•  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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Collings OM1 T

Faultless Flat-Top?

To the hands, hearts, and minds of many an experienced guitarist, an OM-size body with a 25.5″ scale feels the perfect flat-top. Spend time with Collings’ OM1 T, and you’ll…

Stomp Under Foot Ram’s Head

Piece of the Pi

Matt Pasquerella has a reputation as a pi connoisseur… no, not the eating kind, the fuzzy kind. The creator of Stomp Under Foot effects has been building some of the…

Randall MTS RM50/RM100

For the gotta-have-more tube amp lover

After trying to get together for several years, in 2002, tube amp guru Bruce Egnater officially joined forces with Randall Amplification. The result? Randall’s MTS guitar amps! With its interchangeable…

Seymour Duncan ’78 Model

Upscale Touch

In the late ’70s, rock guitarists fell down the rabbit hole trying to achieve more sustain, harmonics, and extra crunch via pickup swaps. Seymour Duncan has created a new PAF…

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…

Supro Super 1606 and Reverb 1605R

Little Amps That Could

In guitardom, players far too often believe there is nothing more sonically pleasing than a tall stack. Yet, plenty of diminutive amps offer up massive tone; think Derek and the…

Majik Box Paul Gilbert Fuzz Universe Custom

“Scarifying” OD

Majik Box Paul Gilbert Fuzz Universe Custom Price: $329.99 retail Contact: www.majikboxusa.com Since Dave Simpson and Rob Nishida joined forces to form Majik Box, they’ve been the go-to stompbox company…

B.C. Rich Eagle Supreme, Bich 10 Supreme

For the Metalhead in All of Us

From the Mockingbird to the Bich and the Eagle, since the 1970s, B.C. Rich guitars have been seducing players (and fans!) with their over-the-top looks and sexy body shapes. Loaded…

Keeley Electronics Zoma

’65 Vibe

Inspired by Robert Keeley’s fondness for combining effects, the digital Keeley Electonics Zoma Stereo Reverb and Tremolo simplifies interface and function compared to his earlier Hydra pedal and many other…

Parker Guitars P8E and P8E

Fresh designs from radical axe maker

A Parker acoustic? And a cyber-age single-cutaway? Yes, folks, it’s the 21st century, and the Parker guitar company is responding with new designs for a new era. Of the two,…

Universal Audio Max and Del-Verb

Smart Stomps

After rolling out several “amp-in-a-box” pedals last year, Universal Audio is back with a fresh line of stompboxes to help guitarists groove. The Max Preamp/Dual Compressor gives models of famous…

The SeaGlass Route6jr

Boutique Nobility

Roger Mello of SeaGlass Guitars officially opened shop in 2011. Today, he offers four electric models; his Route6jr maintains the simplicity of the guitars that inspired it while re-creating their…

Jon Kammerer Customs Dorado Deluxe

Pure Gold

When guitars made by Jon Kammerer Customs first appeared, players and industry folks recognized that its sculpted tonewood paraboloids were… well, different. So, what’s the result when a progressive builder…

Tech 21 Trademark 60 and Bronzewood 60

60-Watt Combos to Go!

Tech 21 Trademark 60. Tech 21 has long been the purveyor of cool solidstate gear that replicates the sound of tube amps, like the famed SansAmp pedals and their wide…

Charles Fox Ergo

A New Voice, From Experience

When experienced luthiers reach “a certain age,” they often make changes in their work.

Reverend Rumblefish Bass

Striking semi-acoustic

The Rumblefish is an electric bass model from Reverend Guitars, out of Michigan. This is a striking semi-acoustic in the best tradition of Danos and Silvertones, but has the finesse…

Radial Cabbone, Switchbone, and Loopbone

Switcher's Paradise

Radial Cabbone Switcher’s Paradise Radial Cabbone, Switchbone, and Loop-bone add incomparable versatility Bob Tekippe Though Radial Engineering’s Switchbone, Cabbone, and Loopbone pedals can all technically be classified as “switchers,” each…

National Dueco

Still Resonating

Blues man Charlie Parr recently philosophized in VG that National resonator guitars are as much mechanical creation as musical instrument, which is why maintaining the function of vintage Nationals comes…

Alairex H.A.L.O.

Heavenly Possibilities

Alairex H.A.L.O. Price: $399 Info: www.alairex.com. Guitarist Alex Aguilar is a veteran player, former guitar-mag columnist, and today runs an effects company that recently released its first box, the Alairex…

The Wampler Catacombs

Shimmer Box

In the pedal market, the category of reverbs and delays is straight fire these days. Wampler has jumped in with the Catacombs, a stereo box that can operate as a…

Worland Prairie

Built For Speed

Worland Prairie Price: $1,950 Info: www.worlandguitars.com. It’s been well-documented how car-crazy vets and teens in postwar America reimagined the American automobile. Some shaved, sprayed, and slammed contemporary two-door sedans, creating…

“Tremolo” Trio

Three new approaches to replacement vibrato systems

Three new aftermarket vibrato systems for common double- and single-cutaway solidbody guitars offer the convenience of “drop in” installation. Each system boasts unique features and improved performance. SuperVee Tremolo System…

ValveTrain 205

Five Watts, Just So

Rick Gessner is a tweed amp enthusiast who has more than made a splash since entering the fray in 2005. His versions of tweed-era Fender classics (with subtle refinements), along…

GODIN-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Godin’s A4 and A5 Ultra SA

Brave New Basses

Godin A4/A5 Ultra SA Price: $1,395 (A4 Ultra SA fretted); $1,645 (A5 Ultra SA fretless) Info: godinguitars.com. For years, Godin Guitars has been finding creative ways to improve guitar and…

Citron CS1

Citron Guitars CS1

Harvey Citron has been building instruments since the 1970s, and was co-founder of Vielette-Citron in 1975. His own line of instruments, whose users range from James Taylor to Skunk Baxter,…

Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp Home Main

Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp

Make Way

Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp Price: $475 (retail)/$320 (street) Info: www.headwaymusicaudio.com. Designed in England and manufactured in Korea, the Headway EDB-2 is a 5.75″ x 3.75″ x 1.5″ box…

Frantone “The Sweet” Fuzz

Sturdy, Fuzzy, and Sweet

Frantone Electronics is a New York City company that has been hand-making a variety of effects pedals since 1994, and recently launched it’s germanium-transistor powered The Sweet, which the company…

Bergen Guitars ST and TL

Messing with Perfection

Bergen Guitars ST and TL Price: $2,195 (ST, base)/$2,595 (as tested); $1,895 (TL, base)/$2,295 (as tested) Info: www.bergenguitars.com. If your goal, as a solitary craftsman, is to improve upon two…

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…

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges

’Verb Voyage

Billed as a Tri-Dimensional Reverberation Machine, the Earthquaker Ledges boasts a user-friendly interface with no menus or deep MIDI commands to figure out. Its controls are Mix (wet/dry) and Length…