• 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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Jackson Jeff Loomis Soloist SL7

Seven Up

If you’ve at all followed crunchy guitar playing for the past 25 years, you know players often delve into ranges beyond the traditional six-string. From Jackson’s Pro Series, the Jeff…

Fano Alt de Facto RB6

Classic That Never Was

Fano Alt de Facto RB6 Price: $2,495 Info: fanoguitars.com In recent years, a trend in the guitar realm has been to re-create the magic of vintage-style instruments. This has ranged…

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…

From Badass to Bonamassa

New Pedals from MRX, Cry Baby, and Way Huge

The latest from Dunlop includes a pair of overdrives and a fresh addition to the venerable Cry Baby wah family. The Custom Badass Modified O.D., latest addition to the MXR…

SuperVee, Stetsbar T-Style, and StepMax Tremolo

Three New Approaches to Replacement Vibrato Systems

Three new aftermarket vibrato systems for common double- and single-cutaway solidbody guitars offer the convenience of “drop in” installation. Each system boasts unique features and improved performance. SuperVee Tremolo System…

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…

Carl Martin Vintage Series Pedals

More Effect, Less Coin

If you’re the type of hardcore gear geek who spends as much time evaluating guitarists based on what’s in their hands, rigs, and pedalboards as you do actually listening to…

Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.

Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using the same offset body as Jones’ original guitars but  employing…

The Mercury Magnetics Epiphone Valve Junior Mod Kit

Small Cha-Ching, Big Bling

Last year, Epiphone tossed a small pebble into a large pond with the introduction of its Valve Junior amplifier – and its launch caused a tsunami. Available as a stand-alone…

Fargen’s John Lennon Signature JL-15 and Micro Plex Vintage Guitar magazine

Fargen’s John Lennon Signature JL-15 and Micro Plex

Instant Karma?

Fargen’s John Lennon Signature JL-15 and Micro Plex Price: $2,700 (JL-15), $999 (Micro Plex) Info: www.fargenamps.com. From 50-watt monsters to 5-watt heads, Fargen Amplification is known for building amplifiers intended…

ToneTron Feature Home

ToneTron’s Billy-Rocker

Best Amp You've Never Heard of

ToneTron’s Billy-Rocker Price: $1,200 Info: www.tonetroamps.com. On a quiet residential street in Minneapolis lives a mad scientist. Erstwhile rockabilly guitarist Jeffrey Falla is the brains behind ToneTron. And from his…

Guild A-20 Marley

Get Up, Stand Up

When it comes to famous Bobs in rock, Dylan is first to mind. But just behind him is another songwriting behemoth – Marley. As it turns out, the Jamaican icon…

Sadowsky Semi-Hollow

Jazz Axe, Plus

With his newest creation, luthier Roger Sadowsky endows his entrant into the world of semi-hollow guitars with capabilities to cover the demands of blues, rock, and fusion. And while Sadowsky…

Keeley Electronics Loomer

Tone Weaver

As effects pedals proliferate, so do multifunction boxes. Case in point: Keeley Electronics’ Loomer, combining three reverbs with a raging fuzz unit, each side triggered by a separate footswitch. The…

Rainbow Electronics Warmenfat Micro Amp

Tiny Tube Infusion

Warmenfat Front Rainbow Electronics is, as the kids say, “old-school.” How old? Well, if you lived in the Sacramento area in the mid 1960s and your color television went on…

Epiphone’s Inspired by 1955 Les Paul Custom

Dressed to Kill

Produced from 1954 to 1956, the Black Beauty Custom is one of the most revered Les Pauls. Marketed as the “fretless wonder” for its small frets, it was given an…

Siegmund Micro Tube Overdrive

Stompbox Subtlety

Chris Siegmund is an up-and-coming guitar/amp wizard from Vienna, Austria. A unique type of craftsman, Siegmund is a musician born to a family of architects and furniture makers. He began…

Prestige Heritage Premier P90 FM NAT

Liberating the P-90

Approach longtime players with a (yet another) single-cut/single-coil solidbody, and you may find it tough to get their attention. But, the Prestige Heritage Premier P90 does just that. Founded in…

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…

Fishman AFX Pedals

Tiny Tools

The shrinkologists at Fishman recently introduced a line of mini AFX pedals that do many jobs in an acoustic/electric guitar while offering a minimal footprint, 9-volt power, and optional true-bypass.…

Fender Jaguar Bass

Four Strings, Vintage-Six Style

Just when you think Fender has explored every conceivable combination and configuration of electric guitar, bass, and amplifier, the mighty crew from Arizona drums up something unexpected. At last January’s…

Danelectro Free Speech

"Do You Feeeeel"?

Well, we’ve all had the fun of trying to mimic – even on the worst of nights – a Peter Frampton tune featuring the dreaded “talk box,” possibly even venturing…

Crucial Audio DUB-1

Lesson Learned

It’s not uncommon for novice guitarists to seek out stompboxes with zillions of features. As guitarists mature, however, they learn to chase something more important – sounding good. Crucial Audio’s…

Marshall JCM800 2203

Marshall JCM800 2203

Preamp tubes: three ECC83. Output tubes: four 6550. Rectifier: solidstate Controls: Pre-Amp Volume, Master Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Presence. Speakers: four Celestion G12T-75 12″ speakers per cab. Output: approximately 100…

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…

Carvin Steve Vai Legacy 3 VL300

The Legend Continues

Carvin Steve Vai Legacy 3 VL300 Price: $899 Info: www.carvin.com. For more than 13 years, Steve Vai has been collaborating with Carvin on a signature amp line, and their third-generation…

Analog Man’s King of Tone Overdrive

Holiest of Holies

Amid this golden age of music gear, the Analog Man King of Tone Overdrive, first produced in 2005 in collaboration with Jim Weider, heads a distinguished list of “Holy Grail”…

SurfyBear Compact Reverb

Bringin’ Springs

Reverb got a big push into the world of guitar when Leo Fender installed Hammond’s Accutronics Type 4 Spring Reverb in his 1962 Twin Amp. Ever since, players have pursued…

3rd Power Amplification’s Solo Dream 1, Solo Dream 4, and Switchback 112

Dream Babies

Recording/touring guitarist, studio engineer, and industry veteran Jamie Scott made the metamorphosis into amp designer by learning to repair and modify Marshall heads. He quickly realized that he wanted amps…

Trussart Steel

Classic Designs, Never Before Seen

James Trussart is a luthier who recently moved his headquarters from Paris to Los Angeles. A guitar builder since 1980, in recent years, he has upped his profile and reputation…