Reverend Wildwood-Exclusive Airwave 12-String

It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got Twelve Strings

Everyone thinks it would be cool to have a twelve-string guitar. Be honest: who among us can say that they haven’t lusted after the jangly sounds on “American Girl” by Tom Petty or “Turn, Turn, Turn” by The Byrds? Yet, for many guitarists, owning a twelve-string has always seemed like an unimaginable luxury because they can be a tad impractical. Anyone who has ever gigged with a twelve-string knows that there can be intonation problems, tuning issues, and neck dive. Joe Naylor and his team at Reverend recognized this, and they decided to design a reliable, gig-worthy twelve-string that gives you the chime you crave without breaking the bank. The Reverend Airwave is the result of that quest, and it manages to simultaneously be one of the most practical twelve-strings on the market while remaining incredibly inspiring. Let’s dive in and see what makes it special!

Spruce it Up

With this guitar, we have to start with its brilliant combination of tonewoods. Reverend typically makes all their guitars out of korina, a lively, resonant wood that sounds similar to mahogany. They’ve still used korina to form the back and sides of the Airwave in order to get some of its signature roundness and balance, but they’ve added a solid spruce top. This gives the player more brightness, chime, clarity, and string definition—all huge plusses for a twelve-string. Having such phenomenal tone when unplugged makes things easy when the amps get turned on, and the two 9A5 P-90s do an admirable job of supplying top-end sparkle and midrange punch. With such great basic tone and Reverend’s revolutionary bass contour knob, you can dial in just about any twelve-string sound you could ever want. So, where would you be able to use this twelve-string? With tone like this, the only appropriate answer is a resounding “EVERYWHERE!”

Twelve Strings. Zero Problems

But, it’s not enough for this guitar to sound great. In order to live up to the esteemed Mr. Naylor’s vision, it had to be reliable enough to make it through a gig without any hassles or inconveniences. I am happy to report that the Reverend Airwave sports a plethora of features that make life incredibly easy for the player.
The most important of these appointments is the twelve-saddle bridge. Having the ability to tweak each string allows for precise intonation, which means that each every chord you play will be more in tune. That level of accuracy ensures that this twelve-string will always chime like a clocktower bell! Speaking of tuning, the Boneite nut and Reverend’s pin-lock tuners give this guitar fantastic tuning stability, so you won’t have to spend forever tuning in between songs.

Giving this guitar a 24.75” scale length was an inspired decision, too. It puts less tension on the strings, which makes for a delightfully smooth, slinky handfeel. As long as we’re talking about feel, I have to mention how great the neck is! The 1 ¾”-wide nut is just right—not too wide, not too narrow—and the shape is Goldilocks-approved, too—not too fat, not too skinny. Ultimately, this is the sort of neck that begs you to play for hours and hours, and it feels so good that it will no doubt inspire countless riffs.

This One Goes to Twelve

Reverend has accomplished quite a feat with the Airwave: they’ve managed to design a twelve-string guitar that sounds incredible without sacrificing gig-readiness or reliability. What new ideas will they bring out of you? The possibilities are endless, so we invite you to experience the magic of the Reverend Airwave and find out!