Reverend Rocco

I've been playing for 22 years, with a Gibson Les Paul, Fender Strat, and three rather expensive non-electrics (an Alvarez Yahiri six- string, a Yamaha twelve-string, and a Yamaha Yahiri classical), but wanted something new-- maybe a Gibson SG or a Rickenbacker, something that my musical hero, Pete Townshend liked to play. So I bought a music magazine, to see what was on the market, and was intrigued by the name "Reverend"-- as that is what I am studying to be. And the more I looked into what this guitar had to offer (controls, body style, what the thing was made of (!), available colors, Sperzel tuners, gig bag, hardshell case), the more I liked it! And then I saw the reviews-- praises of Biblical proportion...I just fell in love with it. When I bought it and finally got it, it was if I had found that missing chord that Pete Townshend has been searching for all of his life. This is the sweetest and crispest sounding electric guitar I've ever heard-- and it sounds pretty nice unplugged as well. This thing can ring!

Sweet, rich, clear-- it is all things to all players, to sort of paraphrase the Apostle Paul, when put through the right sound system.

Unique. Cool. Comfortable. Great looking. I could play it right out of the box.

I'd play this thing without an electric back-up. In fact, it may be the only electric guitar you need! Hooked up to my DigiTech RP-21D fx processor and put through either my Roland JC-120 or Hiwatt amps, I can pretty much make any sound I want (especially the, "Ooh, that sounds nice!"). After I got this guitar, I stopped looking into getting an SG or a Ric-- no need to, anymore, with the Reverend at my side.

Joe Naylor is the man! Fast and friendly e-mails, and very helpful.

I've had the Reverend Rocco for 18 months now, and will never buy another guitar again. With my green and gold Reverend Rocco (with a Green Bay Packers " G " splashed on it!), I've got a look I like with the sound I like. The Reverend Rocco, I am sure, is what is used to make the sound of the wind as it blows through the trees of Heaven.

John 14v6

Aged White, Tremolo, Maple Neck, Regular Tuners and Saddles.

Amazing when played unplugged. My amp sounds 10 times better....crisp sound. You can hear every note even at a distorted setting. This guitar has a very unique character. Almost impossible to get it to sound muddy!! Volume and Tone help keep the richness of the sound when brought down. The coil taps are TRUE tapping...NOT like most which act like a volume cut with one coil. The shimmer of the single coil comes through. The most versatile guitar I have played in my 30 years of making music.

PERFECT out of the box. Joe Naylor sets these up to play effortlessly. Pickup height...even the pole piece heights were set for maximum tone.

This is my main guitar....period. I'm not looking back.

I had Emailed Joe many times (he was very nice...I know I was a bit of a pain in the butt). He answered every question...even gave me a review of his NAMM trip. He was VERY excited that Will Ray from the Hellecasters bought TWO Slingshot Customs and LOVED his new amp. He sounded like a proud father!!! Joe is a down-to-earth guy who CARES DEEPLY for his instruments and the people who spend their hard earned $$$ to buy them.

I am 40 years old. I have been a Fender player FOREVER. I was looking for something "different", as almost everyone has a Strat at all the local jams. This guitar is very "familiar" to any Fender owners as it has a Vintage Fender vibe to it. The sound, however, blows them away. I have a special love of hollow body guitars....I have 3 Fender Coronados that I cherish. This Reverend is as "alive" as them. I have a lot of respect for Joe Naylor and crew for taking an untraditional approach to a traditional guitar style. He nailed it!!! I am already planning on another......AFTER I get one of his new amps!!!!!!

purchased sight unseen with the option of return if not delighted. Well, for the price, so far it seems to be worth it. rosewood neck, black with silver pickguard, the craftsmanship looks very very good. I like the idea that these are made in one shop by a few dedicated people that want to put out a good guitar. I could not find a mark on mine, not a scratch, even on the pickguard. the body looks very fragile, and at first you think it is cheap, well that is what my 8 year old son said when I said it is made out of a sort of plastic. BUT, the other components are very very nice, tuners work very well, even with the 9's gauge strings onit. I will put 11's on later. it has stayed in tune very well, as I really pull hard on my guitars. If it looked like it was going to have tuning problems it would automatically go back, I cannot hang with a guitar that will not stay in tune. so far so good. very well done guitar. I do not see the subtle differences with the hyped 8 toned pickups that I am reading about. more on that later.

