Reverend Contender 290

The Great Contender

As soon as you plug one of these guitars in, there's no coulda, woulda, or shoulda about it: you ARE a contender in the contest for most monstrous tone! The Reverend Contender 290 is a brand new design that marries Reverend's iconic retro-futurist style with the classic single-cut body shape, and it is a lean, mean rock and roll machine!

The first reason that the Contender is in the hunt for the title is great defe--I mean, its resonant korina body. Korina sounds similar to the mahogany used to build the classic single-cuts of yore, but with a couple of key differences. Like mahogany, it sounds warm, punchy, and round, but it has more harmonic content in the high-end and is generally a bit livelier.

The acoustic resonance of korina is a perfect match for the frequency response of Reverend's Alnico 5 P-90s. These pugnacious pickups pack an incredible midrange punch, and they have lovely chime and sparkle in the highs above robust lows. They are quite touch-sensitive (hit hard snarly and sparkly, ease off for smooth and warm), and they have excellent balance and string separation. Furthermore, you can use Reverend's legendary bass contour knob to get a brighter, quackier tone.

With just those two P-90s, the Contender can cover a wide variety of stylistic ground. Its blend of punch, snarl, and chime make it an excellent choice for any type of music requiring loud amplifiers from rock to punk to metal. It can jangle with the best of them, and its rawness makes it an appealing choice for blues players. It'll also twang enough for country, and the neck pickup is great for warm, mellow jazzy explorations. Thanks to its versatile voice, the Contender 290 is a threat to take the title year in and year out.

Power to the Player

Reverend has kitted out the Contender 290 with a metric ton of appointments that enhance the player's experience and while making the instrument supremely reliable. The medium oval neck profile is home to 22 0.110" wide x 0.050" high frets and a fingerboard with a 12" radius, a configuration well-suited to most techniques and playing styles (and, it's especially good for bending strings). Also, it has pin-lock tuners and a Boneite nut to ensure excellent tuning stability, and it comes equipped with boutique-quality pots and caps and a Pure Tone jack for consistent sound. Finally, an angled six-bolt neck plate increases stability and resonance while allowing easy access to the upper frets.

Contender for the Six-String Crown

The Contender 290 is a workhorse P-90-equipped pugilist that can excel in a wide variety of genres. Its versatile voice, supreme playability, and incredible reliability are to inspire you to embark upon all sorts of musical adventures and make tons of joyous racket!

B-Stock Report

This Contender 290 has a ding in its top, but it is otherwise in new condition. If you want to experience the glories of a P-90-equipped Reverend, this is your chance to do so at an outstanding value!