I’ve waited a couple weeks after receiving this bass to do a NBD post, as I wanted to play it in a mix of environments. At this point I’ve played it at home, in a few band rehearsals, and at a 3-hour gig, so I feel like I’m good to review in long-winded detail. And I’ve provided a couple pics, one from the dealer, one by me: Reverend Mercalli 5FM.
TL/DR: A really solid instrument that I’m very happy with. Sounds big but has articulation, is light, balances well, and looks cool (IMO). A few very minor nitpicks, but given the MSRP, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find more bass for your $$, at least in this sonic spectrum.
Review:
I’ve been looking for work horse 34” scale 5er for a bit and was targeting ~$2.5K or less. My main players are USA G&Ls (L-2500, M-2000, JB) and a Modulus Q5, so those are my reference points for playability, fit & finish, etc. I wanted 18mm or 19mm spacing, and I wanted something light, 9lbs or so. I found this one at Wildwood Guitars in Colorado – they had the only blue flame maple (discontinued color) I could find, and they were great to deal with.
This bass checks all those boxes. It is light, coming in at 8.59lbs, but it doesn’t have neck dive; that far-reaching upper horn (or maybe I should say protrusion) is at the 12th fret and I have no issues on the strap. When I swapped the stock .40-125 strings for DR Fat Beams 45-130s, it did require a setup, but I expected that.
The neck is very nice – 5-piece laminate of roasted maple and walnut. The nut is the same 1.85” width as my Q5, and though the specs show it just barely thicker than an L-2500 neck, to me it feels a little chunkier than the L-2500. The satin finish is smooth, very comfy. The fret work is good, no issues there. Very playable neck overall, and it has that ‘solid’ feeling that good instruments have. The 19mm spacing is wider than I’m used to on a 5er, but I haven’t had any issues adapting to it, I’ve enjoyed it so far. Tuners are Hipshot ultralights, they are nice, and the bridge is big and shiny – not much to say about it, it works, all good. I currently have it strung through-body but might try top loading when I change strings again to see if I notice any difference.
The bass/pickups sound BIG. This bass has what I’d call a big, growly-yet-articulate tone, similar to what G&L MFDs bring to the table – always a bit of growl, high output, but articulate and no mud. This is not a ‘clean & pristine’ or ‘clear piano-like’ tone, it reminds me much more of MFDs in Series mode (although I should note that I don’t actually know if the bridge humbucker is wired in parallel or series – but it sounds big). The neck pup (a reverse P in a HB housing) sounds like a P turned up to 11, and the bridge pickup solo'd is great; I like it better than my L- or M-series G&Ls, and I really like those. You don’t lose any volume when you solo the bridge pup; the output across the blend range is very consistent, and you can get a good range of tones via that blend control. The tone knob is very useful and gives you a wide range of control, it’s effective at taking a little to a lot of the edge off. Harmonics ring out and notes sustain forever. And not just useless ‘look how long this open string will ring’ sustain, I mean play a half or whole note and it just rings consistently. Very nice. For most of my gig I left it 50/50 with the tone knob dimed, and really dug the sound.
Fit and finish overall are really good, better than I expected at this price range. It’s a looker in person. There is a very small blemish near the neck pocket, that's the only finish flaw I can find. Neck joint is tight, no issues there.
As for any negatives or nitpicking: The fretboard edges are not as rolled as my G&Ls; it’s not hard-edged or uncomfortable, but it’s not as rolled. Certainly not a deal breaker for me. And in more of a question rather than a nit-pick, the fretboard extends past the neck for the 21st fret; it’s a 20-fret neck with a 21-fret board, like how some Warmoth necks are. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just build a neck that same length, but my guitar player has a Reverend guitar and his is the same way, so obviously its intentional. Access to the 21st fret could be easier; it’s not as much of a reach as the last fret on a Jazz, but also not as easy to access as a G&L M- or L- series.
Aside from all that data, I’d say the thing that jumped out at me with this bass immediately was just how easy it was to plug in and play – very much in the ‘simple yet very effective’ vibe. Very useable tones, no real amp tweaking necessary, and in my first rehearsal I wasn’t thinking about it, I was just playing it, which to me is a strong indicator of a good fit. After the initial 15-20 minutes of “what can this thing do?” when I first unboxed it, I stopped turning knobs and was just playing. Easy.
