•  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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Valley Arts Brent Mason signature model

Pro-Level Versatility

With a client list that included a who’s who of West Coast guitarists – Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Tommy Tedesco, to name a few – Valley Arts gained a reputation…

Rob Allen Mouse 30

30

Many bass players love that cool, jazzy upright bass tone, but don’t want to drag around a big, bulky upright or deal with having to mic it or mess around…

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges

’Verb Voyage

Billed as a Tri-Dimensional Reverberation Machine, the Earthquaker Ledges boasts a user-friendly interface with no menus or deep MIDI commands to figure out. Its controls are Mix (wet/dry) and Length…

Orangewood Berkeley Live

Professional Finesse

Orangewood. Why not Ironwood or Peachwood? What does the brand name matter compared to the actual guitar? The simple answer is “A lot.” The Berkeley is part of Orangewood’s Topanga…

National Dueco

Still Resonating

Blues man Charlie Parr recently philosophized in VG that National resonator guitars are as much mechanical creation as musical instrument, which is why maintaining the function of vintage Nationals comes…

Line 6 DM4, DL4, and MM4

Line 6 Modeling Pedals

In an addendum to its well-known line of guitar and bass PODs, combo amps, and amp/cab stacks, the Line 6 company recently launched four stompbox-style effects units. All share features…

Vox Giulietta VGA-3D

Unconventional Archtop

It may look like a conventional archtop, but Vox’s latest box offers something truly different. Within the Giulietta VGA-3D is a modeling engine that can conjure tones from humbucker and…

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…

Jam Pedals RetroVibe

Bridge Of Floyd

In a civilized world, every guitarist would have a bit of Robin Trower, Pink Floyd, and Band Of Gypsys shimmer in their musical vocabulary. Fitting, then, that a company headquartered…

Fishman Fluence Single-Width Pickup

Fishman Fluence Single-Width Pickup

Hum-Free, Cutting-Edge

Fishman Fluence Single-Width Pickup Price: $224 (set) Contact: www.fishman.com Larry Fishman is one of the most respected names in the world of acoustic-guitar pickups and the tone-shaping devices necessary to…

SviSound’a Overdrive OverZoid oz01

Svi Sound’s Overdrive OverZoid oz01

Full Steam

SviSound’a Overdrive OverZoid oz01 Price: $165 (list) Contact: www.svisound.com Tonally and aesthetically, SviSound’s Overdrive OverZoid is a study in good taste. Handcrafted in Bulgaria, the OverZoid matches a very natural-sounding…

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Kramer 84 and Pacer Vintage

Tap, Shred, Dive!

Kramer 84/Pacer Vintage Price: $1,166 (84); $1,267 (Pacer Vintage) Info: kramerguitars.com It’s hard to think of ’80s guitars as vintage, but since all things get older, the guitars of the…

Carvin’s GH24 Greg Howe Signature

Carvin’s GH24 Greg Howe Signature

Super Unleaded

After decades of jumping from one guitar manufacturer to another, Greg Howe recently began working with Carvin (more specifically, Kiesel) on a signature guitar. Carvin passed manufacture and sale of…

Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb

Reams of Reverb

Many manufacturers claim “studio quality” reverb, but not all nail it. Walrus Audio’s R1 High Fidelity Reverb is the latest to tempt discriminating players with high-tech features and promises of…

Boss’ SD-1-4A Super Overdrive

Black Magic

Boss’ SD-1 has 40 candles on its cake and the company is celebrating with the SD-1-4A, a new Super Overdrive has a swank finish plus those three knobs you’ve come…

Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01

Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01

This Old Strat

Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01 Price: $2,200 (list) Contact: www.actionfigurestudios.com Improving upon classic designs is a consistent theme in the guitar-manufacturing community. While many companies take a pragmatic approach to…

Positive Grid Spark Go

Ready, Set…

Following the success of its highly portable Spark and Spark Mini practice amps, Positive Grid went really small with the new Spark Go. Measuring less than 5″ wide by 31/4″…

The KW Cabs ST-220T SSB

Who Woodn’t?

Like you, Kurt Wyberanec knows that good extension cabinets, like acoustic guitars, serve their player as resonant sound chambers. Those he builds go the extra mile with artful design, sturdy…

The Prestige Classic TBK

Hidden Treasure

One of the best-kept guitar secrets, Prestige is a small Vancouver-based operation that has flown under the radar for 18 years. The company farms its own tonewoods, which are shipped…

Fender Pro Junior IV SE

More Function, Fewer Funds

In a sea of inexpensive, feature-laden digital modeling amps, Fender is doubling down on its simple all-tube Pro Junior IV with a new SE version that increases control while lowering…

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Avid Technology Eleven Rack

Rack and Roll

The proliferation of digital guitar gear grows by leaps and bounds every year as more players learn to love the world of tones and effects offered by the technology. You’ll…

Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget

Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget

Things Just Got Serious

Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget Price:$799 (list) Contact: www.crucialaudio.com It’s hard not to be impressed by the physical presence of the Crucial Audio Echo-Nugget. Unlike typical small-footprint stompboxes, the Echo-Nugget is a…

Gallagher Bluegrass Bell

Ready, Set, Ring

Pickers sure love to talk about their guitars, and more than a few will enthusiastically tell you about their favorite acoustic’s “bell-like” tone, describing its chime and the way it…

DryBell Module 4

Compress Yourself

  Inspired by the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, Drybell Musical Electronic Laboratory’s Module 4 Compressor adds several highly usable features. Running on a 9-volt adapter, the Module 4 allows users…

Vox Giulietta VGA-3D

Unconventional Archtop

It may look like a conventional archtop, but Vox’s latest box offers something truly different. Within the Giulietta VGA-3D is a modeling engine that can conjure tones from humbucker and…

Traynor’s Darkhorse DH15H

Canadian Bakin’

Hugely popular in its native Canada, Traynor amps are a formidable force from north of the 49th parallel and its line includes a variety of quality tube amps. The company’s…

Demeter FZO-1 Fuzzy Octavulator

Demeter FZO-1 Fuzzy Octavulator

Fuzz Flavors

James Demeter has a long history in the amp and effects biz. His project-boxed/Dymo-labeled Tremulator pedal pre-dates the ’90s boutique pedal explosion by more than a decade. During his 30…

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…

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…

Supro Super 1606 and Reverb 1605R

Little Amps That Could

In guitardom, players far too often believe there is nothing more sonically pleasing than a tall stack. Yet, plenty of diminutive amps offer up massive tone; think Derek and the…