Thoughts on Reverend Mercalli 5?

[nnnnnn]

Purple Haze

Cool colour.

I've played that model (not that colour) in the shop a few times. Nice bass.

Things I liked a lot: the feel of the neck, the string spacing, the tone of the neck pickup on its own, and the tone of both pickups together.

Things I didn't like: the tone of the bridge pickup on its own, the colour (the one I tried was orange; I do like the purple option), and the (deliberately) mismatched knobs - if I ever buy one of these basses I will definitely be replacing the odd knob out.

 

[lomo]

Cool colour.

I've played that model (not that colour) in the shop a few times. Nice bass.

Things I liked a lot: the feel of the neck, the string spacing, the tone of the neck pickup on its own, and the tone of both pickups together.

Things I didn't like: the tone of the bridge pickup on its own, the colour (the one I tried was orange; I do like the purple option), and the (deliberately) mismatched knobs - if I ever buy one of these basses I will definitely be replacing the odd knob out.

I agree fully with the knob thing....I'd prefer if they all matched, since each does something different. If they were vol/vol/tone, then conceptually I'd be OK with it, since the front 2 would serve the same function and the odd one out a different function. As far as colour is concerned, I like 'em all, and orange is my fave. I already have an orange bass.... Clementine.......

 

[smeet]

Naw, there are four strings out there too.

Ha! No, I meant the mercalli can be a 4 or a 5. All the other models are 4 only.

 

[SgtHulka]

I absolutely LOVE mine !!!!!.... sounds great in the mix with my band. Hangs great on a strap and it is great build quality IMO.....couldn't be happier with it.


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That looks like one of the early Mercalli's that didn't have a forearm contour. I sold mine just for that reason.

 

[smeet]

Man, if the Thundergun came in a 5, I'd be looking to sell something to get that. I love that Thunderbird thin wings contour.

 

[FunkyFlashFive]

My Mercalli 5 shares equal time with my Reverend BH5. Between the 2 I end up with nearly all the passive tones covered and they both feel and look great. I've had the thought that if I were to get another bass, it would be another Mercalli to use as a pickup/electronics testbed

 

[bassbully]

I played a few and they are pretty nice overall. The issue that bothered me was I feel I get more out of a Lakland Skyline for the money. The Reverends are about the same price as a Skyline.

 

[Daniel Piper]

Awwww yeah you on my turf now.

My Mercalli 5 is my favourite bass. Love both pickups and all the modern appointments.

Among my bands the mercalli is the most requested.

Big fat tone. It ain’t no honky-jaco-tone-bitey-stingray nonsense.

sounds big n round with a good bit of cut no matter what.

 

[lomo]

I played a few and they are pretty nice overall. The issue that bothered me was I feel I get more out of a Lakland Skyline for the money. The Reverends are about the same price as a Skyline.

...a perfect example of different strokes.....I don't want the 35" scale of a Lakland 5er, nor do I want active electronics....and I really wanted a P/J. I love Laklands....the one I do own is a custom USA 5er in 34" scale (chambered and about 7.5 lbs); it cost more than double the Mercalli, with a 4 month wait time.....definitely an item from a different column on the menu

 

[turcmic]

I have been curious about this one for a while, as it checks so many of my preferred boxes (5er, 34'/19mm, 21 frets, passive, maple board, not sunburst/tort) and I love the retro-nouveau style thing.....I just bought a used one off eBay that is reportedly (and seemingly reliably) well under 9 lbs and am eager to try it. After being a J5 guy for a long time I drunk from the P cup over the past year and would love to have 1 bass with both flavours (or close variants thereof) on tap. The stuff I have found on line is minimal....any thoughts on the sound of the Reverend take on the reverse P or MM pups or sound clips appreciated The P(ish) sound I have been mainly digging over the past year is coming from the Delano split coil Xtender, which goes both lower and higher than the classic Fender P sound, but with the same inherent mid grunt. I'm not sure exactly what to expect from the Reverend reverse P beast.

Purple Haze?
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I searched for a black one in Canada for a couple weeks and ended buying a Yammy BB2025x from a TBer in Ontario. I even contacted Reverend directly and they mentioned that the pandemic has affected them too (well, every brand had issue with access to raw materials and overwhelming demand). They found one for me in a shop in Texas IIRC but the cost of shipping was too steep for my taste.

Have fun with your new bass!!!

 

[lomo]

I searched for a black one in Canada for a couple weeks and ended buying a Yammy BB2025x from a TBer in Ontario. I even contacted Reverend directly and they mentioned that the pandemic has affected them too (well, every brand had issue with access to raw materials and overwhelming demand). They found one for me in a shop in Texas IIRC but the cost of shipping was too steep for my taste.

Have fun with your new bass!!!

The Yammy P/Js sound and play great, and check most of the same boxes for me-but I haven't been able to find a light one, and I really love the Reverend "curb appeal"

 

[pisces_bass]

My Reverend is the discontinued Justice and it’s sweet. Mellow and fat with a light touch or punchy and growly when I dig in. Sounds great with the Tone Hammer DI. The pickup pan control is some secret sauce. Lots of variety on tap. I’d like to get a Mercalli 5 or Thundergun to get their split P and humbucker pickup tones. Rev basses are no-nonsense gigging tools.

