tones in all my guitars (at least the ones I like in my guitars) are in this one, the only thing it doesn't have is a Tremolo. I can deal with that, though. I don't really use the Tremolo alot,and I like the stability of a stop tail bridge.

Here's the real test though, how does it sound? well like I said, I can
give a good guess as to how a guitar will sound considering construction,
electronics and hardware, but I was amazed at how GREAT it sounded.
sounded like a guitar with this configuration should sound, clear and
powerful. every note rang true, regardless of pickup switching
configuration, and the neck was ultra comfortable, nice fret job too...

First rehearsal my singer, Ray commented that it sounded better than all of my guitars, INCLUDING THE PRS. now not a bad comparison, but it seemed much more "even" tone wise across the sound spectrum. Kind of like someone mounted a BBE sonic maximizer in my guitar. I'm inclined to agree, but hard to believe a $600 guitar blows my $1200 PRS away (The going rate for a PRS of that year and spec.'s) I used to never even look at a guitar under $800, and usually only looked at items from companies that had alot of options and a "Custom Shop" (yeah I'm a "Boutique" snob I guess)

Then, this weekend we played at goodtimes, and the sound guy commented
that it sounded fantastic "I've never heard a guitar that sounded THAT
good". My good friend, Mike Kelley, commented that he liked the looks,retro/deco. "It sounded really really good, when you went to the lead sound, that was it"

I guess the proof is in the pudding..I knew it sounded great, but it's nice to hear it from someone
else..

Awesome retro/deco look. extremely light, nice neck ( i mean the "nice" neck most people who ever play strats look for) great fret job. the only real problem i had is that iafter playing it, i felt like i wasted so much money on so many OTHER guitars

the hardware is pretty standard, not alot of properiatry stuff on this, which I like in case of some accident/war and tear/upgrading. im amazed to see a guitar with such familiar hardware play like something i've never experienced. I like the Formica like Phenolic finish,it doesnt seem to get fingerprints on it at all and looks pretty durable. I put locking strap buttons on it, but I've seen guitars costing $1k not having them either.. so no big deal.
Would i gig without a backup, sure, but Im looking to get another reverend (this time maybe a Rocco with a Trem or a Commando..Hmmmm(

I havent had to deal with any customer support/complaint type issues, but from the people ive spoken to and the stuff I've read about the company, and their website, i dont think i'd have any problems at all

ok so if you're looking for something a bit different looking, but very familiar sounding, with alot of flexibility and good tones.. Highly recommended and extremely underrated choice..Boutique sound at a reasonable cost.

I just bought this new. It's aged white. You probably know the features or will read them in other posts. I have owned alot of guitars.. gibson, fender, godin etc. I've gone through around 20 guitars or more in the last 13 years. I was really interested in this guitar because of the split humbucker feature. It's great. I also was really into the fact that lowering the volume on the guitar doesn't hurt the tone of the guitar. (The tone control seems more usefull then other guitar also) I can't believe how comfortable the neck is.
Graphite nut is always good. The tuners are great. It has every feature I want so I give it a "10" for features.

I play various styles. I play everything from folkish to punkish to just plain copying J Mascis. I run this either through my Line 6 pod to record (which sounds great) or through my roland bolt 60. (which is not an amp you want.. If you see one don't buy it. Tell me where you saw it so I can buy another one, and you won't have to worry about owning it.) It sounds great through the Roland. I actually have trouble deciding which pickup configuration I want to use the most...

THe action was great on this guitar. I will have to change the strings to tens. They did a great job on the fretwork.. I can see myself in the frets.. I have no complaints.

I had worried about the reliability and durabilty of Reverends since I'd first seen them a couple years ago. I had kept wanting to buy one but wasn't sure because I didn't know how durable it was. I'm not worried about durability anymore. I keep it in its case when it's not in use and I avoid bouncing it off of the floor.

I've asked Joe questions and received responses the same day. He even said he'd send me a different colored pickguard in trade for the one on my guitar for $5. I think that's amazing. Try that with Fender...
He also gave me good and informative information on questions like what the effects of adding humbucking covers would be.

Ive been playing for 13 years. I'm not going to lose the guitar and It's not going to get stolen. I would replace it. I'm saving to get a Reverend Slingshot because these guitars are so great. I think it'd be cool if there were reverends with tortoise shell sides and pearloid sides and other colors other than white.