For the $$, I’m not sure how I could get more instrument for my money. It doesn't do everything, but it does what I need it to do very, very well. Digging it so far.
TL/DR: A really solid instrument that I’m very happy with. Sounds big but has articulation, is light, balances well, and looks cool (IMO). A few very minor nitpicks, but given the MSRP, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find more bass for your $$, at least in this sonic spectrum.
Review:
I’ve been looking for work horse 34” scale 5er for a bit and was targeting ~$2.5K or less. My main players are USA G&Ls (L-2500, M-2000, JB) and a Modulus Q5, so those are my reference points for playability, fit & finish, etc. I wanted 18mm or 19mm spacing, and I wanted something light, 9lbs or so. I found this one at Wildwood Guitars in Colorado – they had the only blue flame maple (discontinued color) I could find, and they were great to deal with.
This bass checks all those boxes. It is light, coming in at 8.59lbs, but it doesn’t have neck dive; that far-reaching upper horn (or maybe I should say protrusion) is at the 12th fret and I have no issues on the strap. When I swapped the stock .40-125 strings for DR Fat Beams 45-130s, it did require a setup, but I expected that.
The neck is very nice – 5-piece laminate of roasted maple and walnut. The nut is the same 1.85” width as my Q5, and though the specs show it just barely thicker than an L-2500 neck, to me it feels a little chunkier than the L-2500. The satin finish is smooth, very comfy. The fret work is good, no issues there. Very playable neck overall, and it has that ‘solid’ feeling that good instruments have. The 19mm spacing is wider than I’m used to on a 5er, but I haven’t had any issues adapting to it, I’ve enjoyed it so far. Tuners are Hipshot ultralights, they are nice, and the bridge is big and shiny – not much to say about it, it works, all good. I currently have it strung through-body but might try top loading when I change strings again to see if I notice any difference.
The bass/pickups sound BIG. This bass has what I’d call a big, growly-yet-articulate tone, similar to what G&L MFDs bring to the table – always a bit of growl, high output, but articulate and no mud. This is not a ‘clean & pristine’ or ‘clear piano-like’ tone, it reminds me much more of MFDs in Series mode (although I should note that I don’t actually know if the bridge humbucker is wired in parallel or series – but it sounds big). The neck pup (a reverse P in a HB housing) sounds like a P turned up to 11, and the bridge pickup solo'd is great; I like it better than my L- or M-series G&Ls, and I really like those. You don’t lose any volume when you solo the bridge pup; the output across the blend range is very consistent, and you can get a good range of tones via that blend control. The tone knob is very useful and gives you a wide range of control, it’s effective at taking a little to a lot of the edge off. Harmonics ring out and notes sustain forever. And not just useless ‘look how long this open string will ring’ sustain, I mean play a half or whole note and it just rings consistently. Very nice. For most of my gig I left it 50/50 with the tone knob dimed, and really dug the sound.
Fit and finish overall are really good, better than I expected at this price range. It’s a looker in person. There is a very small blemish near the neck pocket, that's the only finish flaw I can find. Neck joint is tight, no issues there.
As for any negatives or nitpicking: The fretboard edges are not as rolled as my G&Ls; it’s not hard-edged or uncomfortable, but it’s not as rolled. Certainly not a deal breaker for me. And in more of a question rather than a nit-pick, the fretboard extends past the neck for the 21st fret; it’s a 20-fret neck with a 21-fret board, like how some Warmoth necks are. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just build a neck that same length, but my guitar player has a Reverend guitar and his is the same way, so obviously its intentional. Access to the 21st fret could be easier; it’s not as much of a reach as the last fret on a Jazz, but also not as easy to access as a G&L M- or L- series.
Aside from all that data, I’d say the thing that jumped out at me with this bass immediately was just how easy it was to plug in and play – very much in the ‘simple yet very effective’ vibe. Very useable tones, no real amp tweaking necessary, and in my first rehearsal I wasn’t thinking about it, I was just playing it, which to me is a strong indicator of a good fit. After the initial 15-20 minutes of “what can this thing do?” when I first unboxed it, I stopped turning knobs and was just playing. Easy.
For the $$, I’m not sure how I could get more instrument for my money. It doesn't do everything, but it does what I need it to do very, very well. Digging it so far.
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