• Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII

    VG Approved Gear

    Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII

    Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII bolster the sounds of their first-gen predecessors, using altered algorithms, new controls, and better tonal quality. The most-obvious changes are new fine-tune settings and a menu screen. The M1 High-Fidelity Modulation Machine offers Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Vibrato, Rotary, and Filters. Running between a Deluxe Reverb a Les Paul Traditional or

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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″…

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Rockin’ Down the House

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom Price: $999 (Space Cadet)/$699 (MVX-15) Contact: www.musicvox.com For nearly two decades, Musicvox’s designs have captivated players and fans, appearing in Austin Powers and…

Walrus Audio Eras Five-State Distortion

Serious Saturation

After its Ages Five-State Overdrive proved popular, Walrus Audio dipped back into the concept with a box offering five distortion modes. The Eras Five-State Distortion brings similar controls and functionality;…

Harmony Comet

Michigan Meteor

Whoever coined the phrase “Everything old is new again” knew what they were talking about. The resurrected Harmony brand, associated decades ago with budget instruments (and at one time the…

Taylor T5z-12 Classic DLX

12-String Tech

Taylor’s acclaimed merging of acoustic and electric guitars continues to evolve with the T5z-12, a thinline 12-string with five-way pickup selector that accesses a combination of humbuckers and a “body…

Kirn Vaquero

Ride ’Em, Cowboy

Veteran builder Ron Kirn, noted for his Fender-inspired creations, has produced his first original design, and it exudes quality along with practical simplicity. The Vaquero is an offset double-cut solidbody…

Jim Dunlop BG95 and EVH95 Signature Cry Baby Wahs

Voodoo Chasin’

Wah users needn’t settle for stock tonal options like those heard on the “Theme From Shaft” or “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).” That’s because Jim Dunlop offers recreations of the classic…

Rybski Cougar

Wild Cat

Rybiski Cougar Price: $3,850 Info: www.rybskiguitars.com. Before moving to the United States, Rybski founder Slawomir Waclawik repaired and built upright basses and violins for top jazz and fusion players in…

Orangewood Guitars’ Echo 12 Live

Fresh-Squeezed Jangle

Twelve-string sales ebb and flow in part with the popularity of a song featuring one. Orangewood Guitars aims to change such fickle trends with an affordable 12 that plays and…

Harmony H650

Beautiful Ambiance

Since 1892, the Harmony moniker has graced a lot of instruments, from archtops to violins. Today, it’s enjoying a renaissance, drawing from the past while adding contemporary designs for modern…

Republic’s Classic Concert Ukulele

Dainty Device

National launched its first ukulele in 1927, combining a brass-bodied, nickel-plated uke with the sweet-sounding amplification of a resonator cone. Plenty of vintage-uke fans see those rare National (and subsequent…

Heritage Guitars’ H-155M

Best-Kept Secret

Heritage Guitars still builds instruments by hand… in Kalamazoo. Like its veteran brethren in the industry, it focuses on craftsmanship, timeless aesthetics, and a consistent product line. One of its…

Reverend Guitars

Righteous Guitars

Judging by the melee of favorable product reviews, Reverend guitars go beyond colors and chrome to inspire comments like, “…has the feel and finesse of a $2,000 guitar…instant blues machine…superior…

The Providence Velvet Comp, Red Rock OD, and Phase Force

The Providence Velvet Comp, Red Rock OD, and Phase Force

Tones of Destiny

The Providence Velvet Comp, Red Rock OD, and Phase Force Price: $199 (per piece, list) Contact: www.providence.jp Providence is a Japan-based manufacturer of effects, cables, guitars, pickups, and audio-switching devices.…

Harden Engineering BluesBird

Bird Can Sing

If you’re wondering about builder Bill Harden’s inspiration in creating the BluesBird, think Coodercaster – a customized Frankenstein’s monster of a guitar based on a pickup or two that wail.…

Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Model

Tuna Bass

Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass Price: $699 (street) Info: www.epiphone.com. Rock-and-roll bassists of the ’60s like Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, and Duck Dunn brought something to the game…

Guyatone FR3000V Reverb, MT-3, WR3 and MD3

effects deliver, regardless of size

Guyatone FR3000V Reverb Reverb! King of guitar effects. If there’s an extracurricular sound guitarists most want, it’s reverb. Maybe because even if they’re playing the most low-down, dirty dive, they…

Xotic Guitar XSS-1 Super S Style

Tribute To The King

Xotic’s S-style guitar line pays homage to the man who revolutionized rock guitar in the ’80s. Hint: He was hot for teacher. The latest version is the XSS-1 Super S,…

St. Blues Juke Joint Series

St. Blues Juke Joint Series

Domestic Bliss

With the elimination of its Korean-made Pro Series and the introduction of the Juke Joint Series, Memphis-based St. Blues can boast an entire lineup made in the good ol’ U.S.…

Roland’s JC-22 Jazz Chorus

More Than Just Chime

The original Roland Jazz Chorus doesn’t get the kind of love that American and British amps in the rock and blues world receive, but its place in history is well…

Peavey Vypyr VIP2

Backline in a Box

Peavey Vypyr VIP2 Price: $199.99 Contact: www.peavey.com For more than 40 years Peavey’s ongoing evolution while building guitars, amps, and pro audio equipment has attracted some big names in the…

Amptweaker’s TightDrive Jr

Big Surprise, Small Package

You may remember James Brown as the mastermind at Peavey Electronics and Kustom Amplification. In addition to being the brains behind Peavey’s 5150, Classic Series, and JSX, Brown is an…

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…

Bad Cat Mini Cat

Little Kittie With Bite

The Bad Cat amplifier company’s Mini Cat is a small unit designed for many things, including practice, recording, or use as a preamp. Bad Cat has established itself as one…

Dan’s Guitar RX: Reviving a ’56 Duo-Jet, Part Two

Ugly, But An Oldy

In the March issue, I introduced you to my apprentice, Blake Burkholder, and the restoration he was doing to a ’56 Duo-Jet. Blake, who operates Peach Ridge Guitars, in West…

Retro Guitar MelodyBurner

Retro Guitar MelodyBurner

Bite and Bark

Retro Guitar MelodyBurner Price: $999 (options available) Info: www.melodyburner.com In the realm of hot-rodded cars, there’s a cool genre known as rat rods – old, relic’d automobiles that sport a…

EHX Good Vibes, Tone Corset

Rawk Boxes

The musical spirit of the ’60s and ’70s lives again in two of EHX’s latest stompboxes: the Good Vibes analog modulator and Tone Corset analog compressor. Whether it’s chorus and…

Jam Pedals’ Delay Llama & Wahcko Wah

What’s In A Name?

Positioning its sonic M.O. squarely in the 1960s and ’70s, Jam Pedals strives to create a distinct line of effects. Beyond their fun graphics and tongue-in-cheek names, Jam’s stompboxes are…

Fender Player II Series Telecaster

Twang Banger

As the world’s first mass-production solidbody electric guitar fast approaches its 75th birthday, Fender continues to offer variations on the theme. But the biggest takeaway from the design’s diamond anniversary…

Crazy Tube Circuits SPT

Greece Is The Word

The modal mellowness of Apollo’s lyre or the perky chirp of the bouzouki might come to mind when one thinks of Greek music. But Crazy Tube Circuits? From the Athens…