 

[SgtHulka]

Awwww yeah you on my turf now.

My Mercalli 5 is my favourite bass. Love both pickups and all the modern appointments.

Among my bands the mercalli is the most requested.

Big fat tone. It ain’t no honky-jaco-tone-bitey-stingray nonsense.

sounds big n round with a good bit of cut no matter what.
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Man, I just love the Reverend headstock.

 

[tommyr01]

That looks like one of the early Mercalli's that didn't have a forearm contour. I sold mine just for that reason.

That would make it even better to have that contour.....but I just love the neck and body binding and the block inlays.....

 

[chriss]

Mine is the now discontinued Coffee burst finish. I used to run mine directly into an RNDI to FOH. Sounded great!

 

[lomo]

...to follow up...

I received it Monday....what a fantastic instrument! I bought it used off eBay from Music barn (OH) and they were a great seller-it looks and feels new, no fret wear or marks, came perfectly set up with newish strings. It sounds and plays above expectations. Great neck feel (wide, flat, medium nut and medium beck thickness) and uber versatile pups. The tone knob has greater range at both ends than my other passive basses....neck pup is nice and throaty....and as someone who never seeks the Jaco burp, the MM at the bridge is a welcome friend. Keeper.

 

[turcmic]

The Yammy P/Js sound and play great, and check most of the same boxes for me-but I haven't been able to find a light one, and I really love the Reverend "curb appeal"

...to follow up...

I received it Monday....what a fantastic instrument! I bought it used off eBay from Music barn (OH) and they were a great seller-it looks and feels new, no fret wear or marks, came perfectly set up with newish strings. It sounds and plays above expectations. Great neck feel (wide, flat, medium nut and medium beck thickness) and uber versatile pups. The tone knob has greater range at both ends than my other passive basses....neck pup is nice and throaty....and as someone who never seeks the Jaco burp, the MM at the bridge is a welcome friend. Keeper.

Nice score! Beautiful bass!

 

[reeljerc]

Absotruly love mine. Especially with the DR Black Beauties!

 

[DeeZee]

I have been curious about this one for a while, as it checks so many of my preferred boxes (5er, 34'/19mm, 21 frets, passive, maple board, not sunburst/tort) and I love the retro-nouveau style thing.....I just bought a used one off eBay that is reportedly (and seemingly reliably) well under 9 lbs and am eager to try it. After being a J5 guy for a long time I drunk from the P cup over the past year and would love to have 1 bass with both flavours (or close variants thereof) on tap. The stuff I have found on line is minimal....any thoughts on the sound of the Reverend take on the reverse P or MM pups or sound clips appreciated The P(ish) sound I have been mainly digging over the past year is coming from the Delano split coil Xtender, which goes both lower and higher than the classic Fender P sound, but with the same inherent mid grunt. I'm not sure exactly what to expect from the Reverend reverse P beast.

Purple Haze?
View attachment 4345381

I'm a fan of the Mercalli 5. Nearly every piece of hardware and electronics is virtually top of the line stuff. The strings are trash though. I emailed the company about that and he said they are just generic strings that the manufacturer he is hooked up with puts on. I guess they figure even if they put on a descent set, people will still want to put on their own so it's just a waste. Supposedly the bass came set up from the factory, and it wasn't horrible, but I had to do minor tweaks all over the bass like string height, intonation, truss rod and pickup heights especially after changing strings. D'addario Prosteels and Ernie Ball Cobalts sound good on this bass but I like a hard rock and metal tone so I like my tone punchy and bright. I'm in two bands where one does 80's hard rock from Megadeth, Skid Row, etc., to AC/DC and the other band does 90's harder stuff like RATM, Slipknot, etc. I also adjusted the bridge pickup fairly close to the strings to bring out the harmonics in the tone and then adjust the neck pickup lower than where I adjusted the bridge pickup. I always do this on basses, it's been my "secret weapon" for getting tighter punchier and harmonic rich tone out of a bass when the pan knob is centered. I basically get a phat articulate "pick tone" but while playing fingerstyle. All my bandmates love it and the Mesa wd-800 and Mesa 410 cab help. The bass just set up really well, with fairly low action and a great bright metal tone. As a sidenote, I've always been a fan of reverse p pickups as I feel they give the lower notes more punch, clarity, and definition as well as the higher notes on the d and g string more meat. The tone knob is actually useful as it lets you roll off the brightness but it doesn't turn you tone into mud. It's actually a tone knob I use and don't always have it turned all this way up. Like any bass, if possible try it before you buy it. Depending on the setup, the strings, the amp and cab, and how you play, you may very well not get the results I get with this bass and you may not want the results that I get.

 

[reeljerc]

Just used it for the first time in the studio. Frickin' rocks. Played through a vintage SVT. It's the simplicity of the electronics that make it so diverse.