•  Reverend Sensei H90

    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

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Radial Tonebone Hot British V9 and North-Star

Tone Deep Down

Since the mid ’90s, Radial Engineering has been making audio products with a rep for superb performance and top-tier construction. Its Tonebone pedal line has gained exceptional street cred, finding…

MXR Custom Shop Sub Machine Octave Fuzz

Lowdown And Nasty

Rising from the smoke and flames of the MXR Custom Shop is the pedal of which every fuzz freak dreams. You never know when you’ll need that extra octave, so…

Budda’s Baby Budda Amp Head

Big-Boy Tone

Budda Amplification staked its claim in 1995 with the Twinmaster boutique amplifier. Its hand-wired construction and user-friendly tones were hits in the guitar community and led to a broader line…

DigiTech iStomp

Morph For Less

DigiTech iStomp Price: $149.95 Info: www.digitech.com/istomp If you’re the type of gearhead who turns heel and runs from DSP effects, let alone any equipment with a lower-case “i” in front…

John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ

Classy & Sassy

The John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ is another hip offering from the former Fender Custom Shop honcho and co-founder, revamping the Tele concept into something fresh. To achieve that…

The Winfield Dust Devil

Devil’s In The Details

Unlike most amp builders who take up the challenge to create amplifiers that replicate the sounds of the 1960s, Winfield Thomas was actually wielding those sounds as a musician in…

Guild Standard Series Acoustics

Legacy, Cont’d?

Founded by a jazz guitarist as jazz-box builder, the Guild company also built a solid reputation with its ’50s acoustic guitars. The brand’s profile as an acoustic builder was certainly…

Mario Guitars Serpentine

Custom Flagship

Given that Mario Martin credits his guitar-building education to a stint at the Fender Custom Shop, it’s no surprise that his Serpentine is a working player’s instrument: comfortable, light, and…

Xotic Guitars’ XSC-1 California Classic

New Connection

Xotic is known for its plethora of sonic effect-pedal goodies, but its current guitar line also tends to turn heads. The Xotic XSC-1 California Classic is an American Strat-style guitar…

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…

Mu-FX Phasor 2X

Next Phase

Mastermind effects mad scientist Mike Beigel is back with another re-creation of a classic Musitronics effect. The Mu-FX Phasor 2X is a time machine back to the bad old ’70s…

3rd Power Dream Weaver

Tone Cubed

3rd Power Dream Weaver Price: $3.299 Info: www.3rdpower.com. Purchasing a new amp is much more than buying a piece of gear – think of it as hiring out a job.…

Rainbow Electronics Warmenfat Micro Amp

Tiny Tube Infusion

Warmenfat Front Rainbow Electronics is, as the kids say, “old-school.” How old? Well, if you lived in the Sacramento area in the mid 1960s and your color television went on…

Maxon Fuzz Elements Pedals

Maxon Fuzz Elements Pedals

Elemental Fuzz

Maxon Fuzz Elements Pedals Price: $189 to $199 Contact: www.maxonfx.com Classic fuzz pedals are some of the fine wines of the vintage guitar world. Guitarists talk like Frenchified sommeliers when…

Carl Martin Vintage Series Pedals

More Effect, Less Coin

If you’re the type of hardcore gear geek who spends as much time evaluating guitarists based on what’s in their hands, rigs, and pedalboards as you do actually listening to…

Louis Electric Buster

Beyond Deluxe

Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595 (street) Contact: louisamps.com. Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more than 17 years. His first build wound up in the…

Fender ’57 Amp

What Would Leo Do?

History tells us that Leo Fender wasn’t much for “fancifying” things. More meat-and-potatoes than Chicken in Walnut Curry, Leo was a simple guy, and that ethos carried over to the…

The Collings I-35 LC Vintage

Semi-Struck

The semi-hollow ES shape remains one of the most alluring electric designs in history. The folks at Collings know this and, with their new I-35 LC Vintage, attempt a new…

Zemaitis’ CAG-200HS

Heart And Soul

The lutherie art of Tony Zemaitis resulted in some of the rarest, most admired, and most valuable of guitars. Among his creations, including the famed metal- and mother-of-pearl-fronted electrics, his…

Brown Fretted/less Bass

Catches with the eye, keeps with the feel

The Brown’s Guitar Factory Fretted/less bass leaves an immediate impression. Yes, its Purpleheart body wings are attractive, as are its ebony-veneered maple headstock with abalone/mother-of-pearl, engraved/inked logo, and its graphite-reinforced…

Maestro Comet Chorus and Discoverer Delay

Return to the Space(y) Age

Maestro’s Comet Chorus and Discoverer Delay, from the company’s Original Collection effects series, may have a retro-chic aesthetic, but they bring a pronounced (and welcome) modern twist. Both are analog…

Taylor T5 Thinline Fiveway

Six-Song Minimum?

Taylor T5 Thinline Fiveway For years, people continually asked Bob Taylor, “When are you going to come up with an electric guitar?” Taylor’s answer was always, “Somewhere between never and…

Line 6 DM4, DL4, and MM4

Line 6 Modeling Pedals

In an addendum to its well-known line of guitar and bass PODs, combo amps, and amp/cab stacks, the Line 6 company recently launched four stompbox-style effects units. All share features…

Jam Pedals’ Delay Llama & Wahcko Wah

What’s In A Name?

Positioning its sonic M.O. squarely in the 1960s and ’70s, Jam Pedals strives to create a distinct line of effects. Beyond their fun graphics and tongue-in-cheek names, Jam’s stompboxes are…

Trussart Steel

Classic Designs, Never Before Seen

James Trussart is a luthier who recently moved his headquarters from Paris to Los Angeles. A guitar builder since 1980, in recent years, he has upped his profile and reputation…

MXR Slash Octave Fuzz SF01 and Slash Cry Baby Classic SC-95 Home Big

MXR Slash Octave Fuzz SF01 and Slash Cry Baby Classic SC-95

Slash 'N Burn

MXR SF01 Slash Octae Fuzz Price: $129 (street) Contact: jimdunlop.com MXR’s new Slash Octave Fuzz pedal employs three fuzz “flavors” – Sub-Octave, Fuzz, and Octave Up – that offer a…

Reverend’s Reeves Gabrels Dirtbike

Wheelie Machine

Signature guitars tend to be either fan-boy models, the owners of which hang them alongside a collection of signed 8×10 glossies of the artists, or they’re useful instruments that just…

Yamaha’s Revstar RSP20CR

Mod Rocker

Having spent the last 120 years perfecting righteous guitar tones, Yamaha has set out to increase their coolness quotient. The design of their latest guitar line – the Revstar Series…

Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder

Gettin’ Loopy!

Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder Price: $476.21 (street); $119.25 (foot controller) Info: www.ehx.com. Looping has a rich history, with roots tracing to modern classical composers like Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, and…

Roland Micro Cube

Mighty Mouse

Roland Micro Cube Price: $130 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Every once in a while you have to pinch yourself and thank your lucky stars to be a guitarist in the 21st…