NBD Reverend Decision P

[BillyBass]

I was sitting in bed one Sunday morning, perusing Reverend basses on Glasgow's Merchant City Music website and Mrs BillyBass, sat next to me, started talking about going on a spa break.  After a quick online search I suggested a spa hotel near Glasgow and she liked the idea.  I then came clean and told her why, this was followed by a short negotiation and she agreed on a deal, she gets the spa break, and I get a new bass.

 

On the first day in Glasgow I went to Merchant City Music and GuitarGuitar, which is just up the road from it.  Both shops have a decent selection of basses; Glasgow puts London to shame on that point.  In Merchant City Music I tried the Decision P and the Reverend Mercalli 4 and 5 strings.  Lovely basses all of them, I picked the 'Venetian Pearl' Decision P due to its appearance, it didn't sound better than the Mercallis.  They also have a couple of Reverend Thunderguns there too, these have set necks, which are glossy.

 

The bass cost £879, which is a bargain.  Reverend don't seem to have hiked their prices like Fender and most other brands.

 

I've had the bass one week now so I've got over the initial 'wow'.  This is a keeper, the pick ups sound right for the music we play, the neck is lovely, the string spacing/nut width is comfortable, and enables me to play root-octave-root-octave with a pick comfortably (my previous main basses-Charvels-have Jazz sized nuts)...and I love the look!

 

Venetian Pearl, is actually a gold burst, going to a cream sparkle and the pickguard is a lemon yellow.  It looks like a yellow burst in the website photos but it isn't.

[rwillett]

So that lovely looking base actually cost 2 x £879. I’m assuming you treated your lovely wife to a spa experience costing the same? 😉 Good strategy though.
 

My last purchase involves taking a cheap guitar in an Ibanez bag in the car and somehow , no idea how, it transformed into a Fender Mustang by the time it came back on Sunday. The colours of each guitar were very similar so I know that it was the original guitar, just mysteriously upgraded. 
 

I’m a simple man at heart so am assuming a religious conversion. 

I’ve never heard of Reverend Guitars but I’m about three hours from Glasgow (and two from Leeds) so may pop up there to check it out. I wonder if lightning strikes twice? Perhaps it was the cheap Ibanez bag, I should test this theory out. 
 

Anyway lovely looking guitar. 
 

Rob

 

 

[Happy Jack]

18 minutes ago, rwillett said:

I’ve never heard of Reverend Guitars ...

 

Well worth checking out. They make fine, punchy instruments that play really well, though their signature body shape doesn't appeal to everyone (including me).

 

My solution was to buy https://reverendguitars.com/basses/mike-watt-wattplower-mark-ii/

[BillyBass]

19 minutes ago, rwillett said:

My last purchase involves taking a cheap guitar in an Ibanez bag in the car and somehow , no idea how, it transformed into a Fender Mustang by the time it came back on Sunday. The colours of each guitar were very similar so I know that it was the original guitar, just mysteriously upgraded. 
 

Pedals, I can get away with but basses she notices!

[Happy Jack]

4 minutes ago, BillyBass said:

Pedals, I can get away with but basses she notices!

 

https://snap-dragon-guitars.com/products/snap-dragon-e-bass

[BillyBass]

28 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Well worth checking out. They make fine, punchy instruments that play really well, though their signature body shape doesn't appeal to everyone (including me).

 

My solution was to buy https://reverendguitars.com/basses/mike-watt-wattplower-mark-ii/

You handed me this to try at last year's Bassbash.  It's a lovely green, quite an unusual colour.

[jd56hawk]

Reverend makes some of the best basses out there.

Recently bought a Thundergun after having to sell mine a few years ago.

Really like the Decision with that finish 

Dare to be different!

[Rayman]

Great basses, great company. Very well put together and they play and sound superb.

[casapete]

22 hours ago, BillyBass said:

I was sitting in bed one Sunday morning, perusing Reverend basses on Glasgow's Merchant City Music website and Mrs BillyBass, sat next to me, started talking about going on a spa break.  After a quick online search I suggested a spa hotel near Glasgow and she liked the idea.  I then came clean and told her why, this was followed by a short negotiation and she agreed on a deal, she gets the spa break, and I get a new bass.

 

On the first day in Glasgow I went to Merchant City Music and GuitarGuitar, which is just up the road from it.  Both shops have a decent selection of basses; Glasgow puts London to shame on that point.  In Merchant City Music I tried the Decision P and the Reverend Mercalli 4 and 5 strings.  Lovely basses all of them, I picked the 'Venetian Pearl' Decision P due to its appearance, it didn't sound better than the Mercallis.  They also have a couple of Reverend Thunderguns there too, these have set necks, which are glossy.

 

The bass cost £879, which is a bargain.  Reverend don't seem to have hiked their prices like Fender and most other brands.

 

I've had the bass one week now so I've got over the initial 'wow'.  This is a keeper, the pick ups sound right for the music we play, the neck is lovely, the string spacing/nut width is comfortable, and enables me to play root-octave-root-octave with a pick comfortably (my previous main basses-Charvels-have Jazz sized nuts)...and I love the look!

 

Venetian Pearl, is actually a gold burst, going to a cream sparkle and the pickguard is a lemon yellow.  It looks like a yellow burst in the website photos but it isn't.

I’ve always liked the look of Reverend stuff, and how much love they get on here. Yours

is a killer!

