Reverend’s Billy Corgan Z-One - Demonstration and Review
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.
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 What's up?
00:03 Paul here from Guitar World.
00:04 And today, we're going to be checking out
00:06 a strikingly cool guitar from Reverend Guitars,
00:09 the Billy Corgan Signature Z1.
00:11 Let's check it out.
00:12 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:16 Whether you know it or not, Smashing Pumpkins frontman
00:26 Billy Corgan has been collaborating
00:28 with Reverend on his signature models for over six years.
00:32 This brand new Reverend Billy Corgan Z1
00:35 is the third signature collaboration
00:36 between Billy Corgan and Reverend.
00:39 And while the Z1 looks similar to Corgan's original signature,
00:42 there are some significant differences.
00:45 The Z1 looks high-tech stunning with the contrast
00:48 of the brushed aluminum single-piece pickguard,
00:50 graphic etched chrome pickup covers, and chrome hardware
00:54 against the midnight black or metallic silver
00:57 sprues finish.
00:58 What's cool is the circle-enclosed Z
01:00 on the headstock replaces the usual Reverend R logo.
01:04 You can see the cutaways have a concave sculpt that
01:07 provide easy access to the upper frets
01:09 and complements the angular offset body shape and contour.
01:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:16 The body's made of alder in its chamber
01:25 to enhance resonance and decrease weight.
01:27 The roasted maple neck with maple fingerboard
01:30 is almost identical to the first Corgan model
01:32 with a medium oval neck profile and featuring a 25 and 1/2 inch
01:36 scale, 22 jumbo frets, 12 inch radius,
01:39 and dual action truss rod access at the headstock.
01:43 Controls consist of a master volume
01:44 with treble bleed circuit, tone, and a passive bass contour
01:48 with low profile top hat style chrome knobs.
01:52 And the three position blade switch
01:54 accesses bridge, both neck settings.
01:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:00 The heart of this guitar is the pair
02:03 of specially voiced Railhammer Z1 humbucking pickups.
02:06 These pickups feature Railhammer's distinctive
02:09 combination bar for the low E and A/D strings
02:12 and three slug G, B, and high E strings design,
02:16 as well as a unique etched spiral and star graphics.
02:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:23 Reverend says that the Z1 is inspired by the heavier
02:30 songs in the Smashing Pumpkins catalog.
02:32 And yeah, you can say that with these high output Railhammer
02:35 pickups, which deliver a distinct mid-range voice
02:38 along with a mellower treble and a tighter bass
02:41 for thicker and heavy rock tones.
02:43 The bass contour focuses and slightly thins the tone
02:46 to help the guitar cut through a dense mix.
02:49 Listen to how the bass contour knob works here
02:51 on a clean setting.
02:52 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:55 [GUITAR PLAYING]
02:59 [GUITAR PLAYING]
03:27 The guitar features a string through body design
03:29 with stainless steel saddles for a ringing and percussive attack
03:32 and maximum sustain.
03:34 [GUITAR PLAYING]
03:37 Finally, a high quality pure tone output jack
03:44 is mounted to the side.
03:45 [GUITAR PLAYING]
03:55 The Reverend Billy Corgan Signature Z1
03:57 is a hard rock machine with a futuristic look and a neck
04:00 profile that maintains Reverend's reputation
04:03 for speed and comfort.
04:04 And thanks to the versatility of the newly voiced Railhammer
04:07 pickups, suffice to say, this guitar is smashing.
04:10 Definitely check it out.
04:12 [GUITAR PLAYING]
04:15 [GUITAR PLAYING]
04:18 [GUITAR PLAYING]
04:22 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:48 (upbeat music)
04:50 you