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Reverend Contender 290
Reverend Bayonet Custom
VS
Playability
77
Sound
77
Build
64
Value
73
Score
73
FIND IT ON:
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Playability
75
Sound
74
Build
65
Value
71
Score
71
FIND IT ON:
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Reverend Contender 290 vs Bayonet Custom

Reasons to Get
Reverend Contender 290 over Bayonet Custom

Switch Positions
3 vs 0
More tone options
Pickups
P90P90 vs H
Vintage tone with decent versatility
Bridge
Fixed vs Tremolo
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Value Score
73 vs 71
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Reverend Bayonet Custom over Contender 290

Release Year
2022 vs 2021
From a more recent year
Pickups
H vs P90P90
Hum-free with more right hand freedom and sustain
Bridge
Tremolo vs Fixed
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance

Other Key Differences
Reverend Contender 290 vs Bayonet Custom

Bridge Pickup
9A5 Bridge vs Chisel Bridge
Different Bridge Pickup
Headstock
6 vs R6
Different Headstock

Shared Features
Reverend Contender 290 vs Bayonet Custom

Body Wood
Limba
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Limba
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Rosewood
Same Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Boneite
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
2
Same tone control
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.85'' (21.6mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.9'' (22.9mm)
Same neck comfortability
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Scale Length
24.75'' (628.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Set
Neck is glued to the body
Type of Frets
Jumbo
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Nut
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

SET PRICE ALERT

Reverend Bayonet Custom Prices

SET PRICE ALERT

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Reverend Contender 290 is probably the better product overall with its final score of 73 compared to the Reverend Bayonet Custom's 71 score, although not by a lot.

The Reverend Contender 290 wins when it comes to sound, playability, value for the money. On the other hand, the Reverend Bayonet Custom has the upper hand when it comes to build quality.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Reverend Contender 290 is the better choice.

The Reverend Contender 290 meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Reverend Bayonet Custom meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.

New Player Friendliness

Reverend Contender 290
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

New Player Friendliness

Reverend Bayonet Custom
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Reverend Contender 290 Overview

  • From Reverend's 2021 Set-Neck series
  • Made in South Korea
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Korina body
  • Three-Piece Korina neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: 9A5 Bridge (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 2 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • TOM with Stop Tail bridge
  • Medium Oval Set neck
  • 22 Jumbo frets
  • Reverend Pin-Lock tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Reverend Bayonet Custom Overview

  • From Reverend's 2022 Set-Neck series
  • Made in South Korea
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Korina body
  • Three-Piece Korina neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Chisel Bridge (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 2 tone Dome knobs
  • Wilkinson WVS50 IIK Tremolo bridge
  • Medium Oval Set neck
  • 22 Jumbo frets
  • Reverend Pin-Lock tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in Both

Limba wood pattern used for guitar building
Limba
Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood

Limba is a relatively rare wood that shows exotic tight dark grain stripes. It comes in white or black. As a tonewood, it is comparable to Mahogany but with richer mids. Find out more about Limba.

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

The Reverend Contender 290 has an P90P90 configuration while the Reverend Bayonet Custom has H pickups.

P90P90 gives you two P90s for a crunchy vintage tone. The tone sits somewhere in the middle between typical single-coils and humbuckers. They also produce less hum than single-coils, but they don't cancel it completely like humbuckers.

On the other hand, A single H pickup gives you the advantage of having a little longer sustain (all other things being equal) because there will be less magnetic fields from other pickups affecting the strings' vibration. However, they also give you the least versatility because you won't have other pickups at different distances from the bridge to create different tones. A single humbucking pickup is used for noiseless high output, which is used mainly for Hard Rock genres.

Pickups Quality

Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.

However, the Reverend Contender 290 has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.

Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

Winner: Reverend Contender 290.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

The Reverend Contender 290 gives you 3 switch options while the Reverend Bayonet Custom gives you 0. This means that the Reverend Contender 290 gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

Reverend Contender 290 pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Reverend Contender 290's switch options

The Reverend Bayonet Custom doesn't come with pickup switching options.

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Tie.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Reverend Contender 290
Pickups 100
Sustain 75
Versatility 51
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 77
Reverend Bayonet Custom
Pickups 90
Sustain 80
Versatility 51
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 74

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Reverend Contender 290 compares to the Reverend Bayonet Custom.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in South Korea.

South Korea was for many years the number one choice for mass-producing semi-premium guitars. They can build excellent guitars for a cheap price. Now, it's less common to find Korean guitars because Indonesia has proved capable of building guitars just as well, but likely for cheaper.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

In this case, both have Boneite nuts. This is an artificial material made to imitate the favored type of nut: bone. This allows it to sound and feel pretty much like bone, but without the inconsistency of natural materials.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

The Reverend Contender 290's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.

On the other hand, the Reverend Bayonet Custom's is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

They both have locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.

Winner: Tie.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

Both have a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Reverend Contender 290
  • Locking Tuners
  • Expensive Wood
  • Boneite Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in South Korea
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Reverend Bayonet Custom
  • Locking Tuners
  • Expensive Wood
  • Boneite Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in South Korea
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Reverend Contender 290
Quality of materials 56
Features 60
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 64
Reverend Bayonet Custom
Quality of materials 56
Features 65
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 65

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Reverend Contender 290 Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 43mm (1.693'').

This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Scale Length

Reverend Contender 290 and Reverend Bayonet Custom's Scale Length
Both have the same scale length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, both have a scale length of 24.75".

This is the scale length that Gibson uses for most of its Les Paul guitars. It's a smaller scale than the typical Stratocaster's 25.5''. Short scale lengths like this make it easier to bend the strings, which is pretty important if you have a fixed bridge. They also have a shorter fret separation, which makes it easier to change position fast at the fretboard.

On the other hand, a shorter scale like this one will make fret buzz more likely, which can affect you if you want to use thicker string gauges.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Reverend Contender 290 Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Reverend Contender 290 and the Reverend Bayonet Custom have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Reverend Contender 290 Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

Both the Reverend Contender 290 and the Reverend Bayonet Custom have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison are balanced for most hand sizes.

Reverend Contender 290:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Reverend Bayonet Custom:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Reverend Contender 290 and Reverend Bayonet Custom Frets Size
Both have a similar Jumbo fret size

Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.

Final Playability Scores

Reverend Contender 290
Bending & Vibrato Ease 95
Chord Playability 55
Solo Playability 80
Playability 77
Reverend Bayonet Custom
Bending & Vibrato Ease 90
Chord Playability 55
Solo Playability 80
Playability 75

Specs Side-by-Side

Reverend Contender 290 vs Bayonet Custom
General Reverend Contender 290 Bayonet Custom
Brand: Reverend Reverend
Year: 2021 2022
Configuration: P90P90 H
Strings: 6 6
Made in: South Korea South Korea
Series: Set-Neck Set-Neck
Colors: Black, Red, Natural Gold, Black, Blue, Red
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Korina Korina
Bridge: TOM with Stop Tail Wilkinson WVS50 IIK Tremolo
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Set
Tuners: Reverend Pin-Lock Reverend Pin-Lock
Fretboard: Rosewood Rosewood
Neck Material: Three-Piece Korina Three-Piece Korina
Decoration: Pearloid Blocks Pearloid Blocks
Scale Size: 24.75" 24.75"
Shape: Medium Oval Medium Oval
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.85'' (21.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.9'' (22.9mm) 1st Fret: 0.85'' (21.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.9'' (22.9mm)
Frets: 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Boneite Boneite
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'') 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: 9A5 Bridge (Single Coil / Passive) Chisel Bridge (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: 9A5 Neck (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 3 Way 0 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 2 2