Reverend Hellhound Review

The Reverend Hellhound is one of my main guitar amps. It is light weight, looks cool and most importantly - it sounds great! It is a one-channel amp, but it has a clever feature called the "Schizo Switch". This switch makes it possible to alternate between a US sound and UK sound. The US sound is more towards the "Blackface" sound, and the UK sound is more British and closer to a Vox than a Fender.

There are speaker outs on the back of the Hellhound - 4, 8 and 16 ohms. I really like the fact that the amp's internal speaker stays engaged when you hook up an external speaker cab. I am currently using an Avatar 2x12 with the amp, and it gives me a huge sound. A small combo like this is bound to sound a little "boxy".

It also has a switch for selecting between 40 and 60 watts, and I tend to always leave it in 60 w mode. I honestly can't hear all that much difference in volume or in sound between the two settings - the 40 w setting is a little less defined perhaps. This amp is designed by Joe Naylor and Dennis Kager.

What does the Reverend Hellhound sound like?

Reverend Hellhound 40/60 The US setting sounds a bit like a Fender Bassman, while the UK setting has similarities with a Vox. However, I would definitely say that the sound of the Hellhound is quite unique. It has its own sound, which is very usable for many types music styles. It sounds great for blues and rock, but also for jazz. The tone is big and round, perfect for playing in a jazz combo. It just feels so good to play, and by this I mean that is very dynamic and responsive. The sound is fat and punchy, especially when you turn it up a bit.

It also has a master volume control, which is very useful for playing at lower volumes and it does a decent job for this. Nevertheless, it is when you crank this little 112 combo that it really starts to sound good! It is such a joy to play it loud live - especially with an extension cab.

When I want some good gain for lead playing, I use my Maxon SD-9 - it's a fantastic pedal and it works very well with the Hellhound.

The latest thing I did to my Hellhound is a speaker upgrade. I installed an Eminence Red, White and Blues. I did this because I had hurt my Alltone speaker by playing the amp too loud. It was suffering from cone cry. Read more about myspeaker swap on my blog.

Video Clips

Richard Guitar and Reverend Hellhound - Using my Richard guitar, and some pedals.

Reverend The Company

Reverend Guitars is a great company to deal with. Their customer support is fantastic - you can tell the really care about their customers. I can't recommend them enough in this regard. Joe Naylor is a very knowledgeable guy and very friendly and helpful. If you have any problems with anything you buy from them, you can be assured they will do everything they can to help you out. See their website http://www.reverendguitars.com/