This is a very acoustic sounding guitar with an amp on a normal clean setting. I tried a blues pearl texas tornado, and a mesa boogie dc2, fender hot rod deluxe, a randall solid state 2-10 stereo chorus amp. the guitar sounds very big, articulate, full, smooth,all those good adjectives, it really sounds fine recorded, very very low noise, unlike my fenders with tex mex pickups. The pickups are not a hot as the mcinturff polaris pro I have, but stays up with the fenders. very smooth guitar, love the volume and tone controls. a lot of room to shape different sounds this way. Now the neck pickup sounds beautiful with the "east" switch down and the "west" one up. just two tones I can see here that differ. the middle pickup I simply cannot use, on ANY guitar, the bridge pickup with both down seems to sound the best. I dont think I would ever use the much vaunted 8 possible configurations. the best smoothest high gain sound, even with a fulltone fulldrive, was with the boogie dc2 on the contour channel, stunning for a low volume amp. almost heavy metal but not noisy at all. but the clean is where this guitar shines for me. I play a hendrix blues style, and will not be happy with this guitar until I put on 11's, this guitars strings are like threads. I can rip these off the board. I bought this guitar for the variety of sounds with the pickup configuration, and since I will only use 4 or 5, I am still happy with it. I dont think I would have paid any more for this guitar though. I use a jimmie vaughn signature strat with noisy pickups for my everyday axe, and it seems very very solid, this reverend I am sure will last, but it seems very fragile to me. maybe it is the newness of it. But it does sound much better and cleaner especially recorded. I give it a ten for sound alone

Still have a bit of adjustment to do to find where I like it, very nice work though, I am sure it will work even better with heavier strings. no flaws I could find. It doesnt looke like they spent any more time with it than say an american standard tele neck on a lake placid blue that I have, but looks like they just did a better job. They make a nice "polyester body" for it and then put a great neck, and good parts on it. the neck is kinda small for me and I am getting used to it. You might want to try before you buy if you like big necks.

playing over 30 years, have 69 gibson les paul, three strats, two teles,mcinturff polaris pro, clark beaufort, boogie dc2, randall solid state, hot rod deluxe, and a blues pearl amp and this. it is just a different guitar. tried a danelectro but was not impressed. I like the weight and the smoothness and quiet that this guitar has. If it works the way I think it will with heavy strings I think it will be a keeper. the quality is the point here. If it were not done well, it would not be worth 200 bucks. but that is no great revelation. so far I am very happy with this guitar and will use it a lot for smooth acoustic type tunes. we will see about the bluesier heavier stuff. I give it a nine overall. I have tried it on four different amps and still cannot hear the hyped greatness of the 8 configured controls. maybe I need my hearing checked. but I would say it adds about 3 more sounds to a basic 3 switching humbucking style guitar. for quality and sound I give it a nine

Brand new,American made!The construction is the secret. Phenolic resin, reminds me of a Danelectro, but actually a lot different (better). Awesome coil taps like the infamous Jimmy Page Les Paul. Pickups are Joe Naylor's own design, leave 'em alone they have the tone! Neck is nice maple/rosewood, finish appears to be indestructible. Kind of looks like a Strat might look like in an alternate universe. Bridge, knobs, are quality, tuners are decent. The frets are as good as Fender Custom Shop. Nice gig bag, I'll get a case soon. Lots of neat features make it a ten.

For hard rock, blues, metal, it will do the job. I play blues most of the time,with a Fender Vibrolux and it shakes the whole house. Serious mojo. With a Daddy-O or a Big Muff and flanger it nails the psychedelic thing too. The coil tap switching noise is noticeable, but not a big deal. I think it sounds alot like a Les Paul would if you hollowed it out, open and soulful. I can get any tone I want.

No flaws, set up was good, some low e buzz, but not noticeble when amplified. Like I said, a little noise on the switching, but not a total catastrophe like some low cost guitars.

I guess I could spill beer on it and just wipe it right off no problem. The finish is a little rough textured and Joe Naylor recommends Martin polish to clean it. I would easily gig this guitar alone. Kid Rock & Twisted Brown Trucker use these babies and everything else I've read seems to confirm that they are tough little bastards. I like to think of the Rocco as being from the wrong side of the tracks and proud of it. It's a definite keeper.

You won't find better e-mail respose than from Joe Naylor. How many CEO's routinely write their customers back personally? Trust me on this. Gibson has never responded to questions, and Fender ain't much better. 10++++.

Playing 25 yrs. Currently own an SRV Strat (stock), a Jimmy Vaughan Strat with Fender 54 pickups installed(awesome tone!) and a 52 reissue Tele. Price a Les Paul lately? I did. If you want a humbucking guitar and can't afford to sell your soul to Gibson & Co., get this one, you won't be sorry. It's not only better tone-wise,it's unique, lighter, looks cool and costs alot less. Happy? You bet I am.

