•  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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HeadRush MX5

Many Riches

In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a traditional vibe thanks to flatwound strings and vintage looks. Let’s…

JangleBox J-Gate Noise Suppression Gate

Silence, Please!

JangleBox J-Gate Noise Suppression Gate Price: $225 Info: www.janglebox.com Dynasonic, lipstick, and P-90 are all great names for pickups with iconic single-coil tones – typically accompanied by the 60-cycle hum…

Cort Z44

Single-Cut Shuffle

Cort Z44 Price: $569 list/under $400 street Contact: cortguitars.com Just about everywhere you look these days, manufacturers are devising new spins on the single-cutaway solidbody. Cort has been a player…

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ Reissue

Dual-Mode Delivery

The evolution of Randall Smith’s legendary high-gain Mesa/Boogie design into the revered Mark IIC+ of the mid ’80s established a rock amp that many guitarists still consider the epitome of…

Epiphone’s Masterbilt Century Deluxe Classic

The New Vintage

Most vintage aficionados admire the grand old acoustic archtops of the 1920s and ’30s, but admire them from afar. They’re beautifully built and boast lovely tone, but they have limitations…

Teye Guitars’ Master Series Knights Templar

Knight Time

Guitar fanatics find inspiration from different players. And if Woody swapping licks and practicing “the ancient art of weaving” with Keef while playing his famous pearl-topped, single-cut Zemaitis gets your…

E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive

E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive

Tiny Footprint, Huge Sound

E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive Price: $160 (list); $130 (street) Info: www.ews-us.com. At 1.5″ x 3.5″, the E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive looks fun and toy-like, but, when plugged in, thoughts of…

Harmonic Design’s VP-90

Harmonic Design’s VP-90

Tone with Intent

Harmonic Design’s VP-90 Price: $100 Contact: www.harmonicdesign.net Harmonic Design must be doing something right. Specializing in replacement pickups, they boast a roster of satisfied customers that includes folks like Redd…

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…

Collings CJ-45 T

Golden Child

Every now and then, you pick up a guitar and realize you’re holding magic in your hands. Welcome to the Collings CJ-45 T. The inspiration is obvious in a slope-shouldered…

Supercool “800,” The Thneed, and ’77 Fuzz Blender

Hip Sounds

Supercool Pedals is a Canadian company that makes stompboxes that sound hip and look seriously groovy. Among its offerings is the “800” Preamp/Distortion, which harkens back to ’70s mid-overdrive designs…

EHX’s Bad Stone Phase Shifter, C9 Organ Machine, and Pitch Fork Polyphonic Pitch Shifter

Pedal Heaven

When it comes to stompboxes, there are the standard go-to effects that every guitarist, whether a gigging musician or a bedroom noodler, seems to have in his or her arsenal.…

Crucial Audio WahVelope

Tube Funk

Crucial Audio makes high-end tube pedals and studio gear at its shop in southern Delaware. Its latest, the WahVelope, is both auto-wah and envelope filter – and it also hides…

Eastwood’s SD-40 Hound Dog and Classic AC

Subjective as it is, the term “mojo” usually refers to gear that’s been played-in over the years. Eastwood tries to counter that perception with their cool reissues, two recent examples…

Furch Blue Deluxe SW

Czech Mate

You might not recogonize the Furch brand, but the Czech Republic builder has spent that last 40-plus years gaining a reputation for building high-quality acoustic guitars. One of the company’s…

Dingwall Super P

Fanning the Flames

A time-honored approach to guitar and bass design is to take a classic and improve it. That’s certainly the case with the Dingwall Super P. Straight from Saskatoon, Canada, it’s…

Mesa/Boogie Drive Pedals

Four on the Floor

Mesa/Boogie Drive Pedals Price: $179 (Tone-Burst, Grid Slammer and Flux-Drive); $199 (Throttle Box) Info: www.mesaboogie.com. Long a stalwart in the world of guitar amplification, California-based Mesa/Boogie has stomped into the…

Ernie Ball’s MVP Volume/Gain Expression Pedal

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…

Rick Dodge The Convertible

Zero to Different in 20 seconds!

We know what you’re thinking: “Ummm… Dodge convertible. If I could have one, I’d take a ’70 Challenger R/T, Hemi, four-speed, Plum Crazy finish!” Ah…yeah. That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?…

The DryBell Vibe Machine V-2

Catch A Wave

DryBell is renowned for one of the most authentic and pedalboard-friendly Uni-Vibe recreations on the market. Five years after launching their original Vibe Machine, the fine folks at DryBell have…

The Cicognani SexyBoost2

Top-Tier Driver

Italy’s Cicognani Engineering makes amplifiers, pedals, and nifty accessories. With a client list that includes Robben Ford, Richard Fortus, and Kee Marcello, Cicognani is the real deal when it comes…

Ball Amps 1950s GE TV

Turn Up The Television

Randall Ball crafts vintage amps like no others. At his workshop in Kearneysville, West Virginia, he translates tried-and-true schematics into new builds, then houses them in old cabinets adapted from…

Marchione Guitars’ 16″ Archtop

The Golden Mean

In 1922, Gibson introduced Lloyd Loar’s L-5, lauded as the first modern archtop. Luthiers have been “advancing” the design ever since.  Marchione Guitars’ 16″ Archtop shows how the violin family…

Gibson Falcon 5

Timeless

Drawing inspiration from its classic Skylark amplifiers of the 1950s and ’60s, Gibson is revisiting those beloved tones with the Falcon 5. Designed by Randall Smith and his Mesa/Boogie team…

Coppersound Kingpin Clipper and Iris Optical Compressor

Royal Restraint

With the growing popularity of small-footprint effects, Coppersound’s Kingpin Germanium Clipper and Iris Optical Compressor nicely fit the bill – and pedalboard. Though nearly identical (Volume, on/off switch and three-way…

The Logan Telemaster

Masterful Mashup

Though Bob Logan has been building guitars since 1972, he worked in construction for a few decades before fully dedicating himself to custom builds. Today, he specializes in models like…

Friedman IR-X Dual Channel Preamp

Stack in the Box

Most guitar-electronics companies make a direct-recording preamp, many promising to provide ultimate distortion and overdrive via impulse responses (IR) or cabinet simulations. Dave Friedman, of course, is known for putting…

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…

Ruppert Acouswitch and Basswitch IQ DIs

Switching Up

Ruppert Acouswitch and Basswitch IQ DIs Price: $600 each with gigbag Info: www.rmi.lu. Part DI, part preamp, and part A/B switcher all rolled into one pedal with a big emphasis…

Zinky True Grit Pedal

Tone charismatic enough to thrill the Duke

Yeah, we know! You’re thinking, “Wha? Another overdrive pedal?” It seems that one thing guitar players will forever be in search of is the ultimate dirty tone, and few players…