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

Each of Acoustik Attak’s three guitar picks has a different raised formation that alters the way it interacts with strings; the intent is to provide enhanced upper-midrange and distinct snap.…

Ring Tones
Named by Flaming Lips guitarist Steven Drozd after composer Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle opera, Crucial Audio’s lavishly named Die Götterdämmerung Germanium Fuzz/Ring Modulator is a wild, wicked pedal. (Note the…

Is it Really Vintage?
Like the “aged” guitars crafted by Fender and Gibson, this ESP solidbody looks like an ancient road warrior, one that’s gigged from Texas to Tijuana and back again, 200 nights…
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
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
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,

The EHX Mainframe Bit Crusher
The Mainframe Bit Crusher is a nasty little pedal that warps, mangles, distorts and produces lo-fi digital sounds and trippy sci-fi gizmo textures reminiscent of computers and video games of…

While guitar stands are a dime a dozen, few bring a sense of style nice enough for the living room. Axe-Calibur’s stand combines functionality with good looks. U.S.-made from oak…

Fresh-squeezed
Twenty years after its launch, the Way Huge Saffron Squeeze compressor has been improved upon. Doing fierce business with an already spectacular product line, Jim Dunlop Manufacturing added pedal wizard…
Happenin' Hardware
If you have a Les Paul or any guitar with a separate tune-o-matic-style bridge and stop tailpiece, you’ve probably discovered that the simple act of changing strings can turn into…
Five Boxes of Fun
With their straight-out-of- the-’70s groovy colors – pea soup green, bright orange, powder blue, plum purple, and Mopar metallic green – Maxon’s Vintage Series Effects look like new old stock,…

Silver Anniversary
Remember chuckling at the Rick 481 slant-fret guitar? Or wondering about those fret intervals on Joni Mitchell’s dulcimer, or the flying frets on Ravi Shankar’s sitar? Ralph Novak did. But…
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
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
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
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
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
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

Fingerstyle Dream
In a career spanning more than 60 years, Happy Traum has been a fixture of the American folk scene, from the Village to Woodstock and the New World Singers to…
Good Wood, Good Sounds
German guitar builder Nik Huber is the latest in his family to continue a 100-year tradition of woodworking. Huber started in the guitar business as a Paul Reed Smith authorized…

Little Monsters
In this age of shrinking guitar rigs, Tech 21’s Fly Rig pedals show just how guitar-related technology is getting smaller but more powerful. Fly Rigs measure a mere 11.5 x…

Bang For The Buck
Want to rock like they did back in the glory days, but don’t have pockets deep enough for a top-line Gretsch hollowbody? Strap on one of the new G2420T Streamliners…

Ready, Set…
Following the success of its highly portable Spark and Spark Mini practice amps, Positive Grid went really small with the new Spark Go. Measuring less than 5″ wide by 31/4″…

Wet, Hot, or Blue
As amp builders go, Dario G. Gomez is about as fresh as they come. Though he has been repairing tube amps for many years, he started offering his own amp…

Tone to "Dy" For
Dynamic Amps 2040 series Price: $2,570 (VA Combo) David Carambula’s Dynamic 2040 series of amplifiers consists of three models: Vintage American (VA), Vintage British (VB), and the HG DynaLead. All…

Comfort and Joy
For 25 years, Jon Kammerer has been on an evolving pursuit to design a comfortable guitar with superior tone and playability. His designs employ eye-catching body shapes and his new…

Natural Vibe
The latest array of amp modelers from Line 6 – pioneers in the field – is the Catalyst, in 60-, 100-, and 200-watt variations. The 100 is a 1×12 combo…

Tone-Rich Traits
Denmark’s Carl Martin has built a following with its PlexiTone series of overdrives and effects pedals used by stars the world over. The company recently introduced the Roadie Bandmate 15,…

Sonic Rapture
An innovative designer, builder, and repairman, Dave Friedman has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, lending his artistry, experience, and great gear and amp mods…

Defined Tone
Low-end tone is a critical component of a live mix or studio recording – if the bass doesn’t sound good, the music will suffer. Badly. The Bassics BPA-1, designed by…
Houston Hot, Texas Cool
Texas-based Amalfitano Pickups specializes in hand-wound pickups as well as pickup rewinding and restoration. Owner Jerry Amalfitano uses high-grade Alnico magnets, 42-gauge vintage enameled magnetic wire, vintage-style cloth-covered leads, and…

100 Sounds, One Box
Line 6 M5 Stompbox modeler Price: $279.99 (retail) Info: line6.com Have you ever thought, “Maaaan, I wish I had that [fill in the blank with the name of that rare…

Rarin’ Recto
When Mesa Boogie introduced its Dual Rectifier amps in the early ’90s, they cemented a place in rock-and-roll history. Over the past 30 years, there have been several incarnations of Rectifier-series amps.…
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…
Stompbox Subtlety
Chris Siegmund is an up-and-coming guitar/amp wizard from Vienna, Austria. A unique type of craftsman, Siegmund is a musician born to a family of architects and furniture makers. He began…

Juice To Spare
Since the dawn of amplification, engineers have sought a better mousetrap – a more-transparent signal chain that preserves signal and adds less noise. With its new Acoustic Pedal, Orange takes…
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.…

Chinese Rocks
Even as new technology spawns new sounds, ease of use, and portability, there remains among guitarists a predilection for technologies of old. New sounds are inevitably compared to the earthy…

Small Wonder
Fender’s ’68 Custom amp series has become popular among pickers who love old-school looks and sounds but prefer contemporary modifications and features. The original Vibro Champ was a small wonder…