READ CUSTOMER SUPPORT SECTION!!!!!!!

READ CUSTOMER SUPPORT SECTION!!!!!!!

READ CUSTOMER SUPPORT SECTION!!!!!!!

READ CUSTOMER SUPPORT SECTION!!!!!!!

Ok this is crazy, I e-mailed Joe Naylor (Owner/Founder/Guitar Tester) about 20 minutes ago with a stupid question about changing the color of the pickups and no more than 15 minutes later I had an in depth response sitting there in my inbox. People are talking about his next-day e-mail responses (WHICH IS AMAZING) but I swear this guy has a camera near my computer to tell when I am e-mailing him. He has replied to three seperate E-mails of mine with the longest response time being probably 20 hours (It was sent somewhere in between the times I checked my mail). This last one was as long as it takes to make a couple batches of quick prepare Rice-A-Roni. This man is incredible, I'm tellin' ya, these guitar are gonna be like Fenders and Gibsons in a few years. It's like a Vintage Fender/Old Les Paul in one body for 1/3 the price of either. Some people can't even hit the crapper and get back to the computer before Mr.Naylor replies to their Reverend guitar queries. Well, just thought I'd share my joy of Mr. Naylor's service. He and Bob Weil of Visual Sound (Effect Devices) are the two best Guitar Customer Service People in the world. And thats strange cause I just figured out that Bob Weil worked with Joe to create his Overdrive Pedal. If you ever see either one on the street and he asks for some money for a coke or something and tells you he'll pay you back, just give him the darn money, he'll probably give you a hug when you give him the money and repay you and throw in some picks. To sum it all up, he is Honest Abe" reincarnated as an innovative guitar designer/creator. Cool, huh? I wish I could this something way higher than a 10, I would honestly give him 100 if I could.

READ CUSTOMER SUPPORT SECTION!!!!!!!

** response to Joe Naylor**
Joe Naylor said that I never contacted him about the "problems"
With my Rocco, TRUE I did not, because it never occurred to me that there may have been a problem with the guitar. I figured I just did'nt like the sound and had no reason to believe something "may" have been wrong. The person who bought the rocco off of me seems perfectly happy with it as he has never expressed any disapointment so life goes on.

A 2000 or so Reverend Rocco, made in Eastpointe Michigan. Others have done most of the descriptions here, so I won't go into detail on features. As you'll figure out, this model has some very attractive wiring features (splittable HBs, circuitry that actually allows you to use your volume and tone knobs), and some eccentric design aspects. It's an extreme variant of the Strat body design, made out of phenolic resins and wood, with a solid wood sustain block iside the guitar's shell. Fender type scale. I got a gig bag with the instrument along with an allen wrench.

An interesting instrument... I'm still on the honeymoon with it, but it's definitely a different flavor for me. I use this with a Rivera Jake and several Mesa Mark IIIs. It holds up to high gain playing well with sustain and no microphonic type feedback. I have a number of effects including a new Fulltone Fat Box that makes any guitar sound better than it has a right to. It's bright and resonant with some crackling in the pots and switches and some minor grounding hum as well. The sound is thinner but more alive than that of my other instruments, like a ballsy hollowed out Telecaster. No dislikes so far. Slightly top heavy, but this may be a little more personal taste than actual poor balance.

The setup was just fine. No flaws that I can see. Played great right out of the case.

I think the guitar will be fine live. I don't beat on my instruments, and all of the hardware is solid. The body weight is a little disconcerting; people used to a solid mass in the midsection will possibly feel that the instrument is slightly topheavy. More perception than fact, though. I always bring a backup, but this guitar definitely has a jack of any trade sound set. Ballsy HBs and convincing split coil sounds.

Haven't dealt with them, but their good reputation precedes them.

I've played for close to 30 years now. This is my fifth electric and it joins 2 PRS, a Fender Strat and a Parker Nitefly. This instrument has me thinking about selling one of the Smiths to finance a couple more Reverends. I'd buy this again; it's simply a neat feeling guitar, very versatile and different. I like the switching options on this a lot, and the useability of the tone and volume controls. While the Smiths are in a certain class of their own, this compares very favorably to the Parker and outdistances the Fender for versatility. I wish that the switches didn't have their slight crackles, but that's it. I won't gush: I don't know if it's a world class instrument, but you could do FAR worse than this with your hard erned gig money. Worth $600.00? No doubt. Read on and you'll see.

