REVIEWS| ELECTRIC GUITARS
REVEREND
Chris Freeman Signature
TESTED BY DAVE HUNTER
FOR THE SCRAPPY Americanalternative upstart it once was, Reverend Guitars has grown to be an impressive performer in a market crowded with bigger and longer-established names, and part of that success is found in its compiling of an extensive artist roster. The Chris Freeman Signature is the latest model to join that team, and as with so many before, it brings a host of features designed to appeal to players well beyond the fan base of the Hot Mulligan guitarist.
Reverend Guitars was launched in 1997 when Joe Naylor combined his studies of industrial design, lutherie school and vintage guitar repair experience into a viable guitar-making business in a garage at the back of a Detroit bicycle shop. His early designs were notable for their clear nod to early Danelectro guitars, using semihollow bodies made with wood-based phenolicresin tops and backs, which were attached to wide mahogany center blocks. Naylor also put a lot more thought and attention into the design and build process, and was granted a patent for his design of the Reverend High Resonance Body.
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Over the coming years, the business evolved: Offshore manufacture was introduced in 2006, and in 2010 Ken and