25 1/2 scale 22 fret maple neck rosewood board(sure looks like ebony). Bolts on with stainless nuts. Phenolic laminate hollow(air sandwhich). 2 Reverend Zebra hb pickups with seperate tone and coil tap. Vintage neck with broken in edges(think early 60 strat). Graphite nut. Tuners are nothing exotic but work quite well. Very retro looking. The coil tap and three way pu switch feel a little cheesy but work very well. Love the coil tap though feature though. If they felt a little beefier I would give it a 10.

I try not to limit myself to any one sound. I am 46 and like to play Beatles, Hendrix, Smashing Pumpkins,Alice in Chains... any good guitar work or unique sound. In the 70's I owned a 73 Strat a 55 Tele (yes 55) and a 68 super reverb. Got rid of all in the late seventies and have spent last 20 giving myself good sound ass kicking. However with this Reverend I feel I have hasd both guitars returned to me except in one body. I play throuh a new Fender Princeton Chorus. Between it and the coil tap and pure sound of this guitar the sound variety seems endless. The guitar itself could be played ampless and fill a medium size room with a nice sound. These guitars sound well above the price payed. I played an Reverend Avenger with s/s/s and can tell you it sounded warmer and sweeter than any Strat I evere played. If any way possible I would have bought both.

I bought this guitar used from Elderly Instruments a very highly regarded store. I dont know who to credit for the setup but it was excelent. I have always prefered maple fret boards but this is a rosewood. I swear it is solid black ebony. It is the best neck I have ever played.

I have not had this long enough to give a rating.

I sent Reverend a email on a Friday night looking from some specs and info. Joe Naylor emailed me back himself by Sunday morning. What more could you ask for.

A 10. I played a lot of guitars and as soon as I lit this up I new I had to have. For the price I also got a hard shell case, although not the matching Reverend which I would like to get. play one of these and you will love. Check out their web site for more info.

All Reverend Guitars are made here in the U.S.,.. I think they come out of Michigan. The body is made of wood with a phenolic top (material similar to Formica), and there are hollow chambers left and right of a steel rod that runs through the center of the body. The whole thing is really unique. The neck is also great. I've got pretty big hands, and this neck is wide and thick enough to keep my hands from unnecessarily enveloping the entire fretboard. The edges of the board are also rounded which makes moving around comfortable and natural-feeling. The guitar as a whole is incredibly light and comfortable to play for long stretches. However, the best feature of the guitar are the electronics. The Rocco is configured in H/H, and then has a 3-way selector, volume and tone pots, and coil tap switches for each pickup. The coil taps are great! The only part of this guitar that isn't excellent are the tuners, which are good to average. However, you couldn't expect more for the price these things go for. There is also a metal arm rest type deal bolted onto the body. It looks cool, but if I play in short sleeves my arm can sort of stick to it once I start to sweat. No big deal. Because of the coil taps and unique body construction, and also due to the fact that people here routinely rate epiphone pauls with straight 10s, I have to rate the features a 10. (Probably more like a 14 judging against how people on this site have rated some pretty shabby guitars.)

Right now I play through a Marshall JCM 900 2x12 combo, which isn't great in my opinion for clean sounds but has the classic Marshall distortion. You can get some truly great sounds out of this guitar from the 3-way selector alone..and once you start to use the coil taps the possibilities are endless. I'd say the best part of the sound aside from the variations you can get is that the guitar maintains clarity in every setting, with or without distortion. This guitar is probably brighter sounding than you'd expect from a two humbucker guitar, but the tone knob really gives some control in that area (it's not just a lame volume or muffle knob) and I've found I can retain the brightness and clarity and take off the sharp edges by rolling it back halfway. Another great part of the overall sound of the guitar is the awesome sustain you get out of it, due to the fact that it's a semi-hollow body. I've gotton some awesome controlled feedback from the guitar in lead settings. My band plays mostly straight ahead rock with some blues and funk and I have had no problem getting a great original sound for each song using the pickup and coiltap combinations. I give it a 9. (10 is too elusive).

The action was great right out of the box. I read that Mr. Naylor sees every guitar before it ships so that's probably part of the reason. I did have some minor buzzing on the bottom E string when I got it, but I guess it was possibly due to temperature changes during shipping because it's gone now! The fretwork is great and all edges align very well. This guitar is definently a product of quality workmanship. The phenolic top has a cool texture for a guitar top and I won't have to polish it every time I play it.

