While it might seem like the
“new kid in town,” Reverend
has been quietly building
guitars for a long while.
So long in fact, that 2017
marks the company’s 20 th
Anniversary. The company
was established in 1997 by
Joe Naylor (you might know
his name from the amps)
in an East Detroit garage.
Joe is a graduate of the
Roberto-Venn School of
Luthiery and his early guitars
were sort of a modern take
on the Danelectro theme
with Korina center clocks,
Formica tops, and polymer
sides. If you haven’t played
one, you are missing out.
In the mid-2000s, Reverend
expanded its line-up to
include a line of more
affordable guitars that
were made in Korea but
set up in the US. In 2007,
they discontinued the US-
made guitars and to this day
focus exclusively on guitars
that are built in Korea and
setup in the US. In 2010,
long-time employees Ken
and Penny Haas bought the
company, freeing Joe to
focus on designing guitars
(and pickups, and whatever
other inventions he conjures
up). I had the pleasure to
talk with Ken Haas about
the history of Reverend, the
details of their guitars, the
artist selection process, and
what the next 20 years of
Reverend might entail.
Phillip Dodge: I first
learned of Reverend in
2004 or 2005 when a
friend who lives in Detroit
turned me on to you guys.
I bought my first Reverend
(a USA Slingshot Custom)
in 2006. I quickly added
more over the years, but
at gigs, no one ever knew
the brand. Now it seems
like just in the last two to
three years your brand
recognition has exploded.
How did you achieve that?
Ken Haas: A combination of
product, high profile artists,
and marketing. We’ve always
had great artist relations,
and the pleasure of working
with Ron Asheton, Pete
Anderson, Rick Vito, Reeves
Gabrels, the Jacksons, the
Decemberists, Fu Manchu,
and many, many others over
the years. The last few years
have seen Reeves joining the
Cure, the launch of the Billy
Corgan model, and lots of
younger bands—the Sword,
Code Orange, Neck Deep,
Defeater—joining the crew.
Add to that the Meshell
Ndegeocello Fellowship and
Mike Watt Basses, and we’re
a powerhouse out on stages
around the world. It’s gotten
to the point where there are
too many to list.
And our marketing has
improved vastly in the last
four or five years. We’re
working with a firm in
Detroit called Driven.
Joe’s daughter is actually
a graphic designer there.
And having a professional
firm do our advertising
and branding makes a real
difference. We now have
great materials and tag lines
and our advertising presence
is much bigger than before.
PD: You are celebrating
your 20th anniversary, how
many Reverends now exist
in the world? Roughly how
many are being built and
sold
per year now?
KH: As of March 17, 2017,
there are 27,920 Revs on
the planet. We’re making
roughly 3,500 a year.
PD: How has that number
increased over the last five
or so years?
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