•  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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EHX Slap-Back Echo

Alright, Mama

Unlike the vast echoes of modern delays, the original “slap back” tone of the 1950s was a short delay that delivered a fast, hard-surface reflection and tone we associate with…

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…

ToneWorks AX1500G

New Tool from ToneWorks

Ahhh, there are never enough toys for us guitarists, are there? Just when we think our rigs are complete, along comes some cool box to turn our heads and make…

Emma Electronic DiscumBOBulator V.2 & Big Joe Powerbox Lithium

Envelope Pushed

Scandinavia may not be the first corner of the globe that comes to mind when one ponders classic funk tones. But with their DiscumBOBulator V.2 the tone-tweakers at Denmark’s Emma…

5150 Iconic Series 60-Watt 2×12

Little Monster

When Edward Van Halen released his 5150 head with Peavey in 1992, it quickly grew famous for its massive gain, tight compression, and ability to chug. Co-designed by engineer James…

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…

Xotic ProVintage 5-String

Over the last few years Xotic has grown its rep thanks to top players who have endorsed its Leo-inspired guitars and basses. Now Xotic’s new import ProVintage series endeavors to…

Gibson Everly Brothers SJ-200

Full Dress

Gibson has always had a knack for producing distinctive guitars. The EDS-1275 in Cherry finish will forever be tied to “Stairway to Heaven,” while the white version veritably proclaims “Hotel…

Fryette Power Station PS-10

Get It On

There’s nothing like cranking up a tube amp and getting all the punch, feel, dynamics, and juicy goodness of warm valves. But how do you hit your amp’s sweet spot…

Blueridge BR140

Time to Sell the D-28?

Usually, I don’t give Chinese-made acoustic guitars a second glance. But when I saw that the Blueridge BR140 was made of all solid woods and retailed for $650, my interest…

The KW Cabs ST-220T SSB

Who Woodn’t?

Like you, Kurt Wyberanec knows that good extension cabinets, like acoustic guitars, serve their player as resonant sound chambers. Those he builds go the extra mile with artful design, sturdy…

Martin D-18VE

Bring It On, Pre-War D!

The C.F. Martin Company has been around longer than any instrument manufacturer. It’s an icon whose guitars have consistently set the standard by which production (and often custom) acoustics are…

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

Grand Designs

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature Price: $8,999 (list) Contact: www.prsguitars.com What do you call the most beautifully made production acoustic you’ve ever seen? You might consider calling it the Paul Reed…

Fender Strat-o-Sonic

Mahogany body, P-90-style pickups, wraparound tailpiece, 243/4″ scale? Sounds like a Gibson Les Paul Special. But alas, the instrument bearing these features looks like a Fender Stratocaster. Recently launched as…

Budda 10th Ann. Limited Edition Twinmaster

Purple, Proud, and Punchy

In 1995, Budda Amplification made its debut with the Twinmaster Ten, a stripped-down, no-frills 18-watt combo designed to keep up with full stacks in terms of tone and volume. The…

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…

Kendrick Sirius

"Star" guitar from the Lone Star State

In devising its limited line of gui-tars, Kendrick, the Texas-based custom amp and guitar builder, has stuck to traditional guns, offering a Strat-inspired axe in its Continental, and Les Paul…

The Pinter SB1-R

Days of Sustain

Mike Pinter conceived his new SB1-R as a do-it-all “rock star” guitar that would combine design concepts and tone choices in an attractive package. The SB1-R starts with an alder…

Yamaha DG Stomp

Plug 'n' Play Preamp for Recording

It’s always been a struggle for home recordists to capture a good guitar tone on tape or hard disk. Yamaha, however, wants to cure that often aggravating dilemma. To that…

Walrus Audio Eons Five-State Fuzz

Hot on the heels of its Ages Five-State Overdrive and Eras Five-State Distortion, Walrus Audio has unleashed the Eons Five-State Fuzz. Multi-voiced dirt pedals are the latest thing, and the…

RainSong WS 1000

No wood in sight, but your ears won't know it

RainSong is a Hawaii-based company (in the process of moving to the mainland) that has been building its unique graphite/epoxy instruments since 1995, and earning a huge reputation for its…

TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver

Mono Monster

TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver Price: $399 Info: www.godlyke.com . Despite its cumbersome name and the fact it looks like it might require an MIT degree to use,…

Fender Mike McCready Strat

Evener Flow

Mike McCready’s beat up sunburst ’60s Strat looms large in the history of grunge; heard on Pearl Jam’s illustrious body of recorded work and seen in the band’s millions-viewed videos,…

Carvin PB4

Carvin PB4

Classic Looks, Modern Function

Carvin PB4 Price: $1,899 (list/base); $869 (street/base) Info: www.carvinguitars.com. Trends come and trends go, but tradition stands the test of time. And while Carvin’s designs stand quite well on their…

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Singular Sound BeatBuddy

Drums Even You Can Play

Everyone knows a good drummer joke. Or two. Drummers are indeed a special breed. Singular Sound’s BeatBuddy drum-machine pedal, however, is no joke. And as the first drum-machine-in-a-pedal designed for…

The Legendary Tones Lynch Mod

No-mod Hot Rod

Designed for guitarist George Lynch, the Lynch Mod introduces an additional, non-permanent gain stage to the classic Marshall circuit. The device uses two 12ax7 preamp tubes on a base that…

PRS_P22-HOME-MAIN-BIG

PRS P22

Split Personality

PRS P22 Price: $6,092 (as tested, retail), $3630 (street) Info: prsguitars.com. While PRS has for several years offered a piezo bridge-pickup system in its Hollowbody models, it recently worked with…

The Collings I-35

Soul in the Details

Occasionally, in the world of guitars, events influence the market. The introduction of a new guitar can send ripples through the industry. Not so long ago, Paul Reed Smith redefined…

FOMOfx Virtual Jeff Pro

Whammy For All

On most guitars, installing a traditional vibrato is a task ranging from difficult to impossible. And even done right, mechanical vibratos impact tuning stability and increase wear on nuts and…

Paul Hartmann Stormy Monday

Travel Tunes

The typical “travel guitar” is a small, budget-minded instrument that offers varying levels of construction and quality, often forcing compromise in playability and usefulness. Luthier Paul Hartmann takes a different…