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 usual Reverend
01:03R logo. You can see the cutaways have a concave sculpt that provides easy access to the upper
01:09frets and complements the angular offset body shape and contours.
01:13The 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
01:34profile and featuring a 25 and a half inch scale, 22 jumbo frets, 12 inch radius, and dual action truss rod
01:41accessed at the headstock. Controls consist of a master volume with treble bleed circuit,
01:46tone, and a passive bass contour with low profile top hat style chrome knobs,
01:52and the three position blade switch accesses bridge both neck settings.
02:01The 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,
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,
02:36which deliver a distinct mid-range voice along with a mellower treble and a tighter bass for thicker
02:42and heavy rock tones. The bass contour focuses and slightly thins the tone to help the guitar
02:47cut through a dense mix. Listen to how the bass contour knob works here on a clean setting.
03:00The guitar features a string-through-body design with stainless steel
03:25The guitar features a string through body design with stainless steel saddles for a
03:31ringing and percussive attack at maximum sustain.
03:38Finally, a high quality puritone output jack is mounted to the side.
03:53The Reverend Billy Corgan Signature Z1 is a hard rock machine with a futuristic look and
04:00a neck profile that maintains Reverend's reputation for speed and comfort, and thanks
04:05to the versatility of the newly voiced Railhammer pickups, suffice to say, this guitar is smashing.
04:11Definitely check it out.
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