The “strikingly cool guitar,” as Guitar World Tech Editor Paul Riario calls it in this demo, was designed to handle the “heavier songs in the Pumpkins catalog” and boasts an alder body paired with a roasted maple neck and fingerboard.
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MusicTranscript
00:00What's up? Paul here from Guitar World, and today we're going to be checking out a
00:06strikingly cool guitar from Reverend Guitars, the Billy Corgan Signature Z1. Let's check it out.
00:23Whether you know it or not, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has been collaborating
00:28with Reverend on his signature models for over six years. This brand new Reverend Billy Corgan
00:34Z1 is the third signature collaboration between Billy Corgan and Reverend, and while the Z1
00:40looks similar to Corgan's original signature, there are some significant differences. The Z1
00:45looks high-tech stunning with the contrast of the brushed aluminum single-piece pickguard,
00:51graphic etched chrome pickup covers, and chrome hardware against the midnight black or metallic
00:57silver-freeze finish. What's cool is the circle-enclosed Z on the headstock replaces the
01:02usual Reverend R logo. You can see the cutaways have a concave sculpt that provides easy access
01:09to the upper frets and complements the angular offset body shape and contours.
01:23The body's made of alder in his chamber to enhance resonance and decrease weight. The roasted maple
01:28neck with maple fingerboard is almost identical to the first Corgan model with a medium oval neck profile
01:34and featuring a 25.5-inch scale, 22 jumbo frets, 12-inch radius, and dual-action truss rod accessed at
01:42the headstock. The controls consist of a master volume with treble bleed circuit, tone, and a passive
01:47bass contour with low-profile top-hat style chrome knobs, and the three-position blade switch accesses bridge
01:55both neck settings. The heart of this guitar is the pair of specially voiced Railhammer Z1 humbucking pickups.
02:06These pickups feature Railhammer's distinctive combination bar for the low E and AD strings and
02:12three slug G, B, and high E strings design, as well as a unique etched spiral and star graphics.
02:25Reverend says that the Z1 is inspired by the heavier songs in the Smashing Pumpkins catalog,
02:32and yeah you can say that with these high output Railhammer pickups, which deliver a distinct mid-range
02:37voice along with a mellower treble and a tighter bass for thicker and heavy rock tones. The bass contour
02:44focuses and slightly thins the tone to help the guitar cut through a dense mix. Listen to how the
02:49bass contour knob works here on a clean setting.
03:19The guitar features a string through body design with stainless steel saddles for a ringing and
03:32percussive attack and maximum sustain. Finally, a high quality puritone output jack is mounted to the side.
03:49The Reverend Billy Corgan's signature Z1 is a hard rock machine with a futuristic look and a neck profile
04:01that maintains Reverend's reputation for speed and comfort, and thanks to the versatility of the
04:06newly voiced Railhammer pickups, suffice to say this guitar is smashing. Definitely check it out.
04:21You're welcome.
04:25You're welcome.
04:35You're welcome.
04:43You're welcome.