{"id":131954,"date":"2022-06-12T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-12T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=131954"},"modified":"2023-05-31T20:09:19","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T03:09:19","slug":"review-revival-rg-26m-guitar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/review-revival-rg-26m-guitar\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Revival\u2019s RG-26M Is a Compact, Affordable Mahogany Guitar That Delivers Good Tone and Playability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This solid-mahogany mid-size guitar offers a host of features worthy of a good look. While Revival set its sights on getting the RG-26M<\/a> into the hands of people who aren\u2019t comfortable on dreadnoughts, it\u2019s more than that. It\u2019s a handsome, comfortable guitar that delivers a very nice sound for an irresistible price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revival is a San Francisco Bay Area\u2013based guitar company with a nationwide network of dealers for its steel-string acoustics. (In 2018, the company joined up with Lark in the Morning, a brick-and-mortar shop and online retailer specializing in world instruments.) Like all Revival guitars, the RG-26M was built at a shop in China that the company has worked with since its beginnings in 2006, and set up by a luthier in the U.S. If the all-solid-wood RG-26M I tested is any indication, Revival is delivering an impressive bang for the buck with its smart, affordable guitars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Revival<\/a>
Photo by Joey Lusterman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Compact and Comfortable<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The RG-26M measures 14-3\/4 inches across the lower bout, putting its body between the standard 00 and 000. It\u2019s also slightly thinner than those stalwart sizes, measuring four inches deep at the endpin and 3-11\/16 at the neck block. This was another intentional step by Revival to make a guitar that\u2019s a bit more accessible for people who have difficulty reaching around the standard dreadnought. Call it a \u201c00 positive\u201d or \u201c000 negative\u201d if it helps you visualize the size. Still, after hours of playing the RG-26M, I\u2019ll just call it comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The neck\u2019s medium-thin, C-shaped profile will feel great to just about anyone, from experienced acoustic players to beginners and recent converts from the electric guitar. In the past few years, I\u2019ve gravitated toward big necks because they feel comfortable in my hands, but this shape\u2019s speedy feel and svelte proportions have me reconsidering my fixation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Revival<\/a>
Photo by Joey Lusterman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With a satin matte finish giving the mahogany a warm presence, and contrasting bling from the abalone, the Revival exudes an understated but fancy vibe. The black walnut fretboard is an excellent alternative to rosewood that looks good and features nicely seated and crowned frets, making the Revival easy to play and buzz-free. A few lovely touches also help give the instrument an upscale look. Abalone is seen extensively throughout, including the fretboard position markers, soundhole rosette, and headstock logo. The body and neck are bound in maple, giving the instrument an attractive, natural look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warm and Woody Tone<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All-mahogany guitars have a reputation for dry, woody tone and warmth, and the Revival delivered those attractive traits in spades the more I played it. Like many review instruments, it sounded new when it arrived. However, just a few hours of playing time revealed richer tones and a more dynamic response. Like other guitars in this price range, the RG has moderately good projection. It delivers a good amount of volume\u2014enough to hold its own at a jam with guitars costing quite a bit more. But even from the start, the Revival\u2019s thick tone drew me in for fingerpicking, and that\u2019s how I spent most of my time with the guitar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Revival<\/a>
Photo by Joey Lusterman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The same fundamental-heavy midrange tones that works well for fingerpicking are apparent when strumming, too. Digging in harder gives the tone more compression and results in greater focus in the punchy midrange frequencies. The RG-26M comes equipped with light strings, and I suspect that a heavier set would help give this guitar a little more horsepower, along with an even more satisfying tone\u2014something to keep in mind if you\u2019re considering purchasing one. But even with the light strings, the Revival exceeded my expectations in just about every way that matters for an acoustic guitar. It\u2019s dynamic and fun to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For players looking for a small-bodied mahogany guitar at a very affordable price, the Revival RG-26M delivers a lot for under $500. It\u2019s a super comfortable guitar that\u2019s set up nicely and easy to play, and it makes a pleasantly warm and resonant sound for fingerpickers and flatpickers alike. While Revival might not be a brand you\u2019re familiar with, the RG-26M is well worth checking out if you\u2019re searching for a terrific instrument on a budget. It\u2019s the kind of guitar you\u2019re likely to find yourself reaching for repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specs <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BODY<\/strong> Solid mahogany top, back,and sides; forward-pattern X-bracing; maple binding; abalone rosette; ebonized black walnut bridge; compensated bone saddle with 2-5\/16″ spacing; plastic tortoiseshell pattern pickguard; satin finish<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NECK<\/strong> 25-5\/8″-scale mahogany neck with 14 frets to the body; dovetail neck joint; dual-action truss rod; black walnut fingerboard with 20 medium size frets; 1-11\/16″ bone nut; maple heel cap; offset abalone fingerboard position markers and abalone headstock logo; chrome Grover tuners; satin finish<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTHER<\/strong> D\u2019Addario EJ11 80\/20 Bronze strings<\/a> (.012\u2013.053)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MADE IN <\/strong>China<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRICE<\/strong> $479 (direct)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

revivalacoustics.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\"magazine<\/a>\n

This article originally appeared in the July\/August 2022<\/a> issue of Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

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Revival’s RG-26M is a handsome, comfortable, all-mahogany guitar that delivers a very nice sound for an irresistible price.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":131832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Revival's RG-26M is a handsome, comfortable, all-mahogany guitar that delivers a very nice sound for an irresistible price.\u00a0","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1679],"tags":[1390],"ppma_author":[1556],"class_list":["post-131954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-midsize-body","tag-july-august-2022","post_format-post-format-video"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/IMG_0440.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1556,"user_id":12,"is_guest":0,"slug":"greg-olwellstringletter-com","display_name":"Greg Olwell","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e8dada80c5c5ebffe48b5a4cfd35f33?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Olwell","first_name":"Greg","job_title":"","description":"Greg Olwell is Acoustic Guitar<\/i>'s editor-at-large. He plays upright bass in several bands in the San Francisco Bay Area and also enjoys playing ukulele and guitar."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131954"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136688,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131954\/revisions\/136688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131954"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=131954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}