 

Just wondered if you know how heavy yours is, and does it balance well on the strap whilst

playing it standing up? Cheers.

Edited September 4, 2023 by casapete

[BillyBass]

8 minutes ago, casapete said:

I’ve always liked the look of Reverend stuff, and how much love they get on here. Yours

is a killer!

 

Just wondered if you know how heavy yours is, and does it balance well on the strap whilst

playing it standing up? Cheers.

I don't know the weight, I'll have to get it on the scales but it's a very comfortable bass to play.  The tuners are hipshots and the body wood is quite light, it balances perfectly, no dive at all, unlike Happy Jack's Wattplower, mentioned above, which was quite divey. 

 

I tried a Reverend a few years ago at Peach Guitars and found it to be very light, which put me off.  I commented on Talkbass that it felt like a toy (that was me @sPiKi, I confess, but I've seen the light now).  This feels just right, to me at least.  I've used it for one 3 hour rehearsal and our next gig is in a couple of weeks, so it will get its christening then.

[jd56hawk]

4 hours ago, BillyBass said:

I don't know the weight, I'll have to get it on the scales but it's a very comfortable bass to play.  The tuners are hipshots and the body wood is quite light, it balances perfectly, no dive at all, unlike Happy Jack's Wattplower, mentioned above, which was quite divey. 

 

I tried a Reverend a few years ago at Peach Guitars and found it to be very light, which put me off.  I commented on Talkbass that it felt like a toy (that was me @sPiKi, I confess, but I've seen the light now).  This feels just right, to me at least.  I've used it for one 3 hour rehearsal and our next gig is in a couple of weeks, so it will get its christening then.

I'm betting 8.5 lbs or less 

[BillyBass]

2 hours ago, jd56hawk said:

I'm betting 8.5 lbs or less 

Correct.

 

Though not completely accurate, using the 'me on the bathroom scales vs me on the bathroom scales and bass' technique, I measured this bass to be 3.8kg, or about 8lb 6oz (8.38 lbs).

[neepheid]

And it's a yes from this Reverend bass owner. I've got a Triad (bought from exactly the same place about a year ago) and I enjoy it very much.

[BillyBass]

12 minutes ago, neepheid said:

And it's a yes from this Reverend bass owner. I've got a Triad (bought from exactly the same place about a year ago) and I enjoy it very much.

I was keen on a Triad too, unfortunately, this last consignment from Reverend did not contain any.  They said they are never sure what Reverend is going to send them!

[sPiKi]

I have semi-retired my Reverends at the minute. Earlier this year, I was after that classic P bass tone and did some research to see what was out there, at the cheaper end. I bought a Squier 40th anniversary vintage and at £300 quid, was mighty impressed, to the degree I bought a 40th Jazz a few months later. Lovely guitars with a satin finish and aged hardware. I'm enjoying gigging these atm but I will return to the Revs as they are great instruments. Enjoy the new D-P, BB. Looks cool and great to see Rev continue to offer something a little bit different to the bass community. That's enough abbreviations for one night!

Edited September 4, 2023 by sPiKi

[tobiewharton]

That's a sexy looking instrument!

[DDR]

Hello... so i got an opportunity to get a reverend decision p but it's not one of these new ones... it's the one with the P pickup that looks like a humbucker.. and im looking all over to find out why they changed it to the one the new one has but can't find info anywhere. Costs the same so... just wondering what the new pickup did to the sound and if there's anything else i should look out for. It's 4 and a half hours drive away and i don't own a car so... If anyone knows anything i'd love to know. Thank you!

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, DDR said:

Hello... so i got an opportunity to get a reverend decision p but it's not one of these new ones... it's the one with the P pickup that looks like a humbucker.. and im looking all over to find out why they changed it to the one the new one has but can't find info anywhere. Costs the same so... just wondering what the new pickup did to the sound and if there's anything else i should look out for. It's 4 and a half hours drive away and i don't own a car so... If anyone knows anything i'd love to know. Thank you!

 

Got any pics?

[DDR]

i can find them... it's this one tho

 

[DDR]

[neepheid]

Decision does not equal Decision P.  I own a Triad and I've tried a Decision P.  I've not tried the original Decision but I have tried a Mercalli which has the Split Brick at the neck position.  I found the Split Brick to be a smoother, more "polite" sound than the P Blade.  They moved to the (reverse) PJ setup because they wanted to - perhaps for more differentiation between the Decision and the Mercalli?  Otherwise the Decision is just a Mercalli with a Jazz bomb in the bridge position instead of a Thick Brick.  Change both pickups - more of a "decision" to make between the two (pardon the pun).

[DDR]

Yeah totally didn't clock the decison vs decision p thing... i don't like the idea of a polite sound i must say i have been digging the P Blade i've heard on vids... thank you!

[sPiKi]

Agree with Neepheid. The blade P pickup is definitely hotter than the original thick brick.  Personally, I prefer the sound of the TB in my Mercalli.

[BillyBass]

I will admit I had a slight preference for the Mercalli sound over the Decision P when I tried them both out in Merchant City Music.  Both sounded good, but the appearance of the Decision P swung it for me.  The sort of music my covers band plays suits the Decision P well too.

 

I would imagine Reverend decided to retire the Decision and bring out the Decision P due to the Decision looking a bit odd, with two mismatched pick ups.

[Thump]

Utterly gorgeous bass , gonna have to pick one up myself 😍