•  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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Gretsch Richard Fortus G6636T-RF Falcon

Flying Fingers

Through the decades, the Gretsch White Falcon has been spied in the hands of everyone from top Nashville session cats to rockers like Neil Young and Billy Duffy of the…

Buzz Feiten Blues Pro

Buzz Feiten Blues Pro

Cantankerous Tones

Buzz Feiten Blues Pro Price: $2,395 (list) Contact: www.buzzfeitenguitars.com Buzz Feiten is a Woodstock alumnus who has played with a who’s who of music artists and lent his guitar artistry…

Keeley Electronics Loomer

Tone Weaver

As effects pedals proliferate, so do multifunction boxes. Case in point: Keeley Electronics’ Loomer, combining three reverbs with a raging fuzz unit, each side triggered by a separate footswitch. The…

Walrus The Melee

Super Soaker

Just when you think you’ve seen everything, along comes Walrus’ The Melee: Wall of Noise, a pedal with a built-in joystick, perfect for guitarists raised on video games. Billed as…

Collings I-35

Soul in the Details

2006 Collings I-35. 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…

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…

Henriksen’s JazzAmp 112-ER

All That Jazz

Henriksen’s JazzAmp 112-ER Price: $999 (retail) Info: www.henriksenamps.com. Traditionally, jazz guitarists have sought a mellow tone in which single notes exhibit a horn-like timbre. Unfortunately, this often means sacrificing chord…

Schroeder Radio Lane Edge

Radio King

Schroeder Radio Lane Edge Price: $11,500 Info: www.schroederguitars.com Though Jason Schroeder began to follow his love of instrument-building in 1985, it wasn’t until 2005 that he made the jump to…

Carvin Audio VLD1 Legacy Drive

Legend In A Box

When Steve Vai needed a portable preamp to take on the road to emulate his signature amp tones, Carvin Audio obliged. Their VLD1 Legacy Drive is Vai’s Legacy amplifier in…

Ibanez Analog Delay Mini/TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb Mini

Let’s Get Small

One of the top trends in guitar effects involves “small-footprint” stompboxes. They not only sound and look cool, but more importantly free up space on an effects board – crucial…

Red Witch Zeus Bass Fuzz Suboctave and SoloDallas Schaffer Replica

Circuits Gone Wild

Fuzz and octavers are among the hottest pedals around, with some builders even melding them to great effect. The Red Witch Zeus Bass Fuzz Suboctave is one such box. It’s…

Cornford Hurricane

Exemplary "extension of your playing" amplifier

Since its introduction, English amp builder Paul Cornford’s 6-watt Harlequin recording amp has had a reputation for great sound. Many an all-star Brit player, and notable Yanks like Joe Satriani,…

Homestead Amps HS50

Tone On The Range

So, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Waylon Jennings walk into a bar… No, wait, they walk into a NAMM Show. And, no joke, when they carry their iconic tooled-leather Firebird and…

The Universal Audio Astra Modulation Machine

Stately Shimmer

Famous for well-regarded interfaces, plug-ins, and vintage-gear emulations, Universal Audio has entered the pedal business with the Astra Modulation Machine, Starlight Echo Station, and Golden Reverberator. Each has an array…

Rockn Stompn Sequential Power Strip

“Good” Power!

Power. Juice. Electricity. The brilliance of Ben Franklin, James Watt, and Nikola Tesla helped harness, if not tame, this vital energy. Subsequent refinements that are of particular interest to guitarists…

Fender Player Jaguar

Updated Offset

Priced at entry level and built in Mexico, Fender’s Player Series provides affordable access to Fender’s most iconic solidbodies. The Player Jaguar updates a classic offset with a handful of…

MOD Kits DIY 102+ Amp Kit

Do It Yerself

A good friend jokingly remarked that building tube amps is the legal equivalent of taking opiates – instantly gratifying yet highly addicting. If so, then MOD Kits’ 102+ just might…

Henriksen’s The Bud

This One’s For You

In theory, a big guitar amp should sound larger than a smaller one. Then there’s Henriksen’s The Bud. Based on a cabinet created by company founder Bud Henriksen, it’s a…

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…

Bad Cat Black Cat 1×12 Combo

Roarin’ Back

When Bad Cat Amplifiers trimmed its line to just four models with modern circuits, some wondered if they’d capture the magic of the hand-wired wonders that built the company’s reputation.…

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,…

Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail

Authentic surf-soaked reverb that'd make Dick prou

We’ve long been fans of Electro-Harmonix’s cool reissue pedals. With their inspired looks, feel, and construction, E-H has never steered us wrong. But recently, they threw us a curveball with…

The EHX Super Pulsar

Superstar Trem

The new Electro-Harmonix Super Pulsar may not be the most tremolo for your buck, but then again, it’s tough to think of any unit anywhere at any time that gives…

Electro-Harmonix Mel9 Tape Replay Effect

In a Mello Tone

Producer George Martin was so fond of John Lennon’s tape-relay keyboard that he described it “as if a Neanderthal piano had impregnated a primitive electronic keyboard, and they’d named their…

Weller El Dorrado

Rock-and-Roll Screamer

Tucked away in southwest Illinois near St. Louis, luthier Steve Weller is making interesting instruments. His El Dorrado model is a solidbody with nods to the angular shapes of the…

The Grez Mendocino Junior

New Old-Soul

Luthier Barry Grzebik was a Jersey boy who moved to NorCal in his teens. When he began building guitars, he was inspired by the sonic possibilities of redwood. Those possibilities…

Keeley Electronics’ D&M Drive

Tone Stacker

As the gear industry seeks to reach new segments, Robert Keeley has turned his attention from making products for road warriors who perform onstage to tone freaks who obsess about…

Siegmund Midnight Special

Siegmund Midnight Special

Tried ’N True, Twisted

Siegmund Midnight Special Price: $1,895 (list, as tested) Contact: www.siegmundguitars.com Driven by a quest for preserving the original tonal qualities of a player’s instrument, builder Chris Siegmund created the Midnight…

Universal Audio Ruby, Woodrow & Dream

Model Of Perfection

With digital recording more popular than ever, audio designers are working to capture guitar tone directly, without miking an amp. Universal Audio – renowned maker of studio gear – has…

Kochel Resonator

Big-Sky Steel

Self-taught guitar builder Sean Kochel has always been a compulsive tinkerer, even as a child. Years ago, he and his father side-hustled by dismantling homesteader farmhouses, barns, commercial buildings, schools,…