Right now when you do a Google search for “Shade Balderose,” his Reverend signature model guitar shows up in 18 of the first...
Right now when you do a Google search for “Shade Balderose,” his Reverend signature model guitar shows up in 18 of the first 20 results. That will probably change soon as his band Code Orange was nominated for a Best Metal Performance Grammy for the song “Forever.”
But from a guitarist’s perspective it’s still pretty cool to be known for your signature guitar before your band reaches the consciousness of the general public. It’s even cooler that Reverend has given the same priority and attention to up-and-coming artists like Shade Balderose as they have to established legends like Pete Anderson, Ron Asheton, Billy Corgan, Reeves Gabrels and Rick Vito.
FEATURES
The Reverend Shade Balderose Signature most closely resembles the Bayonet model from Reverend’s Set-Neck Series, featuring the same korina body with an angular offset shape and bound neck with block inlays. However, most of the remaining features are different enough to justify the signature model designation. Distinctive signature details include a stop tailpiece, Tune-o-matic bridge, Railhammer Chisel bridge humbucker, Railhammer Hyper Vintage neck humbucker, ebony fretboard, no pickguard and a choice of deep blue Midnight Burst or Army Green finish.
The korina body is comfortably light and impressively resonant. Neck features include three-piece set-in construction, a 24 ¾-inch scale length, 12-inch radius, 22 medium jumbo frets, a dual-action truss rod easily accessible just above the synthetic 43mm Boneite nut, and Reverend’s famous comfortable medium oval neck profile. The hardware is chrome plated and includes pin-lock height-adjusted tuners, a three-way pickup selector switch, and master volume, master tone and bass contour control knobs. A two-tone teardrop-shaped case is available separately. Here’s one “stealth” feature not mentioned in the model’s specs or on the Reverend website: The master volume knob provides a push/pull kill switch