No need to go thru the details of this model. The previous reviews cover the specs to a "T." This is a 2000 model. I bought it new from The Music Loft/Indoor Storm (great, great folks to do biz with -- tip-o-the hat to Dave for all his help!) It's made in the USA (whoa! Cool!), and made to my specs: black body w/gold pickgard... very tough looking) It's got all I want.

I actually encountered the Reverend Guitar in a tiny shop while travelling in San Antonio (Guitar Tex)... about as big as a minute and packed with lots of cool gear and a knowledgeable proprietor. There was a fellow playing a Reverent (an Avenger I believe). My wife (not a musician) commented about how great the guitar sounded. I took notice. Turns out the fellow had ordered on the day before but had to return to the shop to play it again cause... HE LOVED TO TONE SO MUCH! He handed it to me and my fingers just danced all over it. The neck, the setup, the tone, the whole vibe was totally there. This sounds gushy, but it was true. The weight and balance means there is no distraction from how the guitar feels around your neck or in your hands. The neck also feels totally familiar. The fretboard and frets are finished, facilitating a fast feel as well.

The Rocco is a tone monster!
We're not talking heavy metal... just clean and sweet with tons of potential. the split humbuckers go from full/warm to twangy tele tones. With the tone controls (which are truly useable) turned way down, it almost sounds like an acoustic -- which illustrates the broad range of uses for this guitar. As previously noted, there are 8 possible PU combos, but some of the positions are pretty similar... The neck PU in the tapped position is awesome! Glassy with a warm twang. The center position with split/humbucker provides a perfect rhythm setting. Either PU in the HB position plus a little low end tone absolutely knocks the tar outta my amp... thick bluesy tone. Love that.

The guitar is very sensitive to picking dymnamics. It has really opened up my creative rhythms. I use a 7 watt Hi Mu single ended amp and a DIY P-P amp (approx. 20 watts). The DIY is a clean, one trick pony. I use a wah pedal and nothing else right now. As such, this set up and this new axe have pushed my playing skills higher. There is no mush or mud in the sound of this guitar. I can hear all my notes. I can hear all my touches (and the ones I don't want to hear as well!). Because of the quality of the Reverend, I find myself pursuing the business of playing and learning the guitar more than the business of getting more FX pedals and playing louder.

I play blues, old rock, and some homebrew R&B and my own stuff. This guitar has a unique tone that will fit my own sound well.

What do I like? 6.5 lbs... this thing does not wear out my body after jamming for hours and hours. For an old fart like me, that is a must! Makes me feel like a kid again!~

As previoulsy noted, this is a unique guitar that combines retro looks and the future of guitars. The body style is sweet; the body material is not wood, yet it is, but the proof is in the pudding: this thing sounds great! The neck is the best. There is a sense that the guitar was not mass produced... which is very satisfying.

All the electronics work great. Set up was as I asked for.

I don't currently gig, but I rekon this guitar would cut it.
The hardware seems good. The Tuners are probably some stock stuff, but they look fine.
It is still pretty new, but still looks good and sturdy.

(hope there aren't too many typos in this review!)

The folks at The Indoor Storn and Reverend answered many of queries in short order. I exchanged many e-mails with Joe Naylor himself and he was very helpful. Nice to have that personal touch. I may look into the new Drivetrain Overdrive that Joe is making now as it is getting good reviews.

Playing 25 years -- mostly acoustic. I own a Larrivee OM-05, a DeArmond Starfire, and some cheeseball guitars too. If it gets ripped off I will stalk the thief down and eviscerate him and feed him to the sharks. It's toneful and friendly... familiar.

It;s a keeper!

a black with silver pickgaurd rocco, because of the ealier review I would like to respond. I really liked a lot of things about this guitar. but there were some things I did not like about it. the way mine was set up, with 9's, it worked fine, but when moving up to simply tens, the height of the strings up high were unacceptable, my guitar tech told me it should be shimmed, and Joe Naylor was kind enough to email me and say he would be glad to speak with my tech about it, Joe said they have put 11's on them once or twice a week without shimming, but shimming is not a bad idea, and I am sure it is not, I have just never done this. Now I have a couple of cheap fenders that I have 11's on, and they are very low action, without shimming. I have only a couple of complaints with the reverend guitars and they have nothing to do with the sound per se.

beautiful, I have nothing but great things to say about reverend guitars. they are a bit on the bright side, but that is what tone controls are for.

