What it is
The Reverend Manta Ray is a semi-hollow guitar built around a set-neck construction with a shorter scale length and a center block.
It features a double-cutaway body with a slightly offset outline, dual humbuckers, and Reverend’s standard electronics layout, including the bass contour control. While it draws loosely from traditional semi-hollow designs, it’s not a direct reinterpretation of any one model.
The set neck and shorter scale place it closer to Gibson-style instruments in feel, even though the body shape suggests something more modern.
Why it’s a sleeper
Reverend guitars tend to be consistently well built, but the Manta Ray often gets less attention than some of their more straightforward solidbody models.
That’s partly because it sits between categories.
- not a traditional semi-hollow
- not a classic single-cut
- not a typical offset
That ambiguity keeps it from being an obvious choice, but it also keeps pricing reasonable on the used market.
For players who want a semi-hollow with a slightly different feel, that works in its favor.
What it’s like to live with
The Manta Ray feels compact and responsive.
The shorter scale reduces string tension slightly, which makes bends easier and gives the guitar a more immediate feel under the fingers. The set neck adds to that sense of continuity—everything feels connected and smooth.
Compared to something like the DeArmond Starfire, it’s less traditionally “semi-hollow” in character. It doesn’t have the same airy quality, and instead leans more toward a focused, midrange-forward response.
The humbuckers provide weight and compression, while the bass contour control adds flexibility without complicating the layout.
Overall, it behaves more like a modern solid body that happens to be semi-hollow.
Variants and pricing
The Manta Ray appears in a range of finishes, with the core configuration remaining consistent:
- dual humbuckers
- set neck
- center block construction
Typical pricing:
- New: $1,000–$1,200
- Used: $700–$900
Used examples tend to represent solid value given the overall build quality, but as with other Reverends, they are also excellent value at retail pricing.
What to look out for
- General setup and fretwork
- Pickup balance
- Electronics function (particularly the bass contour control)
These guitars are typically consistent, so issues are usually minor, unless they’ve been abused by a previous owner.
Buying notes
The Manta Ray is best approached as a modern semi-hollow with a Gibson-adjacent feel rather than a traditional ES-style instrument.
For players who want:
- a slightly softer feel under the fingers
- a more compact semi-hollow
- modern consistency
it’s a straightforward option.
Used pricing tends to make it more compelling than buying new, though the gap is not extreme.