KH: Almost all guitars are
still crossing Zach Green’s
station. He’s been here for
19 years and he’s signed
something like 26,000
guitars, but he’s allowed
to take a vacation. We
have another guy, Robert
Douglas Wuellner, who has
been trained by Zach, and
so there are some “RDW”
guitars out there now to
complement the “ZSGs.”
And I’ve even signed a few.
But I just sign “Ken.”
PD: Do you think we’ll
ever see a reissue of
the original USA-made
Reverends with the
polymer frames and
phenolic tops? What
about the metal tops?
It seems like those
could be done with
the current Jetstreams?
KH: No. We’ve truly
moved on. At this time
we are making the best
guitars we’ve ever made.
Joe’s design work and the
attention to detail are better
than they’ve ever been.
PD: What can you tell us
about the factory where
Reverends are made?
16
INTERVIEW //
KH: Our guitars are made
by Mirr in South Korea,
but we do a full setup
here at the shop.
PD: How often do you
visit the factory?
KH: I’ve never been there.
They take a lot of pride in
their workmanship. The
factory has been in the same
family for three generations
and the average worker is
50. We’ve been working with
them for necks and pickups
for 16 or 17 years and whole
guitars for 14 years. They’ve
been building Joe’s stuff for
so long that they do a great
job of realizing his vision. As
Penny says, we’re tapping
into all of the experience
they have as guitar builders.
We’re able to add all of
that experience into Joe’s
designs to put out an
excellent product.
PD: I feel like every time
I turn around, a new model
is in the Reverend fold.
How many active models
do you guys currently
have? Where is all of the
inspiration coming from?
KH: A lot. 62 models.
Yikes. Three new ones
coming soon, and many
more in the queue.
Joe has been on fire lately.
A lot of the inspiration
comes from artists we work
with, but much of it comes
from Joe continually looking
for ways to make things
better. He spends a lot of
time listening to current
music—keeping up with
amps, pedals, overall artist
sounds—and he’s always
looking for ways to make the
guitar more versatile while
also keeping it simple.
PD: With regard to
signature models, it
seems like you have
giants like Billy Corgan
and Reeves Gabrels at
one end of the spectrum
and then up and coming
artists like Jenn Wasner
and Kyle Shutt at the
other. How does
Reverend go about
selecting artists for
signature models?
KH: We don’t select them—
they select us. It sounds
cliché, but it’s totally true.
I love the idea of working
with people who are moving
the guitar forward. I could
easily break down all of our
signature models and show
you what I mean. We’ve
never approached someone
Bow at the Altar: A Chat with Ken Haas at Reverend Guitars