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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
Koch Twintone
Bantam Tough-Guy
The Twintone is the Netherlands-based Koch Guitar Electronics company’s mid-sized guitar amp, a 1×12″ combo that, like the entire Koch line, uses top-quality components including cold-lacquered transformers, fiberglas-reinforced PC boards,…
Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe
Stomp Festival
Jimi Hendrix passed into infinity at the tender age of 27. The fact that his influential career lasted only four years over 45 years ago speaks volumes. A visionary former…
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…
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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,
Martin’s D-18 & OMC-1
Serving the Name Well
Martin D-18 1937 Authentic – Solid Adirondack red spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, solid mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, ca. 1937 abalone fret markers, 5/16″ Adirondack spruce braces, period-correct…
Tone Tubby 4×12
Sweet, full tones from funky hemp cones
Northern California’s A Brown Soun has been repairing speakers for nearly 30 years. Founded in 1974 by John Harrison, the company was named after the way Harrison “sees” sounds –…
Matchless DC-30
Preamp Tubes: One EF86, three 12AX7s (one for PI) Output Tubes: Four EL84s in class A, cathode-bias. Rectifier: GZ34 Controls: Channel 1 – Volume, Bass, Treble: Channel 2 – Volume,…
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…
Reverend Guitars
Righteous Guitars
Judging by the melee of favorable product reviews, Reverend guitars go beyond colors and chrome to inspire comments like, “…has the feel and finesse of a $2,000 guitar…instant blues machine…superior…
Zemaitis GZA500-H&D
Tony's Vibe, Unplugged
The Zemaitis GZA500-H&D acoustic guitar is manufactured by Greco and boasts many features and the attention to detail players have come to expect from instruments carrying the Zemaitis name. Along…
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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
Melancon Custom Artist and P-90 Artist
Hailing from Louisiana, Gerard Melancon is a former professional gigging and studio player who parlayed experience on the road and as a guitar repairman into a devout attitude toward building…
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…
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…
Mike Lipe Virtuoso
Back to the Future
Mike Lipe Virtuoso Price: $4,000 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has built guitars for top players and guitar companies (notably heading up the Ibanez Custom Shop in the…
Taylor AD11e-SB
Small Gem
This latest addition to Taylor’s American Dream line builds on its Grand Theater (GT) series of small-body guitars, the goal being to offer an American-made acoustic that balances subtle ornamentation…
Real McCoy Custom Wah Pedals
Crying Out Loud!
RMC3FL Prices: $255 RMC4 Picture Prices: $235 RMC8 Guitar Eqwahlyzer Prices: $269 RMC10 Prices: $235 Info: www.realmccoycustom.com. Geoffrey Teese began modding wah pedals in 1993, and eventually earned a reputation…
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…
T-Rex Replicator
Daily Echo
Among the arcana of tone, few things inspire as much devotion – even obsession – as echo. The Holy Grail is often considered the simple-but-lovely slapback heard on early Sun…
Capo Glider
Capo The Glider
Evolution has had fun with the trusty old capo. Invented in the early/mid 18th century as a way to simultaneously fret all the strings of an instrument, allowing quick key…
Orangewood Guitars’ Echo 12 Live
Fresh-Squeezed Jangle
Twelve-string sales ebb and flow in part with the popularity of a song featuring one. Orangewood Guitars aims to change such fickle trends with an affordable 12 that plays and…
Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe
Stomp Festival
Jimi Hendrix passed into infinity at the tender age of 27. The fact that his influential career lasted only four years over 45 years ago speaks volumes. A visionary former…
The Prestige Classic TBK
Hidden Treasure
One of the best-kept guitar secrets, Prestige is a small Vancouver-based operation that has flown under the radar for 18 years. The company farms its own tonewoods, which are shipped…
Eastwood EEB-1 and EUB-1
Horizontal Vibe
Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 take their design inspiration from Ampeg’s quirky mid-’60s Horizontal Bass series, the brainchild of Dennis Kager, an amp technician and…
Cimarron Guitars’ Model P
From the Parlor to the Stage
Cimarron Guitars has being making custom instruments since 1978 in the dry, mild climate of southwest Colorado. The company’s Model P guitar gets its name from its parlor-guitar-sized body (“parlor”…
Martin OM-28 Authentic 1931
Vintage Revolution
If you’ve ever played a fine vintage guitar, you know how two things jump out at you immediately: 1) they’re often quite light, and 2) they display a big, vibrant…
Earthquaker Devices’ Avalanche Run
Test for Echo
The story of Earthquaker Devices begins with Jamie Stillman fixing his own overdrive pedal and then deciding to get into the pedal business himself. Twelve years later, Stillman’s Earthquaker Devices…
Maxon OD-9, SD-9, and AF-9
Maxon updates three classic stomp toys
If you’ve cruised the aisles of a guitar show in the last couple of years, and sauntered up to a table full of effects pedals, you’ve probably experienced a little…
DSM Humboldt ClearComp 1078 Dynamic Threshold Compressor
Smooth and Sweet
When it comes to compressor pedals, the modern standard is to pursue studio-quality results in a pedalboard-friendly box. DSM Humboldt Electronics’ ClearComp 1078 Dynamic Threshold Compressor is a fresh design…
Bad Cat Jet Black Combo
Back in Black
Guitar players around the globe praised Bad Cat’s Black Cat amp for its tone, but wanted more punch. Its ear twisted, the company delivered by doubling the output and tweaking…
Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.
Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using the same offset body as Jones’ original guitars but employing…
Marshall Handwired Series 2245THW Head and 1960AHW Cabinet
Bluesbreaker Redux
Marshall Handwired Series 2245THW Head and 1960AHW Cabinet 2245THW Prices: $4,800 (list); $3,299.99 (street); 1960AHW Prices: $2,180 (list); $1,399.99 (street) Contact: www.marshallamps.com Marshall Amplification needs no introduction. The company’s iconic…
