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VG Approved Gear
Reverend Sensei H90
Live Wire
So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and have the pitch reliability of a tune-o-matic bridge and locking tuners. Got it. One more thing: it’s got to look cool and old-school. Hmm…. sounds
Bad Cat Black Cat 1×12 Combo
Roarin’ Back
When Bad Cat Amplifiers trimmed its line to just four models with modern circuits, some wondered if they’d capture the magic of the hand-wired wonders that built the company’s reputation.…
Earthquaker Devices Sea Machine
Chorus of Praise
Earthquaker Devices Sea Machine Price: $215 Contact: www.earthquakerdevices.com Known primarily for its monstrous distortion and fuzz units, the folks at Earthquaker Devices have decided to tackle what has often been…
Henriksen Amplifiers’ The Blu
Sound Cube
One old cliché among gigging musicians is, “They pay me for the aggravation, the music is free.” A good deal of that aggravation comes from lugging gear. If you play…
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PRS Swamp Ash Special
Narrow(field) Win
The bolt-on Swamp Ash Special has been around for nearly three decades, but PRS just retooled the U.S.-built version and dropped it at NAMM. There are significant upgrades. While earlier versions had humbuckers with a single-coil pickup between them, this latest plank has a PRS Narrowfield (NF) humbucker in the middle. Another bonus is the
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Martin D-28 Standard
If nobody mentioned that Martin’s new Standard line had been updated, a player might be forgiven for not immediately noticing that the latest D-28 has been subtly changed. After all, it’s the D-28 – one of the most recognizable and enduring American icons – and the thought of altering such a flagship is likely to
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive combo. Specs remain much the same, deriving 12 watts of power from a pair of 6V6GT output tubes into a 12″ Celestion A-Type speaker. But,
Gator Cases MiniVault
Rolling Rack
Every gigging guitarist who lugs their own gear (so, 95 percent of us) knows firsthand how instrument cases take a beating. No matter how carefully they’re handled, the reality is…
M-Tone Slipstream
Delicious Curves
M-Tone Slipstream Price: $2,600 Contact: www.m-tone.com When it comes to custom, hand-made guitars, many prefer an instrument that innately reveals the work of its craftsman – the type that, instead…
Wylde Audio Odin Grail Genesis Bullseye
Berserker Broadax
Zakk Wylde emerged from New Jersey in the late ’80s to give Ozzy Osbourne’s music a style and attitude unlike that of any guitarist before him, using an approach spawned…
Boss IR-2 Amp & Cabinet
Sim Plus
With the rise of home recording, videos, and gigging without amps, Boss has introduced its IR-2 Amp & Cabinet, a small box with a range of amp and cabinet sounds…
Gurus Amps’ SexydriveMkII
Bellissimo!
Chalk up another score for Italian innovation. Chicco Bellini and his company, Gurus Amps, are among the top dogs in the Italian gear market. They’ve also been gaining steam worldwide…
Ernie Ball MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal
Total Control
Ernie Ball’s MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal Price: $179 (list); $129.99 (street) Info: www.ernieball.com. Just when you thought you were done building the perfect pedalboard with all the coolest overdrives and…
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Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII
Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII bolster the sounds of their first-gen predecessors, using altered algorithms, new controls, and better tonal quality. The most-obvious changes are new fine-tune settings and a menu screen. The M1 High-Fidelity Modulation Machine offers Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Vibrato, Rotary, and Filters. Running between a Deluxe Reverb a Les Paul Traditional or
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LSL Instruments’ Lucid OD and OG OD
Lively Drives
LSL Instruments is best known for high-end Leo-style guitar builds, but they’ve also started delving into overdrive pedals. The Lucid OD is their version of a Klon Centaur – one of the priciest stompboxes in human history ($5,000-plus for the first-gen gold box with the horse logo). The box offers Volume, Gain, and Tone knobs
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The Chase Bliss Clean
Posh Squash
With is Clean compressor, Chase Bliss set out to create a pedal that would duplicate the vivid interactivity of a dirty tube amp, but with a completely clean tone. While a standard compressor can give your guitar (bass, keyboard, etc.) a professional sheen, the Clean is a stereo unit that can polish mixes or deliver
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The Eastwood Super Axe
Chet Powered!
