Louder the better!
I do love those Thunderguns, just wish they had one more string...and maybe a flame maple top...in a fancy color.
Agreed!
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Agreed!
Did you ever wonder what happened to the Bass Player sample of the 2003 Reverend Rumblefish PJ? A couple of days ago (May 25, 2018) it was at the Dinosaur BBQ (Syracuse) Boneyard with I am Fool. Still rocking (with the same set of Chromes I put on it when I got it back then, and hipshot tuners; otherwise, stock).
Last edited:
- Dec 16, 2002
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I sure believe that's true. The set on this bass is 15 years old, and the bass gets positive comments whenever it's heard!
How do they feel? What's the tone like? What are the weight ranges? What can I expect from one of these?
I'm in the market for a new bass.
Thanks
Shaun
I'm in the market for a new bass.
Thanks
Shaun
Flatter profile fretboard (12" radius), neck seems a little on the thicker side (think P Bass(ish)).
String spacing at the bridge is 19MM.
Bridge position pickup will give a hybrid jazz/MM tone, the neck pick up is all day P bass (my preferred tone)...But the blend control can be just magical.
Weight range for mine have been low 9 lbs.
As for what you can expect? A rock solid bass that plays, looks & feels like a far more expensive instrument, I couldn't recommend it more highly.
IMHO, YMMV etc....
The new ones are, both of my Mercalli 5's were made prior to this so I can't speak to the visual or functional aspect of the roasted neck.
Here is a comparison I did in a different thread a while back...I feel pretty much the same today.
For comparison I have a AS P5 & a Squier VM P5 as well as my Mercalli....Both the Fender & Squier have never left their cases for gigs since this bass came home...period.
Build Quality- It's been said that the AS P5 is better quality, I disagree, the Mercalli feels & plays like what I'd expect $1100-1200 to be, but the Fender most certainly does NOT feel/play like $1400-1500+....not a dig on Fender, I love the basses, but maybe mine's just not the usual? Either way the win goes to the Reverend hands down...Better fit & finish (on mine at least), better setup out of the box.
Sound- The Mercalli can get a very convincing P tone with the neck pickup soloed, so if that's your goal, it is pretty easily achieved, the bridge pickup is a little different, it's got some nice snarl, but it's not too harsh, IMHO it's kind of right in between a soloed jazz pickup and a MM pickup...it can't do either perfect, but more of a combo of the two if that makes sense? That said, my "sweet spot" is with the blend just north of center favoring the neck pickup, gives me the most "balanced" tone, although there are a few tunes that solo the neck pup.....The Mercalli is considerably louder than either of the other 2, I had to readjust my board & amp settings, but once I got that dialed in it sounds sweet.
Controls- Nothing crazy here...passive volume, tone & blend, it's very easy to dial in a suitable tone, but no real difference from the P5 (with the obvious exception of the blend control).
Other/Nitpicking- If you're a traditionalist, then stick with the fender, but if you're looking for striking and original looks, it'd be tough to beat the reverend.
The weight is comparable between all 3 of my 5's they are all north of 9 lbs, with the AS P5 being the heaviest @ 9.78 lbs.
The Fender has a hard case included, the Reverend has the case @ an extra $200ish, bringing the Mercalli total price up to that of the Fender, I suspect that if the Fenders were sold without cases they'd be priced at about the same as the Reverend...apples/apples.
Both the P5 and the Mercalli offer string through and/or top load bridges, both are "high mass" however the Mercall has locking saddles, if that's important to you...I love the locking function, but YMMV etc.
Both the P5 and the Mercalli are 34" scale, with the Mercalli string spacing being just a bit wider at the bridge 18.5mm vs 19mm. The Mercalli has a flatter 12" radius compared to the Fender (I don't really notice it). I'd say both basses have solid "B" strings, with the edge going to the Mercalli, I believe it has a cleaner more pronounced tone (compared with brand new Chromes on both).
