Reverend Decision P

A Good Decision

Why do human beings make bad decisions so often? Not to brag or anything, but we are the most enlightened beings on Earth. We have more than enough cognitive power to tell the difference between good ideas and bad ideas. Nevertheless, we regularly make terrible decisions and learn nothing from our mistakes (as someone who eats Taco Bell three to five times a week, I can personally attest to this). Why? I don't know, man. This product overview text got kind of heavy all of a sudden.

What I do know is that Reverend's new Decision bass is the product of many excellent decisions during the design process, and that choosing to play one is an excellent decision. We'd best leave the ruminations on free will and human choice to philosophers and turn our attention towards the myriad visual, ergonomic, and sonic delights the Reverend Decision bass has to offer.

The Low-End Rundown

The Reverend Decision bass is a brilliant instrument for a variety of reasons. It's got a fast, slim neck, excellent handfeel, boutique components, inspiring electronics, bulletproof build quality, and an awesome retrofuturist look. What's not to like? Best of all, it's available for an exceptional value. I always get really excited over professional-quality instruments that working musicians can afford, and the Decision definitely fits that bill.

Tonewood Talk

The Decision is a low-end machine, so let's start from the ground up and talk tonewoods. Like all other Reverends, it has a korina body. Korina is a lovely tonewood. It's warm, punchy, and round like mahogany, but it has a livelier top end and a bit more bite. Here, Reverend paired the body with a 5-piece maple/walnut neck, which is a glorious combination for two reasons: one, because five-piece necks are quite stable and aid sustain; two, because skunk stripes look awesome!

Wonderful Wires

The Reverend Decision comes outfitted with two exceptional Reverend pickups: a P-Blade in the neck position and a Jazz Bomb in the bridge position. In other words, it's Reverend's take on the tried-and-true P/J pickup setup. They did an excellent job of refreshing and revitalizing a classic electronics configuration.

The P-Blade sounds like a vintage P bass pickup that experienced some sort of Hulk-style transformation after being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Its lows are monstrously sonorous, with a warm, open character. Above that, it produces shockingly meaty highs and a strong, punchy fundamental in the midrange. It's the sort of classic thumping tone that works everywhere. Full, fat, and clear: what's not to like?

By contrast, the Jazz Bomb in the bridge has a brighter, more focused tone, though it still sounds powerful and satisfying. The lows sound tight but present, so you don't have to worry about losing girth in this position. The midrange and highs are brash, rude, and uncompromising when you hit hard, and you'll hear shades of John Entwhistle, John Paul Jones, Chris Squire, and Geddy Lee. Through a driven amp, it produces an iconic raunchy rock bass tone. When you ease off, the upper mids become smooth and horn-like. It's an inspiring tone that invites thoughtful lead lines and tasteful low-end runs.

When you put the Pickup Pan knob in the middle and use both pickups full-on, a wall of thunderous full-spectrum low-end punch greets your eardrums. Reverend has done an excellent job of voicing these pickups to complement one another, so they fill up the whole range of sound when used together. Despite their huge tone, they never sound muddy or unclear, so have no fear!

One Heck of a Neck

Instead of a chunky vintage-style neck, the fine folks at Reverend chose to outfit this puppy with a modern medium oval neck profile with a comfortable 1.65" nut width and a 12" radius. Reverend's medium oval profile is big enough to feel substantial but thin enough to feel fast and easy-to-play. The moderate nut width helps the neck hug the contours of your palm, and the 12" radius allows you to use a lower setup and bend strings more easily. Finally, it has an amber satin finish, so you'll have buttery feel right out of the box.

Only the Best

I hope it's apparent by now that Reverend is obsessed with using excellent components. Good wire and good wood get you most of the way to a great guitar, but the devil's in the details, and Reverend gets all the little stuff right.

For instance, they use a neck plate with six bolts instead of the usual four to improve energy transfer, resonance, and sustain. Also, you can string it through the body for extra resonance or top-load it for slinkier handfeel.

On the electronic side of things, they use boutique-quality capacitors and pots with a +-10% rating, which means a more consistent experience for the player. And, when you're using those electronics live, the Reverend Decision is extremely dependable. Pin lock tuners and a boneite nut ensure exceptional tuning stability, and the rock-solid four-bolt jack plate makes you less susceptible to Murphy's Law.

An Easy Decision

We are proud to showcase the Reverend Decision bass, because it delivers a ton of tone and exceptional playability for a mind-bending value. We invite you to take one for a spin--it will inspire you to reach new heights on their low-end journey.