Reverend Charger 290 Bigsby

A Workhorse with Impeccable Style

What exactly makes a guitar a "workhorse?" What qualities do we seek out in the guitars we gig and record with most? Obviously, a workhorse has to sound great, or else it wouldn't get the job in the first place. Dependability is certainly a key component--after all, if you need to use a tool to get crucial work done, it better be reliable! Versatility is also a key concern--you have to be able to get all the necessary sounds--but that versatility can't come at the expense of simplicity or practicality. So, it should have a tweakable sound that fits well in every musical context with little to no fuss. If that sounds like a lot to ask of just one guitar, it is! Thankfully, our friends at Reverend have risen to the challenge.

A Tall Order Fulfilled

The Reverend Charger 290 Bigsby is Reverend's attempt at making the ultimate no-frills guitar for the stage and studio. As with most Reverends, the Charger 290 Bigsby's magic starts with a fantastic combination of pickups and tonewood. Korina is the perfect wood for a workhorse, because it sits almost exactly in the middle of the tonal spectrum. It's warm without being muddy, bright without being harsh, and full without being overpowering. Also, it's incredibly responsive, so you can coax a lot of different tones out of it with just your fingers or your pick! The korina body's natural resonance works well with Reverend's 9A5 P-90s, which have plenty of top-end chime, tight lows, and midrange punch.

Ultimately, this inspired connection between wood and wire results in a guitar that can cover rough-and-ready rock and roll, twangy country, soulful rhythm and blues, and warm jazz with equal aplomb. Furthermore, you can get all sorts of sounds using Reverend's famed bass contour knob in conjunction with the tone knob. Putting both knobs on five, for instance, gives you a great warm-yet-clear jazz tone. Or, you can put the tone on ten when you're in the neck position and roll the bass all the way off if you need to do a quick Hendrix impersonation.

If that's not your bag, flip to the bridge position with the tone on 10 and the bass contour at 3 and you'll be in chicken pickin' heaven. The amount of sounds you can produce with this deceptively-simple guitar is truly staggering, and none of them take more than two twists of a knob to find!

Everything else about this guitar is designed to make a working musician's life easy. It has Reverend's signature Boneite nut and pin-lock tuners for ridiculously stable tuning, a dual-action truss rod with headstock access for easy maintenance, and a Bigsby tailpiece for awesome subtle vibrato and warble.

Speaking of which, the Bigsby also subtly impacts the tone of the Charger in a delightful way. It adds a little bit of extra chime and sparkle to the top-end, and it imparts a dash of metallic growl to the attack, which gives this guitar a pleasantly aggressive personality.

Also, it feels great in your hand! The medium oval neck is quite comfortable (I LOVE the 12" radius!), and the 0.110" wide x 0.050" high frets feel as buttery as a Thanksgiving roll.

A Charge of Inspiration

The Reverend Charger 290 Bigsby is the definition of a workhorse. It's versatile, simple, and dependable, it sounds great, and its price point is quite accessible. But, to merely dwell on things like pickups and locking tuners would do these instruments a disservice, because their greatest strength is their power to inspire. They're incredibly practical, but they're also dripping in mojo. It's hard not to feel like a rockstar when you're wearing such an iconic-looking guitar, and it's hard not to be inspired when you plug it in. Wildwood Guitars is proud to showcase the Reverend Charger 290 Bigsby for our exceptional customers, and we hope you have as much fun playing them as we do!

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