Reverend Matt West Signature - Overview and Best Prices
- From Reverend's 2021 Signature series
- Matt West Signature
- Made in South Korea
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Korina body
- Dark Roasted Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: 9A5 Bridge (Single Coil/Passive)
- Middle pickup: (/)
- Neck pickup: (/)
- 1 volume and 2 tone Dome knobs
- Wilkinson WVS50 IIK Tremolo bridge
- Medium Oval Bolt-On neck
- 22 Jumbo frets
- Reverend Pin-Lock tuners
- Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Reverend Matt West Signature | ||
---|---|---|
General | ||
Brand: | Reverend | |
Year: | 2021 | |
Configuration: | P90 | |
Strings: | 6 | |
Made in: | South Korea | |
Series: | Signature | |
Colors: | Green | |
Left-Handed Version: | No | |
Body | ||
Type: | Solid Body | |
Body Material: | Korina | |
Bridge: | Wilkinson WVS50 IIK Tremolo | |
Neck | ||
Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | |
Tuners: | Reverend Pin-Lock | |
Fretboard: | Rosewood | |
Neck Material: | Dark Roasted Maple | |
Decoration: | Dots | |
Scale Size: | 25.5" | |
Shape: | Medium Oval | |
Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.85'' (21.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.9'' (22.9mm) | |
Frets: | 22 Jumbo | |
Fretboard Radius: | 12" | |
Nut: | Boneite | |
Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | |
Electronics | ||
Bridge Pickups: | 9A5 Bridge (Single Coil / Passive) | |
Switch: | 0 | |
Knobs: | Dome | |
Volume Controls: | 1 | |
Tone Controls: | 2 | |
Hardware | ||
Strap Lock: | No | |
Hardware Color: | Nickel |
Our Scores and Tone Evaluation
- Heavy Metal
- Hard Rock
- Jazz
- Blues
- Funk
- Country
Reverend Matt West Signature
- 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
Price Overview
Its average competitor's price is $1300, which means that the Reverend Matt West Signature is within the average price asked for this kind of guitar. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Tremolo bridge that are made in South Korea.
User Reviews & Feedback
Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!
Weight
VoteTuning stability
VoteNeck speed (thickness)
VoteNeck access to high frets
VoteNeck profile shape
VoteFret edges
VotePickups noise
VotePickups power
VoteHand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Reverend Matt West Signature's construction is balanced for most hand sizes.
Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.
Beginner Friendliness
The Reverend Matt West Signature meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not bad for beginners, but it could be better. 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 to get used to.
New Player Friendliness
Reverend Matt West Signature- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
Videos
Playability
Scale Length
Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.
Here's the Reverend Matt West Signature's 25.5" scale length compared to other common sizes:
This is the same scale length used in Stratocaster guitars, and it's one of the main reasons they have such a bright sound. It's considered a long scale when compared to most non-baritone guitars.
Since the distance between bridge and nut is relatively long, you'll need to give the strings more tension to get them in tune. This higher tension will allow for a couple of things. First, you can get a lower action (get the strings closer to the fretboard) because the strings won't 'wiggle' too much when pluck and won't cause fret buzz. This can allow you to use lower tunings without increasing your string gauge, and it will make it easier to press down the strings fast.
However, the frets will also have a wider separation between each other, which can make it harder to play, especially if you got small hands. The higher tension will also make the strings feel stiffer, so bending will require more strength.
Neck Profile
The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.
The Reverend Matt West Signature's neck thickness is approximately 0.85'' (21.6mm) at the first fret, and 0.9'' (22.9mm) at the twelfth.
These measurements were taken either from the official Reverend website, or, in case this information wasn't provided, by researching multiple online marketplaces and forums where owners of this model have posted their measurements.
It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.
Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.
Fretboard Radius
When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.
The Reverend Matt West Signature has a 12" fingerboard radius.
Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:
This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.
Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Reverend Matt West Signature has the same radius across the board.
Playability compared to main competitors
Nut Width
The Reverend Matt West Signature has 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.
Frets
The Reverend Matt West Signature has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.
However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.
It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.
Fret Size
Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.
The Reverend Matt West Signature's frets are Jumbo size. This is a tall fret size that is becoming increasingly popular because it makes it easier to press down the strings cleanly. With this fret size, you won't feel the fretboard when playing, so if you press down too hard, you will get the notes out of pitch. However, this is something you can overcome by getting used to the taller size.
Playability Score
Tone
Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.
Wood
Limba Body: Available in either black or white, it's a type of wood with beautiful natural patterns decorated with long dark chocolate stripes. As a tonewood, it is comparable to Mahogany but with more mid-tones.
Roasted Maple Neck: Similar to simple Maple, but even stronger, darker, and more stable to temperature changes. This is thanks to the treatment process that consists in using high temperatures to drain the water, sugar, and resins from the wood.
Rosewood Fretboard: Since the ban of Brazillian Rosewood, this has become a rare and expensive wood. It's not usually used for guitar bodies because of this, and also because it's heavy. Instead, it's used mainly for fretboards. Sometimes it's also used for necks because it's an extremely hard wood (even harder than maple). Its tonality tends to favor warm tones.
Pickups
This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Reverend. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.
These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.
The Reverend Matt West Signature's configuration is P90. These pickups are, in fact, single-coil pickups, although they look like humbuckers. They have more output than single coils, but less than Humbuckers. And the same thing could be said about their tone; they're not as warm as humbuckers but not as bright as single coils. This gives a lot of versatility to P90s, as they can be used for many different genres, but it's used more often by players looking for a vintage tone.
Like any other single-pickup-guitar, it should have good sustain since there will be less interference with the vibration of the strings because fewer pickups means less magnetic interference. However, you're stuck to one tone option, unless you use effect pedals.More with the same pickups
Versatility
Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.
What music genre is it good for?
As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with P90 configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Hard Rock or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.
Sound Score
Build Quality
Country of Origin
Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.
The Reverend Matt West Signature is made in South Korea. Guitars made here are well-built and tend to have good quality control, even though they focus on mass production. This used to be the most premium option just below Japan or the US, but other countries like Indonesia are becoming great competitors because of even cheaper labor without sacrificing quality.
Bridge
Wilkinson WVS50 IIK Tremolo: This type of bridge allows you to change the pitch of the notes by pulling the bridge with the attached bar, which gives you better versatility. Also, since the bridge is not fixed to the guitar body, the bridge will move as you bend the strings. So you'll have to increase the distance of your bends to reach the same tension (note) compared to a fixed bridge. This allows you to perform smoother bends but will also make you slower. Finally, remember that this type of bridge requires a bit more maintenance than fixed ones, especially when changing strings.
Tuners
The Reverend Matt West Signature comes with locking tuners, which helps with tuning stability and makes changing strings a lot faster and easier. As long as they're high quality, these are the best tuning machines you can have. The only disadvantage is that they are a bit heavier than normal tuners.
Nut Material
Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.
In this case, the Reverend Matt West Signature has a Boneite nut. This is a synthetic bone material made to look, feel and sound like bone. It's more consistent than bone since it's human-made, so many people prefer this type of nut to guarantee a good nut.
Neck Joint
The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.
This guitar has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.