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Well, the feel and function are great. Neck profile, satin finish, body contour, control simplicity, bridge integrity, etc. all top-notch. Not to mention the aesthetic, which you obviously dig. 'Nuff said.
Where it really shines is in the wide range of KILLER passive tones. It gets this beefy-yet-detailed P-Bass tone that I haven't had since I owned a vintage Fender with an early EMG installed. LOVE that. The bridge PU soloed is more like a muscular passive Jazz bridge tone than an active-EQ 'Ray, so put that right out of your head if you were thinking along those lines. But it is killer as well, and there is a wide range of subtle variants available between the two. One in particular that I am loving: tone rolled off about 25%, pan rolled *just* ahead of center, favoring the Split Brick, and playing finger-style between the two pickups. Dee-lish. BTW, as with all basses, your right hand position makes a difference in tone, but with the Merc it is REALLY noticeable. And useable.
You are going to love it. Guaranteed.
Where it really shines is in the wide range of KILLER passive tones. It gets this beefy-yet-detailed P-Bass tone that I haven't had since I owned a vintage Fender with an early EMG installed. LOVE that. The bridge PU soloed is more like a muscular passive Jazz bridge tone than an active-EQ 'Ray, so put that right out of your head if you were thinking along those lines. But it is killer as well, and there is a wide range of subtle variants available between the two. One in particular that I am loving: tone rolled off about 25%, pan rolled *just* ahead of center, favoring the Split Brick, and playing finger-style between the two pickups. Dee-lish. BTW, as with all basses, your right hand position makes a difference in tone, but with the Merc it is REALLY noticeable. And useable.
You are going to love it. Guaranteed.
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the Justice vs Mercalli (if you pick it up)
The Justice seems to be the modern Rev bass that time forgot. I have no idea about sales figures or what ever - but you don't hear much talk about them at all. Lots about our mercs, watts, decisions, dub kings, thunderguns etc
- Dec 16, 2002
- 1,012
- 300
- 57
- Disclosures
- Warehouse Manager : Reverend Guitars
The lowest selling model, actually. It has been replaced with the Triad now.
I've been playing mine through my MarkBass 800 and a NY 151 Randy Jackson cab. It is crushing.
I figured the triad might be he direct replacement for the justice.
I can't wait to see the 2019 colours for all the models.
One bass I've wanted to see for a while (knowing how unlikely it would be) is a bass version of the Billy Corgan guitar. I love the looks of it and would love to see a bass version.
Also im curious if the idea has been floated around of railhammer pickups for bass. I love the idea and I really like the ones I've tried for guitar. I'm sure that's more of a Joe Naylor question but it's something I'm surprised hasn't come out yet.
Also im curious if the idea has been floated around of railhammer pickups for bass. I love the idea and I really like the ones I've tried for guitar. I'm sure that's more of a Joe Naylor question but it's something I'm surprised hasn't come out yet.
- Sep 14, 2012
- 1,561
- 1,210
- 40
- Disclosures
- Reverend Guitars ; SIT Strings ; Trickfish Amplifiers ; LK Straps ; Rattlesnake Cables
Shame.... I always liked them. I had a couple. I love the look of the shoreline gold/maple board
Crappy sound on this vid ... think I was clipping the dinky little mic in the iPad with the fatness of the tone. But, maybe you get the idea?
Tone rolled off about 25%, pan rolled just forward of the detent, favoring the Split Brick.
I think I'll make another recording attempt soon ... this got all farty. LOL
Tone rolled off about 25%, pan rolled just forward of the detent, favoring the Split Brick.
I think I'll make another recording attempt soon ... this got all farty. LOL
So, after a six month wait, My Mercalli 4 arrived yesterday, just before I left for work. First thing that struck me was the colour and how rich it looked by comparison to the stock photos seen online. It is a definite copper, rather than orange (although this is proving rather difficult to capture!). The roasted maple neck does indeed have a lovely rich caramel colour, as described on the website, silky smooth finish and the hardware sets if off, giving it a very classy and quality feel. The other thing that struck me was the quality of the workmanship. Almost flawless from my what I can see. I tuned it up and plugged it in for a very quick test through my Subway rig. I'll play it through the full 115 and 112 rig tomorrow. First impressions, lovely big full sound. Blend knob ids very easy to use and as many of you know, a slight adjustment towards the bridge or neck produces a great range of tones. I actually like the bridge soloed but will have to see how that fits in a band situation when playing live this weekend. I'm not sure how to use the bridge as I'd like to restring it with a new set of Chromes I bought for the occasion. Haven't played rounds for about seven years, so they'll have to go. I'll hopefully report back with a 'field report' in a couple of days. All in all, seems like a great purchase. Enjoy the pics!
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Thanks, but please don't mention it ... Seriously. That's the worst sound in a video ever! Much worse than I thought when I uploaded it. HAHAhahaha! Oh man ... I have got to nuke that video, record it again, and make sure the levels are better. Does this Mercalli no Justice!
BTW, I am really interested to hear the Merc with flats. I use them on my P-Basses, and got the Reverend specifically to keep strung with round wounds. Post some sound clips or a vid if you have the time & inclination. And congrats on the new bass, looks killer!