I've had the guitar for a month now and still haven't played out with it yet, but my band rehearses twice a week for 3 1/2 to 4 hours straight with a good deal of jumping and bouncing and I have no doubt that the guitar will hold up great live. I don't think the hollow chambers let the guitar feel fragile at all. The guitar feels extrememly durable, add some high-end tuners and straplocks and I don't see where you'd ever have a problem unless you throw it at inanimate objects.

If I could give Reverend a 20 here, I would. When I started shopping for a new main guitar, I e-mailed Reverend 2 or 3 times with questions and was answered within 48 hours every time by Joe Naylor himself. When I settled on a Rocco, but my color was on backorder, he even e-mailed me with the names of several dealers who had received Roccos within the last few weeks in case I decided I needed the guitar sooner. Talk about above and beyond. I cannot say enough about Reverend's customer service, and if I ever hit it big I would freely promote and endorse Reverend guitars just on principle.

I have been playing for 6 years now, all with the same band. The only other guitar I have owned is an Ibanez EX something to which I added everything humanly possible to extend it's life. It still sucks. I love my Reverend and would definently buy one again. The only other guitar that has double coil taps standard that I know of is the Gibson Jimmy Page LP, which costs more than the GNP of several third world nations. Maybe what says the most about the guitar is that I played tons of guitars before choosing this one, and then bought this one with out ever having played it.

All reverend guitars (and even their bass, i think) share the same body design. The shape is very much like that of a Jazzmaster/ ibenez tallman, but because there're no contours (ie. all the sides are 90% angles), it feels a lot like a tele. It's a semi-hollow body design that incorperates a 6" wide white mahogany center block with a small steel sustain bar added to it, white plastic sides a la Danelectro, and a top and back made of a "phenolic resin/wood-based composite". Honestly, i don't know what that is. It is a bit reminicent of my kitchen counter, except in black. It is quite resonant, though, and once you get used to it, it's really quite attractive; it fits the guitar's retro theme perfectly. All the hardware is chrome, as are the pickup covers and the arm rest (yes, arm rest), which is incredibly well-placed and comfortable. Accoustically, this guitar gives a great "rumble on my tummy" feel. Mine has a white pearloid pickgaurd, although you can also get a tortise-shell one. The pickgaurd has a great Gretch "sky-scraper" taper that gets reapeated on the otherwise very fender-ish headstock. The tuning machines are the only part of the guitar that I have qualms with. They rattled the first time i took the strings off. But they hold the strings in tune, and they're no worse than any stock fender gear (not that that says a whole lot). I guess you gotta skimp somewhere to get a hand-made guitar to fall into this price range, and if that's the only place, i can difinately live with it. The 25 1/2" scale neck is a great piece of solid maple, accented by the classic walnut skunk stripe, and covered with a 'vintage yellowed' satin finish. It's a pretty big neck, but not bulky by any means. The 22 jumbo frets are polished beautifully, and set into a nice rosewood slab fretboard. A hunka-hunka burnin' love, it is; i love it to death. I promise, you won't find a neck so well-appointed on any guitar in this price range, save Carvin, of course. But their necks have a totally different feel to them. Reverend's neck is a little smaller than Fender's big D-necks, i think. You can move around on it fine, but if you really want to dig in, there's enough meat there to do it. The electronics are of no lesser quality. The two nickel-plated, Kent Armstrong custom designed hubuckers, controled by two separate coil taps, a single vol, and a single tone pot, are perfectly balanced. The volume pot has an 'anti-tone-suck' circuit added, so when you back off the volume, you don't back off the high end, too. The tone pot has a real shallow cap in it; you can role it almost all the way off and the tone's still clear...but i'll talk more about that later. A graphite nut, rolling string trees, and a standard non-trem bridge/tail piece round out specs. Note that a wilkonson trem is available for an extra $69. there are pictures of all the guitars at their web site <http://www.reverendmusical.com> if you want to take a peek. Also note, the guitar looks big in the pictures, looks disappointingly small when you first see it in person, and feels as big when you put it on as it looked in the pictures. It's quite a paradox; it will suffice to say that everything fits to your body perfectly. It really feels like an old tele, but somehow, it seems a little bigger...i'll stop now...

