V is for Awesome – Part 1

A few weeks ago I made a big change in my life. I traded my US-made Reverend Slingshot Custom for a Korean-made Reverend Volcano. I bought the Slingshot five years ago for a “milestone” birthday. At the time, I was able to spend $1,000 on the guitar of my choice. I spent a few months trying various guitars. Discovery 1: Most of the sub-$1,500 guitars Fender and Gibson make are junk! Discovery 2: Reverends are awesome.

The Slingshot was my go-to guitar for four years. Until last year, I bought a Korean-made Reverend Roundhouse HB. This guitar was my first set-neck and 24 ¾ scale instrument and I instantly fell in love with it. I have a nasal speaking voice and somehow I have nasal guitar tone no matter what I play through. It used to bother me, now I realize that it’s my tone and it suits the music I play pretty well. I think the set-neck and shorter scale length work together to help keep my nasal tone in check.

After not playing the Slingshot (relegating it to back up guitar status) much at all since buying the Roundhouse, I decided to trade it plus some cash for a Reverend Volcano. I’ve always wanted a V and the huge differences in tone between the Slingshot and the Roundhouse forced me to make too many changes on pedals and my amp when switching.

I’ll miss the Slingshot, but it was a good deal. Between the cash and the Volcano, I ended up getting as much (if not more) than what I bought the Slingshot for. The way I see it, I owned it for free for five years. And I’ll always have the recordings I made using it… I’ll buy another US Reverend someday.