I would not buy a reverend guitar with the standard bridge saddles. I play and pull heavy on my strings and continually broke 10s on my rocco, about 3 in a period of 3 days, and I dont play more than 3 hours a day. . I would not buy a revernd without graphite saddle upgrades. I think I just did not get the right reverend for my particular needs. by the way, I have rio grande and van zandt pickups in my guitars and the reverend pickups in the roccos are as good or better. certainly quieter. tuning was fine.

I was very critical in my first reveiew of this guitar. and I would buy another. Just not the one I had bought.

fast freiendly and concerned. Perhaps because he wants the right things said about his product. which is only natural, Joe Naylor has a right to promote a lower priced product that competes with guitars of over twice the price. this is a great product. Just get the right one.

The price differential across the country is the basic problem I have with this guitar. I tried several outlets and none had a rocco for less than 680, then I see others who bought them for 530. If I had purchased mine for even 600 I would have put a set of graphite saddles on it and even sperzel tuners and would have kept it. as it turned out I sold it for a loss. But that was my decision to make. And I really would buy another. And I plan to in the future. But my advice is to play yours before you buy it.... Although they ARE all top quality, some in the past have seemed to vary in features. Just buy a new one with 3 pickups!!! thats what I would do. But since George Bush is the new president, it is probably time to save your money. Jimmie Vaughn played for the republicans, wow, I hope you are happy in 2 years, Jimmie. By the way I have played since the age of 12 and am 48 now. made a living at it for about 5 years. and I have a terry mcinturff and have had PRSmiths and others, but I am an amp guy. I can find comfort with any guitar, just some hold up better than others. The reverend guitar I had:the neck was a little too small for me. I like a big fat wide neck. the sound of the guitar was the biggest plus. still at 680 it was a good buy, but it just had a couple of drawbacks for me. I intially reviewed the rocco to say:if you like wide fat necks, go elsewhere, and if you like low action and big heavy strings, go elsewhere, and I felt this needed to be said. But as with all guitars, adjustments can be made.

I would like to respond to the two reviews below by anonymous/boogieman. Based on his sound description, I assume there is something wrong with the guitar. Maybe the humbucker's coil tap switch is locked in single-coil mode, or for some reason the humbucker's coils are linked in parallel and/or out of phase. For the record, the reviewer NEVER contacted Reverend about fixing the problem. We would have gladly taken the guitar back for repair or replacement at no cost to the user - our reputation for customer service is well known. Perhaps then he may have experienced the tone the other reviewers are giving high marks for. Also, the body he wrongly refers to as "plastic" is in fact a combination of several materials, with wood being the primary material.

Sincerely,

Joe Naylor, owner
Reverend Musical Instruments

***Update*** to the post below.
I sold my Rocco today but brought it to my local music store just to see how it sounds with a different amp. Well, to be honest. I am glad I sold it. I plugged into an all tube 15 watt Gibson Goldtone (a killer little amp) The reverend sounded like crap. It also sound like crapola through a 30 watt all tube laney. The Goldtone sounded terrific with other guitars but the reverend made every amp we plugged into sound tinny and super bright. As with my 71 Marshall I could not dial in a good sound.

These guitars get great reviews, Makes me wonder if mine is working properly. It is a cool looking guitar but I won't be buying another.

VERY COOL DESIGN.

I Did not really like the sound of my Rocco through my 71 marshall Superlead. My wolfgang special sounds just terrific through the marshall but the Rocco is really mid rangy and just does not sound all that great through this particular amp.

Just about perfect.

Very Very light. Too light for me, the plastic body looks super cool but I would not want to accidently drop it or whack it. Seems like it might crack rather easily but this is pure speculation.I don't really know. It may be more durabile than it appears.

Seems pretty good. They answered my questions before I bought the guitar.

I would be willing to try another reverend, perhaps it was this particuler amp that didn't match up well. I would like to try the p90 model. These guitars are made very well and have a great looking design and the neck is very nice but I can't get used to the plastic body. I thought I was ready for something different but I found myself missing my wolfgang special.