•  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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The Yamaha THR10

Yamaha THR10

Practice Perfection?

Yamaha THR10 Price: $299 Contact: usa.yamaha.com. As a rule of thumb, practice amps are a compromise. Blissfully portable, they typically lack tone and features. Yet whether in a bedroom or…

Mu-FX Boostron 3

One For All, All For One

Leave it to Mike Beigel to create a masterpiece of a stompbox… again. The Mu-FX Boostron 3 is three pedals in one. But it’s also so much more. Sure, you…

Ceriatone’s OTS Mini 20 Overtone Lunchbox

Meal Ticket

For years, Ceriatone fans have suggested the amp maker offer its stellar Overtone Special sound in a scaled-down, affordable package. The OTS Mini 20 was Ceriatone’s answer. The control layout…

DryBell Unit67

Balkan Boost

DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory has been kicking out great pedals for a few year, with clients like Mike Landau, John Mayer, Steve Stevens, and Joe Perry, to name a few.…

Lollygagger FX Canaglia Overdrive

Rude ’Tude

Sean Wright’s love for guitars and electronics has resulted in a family business that realizes his vision of stompbox perfection. Throw in the business savvy of wife Colette, and Lollygagger…

PRS Silver Sky

Stratospheric

Paul Reed Smith has for years experimented with Leo-inspired concepts, and his newest guitar, conceived in collaboration with rocker John Mayer, lands squarely in that traditional single-coil solidbody arena. But…

Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule

Bruising Tones

Bare Knuckle Pickups’ PAT Pend, Flat ’52, and Mule Price: $125-$340 Info: www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk. From the ever-expanding world of boutique pickups comes a builder out of southwest England who creates a…

Breedlove Pursuit Exotic S Concert Amber 12-String CE

Tonal Transcendence

In 1990, Steve Henderson and Larry Breedlove quit their day jobs at Taylor Guitars and moved to Oregon, where they set to work building their own. Through the decades, they…

Reeves Custom 100

Big Brit tone, top-notch deployment

Reeves Amplification founder Bill Jansen knows full well that anyone shopping for a boutique guitar amp has gobs of options, and vying for the player’s dollar is all about tone,…

The Rivolta Combinata Bass VII

Euro Flash

Rivolta’s Combinata VII bass takes ideas from Rickenbacker, Höfner, and various European builders lost to history and wraps them into a four-string with a chambered mahogany body. Working in collaboration…

Manouche Latcho Drom Swing 42

Hot Club Hot Stuff

In the galaxy of Gypsy jazz guitars, the Modèle Special Chorus made by Sicilian-born, Parisian-based Antoine Di Mauro was something special. Departing from the standard Selmer grande and petite bouche…

Aiken Invader 30

Randall Aiken makes his home in Buford, Georgia, and for many years has been repairing and designing amps. A double-degree holding electrical engineer who put himself through college by fixing…

Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust, Splash MKII, and Pin Up Fuzz

Pure Sanity

Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust, Splash MKII, and Pin Up Fuzz Price: $290 (splash MKll); $260 (Pin Up Fuzz); $235 (Stardust) Contact: www.crazytubecircuits.com Athens, Greece – birthplace of the Olympics, democracy,…

 PRS Swamp Ash Special

Narrow(field) Win

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…

Gibson’s Memphis ES-275

History Now

Take a quick glance at the Gibson Memphis ES-275 and you might think this is a venerable Gibson from decades past – except it’s a brand-new model. Crafted at the…

Nik Huber Orca

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…

E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive

E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive

Tiny Footprint, Huge Sound

E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive Price: $160 (list); $130 (street) Info: www.ews-us.com. At 1.5″ x 3.5″, the E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive looks fun and toy-like, but, when plugged in, thoughts of…

Saint Blues

St. Blues Bluesmaster, Blindsider, and Delta Blues Box

Straight from the Delta

Saint Blues Bluesmaster/Blindsider Price: $2,399 (Bluesmaster); $2,550 (Blindsider) Info: saintblues.com St. Blues’ history stretches back to the days when its founders customized guitars for the likes of Jimmy Page, Billy…

D’Addario/ Planet Waves Accessories

Goodies Galore

The D’Addario family has been making musical-instrument strings since before brothers-in-law Rocco and Carmine moved to the U.S. from Italy in the early 1900s. A longtime music-industry fixture, D’Addario &…

Line 6 Catalyst 100

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…

Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker

Poles Apart

Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker Price: $139 list / $89 direct Contact: railhammer.com Developed by Joe Naylor of Reverend Guitars, Railhammers are passive humbuckers that use a combination of pole pieces…

Debut Drive

Slamo Guitars’ Turquoise Cabronita

Slamo Guitars may not have yet achieved the name recognition of certain others, but Frank Silano has been building guitars under the radar for about 10 years. Silano got his…

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…

Arbiter Fuzz Face Reissue

Psychedelic tones of the past

If you’re a fan of vintage ’60s fat-bottomed fuzz, nothing sounds better than a vintage Arbiter/England Fuzz Face… when it’s operating right. The pedal is highly regarded among players and…

Milbert Amplifiers GAGA D-60

Shape Shifter

The Milbert Amplifiers GAGA D-60 Price: $2,950 list Info: www.milbert.com/gaga Gear reviews, whether describing guitars or amps, often speak to the versatility of the equipment in question. While some gear…

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

Ka-Boom!

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive Price: $250 (list) Contact: www.dallenpickups.com An Internet search for “overdrive pedals” yields 1,610,000 hits, indicating a well-saturated market. The Bazooka Overdrive stands out from the crowd.…

Reverend Slingshot

Modern Sound with a Cool Vintage Vibe

Many Vintage Guitar readers are probably familiar with Reverend guitars, designed and built by Joe Naylor in Michigan (VG, May ’99). Naylor created Naylor Amplifiers, but later left the company…

Pigtail Music

Pigtail music makes ABR-style and wraparound bridges (in the U.S.) with vintage-style appearance and materials, but to tighter tolerances. Their bridges hold saddles in place by friction (not with a…

Fender American Vintage II 1954 Precision Bass

Ageless Anchor

It wasn’t literally the first electric bass, but Fender’s Precision was the genesis of the instrument the world knows today. For more than seven decades, the four-string workhorse has been…

Danelectro ’59 Resonator

Book This Dano

While guitar enthusiasts expend a lot of brain power waxing poetic about tonewoods, for many VG readers of a certain vintage, that gateway experience with an electric guitar may very…