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.
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MusicTranscript
00:00What's up, Paul here from Guitar World, and today we're going to be checking out a strikingly
00:07cool guitar from Reverend Guitars, the Billy Corgan Signature Z1.
00:12Let's check it out.
00:15Whether you know it or not, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has been collaborating
00:28with Reverend on his signature models for over six years.
00:32This brand new Reverend Billy Corgan Z1 is the third signature collaboration between
00:37Billy Corgan and Reverend, and while the Z1 looks similar to Corgan's original signature,
00:43there are some significant differences.
00:45The Z1 looks 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 frieze finish.
00:59What's cool is the circle-enclosed Z on the headstock replaces the usual Reverend R logo.
01:05You can see the cutaways have a concave sculpt that provide easy access to the upper frets
01:10and complements the angular offset body shape and contour.
01:21The body is made of alder in its chamber to enhance resonance and decrease weight.
01:28The roasted maple neck with maple fingerboard is almost identical to the first Corgan model
01:33with a medium oval neck profile and featuring a 25.5-inch scale, 22 jumbo frets, 12-inch
01:39radius, and dual-action truss rod accessed at the headstock.
01:43Controls consist of a master volume with treble bleed circuit, tone, and a passive bass contour
01:49with low-profile top-hat style chrome knobs.
01:53And the three-position blade switch accesses bridge, both neck settings.
01:58The heart of this guitar is the pair of specially voiced Railhammer Z1 humbucking pickups.
02:07These pickups feature Railhammer's distinctive combination bar for the low E and A D strings
02:12and three-slug G, B, and high E strings design, as well as a unique etched spiral and star graphics.
02:28Reverend 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
02:37mid-range voice along with a mellower treble and a tighter bass for thicker and heavy rock tones.
02:44The bass contour focuses and slightly thins the tone to help the guitar cut through a dense mix.
02:49Listen to how the bass contour knob works here on a clean setting.
03:07The guitar features a string-through-body design with stainless steel saddles for a
03:31ringing and percussive attack and maximum sustain.
03:37Finally, a high-quality pure tone output jack is mounted to the side.
03:56The Reverend Billy Corgan Signature Z1 is a hard rock machine with a futuristic look
04:00and a neck profile that maintains Reverend's reputation for speed and comfort.
04:05And thanks to the versatility of the newly-voiced Railhammer pickups, suffice to say, this guitar
04:10is smashing.
04:11Definitely.
04:12Check it out.