Both basses are bolt on necks with the Fender being a 4 bolt, and the Mercalli have a 6 bolt...minor, but may/may not be important to you.
Both basses have lightweight tuners.
The Fender has (what appears to be) a 1 piece neck, where the Reverend has a very nice looking 5 piece construction.
The Fender has truss rod access @ the body, the Reverend is at the headstock, The Fender has graphite reinforcement rods in the neck, the Reverend doesn't.
IMHO the matte finish on the back of the Mercalli neck makes it easier for me to play.
I hope you find some of this helpful LOL
Here is a comparison I did in a different thread a while back...I feel pretty much the same today.
For comparison I have a AS P5 & a Squier VM P5 as well as my Mercalli....Both the Fender & Squier have never left their cases for gigs since this bass came home...period.
Build Quality- It's been said that the AS P5 is better quality, I disagree, the Mercalli feels & plays like what I'd expect $1100-1200 to be, but the Fender most certainly does NOT feel/play like $1400-1500+....not a dig on Fender, I love the basses, but maybe mine's just not the usual? Either way the win goes to the Reverend hands down...Better fit & finish (on mine at least), better setup out of the box.
Sound- The Mercalli can get a very convincing P tone with the neck pickup soloed, so if that's your goal, it is pretty easily achieved, the bridge pickup is a little different, it's got some nice snarl, but it's not too harsh, IMHO it's kind of right in between a soloed jazz pickup and a MM pickup...it can't do either perfect, but more of a combo of the two if that makes sense? That said, my "sweet spot" is with the blend just north of center favoring the neck pickup, gives me the most "balanced" tone, although there are a few tunes that solo the neck pup.....The Mercalli is considerably louder than either of the other 2, I had to readjust my board & amp settings, but once I got that dialed in it sounds sweet.
Controls- Nothing crazy here...passive volume, tone & blend, it's very easy to dial in a suitable tone, but no real difference from the P5 (with the obvious exception of the blend control).
Other/Nitpicking- If you're a traditionalist, then stick with the fender, but if you're looking for striking and original looks, it'd be tough to beat the reverend.
The weight is comparable between all 3 of my 5's they are all north of 9 lbs, with the AS P5 being the heaviest @ 9.78 lbs.
The Fender has a hard case included, the Reverend has the case @ an extra $200ish, bringing the Mercalli total price up to that of the Fender, I suspect that if the Fenders were sold without cases they'd be priced at about the same as the Reverend...apples/apples.
Both the P5 and the Mercalli offer string through and/or top load bridges, both are "high mass" however the Mercall has locking saddles, if that's important to you...I love the locking function, but YMMV etc.
Both the P5 and the Mercalli are 34" scale, with the Mercalli string spacing being just a bit wider at the bridge 18.5mm vs 19mm. The Mercalli has a flatter 12" radius compared to the Fender (I don't really notice it). I'd say both basses have solid "B" strings, with the edge going to the Mercalli, I believe it has a cleaner more pronounced tone (compared with brand new Chromes on both).
Both basses are bolt on necks with the Fender being a 4 bolt, and the Mercalli have a 6 bolt...minor, but may/may not be important to you.
Both basses have lightweight tuners.
The Fender has (what appears to be) a 1 piece neck, where the Reverend has a very nice looking 5 piece construction.
The Fender has truss rod access @ the body, the Reverend is at the headstock, The Fender has graphite reinforcement rods in the neck, the Reverend doesn't.
IMHO the matte finish on the back of the Mercalli neck makes it easier for me to play.
I hope you find some of this helpful LOL
Thanks for the great information. I'm thinking of the Rock Orange or the turquoise one.
How is the output volume on these? I know some passive bass are a little low.
I have an older (bound and blocks, black headstock) Mercalli 5. I find the output quite hot. Hotter than my active StingRays and Bongo.
The build quality is very good, but I'll disagree with the extensive review here. It's not really close to my American Standard P5 or J5, and a far distance from my Music Mans.
The output is quite hot, especially for a passive bass, far hotter than either of my other P5's (Which have both been sold at this point).
