•  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

    Read more >>

Parker NiteFly Mojo Flame

Get Yer Mojo Workin'!

When Parker Fly guitars were introduced in July, 1993, they were strange aliens from a distant guitar planet, sporting a radical design, composite body, and neck, and one of the…

Andrews Spectraverb 16

No Limits

Taking inspiration from Fender’s classic AB763 Deluxe Reverb, the hand-wired Andrews Spectraverb 16 uses a pair of JJ 6V6 power tubes (producing 16 watts), a GZ34 rectifier, two 12AX7 and…

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,…

Burriss Switchmaster 2×12, DB-Special , Shadow, Boostier, Boostier, and Chaloopa

All In! Burriss Amps and Pedals

Guitarist and amplifier repairman Bob Burriss started building his line of amps in 1994, after building many custom/one-off amps. In ’06, he introduced the Switchmaster, DB Special, and Shadow amps.…

Fender Songwriter

The Songwriter: Ill-fated Mini-Fender

Just when you think you’ve seen or heard of everything Fender ever did, along comes another tidbit about a guitar that was prototyped but never produced. In 1969 and ’70…

Egnator Home Thumb

Egnater Tweaker 40

Small, But Mighty

Egnater Tweaker 40 Price: $1,149 (approx. $800 street). Info: egnater.com Egnater has just amplified its Tweaker line with a new 40-watt, two channel, 1×12 combo. This amp has a Celestion…

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…

Jodi Head Guitar Straps

Stand out in a crowd

For over 15 years, artist and designer Jodi Head has been producing high-quality hand- beaded products, including guitar straps, and her client list reads like the guest list to the…

Fender’s ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb

Fender’s ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb

Improving on a Good Thing

Fender’s ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb Price: $999.99 list Contact: www.fender.com In 1968, Fender gave its amp line what collectors today look back on as a major facelift when it introdued…

Colby Dual Tone Booster 50

Double Versatile

Colby DTB50 Price: $3,800 (head); $750 (cabinet) Contact: www.colbyamps.com From 1978 through 2010, Mitch Colby helped Marshall become a preeminent name in amplifiers. He recently founded Colby Amplification, where he…

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…

Orange VT1000 Valve Tester

Orange VT1000 Valve Tester Price: $499 Info: www.orangeamps.com. Many a Vintage Guitar reader has a stash of tubes lying about their music room/workshop or in a box in a closet.…

McGregor Pedals’ Crunch and Crunch Plus

Transparent Pair

McGregor Pedals founder and self-proclaimed “Chief Mad Scientist” Garth McGregor Heslop hand-wires pedals in his Vancouver shop. Two of them – the Crunch and Crunch Plus – are overdrives that…

Acoustik Attak Picks

Each of Acoustik Attak’s three guitar picks has a different raised formation that alters the way it interacts with strings; the intent is to provide enhanced upper-midrange and distinct snap.…

D’Angelico’s EX-DC and EX-SD

D’Elegance and Power

D’Angelico’s EX-DC and EX-SD Price: $1,769 list/$1,259 street (EX-DC); $1,659 list/$1,185 street (EX-SD) Info: www.dangelicoguitars.com John D’Angelico produced just 1,164 guitars during his career on Kenmare Street in New York…

Gibson Theodore Standard

Flower Power

Named in honor of Ted McCarty, the Theodore is based on a design the legendary Gibson president penciled into a sketchbook back in 1957. Ted was angling for more radical…

Radial Headload Guitar Amp Load Box

Taming a Shrew

As low-power amps gain in popularity, one wonders what will happen to all the 50- and 100-watt amps starting to gather dust in storerooms. Radial Engineering’s Headload attenuator/load box to…

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…

Heritage Guitars’ H-157W

Turnkey Head-Turner

In 1985, Heritage Guitars took over a certain factory space at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after the former owners decided to move production to Nashville. Since then, Heritage…

Xotic Effects’ RC Booster Version 2

Here Come The Booster

Gear designers tend to avoid straying from the workbench – and too often, outside their imaginations. But when professional musicians get involved in designing music gear, good things can happen.…

Fender’s Johnny Marr Jaguar Signature Limited Edition

The Right Thing Right

Nostalgia can be a confounding thing. When most fans think of Johnny Marr, they remember him flailing on an array of Ricks, Gibson semi-hollows, and Strats during his days with…

Lollar’s Gold-Foil Pickup

After the Gold Rush

Lollar’s Gold-Foil Pickup Price: $180 (list, each) Info: www.lollarguitars.com Gold-foil pickups are exotic beasts – just like many of the 1960s Japanese-made Teisco guitars that sport up to four of…

Furch Blue Deluxe SW

Czech Mate

You might not recogonize the Furch brand, but the Czech Republic builder has spent that last 40-plus years gaining a reputation for building high-quality acoustic guitars. One of the company’s…

The DoleSonic Vintage 108 Woody

Not Your Dad’s Boutique Amp

The guitarist’s greatest quests is most often that of the tone that resides within their heads. That quest drove guitarist Ken Doles to design his own amplifier. The tone in…

The Supro Hampton

Island Unto Itself

Supro’s vintage Ozark guitar is famed as Jimi Hendrix’s first axe. According to legend, his father bought him an off-white ’57 Model 1560S in 1959 from Seattle’s Myers Music for…

Washburn Paul Stanley PS2012 Time Traveler

Dressed to Kill

Washburn Paul Stanley PS2012 Time Traveler Price: $8,665.33 (retail) Info: www.washburn.com . Inspired by Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley’s appreciation for vintage instruments – and loosely based on Washburn’s Paul Stanley…

Wampler Effects Pedals

Filling the Gaps

Brian Wampler, who developed a reputation first for modding effects pedals, then for building originals including a custom overdrive for heavy-hitter country picker Brad Paisley, plays by the rules set…

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…

Real McCoy Custom Wah Pedals

Real McCoy Custom Wah Pedals

Crying Out Loud!

RMC3FL Prices: $255 RMC4 Picture Prices: $235 RMC8 Guitar Eqwahlyzer Prices: $269 RMC10 Prices: $235 Info: www.realmccoycustom.com. Geoffrey Teese began modding wah pedals in 1993, and eventually earned a reputation…

Ernie Ball Earthwood

A Big ABG

Way before “unplugged” became a popular way to play music and fretted acoustic bass guitar (ABG) models began appearing from so many manufacturers and independent luthiers, Ernie Ball bought a…