•  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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ESP GL-56

Is it Really Vintage?

Like the “aged” guitars crafted by Fender and Gibson, this ESP solidbody looks like an ancient road warrior, one that’s gigged from Texas to Tijuana and back again, 200 nights…

Korg Nuvibe

Korg Nuvibe

Big Box

Korg Nuvibe Price: $499.99 (street) Contact: www.korg.com Korg is not known as a guitar company, but to their great credit they worked with Fumio Mieda – developer of the original Uni-Vibe…

LANEYL50H-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Laney L50 Head and L412 Cab

Classic British Tone

Laney L50H/L412 Price: $1,990 (head); $1,499 (cab) Info: laney.co.uk. Lyndon Laney is no stranger to fans of the iconic British stack. Established in 1967, Laney Amplification found its early fame…

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…

Hall & Collins Signature Echo

Echo Rock

For guitarists whose lives are dedicated to replicating the echo effects heard on songs like Hank Marvin’s “Apache,” Hall & Collins Signature Echo is at their service. Combining analog and…

Jammy Instruments’ Jammy G

Digital Six

Digital, MIDI, and synth guitars have been around for decades. One newer entry in the field is the Jammy G, a digital guitar connected to an app that accesses its…

Gibson’s J-45 50s Faded

Lore Holder

In the decade leading up to World War II, guitar builders started scaling up their acoustic offerings to meet the demands of working musicians, and bigger was better. In Kalamazoo,…

DNA Analogic Effects

Chemical Reaction

If you‘re a “first impressions mean a lot” kind of gearhead, DNA Analogic’s line of effects pedals may just win your heart the instant you crack open the box(es). Housed…

Visual Sound’s Route 808, Visual Volume, and Comp 66

Sound and Vision

Visual Sound founder and president Bob Weil and chief engineer R.G. Keen have given their flagship combo pedals a face lift and introduced a new line of single pedals. These…

Newman Guitars 5 String

Less Is More

Getting one’s hands on a five-string electric like the one Ted Newman Jones built for Keith Richards in the ’70s is a rare treat. Thanks to a partnership with the…

Vox Cooltron Pedals

Look, Ma! No AC Cords!

We’ve harped on the fact before that there are so many great-sounding overdrive/distortion pedals on the market today. And regardless of whether they employ silicon or germanium transistors, guitarists generally…

PRS S2 Custom 24-08

Plentiful Tones

As the youngest of the big three guitar manufacturers, PRS Guitars has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 1985. Known for radiant tones, playability, and lofty MSRPs,…

Aclam Guitar’s The Woman Tone Overdrive

Creamy Tribute

On November 26, 1968, Cream performed its last show, at Royal Albert Hall, and Eric Clapton left the band as a bonafide guitar god. Barcelona-based Aclam Guitar’s The Woman Tone…

Guild’s B-240EF

Stop Your Frettin’

It would be easy to look at the price of Guild’s B-240EF and assume it’s just another low-end acoustic/electric bass – except that it plays like a much more expensive…

DigiTech iStomp

Morph For Less

DigiTech iStomp Price: $149.95 Info: www.digitech.com/istomp If you’re the type of gearhead who turns heel and runs from DSP effects, let alone any equipment with a lower-case “i” in front…

Guild’s Starfire I DC GVT

Big Green Monster

Guild’s Newark Street guitars are a line of lower-priced instruments anchored by a reissue of the classic Starfire; the most distinctive is the I DC GVT. A handsome semi-hollow, it…

G&L Fallout

Form Follows Function

G&L Fallout Price: $1,400 (retail) Info: www.glguitars.com. From automobiles to kitchen appliances to, of course, electric guitars, designers have gotten a lot of mileage out of retro style in the…

Epiphone’s Masterbilt Century Deluxe Classic

The New Vintage

Most vintage aficionados admire the grand old acoustic archtops of the 1920s and ’30s, but admire them from afar. They’re beautifully built and boast lovely tone, but they have limitations…

St. Blues Scoundrel

St. Blues Scoundrel

Walking the Dog

St. Blues Scoundrel Price: $1,898 (list)/$1,349 (street) Contact: www.saintblues.com Intended as a versatile instrument for the player with a budget for just one boutique guitar, the St. Blues Scoundrel is…

Tuki Amp Covers

Tuki Tough Stuff

Tuki Covers has been around since 1986, developing ever-better ways to protect various musical equipment from the many hazards that accompany real-word, professional use. The company started with – and…

Michael Kelly Custom Collection 55 Ebony

Kelly Tele

Is there a better platform for guitar customization than the Tele? Easily sourced lumber combine with straightforward electronics and hardware for a characteristic sound. Michael Kelly et al have been…

Fender Player Jazz Bass Fretless

No Frets, No Sweat

The fretless has long been mysterious territory for bassists dazzled by the sonic achievements of Jaco Pastorius, Pino Palladino, and Tony Franklin but reluctant to compromise their intonation. The Fender…

Electro-Harmonix Epitome, Tone Tattoo

Tone to the Third Squared

The Electro-Harmonix Epitome, Tone Tattoo Price: $491.84 list (Epitome) and $292.35 list (Tone Tattoo) Info: www.ehx.com The concept is smart yet so obvious it’s a wonder no one came up…

The MXR Eric Gales EG74 Raw Dawg

Bark And Bite

During a recording career that spans three decades and includes 19 albums, blues guitarist Eric Gales has achieved a reputation for solos that are a deluge of precise notes delivered…

Dino’s Guitars Rust Box and Dynabox

Old-World Build For a New Gen

Dino’s Guitars Rust Box Italians have historically been known for great craftsmanship and detail. Names like Lamborghini and Maserati conjure the image of the exotic and the high-end detail required…

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5

Pretty, Stunning

Hull Amplifiers’ Model H5 Price: $3,199 (list) Contact: www.hullamps.blogspot.com A beat-up ol’ blackface amp can be a thing of beauty, like an old muscle car showing its miles in patches…

Yamaha’s THR100HD Dual Amp

Double Vision

Modeling amps have evolved rapidly as software and circuits have improved and become, dare we say, more organic sounding. The Yamaha THR100HD is a prime example: a digital head that…

BSM RM Majestic Treble Booster

Germany’s BSM is among the rare specialist among modern stompbox builders; their focus is one thing – making treble boosters (albeit in a variety of flavors), and their lineup uses…

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 &…

Walrus Audio Eons Five-State Fuzz

Hot on the heels of its Ages Five-State Overdrive and Eras Five-State Distortion, Walrus Audio has unleashed the Eons Five-State Fuzz. Multi-voiced dirt pedals are the latest thing, and the…