•  Reverend Sensei H90

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     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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EMG T-52 Set

EMG pickups have been around since 1976, offering a diverse line of active pickups used in just about every genre of music and matched with top guitar manufacturers. EMGs have…

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…

Walrus Audio Messner Stage-One Overdrive

Into Thin Air

First off, who the heck is this Messner guy? Well, in 1978, mountaineer Reinhold Messner became the first person to scale Mount Everest without the help of oxygen tanks. Cool,…

Eastwood EEB-1 and EUB-1

Horizontal Vibe

Eastwood’s EEB-1 and the EUB-1 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…

Digitech RP-200

Budget-conscious way to go ampless

Last month, I disclosed that I’ve gone ampless in 2002. Now let’s discuss how, and with what gear. My criteria is the same as with any gear I use –…

Emma Electronic DiscumBOBulator V.2 & Big Joe Powerbox Lithium

Envelope Pushed

Scandinavia may not be the first corner of the globe that comes to mind when one ponders classic funk tones. But with their DiscumBOBulator V.2 the tone-tweakers at Denmark’s Emma…

EHX Tortion JFET Overdrive

EHX Tortion JFET Overdrive

EHX Tortion JFET Overdrive Price: $198.67 (list)/$179 (street) Contact: www.ehx.com Having teenage metal-shredders at home makes one appreciate that a little overdrive can go a long, long way. Note to…

Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E

Grand-Auditorium Cousins

Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E Price: $1,100 (Sean Harkness Model); $1,350 (CG4070E-CERT) Info: www.waldenguitars.com. With 16 years of producing attractive, understated instruments, Walden Guitars puts an accent on quality materials…

Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66

Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66

Welcome to the Machine

Redplate Amps’ BluesMachine66 Price: $2,799 (list) Contact: www.redplateamps.com Redplate builds boutique amplifiers with point-to-point wiring and meticulous hands-on attention to detail. Their BluesMachine66 1×12 was created for the discerning guitarist…

Marshall’s EH-1 Echohead, RG-1 Regenerator & RF-1 Reflector

Little Marshalls, Big Tones

Continuing the tradition set forth by the stout little metallic gray/gold boxes of the GV-2 Guv’nor Plus, BB-2 Bluesbreaker II, VT-1 Vibratrem, and others, Marshall recently introduced the EH-1 Echohead…

Airline ’59 Custom 1P and Epiphone ’61 Casino 50th Anniversary

Having a Rave-Up!

Fifteen years ago, you couldn’t give away some of the less-popular guitars from the ’60s, whether they were models with P-90s or cheapo imports from Japan and Germany. Today, however,…

Carr Skylark Special 1×12

Take Flight

Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive…

Epiphone Greeny Les Paul

A Legend Within Reach

Following Peter Green Collectors Edition and Custom Shop tribute models from Gibson (priced in the tens of thousands), Epiphone recently jumped into the segment with its version, the Kirk Hammett…

Magnatone Varsity Reverb

Too Cool For School

Face it. They may look oh-so-cool, but rarely do you really, truly need that full amp stack. Most gigs for mere mortals these days are in smaller venues where smaller…

Matchless DC-30

Matchless DC-30

Preamp Tubes: One EF86, three 12AX7s (one for PI) Output Tubes: Four EL84s in class A, cathode-bias. Rectifier: GZ34 Controls: Channel 1 – Volume, Bass, Treble: Channel 2 – Volume,…

Carl Martin’s Roadie Bandmate 15

Tone-Rich Traits

Denmark’s Carl Martin has built a following with its PlexiTone series of overdrives and effects pedals used by stars the world over. The company recently introduced the Roadie Bandmate 15,…

Fender’s Dhani Harrison Signature Ukulele

Here Comes The Fun

Ukuleles are inherently charming, and Fender amplifies (literally) that charm with the Dhani Harrison Signature model. A tilted four-inline headstock with vintage-style tuners? On a glued-in mahogany neck? It’s a…

Echopark Traditional American Acoustic

Small-Body Stunner

Echopark Guitars is the brainchild of Gabriel Currie, who opened the establishment in 2006, after many years of working as a builder and repairman. Currie’s first offerings were electric instruments…

Carl Martin’s Red Repeat Delay Echo, Greg Howe’s Lick Box

Boxes of Rock

After hearing – and taking to heart – feedback from players, Carl Martin recently upgraded its Red Repeat Delay Echo by adding tap tempo and modulation functions. The former allows…

John Page Classic AJ

Production-Line Custom

After 20-plus years with Fender, where he co-founded and helped guide the renowned Custom Shop, John Page struck out on his own to start John Page Custom. One of the guru’s…

VVT Lindy Fralin Model amplifier

Toneful Tag-Team

Maryland-based amplifier builder Vintage Vacuum Tube Amplifiers (you may know it as VVT) recently fielded a request from renowned pickup winder Lindy Fralin. He wasn’t looking for advice on wire…

BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II

BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II

Big-Tone City

BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II Price: $2,495 (list) Contact: www.bcaudio.com Bruce Clement is known for his quality amp work, including models housed in military ammo cans. One of…

Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp Home Main

Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp

Make Way

Headway EDB-2 Equalizer Direct Blend Preamp Price: $475 (retail)/$320 (street) Info: www.headwaymusicaudio.com. Designed in England and manufactured in Korea, the Headway EDB-2 is a 5.75″ x 3.75″ x 1.5″ box…

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…

Carr Impala

Big-Block Tone

Carr Impala Price: $2,490 (retail, in black); $2,640 (two-tone) Info: www.carramps.com. While the new Carr Impala amplifier gets its name and some of its aesthetic inspiration from the classic Chevy…

Boss Katana Gen 3

Big Step

The Boss Katana amplifier has a cult of devotees, many of whom have been waiting for a Bluetooth version that allows access to the amp’s deep models and effects with…

Taylor’s 326ce Urban Ash

Tonewood Tales

When hunting for a new acoustic, it’s useful to learn about tonewoods and construction, as both play a huge role in how an instrument sounds. With Taylor’s Grand Symphony body…

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Mu-FX Octave Divider

The Mu Is Back

This is rocket science. Or at least as close as a stompbox gets. Sure, building a pedal that tweaks a guitar’s signal around and about isn’t exactly putting a man…

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…

B.C. Rich Eagle Supreme, Bich 10 Supreme

For the Metalhead in All of Us

From the Mockingbird to the Bich and the Eagle, since the 1970s, B.C. Rich guitars have been seducing players (and fans!) with their over-the-top looks and sexy body shapes. Loaded…