See, this here is the beauty of variety, not every one likes the same thing!!!
As I said in my post, it may have just been the basses that I owned, but to be honest, the fret ends on the cheap Squier were night and day better than the "Better" American P5...which was suppose to be a pro level instrument, and ultimately that was the deciding factor in my decision to sell it, everything else was pretty good.
In my opinion the Mercalli's were just so much better for me, in every way that mattered, their country of origin didn't matter to me.
I can't really comment on those Music Man basses (though I think they are gorgeous), I've always wanted to try a Music Man Stingray5 HH, but the asking price will probably always be a factor for me.
The split brick pickup is really cool sounding. It does the P bass thing really well. I am not as fond of the bridge pickup. Its too nasally for my taste. I ended up tilting it a bit toward the bridge to favor the coils closer to the neck. That helped a little but made it sound pretty generic. I use it to add flavor to the neck pickup here and there. The blended settings are pretty good. I think they play really well. The neck is wide but feels good, the B seems tight enough IMO.
My only gripe with it was the tone control. IT just didn't do enough for me. I ended up putting a Bartolini preamp in, it opened the bass up a lot.
Hi All
Mainly playing 4 strings basses, lately I found myself playing my only 5 strings I have, a Lakland Skyline DJ5. I've been on the fence about transitioning to 5ers, so about two weeks ago I decided to sell some of my 4 strings basses and make the move.
I found the 5 strings bass much easier to play than the 4s. I Didn't want another J bass, but something different.
Last week, after testing a MM Stingray 5H, I almost ordered one of the new 2018 series. But I hold off just to have more info on the new 2018 basses.
Then, since I subscribed to Andy Irvine's youtube channel, I got his demo of the Mercalli 5 20th Anni. the very same day and I was blown away by the sound, the Look (oh that look!!!!).
Luckily for me, there's a dealer here in Israel and they had the Black Mercalli 5, which is beautiful in itself. So I went yesterday to test one.
Guys, let me tell you that for a passive bass, it's a beast. Super comfy, Light (compared to MM Stingrays), balance very well on the laps or on strap, plays fantastic, solid and clear B string and did I say stunning look?
Long story short, I've ordered the Mercalli 5 20th anniv. for a bit over half the price of the MM stingray and I prefer passive basses so All is well.
Oh one last thing, thank you all for the incredible source of knowledge and information.
Bless you all
Just for the fun, here's the Andy's vid. Oh and Thank you Andy
Mainly playing 4 strings basses, lately I found myself playing my only 5 strings I have, a Lakland Skyline DJ5. I've been on the fence about transitioning to 5ers, so about two weeks ago I decided to sell some of my 4 strings basses and make the move.
I found the 5 strings bass much easier to play than the 4s. I Didn't want another J bass, but something different.
Last week, after testing a MM Stingray 5H, I almost ordered one of the new 2018 series. But I hold off just to have more info on the new 2018 basses.
Then, since I subscribed to Andy Irvine's youtube channel, I got his demo of the Mercalli 5 20th Anni. the very same day and I was blown away by the sound, the Look (oh that look!!!!).
Luckily for me, there's a dealer here in Israel and they had the Black Mercalli 5, which is beautiful in itself. So I went yesterday to test one.
Guys, let me tell you that for a passive bass, it's a beast. Super comfy, Light (compared to MM Stingrays), balance very well on the laps or on strap, plays fantastic, solid and clear B string and did I say stunning look?
Long story short, I've ordered the Mercalli 5 20th anniv. for a bit over half the price of the MM stingray and I prefer passive basses so All is well.
Oh one last thing, thank you all for the incredible source of knowledge and information.
Bless you all
Just for the fun, here's the Andy's vid. Oh and Thank you Andy
Oh and BTW, when I was there I also tested the WattPlower bass, and this bass is a killer, gigantic P bass sound with a small body.
This Company is sick, they got a new hardcore fan
This Company is sick, they got a new hardcore fan
