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Reverend’s Billy Corgan Z-One - Demonstration and Review
Guitar World
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6/23/2025
The “strikingly cool guitar,” as Guitar World Tech Editor Paul Riario calls it in this demo, was designed to handle the “heavier songs in the Pumpkins catalog” and boasts an alder body paired with a roasted maple neck and fingerboard.
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00:00
What's up? Paul here from Guitar World, and today we're going to be checking out a
00:06
strikingly cool guitar from Reverend Guitars, the Billy Corgan Signature Z1. Let's check it out.
00:23
Whether you know it or not, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has been collaborating
00:28
with Reverend on his signature models for over six years. This brand new Reverend Billy Corgan
00:34
Z1 is the third signature collaboration between Billy Corgan and Reverend, and while the Z1
00:40
looks similar to Corgan's original signature, there are some significant differences. The Z1
00:45
looks high-tech stunning with the contrast of the brushed aluminum single-piece pickguard,
00:51
graphic etched chrome pickup covers, and chrome hardware against the midnight black or metallic
00:57
silver-freeze finish. What's cool is the circle-enclosed Z on the headstock replaces the usual Reverend
01:03
R logo. You can see the cutaways have a concave sculpt that provides easy access to the upper
01:09
frets and complements the angular offset body shape and contours.
01:13
The body's made of alder in his chamber to enhance resonance and decrease weight. The roasted maple
01:28
neck with maple fingerboard is almost identical to the first Corgan model with a medium oval neck
01:34
profile and featuring a 25 and a half inch scale, 22 jumbo frets, 12 inch radius, and dual action truss rod
01:41
accessed at the headstock. Controls consist of a master volume with treble bleed circuit,
01:46
tone, and a passive bass contour with low profile top hat style chrome knobs,
01:52
and the three position blade switch accesses bridge both neck settings.
02:01
The heart of this guitar is the pair of specially voiced Railhammer Z1 humbucking pickups.
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These pickups feature Railhammer's distinctive combination bar for the low E and AD strings,
02:12
and three slug G, B, and high E strings design, as well as a unique etched spiral and star graphics.
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Reverend says that the Z1 is inspired by the heavier songs in the Smashing Pumpkins catalog,
02:32
and yeah you can say that with these high output Railhammer pickups,
02:36
which deliver a distinct mid-range voice along with a mellower treble and a tighter bass for thicker
02:42
and heavy rock tones. The bass contour focuses and slightly thins the tone to help the guitar
02:47
cut through a dense mix. Listen to how the bass contour knob works here on a clean setting.
03:00
The guitar features a string through body design, with stainless steel,
03:07
and stainless steel, and stainless steel.
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The guitar features a string through body design,
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with stainless steel saddles for a ringing and percussive attack and maximum sustain.
03:36
Finally, a high quality puritone output jack is mounted to the side.
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The Reverend Billy Corgan Signature Z1 is a hard rock machine with a futuristic look and
04:00
a neck profile that maintains Reverend's reputation for speed and comfort, and thanks
04:05
to the versatility of the newly voiced Railhammer pickups, suffice to say, this guitar is smashing.
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Definitely check it out.
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