bigsby equipped

An extroverted hollowbody that deftly spans styles—and the ages.

 

Ratings

Pros:
Characterful Dynasonic pickups. Lively top end. Surprisingly versatile. Well put together.

Cons:
Expensive for a Korea-made instrument.

Street:
$1,499

Guild X-175 Manhattan Special
guildguitars.com


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A vintage-styling mash-up—and a versatile rock ’n’ roll machine.

Sacrilegious as it may sound to some, not everyone loves the iconic, ubiquitous electric guitar designs of the 1950s. And while vintage guitars that subvert those norms look killer and cut through the visual clutter, they can also be quirky in less-desirable ways: feedback-prone pickups, neck relief like a ski jump, and non-existent tuning stability, to name a few.

PureSalem Guitars isn’t the only company mining the eccentric side of vintage guitar design these days. But the two-years-young company has consistently delivered quality alongside the quirkiness. El Gordo, a buxom semi-hollow, is a recent addition to PureSalem’s roster of misfits. It’s well built, genuinely versatile, and chock-full of tones from jangly clean to rowdy and raucous.

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Only 14 of each color will be produced.

Livonia, MI (November 18, 2014) -- Each Fall, Reverend Guitars takes one of their well-loved models and turns up the volume a bit to make a limited-edition model. This year, the company chose the Charger 290. The model will be released in three special colors: Metallic Alpine Green, Metallic Red, and Lakeshore Gold, all with cream pickguards and cream pickup covers. Each has a Bigsby B-50 that’s been loaded with Reverend’s own soft-touch spring. Every Charger 290 LE comes with an exclusive Souldier Strap that matches each color with each company’s logo on the ends. There are only 14 of each color available, in honor of 2014.

The Reverend Charger 290 has a great vintage tone that’s better than you remember. Loaded with Reverend’s CP90s, this model is fantastic for both clean and distorted tones – twangy enough for country, but thick enough for rock. Like all Reverends, the Charger 290 has a Korina body and three-piece neck, a graphite nut and locking tuners, Reverend’s Bass Contour Control, and a dual-action truss rod – all for maximum performance.

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