If feel is the most important thing about a guitar, then sound is in close contention for second place. Whether you see it this way or reversed, Reverend delivers on both ends. Everything about the guitar is designed to increase tone, from the composite top/back to the big neck to the fat pu's. What is it increasing? Think 72 tele thinline. Thats a real good place to start. The rocco moves a little bit towards the less woody-sounding, 335-type tone, though. As you can imagine, its a really satisfying axe to play; the tone is really versatile, from blues to classic rock to heavier stuff, that kind of tone can cover all the bases. And that's just when you're in humbucker mode! Changing over to the single coil settings gives you classic tele twang to a 'T'. The coil splits work magnificently, by the way; i mean they really are convincingly sigle coils. Mixing the bridge pu in sc mode with the neck in HB mode makes for some of the greatest tones known to man. Tough attack and big, thick chords that never lose clarity...it makes me giddy just thinking about it... The circuit in the volume pot works great at keeping your tone at constant levels while you're varying your volume. The tone pot is great,too. Like i said before, it doesn't really cut too many frequencies. It almost acts more like a compressor than a tone pot. It smooths out your attack when you roll it off, and even seems to take those pesky buzzy,'papery' high-end frequencies that are so prevalent in old fenders (and respective look-alikes) away. Of course, if you're after that tone, just leave the control all the way open, and you'll be satisfied. Both pots are really smooth and gradual, too. to sum things up, i'm blown away by the tone and feel of this guitar. I only give a 9 because every switch on the guitar makes some sort of crackle or pop sound. The 3-way toggle scratches; it'll have to be replaced. And because the wings are hollow, switching of the coil tap mini-switches can be heard through the amp. It's not damagingly loud, but some rubber insolaters would have made a big (and fairly inexpensive) difference. Oh, by the way, I play lots of blues, rock, jazz (although this isn't my main axe for jazz by any means, it can get a good sound). I tend to lean toward a real buttery, cream-era tone. But i also like the modern rock, tele-through-a-matchless/boogie kind of tone. This guitar really does cover all the bases.

i think i already covered a lot of this. the finish is great and clean all over. the frets are perfectly polished. Action was good and intonation was perfect right out of the box. Low points are that the pickups were set up all weird when i got the guitar (a little fiddling with the pickups' screws fixed it in a jiffy) , and the tuners are kind of weak. The guitars are made in michigan. I ordered mine from south carolina. so it ended up going from michigan to s.c. and then back north to virginia. Then, when i got the guitar, i put 11's on it instead of the 9's it came with. Needless to say, the neck moved a little, and some very slight buzzing started after a couple days. Some truss rod adjustments fixed that, though. The nut may still need some slight adjustments due to the string gague change (the strings don't look like they're sitting all the way down), but if that is the case, it isn't anything vital. I mean, it doesn't seem to affect the playability/intonation of the guitar.

This is my first electric that isn't completely solid. The only experience I've had w/ semi-hollow's is that my friend has a 335-style guitar that his friend made him (that's a pretty fat guitar, too). They share that same kind of fragile feeling,but i don't think it's gonna break or anything. Everything is solid (except the tuners); the finish looks like it's gonna last a lifetime. As far as gigging with it w/out a backup...I'll definitely gig with it (looks like i've inadvertantly taken december off...too much school work...), but i don't know that I'd ever gig anywhere with any quitar without a backup. I wouldn't excpect to have to use a backup, though. This guitar seems tough.

Small companies are great to work with. Reverend Musical basically IS Joe Naylor. I talked to him a lot before i bought the guitar, asking him about options and standard specs. Although i've never actually talked to him (we just e-mail back and forth), he seems like a real nice guy, and is very helpful. He is always quick to respond to my e-mails, and i'm sure if i ever have a problem with my guitar, he'll be more than happy to help.

overall, this is a really incredible creation, especially for the price. A few things could be made better (tuners, switches could be more solid), but over all it's all i hoped it would be. I was debating buying a '72 thinline reissue instead; i'm glad i didn't. I had to travel 5 hours (to philidelphia) to try out one of these guitars, and the trip was definitely worth it. If you're even considering this guitar, or a/b-ing it with other guitars, don't rule it out until you try it. It's really something else. One more bone to pick, though. The case. It looks really cool, i'll give'em that (go to the web site to see it), but it doesn't even fit the guitar. I mean, i suppose the guitar is safe inside, but the padding is really weak, and my les paul fits in it better than the rocco does. I just thought i'd warn all of you... overall, though, the tone, feel, versatility, look, and all-around vibe of this guitar is great. You won't find a nicer axe in the price range, and honestly, it's comprable to guitars costing a whole lot more. I can't give it a ten, because i'm not sure any guitar is really worthy of a ten. And the little things are enough to justify another point off, or maybe not...let's say it's actually an 8.5 :)