Wait – what? Did Eastwood just bring back the Super Axe, that incredibly rare bird from the late ’70s? Indeed, they did. A Korean-made reissue, it captures the spirit of Gretsch’s chambered curiosity. Grabbing one, the first thing you’ll notice is the oversized yet thin body, with its arched top and the enchanting lines of
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The Bad Cat Era 30
Retro-Great
So often has the phrase “Mark Sampson era” been applied to pre-2000 Matchless amps or early examples of the Bad Cat line that the term has become a “thing” in and of itself. As applied to Bad Cat’s new Era 30, it means Sampson is back in the fold (see our interview in the March
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Eastwood MRG Lap Steel
Slide Piece
Now more than 90 years old, the lap steel was the earliest example of an electric guitar and remains a stringed instrument every guitarist should try, largely because it’s so accessible. In fact, a lap steel is about as straightforward as you can get – it’s a plank that sits on your lap and is
Keeley Noble Screamerb
Ultimate Mash-Up
Just when guitarists thought the golden age of gear couldn’t get better, Robert Keeley has combined two great pedals that sound great together. One side of his new Noble Screamer…
St. Blues Scoundrel
Walking the Dog
St. Blues Scoundrel Price: $1,898 (list)/$1,349 (street) Contact: www.saintblues.com Intended as a versatile instrument for the player with a budget for just one boutique guitar, the St. Blues Scoundrel is…
The Rivolta Combinata Bass VII
Euro Flash
Rivolta’s Combinata VII bass takes ideas from Rickenbacker, Höfner, and various European builders lost to history and wraps them into a four-string with a chambered mahogany body. Working in collaboration…
D’Angelico Premier Bob Weir SS
Touch of Grey
When Bob Weir introduced his D’Angelico Premier SS at NAMM last January, he performed a set of Grateful Dead and solo tunes for a select audience with backing from an…
Relic Guitars The Hague T-Style
Aged to Perfection
Relic Guitars The Hague is a Dutch builder that produces, obviously, relic’d guitars. Mostly using the archetypal Strat and Tele shapes, the company sells their axes online and often for…
Dean Zelinsky Tagliare Z-Glide Custom
Future Tense
Every so often, a builder gives the art of guitar design a firm shove into the future. The Dean Zelinsky Tagliare Z-Glide Custom certainly fits into that category. On the…
Dunlop MXR Carbon Copy, ’74 Phase 90 and Buddy Guy Signature Wah
Legendary pedal builder MXR/Dunlop recently introduced a sweet trio of effects; something new from its Custom Shop in the form of the Carbon Copy analog delay, something old in the…
H&D, Running Dog, and Gibson L-Style Guitars
Downsize, Upmarket
Huss & Dalton 00-SP Gibson Robert Johnson L-1 In the July issue we looked at affordable L-style flat-tops for the acoustic blues player. This month, we look at similarly inspired…
Martin D-18 1937 Authentic and OMC-1 Fingerstyle
Display Their Heritage
Martin D-18 1937 Authentic The first thing that catches your eye as you open the case of Martin’s D-18 1937 Authentic is the guitar’s unmistakable vintage vibe. Whether you’re drawn…
Fender Player Jaguar
Updated Offset
Priced at entry level and built in Mexico, Fender’s Player Series provides affordable access to Fender’s most iconic solidbodies. The Player Jaguar updates a classic offset with a handful of…
Avante Gryphon
Game Changer?
Avante Gryphon Price: $1,495 (street) Info: www.veilletteguitars.com People bandy about the term “game changer” so often these days it barely means a thing, but the Avante Gryphon may be just…
Friedman Plex
Mystique Maker
Dave Friedman built his brand (and reputation) by making supercharged Marshall-inspired amps, and his latest hones in on one of his personal favorites – a beloved ’68 JMP Superlead –…
Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule
Bruising Tones
Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule Price: $125-$340 Info: www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk. From the ever-expanding world of boutique pickups comes a builder out of southwest England who creates a…
Guild Bluesbird
Flyin’ High Again
The Guild Bluesbird has a long history that began in the 1950s with Guild’s answer to the Gibson Les Paul –the M-75 Aristocrat, later renamed the M-75 Bluesbird. The guitar…
Bixonic Expandora 2000R
Full-Range Distortion
Bixonic Expandora 2000R. Bixonic introduced the Expandora distortion/fuzz pedal in 1995, and it quickly became popular among guitarists the likes of Billy Gibbons, Joe Satriani, Megadeth, and Bootsy Collins. The…
Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX
Saddle Up!
Metal Pedals’ Raw Hide, Hard Core XXX Price: $175 (Raw Hide); $230 (Hard Core XXX) Info: www.metalpedals.com. For many discerning players, Dave Pantaleone at Metal Pedals is a well-known stompbox…
MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit
Do It Yerself
MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit Price: $265 (list) Contact: www.modkitsdiy.com A good friend jokingly remarked that building tube amps is the legal equivalent of taking opiates – instantly gratifying…
Best In Tone
The Marshall DSL40CR
In the minds of guitarists, the Marshall name verges on mythic – from Bluesbreakers to plexis, they hold a special place. However, while iconic in terms of tone, they’re also…
The Daddy Mojo Ozark
All But The Kitchen Sink
For a decade, Daddy Mojo has been making cigar-box guitars that refine the vibe of those rudimentary instruments. In 2016, the company debuted a line of traditional guitars under the…
The SeaGlass Route6jr
Boutique Nobility
Roger Mello of SeaGlass Guitars officially opened shop in 2011. Today, he offers four electric models; his Route6jr maintains the simplicity of the guitars that inspired it while re-creating their…
Mu-FX Tru-Tron 3X
Get Tha Funk Out
The Mu-FX Tru-Tron 3X Price: $369.63 Contact: www.mu-fx.com. Think funk. Think Bootsy Collins’ wacked-out Parliament Funkadelic Space Bass lines. Think Stevie Wonder’s wah’d Clavinet on his ’73 hit “Higher Ground.”…
