Reverend is dumping amp business... FYI

[kewlpack]

Just got this surprise little email note... guess they didn't sell as much as they wanted to!

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LAST CHANCE TO BUY A REVEREND AMP!
Reverend is leaving the amp business to focus solely on guitars.

Remaining inventory consists of approximately 75 Kingsnake combos, 75 Goblin combos, 40 Kingsnake heads, and 37 two-twelve Neo cabinets. We will not build any more after these are sold.

Amps are fully warrantied and have the 14 day trial period. Free Shipping Sale is in effect (see Homepage for details).

Current build time is approximately 4 weeks from order date.

____________________________________________

Thanks!

Joe Naylor & the Reverend Crew
586-775-1025

"Refreshing products from a small American company that gives a ****".

http://www.reverendguitars.com
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[jazzrat]

I've heard good things about them! I like Reverend in general. That's where I got my pedalboard and cables.
Funny that Joe Naylor is getting out of amps just as Visual Sound is coming out with a new line.

[Crunchyriff]

I dont know about the REVEREND AMPS, but the Naylors were GREAT tone monsters!!

[dmw]

I got the same e-mail notification. I was a bit surprised, as I thought they were selling a fair amount of amps, since they were back-ordered alot of the time. But selling alot of something and making a profit are not always happening at the same time.

[refin]

It seems odd that they would list a "remaining inventory",saying they will not build any more past this date, and then give a "build time" in the same notice (4 weeks from order date).Are the amps in inventory,or are they going to have to build them? If they are getting out of the amp business,why would they build more? :???:
Maybe they are talking about their guitars.......

[kewlpack]

Mmm - I bet the 4 week build time is a left over that someone needs to catch... and probably will.

[prscustom24]

It seems odd that they would list a "remaining inventory",saying they will not build any more past this date, and then give a "build time" in the same notice (4 weeks from order date).Are the amps in inventory,or are they going to have to build them? If they are getting out of the amp business,why would they build more? :???:
Maybe they are talking about their guitars.......

My take is he's got parts in inventory to build the number of amps of the models indicated. But they won't be assembled unless he gets the orders. That's pretty typical.

[jazzrat]

Here's what Joe Naylor posted at the Fender Forum in answer to some of the same questions
""I wonder why they tell you the build time if they aren't going to build anymore?

This means we have enough parts in stock to build the number of amps stated in the newsletter. We build everything to order.
"Buy one, leave it in the box, and throw it in your attic. It'll be worth a lot of money some day."
FWIW, I've seen Naylor amps selling for more than the original list price.
"Are they going to service the amps they already made?....or do we have to find some backyard amp fellas to do the deal?"

We'll honor the one year warranty. We'll offer schematics for sale some time after all the amps are sold out. Our amps are very easy to service, and replacement parts are of the common variety.
"I hope Joe Naylor chimes in and gives us some skinny."

It's pretty simple. Being small, we don't have the financial or personel resources to do both the amps and the new import guitar line. We feel Reverend has more to offer in the guitar world, and all guitars will further focus our image.

Importing guitars is a more efficient operation, requiring smaller minimum runs, and the R&D process is much faster. This will allow us to quickly develop a diverse line, and bring unique models to market in a short timeframe. In other words, we'll be faster on our feet, and hopefully keep things fresh and exciting.

Thanks for the kind words of support!

Joe

[seagullplayer]

Sounds like maybe the main problem was in the manufacturing process, not so much sales. You know what they say:

Cheap - Right - Fast

Pick any two, you can't have all three... ;)

[BoomXer]

Reverend has been trimming their offerings for a while now. They discontinued basses a few months back.

They make great gear. I just sold one of my Rev's, so I'm down to two guitars and a 5 string bass. Joe and his team are great to deal with and really do make tone machines.

[Crunchyriff]

It's getting near impossible to compete with the PRC's industrial monolith, but that's another rant for another thread...

[reverbbb]

Manufacturing something as complicated as amps is not cheap, very frustrating and very demanding. I'm sure he would like to make easy money for a while.

I noticed that the quotes for Joe indicated imported guitars. I always thought his guitars were made in Detroit.

I don't buy the speculation of the amps being worth a lot in the future. Sure, they are great amps. But just because someone wants them to become valuable, that doesn't make it so. There are some awesome amps built in the '60s, but they are still bringing less than $1000. That is not even keeping up with inflation, yet alone "collectors inflation".

I have always wanted one of his amps. I have demo'd them at the Arlington and Dallas guitars shows. I just have other equipment priorities that keeps his amps in the background instead of the foreground for me.

[BoomXer]

The imported guitars are a new product line to allow Reverend to offer some models in the under $600 range. All indications have been that Rev will continue to offer US made guiatars as well. It looks like the US models will be in the $900+ zone.