•  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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Category 5 TBR-35 2×10

Backline Star

Don Ritter started Category 5 Amplification designing amps for blues players before expanding to other genres while holding to the philosophy that touring pros – not builders – should determine…

Carvin’s HH2 Allan Holdsworth

Off With Their Heads

Headless guitars and basses, which had their heyday back in the big-hair/thin-necktie ’80s (think Power Windows-era Geddy Lee), still have a few diehard fans who like the instruments’ compact, lightweight…

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…

Hamer Blitz

The Hamer Blitz

One of the unspoken assumptions in the vintage guitar market is American instruments are superior to those made outside the U.S. Regular “Gigmeister” readers know I don’t necessarily subscribe to…

Eastman AR905SCE Uptown Deluxe

Classy Jazz Box

Eastman AR905SCE Uptown Deluxe Price: $3,650 retail Contact: www.eastmanguitars.com Over the past few years the negative stigma attached to guitars manufactured overseas has been altered greatly. Many builders from abroad…

Musicvox Space Cadet 12

Chime Machine

Musicvox Space Cadet 12 Price: $899 (direct) Contact: musicvox.com As you may have read in Michael Wright’s profile of the Spaceranger guitar (September ’11), Musicvox started producing kooky, retro-styled solidbody…

Marshall 1974X and 2061

Low-Watts Rock the World, Again

Marshall 1974X and 2061 In the world of guitar amplifiers, the word “Marshall” often conjures images of 100-watt stacks capable of producing ear-bleeding levels of tube-powered volume – the kind…

Phantom Guitarworks’ Teardrop

Droppin’ In On The ’60s

Phantom Guitarworks is dedicated to producing odd-shaped guitars based on designs introduced in the early 1960s like the Vox Mark VI “Teardrop,” which helped the company make a name in…

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone

From Surf to Cinema

In the days before seven- and eight-string guitars, the easiest way to go low was to grab a baritone guitar. Radio waves and film scores of the ’60s were filled…

Carr Skylark

The Carr Skylark

Desert-Island Amp

The Carr Skylark Price: $2,390 (list) Contact: www.carramps.com If you could own only a single guitar amp – horror of horrors! – Steve Carr’s new Skylark just might be the…

Eastwood Black Box Series

Stomp City

Eastwood Guitars promises retro-themed gear at wallet-reassuring prices, as seen in their new Black Box Series of stompboxes. Among the first flight are the BB-01 Manalishi Drive, BB-03 Blue Vibe,…

Railhammer Billy Corgan Z-One Humcutters

Clear Crunch

In the quest for tone, the secret is a combination of pickups, wood, construction, and the magic in a player’s fingers. Aiming for a tone like a P-90 with hot…

Lollar Pickups’ dB Humbucker

Jason Lollar has been in business winding pickups for more than 20 years. While he’s most famous for his take on the P-90, he makes pickups of all kinds, including…

H&D, Running Dog, and Gibson

Downsize, Upmarket L-Style Guitar

In the July issue we looked at affordable L-style flat-tops for the acoustic blues player. This month, we look at similarly inspired instruments, but at a premium price point. All…

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…

Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone 2

See The Light

Optical compressors are known for making guitars sound smooth and musical – a truth well-captured in the latest Pigtronix offering, which adds greater sound-sculpting capabilities to their groundbreaking Philosopher’s Tone…

The Jext Telez Jonathan Wilson’s Canyon Climber, Jext Face

Fuzz Buzz

There’s nothing subtle about Jext Telez stompboxes; they’re about loud colors, loud sounds, and loads of fuzz. The latest creations from designers Bob Ebeling and Colin Simon harken to the…

Rocky Mountain Slides Company Firecracker Aluminum Slides

Slick Slide

Rocky Mountain Slides Company’s new “Firecracker Aluminum Slides” may look like other guitar slides but it is internally flared in two inner diameter combinations allowing the player to comfortably use…

The Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine

Synthful

Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine Price: $283.60 (retail); $212.70 (street) Contact: www.ehx.com Building on the success of its Freeze Sound Retainer (a.k.a. the world’s shortest looper), the Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine…

Dr. Z Z Wreck Combo

Dr. Z Z Wreck Combo

Tone On The Go

Dr. Z Z Wreck Combo Price: $2,999 Info: www.drzamps.com. Originally designed as a head with a matching 2×12 cabinet, the Z Wreck came about at the request of country super-picker…

M-Tone Slipstream

M-Tone Slipstream

Delicious Curves

M-Tone Slipstream Price: $2,600 Contact: www.m-tone.com When it comes to custom, hand-made guitars, many prefer an instrument that innately reveals the work of its craftsman – the type that, instead…

Sweet Swingin’ Royalty

Louis Rosano, proprietor of Louis Electric Amplifier Company, has been building and repairing guitar amps for 15 years. After spending a great deal of time digging around in the inventions…

Pefftronics Super Rand-O-Matic

Big sounds from a little device

In the words of the great Monty Python, “Now, here’s something completely different…” The Pefftronics SB-101 Super Rand-O-Matic is a modulation effect unlike anything we’ve heard. It can create basic…

Zemaitis’ CAG-200HS

Heart And Soul

The lutherie art of Tony Zemaitis resulted in some of the rarest, most admired, and most valuable of guitars. Among his creations, including the famed metal- and mother-of-pearl-fronted electrics, his…

Washburn’s Warren Haynes Signature Acoustic

New “Pre-War” Picker

Washburn’s Warren Haynes Signature Acoustic Price: $1,899 (Dream Solo 1 combo); $3,995 (Dream Solo 4 head); $699 (Switchback 112) Info: www.washburn.com Given the company’s long history, it’s surprising that Washburn…

Eastwood EEB-1 and EUB-1 Basses

Horizontal Vibe

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 guitar specialist who worked for…

Guild Surfliner

Hang Ten

The Surfliner is Guild’s first new solidbody to come along in decades. A thoroughly modern design with classic features, there’s no mistaking the influence in this offset guitar. Named after…

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…

PRS Modern Eagle and SE Soapbar II

From "10" Top To Bottom

Gee, I have to review two Paul Reed Smith guitars today… I know – it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. Today’s subjects are the top-end, USA-made Modern…

Lapdancer Steel

Art that carries at tune

Hearing we were set to receive lapsteel to review, we thought “Finally, something we’re qualified to review!” Then the Lapdancer arrived in its huge case, and we thought, “It’s a…