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

Fender’s Geddy Lee Jazz Bass and Ibanez’s Black Eagle Reissue Take On an Icon
Though it got most of the looks in the family, Fender’s Jazz Bass is nonetheless the tag-along younger brother to the Precision. Benefitting from the elder’s success, it was designed…

Easy on the senses
Dean Zelinsky’s history as a guitar builder includes unique designs that are toneful and eyecatching. To many, he might be best known for his early designs inspired by Gibson’s futuristic…
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…
The bolt-on Swamp Ash Special has been around for nearly three decades, but PRS just retooled the U.S.-built version and dropped it at NAMM. There are significant upgrades. While earlier versions had humbuckers with a single-coil pickup between them, this latest plank has a PRS Narrowfield (NF) humbucker in the middle. Another bonus is the
If nobody mentioned that Martin’s new Standard line had been updated, a player might be forgiven for not immediately noticing that the latest D-28 has been subtly changed. After all, it’s the D-28 – one of the most recognizable and enduring American icons – and the thought of altering such a flagship is likely to
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 combo. Specs remain much the same, deriving 12 watts of power from a pair of 6V6GT output tubes into a 12″ Celestion A-Type speaker. But,

New Highs with Sitori Sonics’ Doob Dreamer, Tidal Phase, and Reel Repeat
Sitori Sonics pedals Price: $188 list (Doob Dreamer, Reel Repeat); $168 (Tidal Phase) Info: sitorisonics.com. Despite the vast possibilities of electronic guitar effects, boutique pedal builders perhaps sometimes focus their…

Bold And Bright
In the Hawaiian tongue, koa means “bold” and it’s an apt name for the wood known in guitardom for its bright tone and golden grain. In kindred spirit, the new…

100-Proof Tone
While many pedal makers tinker away on effects that exhibit their personal tonal philosophies, the fact is that most don’t play gigs or compose music. Seraphim Marcopoulous of ToneConcepts was…

If nobody mentioned that Martin’s new Standard line had been updated, a player might be forgiven for not immediately noticing that the latest D-28 has been subtly changed. After all,…

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…

Tremolo Transformed
Tremolo is a simple effect: the amplitude, or volume, of an incoming signal is raised and lowered in pulsating waves. With the Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter, the player is invited…
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
LSL Instruments is best known for high-end Leo-style guitar builds, but they’ve also started delving into overdrive pedals. The Lucid OD is their version of a Klon Centaur – one of the priciest stompboxes in human history ($5,000-plus for the first-gen gold box with the horse logo). The box offers Volume, Gain, and Tone knobs
With is Clean compressor, Chase Bliss set out to create a pedal that would duplicate the vivid interactivity of a dirty tube amp, but with a completely clean tone. While a standard compressor can give your guitar (bass, keyboard, etc.) a professional sheen, the Clean is a stereo unit that can polish mixes or deliver
Wait – what? Did Eastwood just bring back the Super Axe, that incredibly rare bird from the late ’70s? Indeed, they did. A Korean-made reissue, it captures the spirit of Gretsch’s chambered curiosity. Grabbing one, the first thing you’ll notice is the oversized yet thin body, with its arched top and the enchanting lines of
So often has the phrase “Mark Sampson era” been applied to pre-2000 Matchless amps or early examples of the Bad Cat line that the term has become a “thing” in and of itself. As applied to Bad Cat’s new Era 30, it means Sampson is back in the fold (see our interview in the March
Now more than 90 years old, the lap steel was the earliest example of an electric guitar and remains a stringed instrument every guitarist should try, largely because it’s so accessible. In fact, a lap steel is about as straightforward as you can get – it’s a plank that sits on your lap and is
Psychedelic tones of the past
If you’re a fan of vintage ’60s fat-bottomed fuzz, nothing sounds better than a vintage Arbiter/England Fuzz Face… when it’s operating right. The pedal is highly regarded among players and…

Zeppelin Design Labs Cortado MkIII contact microphone can record everything from acoustic guitars to a train bridge with a frequency range of 23 hertz to 40 kilohertz. It combines a…

Off With Their Heads
Headless guitars and basses, which had their heyday back in the big-hair/thin-necktie ’80s (think Power Windows-era Geddy Lee), still have a few diehard fans who like the instruments’ compact, lightweight…

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…

New Highs with Sitori Sonics’ Doob Dreamer, Tidal Phase, and Reel Repeat
Sitori Sonics pedals Price: $188 list (Doob Dreamer, Reel Repeat); $168 (Tidal Phase) Info: sitorisonics.com. Despite the vast possibilities of electronic guitar effects, boutique pedal builders perhaps sometimes focus their…

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…

Phish Food
If you’ve seen Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio onstage, you may have noticed an unusual archtop in his mitts – a custom six-string by builder Paul Languedoc. Its design has been…

Songs Not Included
Fender can’t guarantee its Jason Isbell Custom Tele will instill every player with Isbell’s talent for songcraft, but it sure does put his range of tasteful Tele tones within reach.…

Archtop Ruler
In the early 1950s, the grand old luthiers like Epiphone and Gibson couldn’t believe there would ever be a market for solidbody guitars. In contrast to their glorious archtop hollowbodies,…

Mighty Fine
Demeter Mighty Minnie Pedalboard Amplifier Price: $899.99 Info: www.demeteramps.com Years ago, backstage after a concert, slide-guitar virtuoso Sonny Landreth mentioned to renowned amp designer James Demeter that it would be…

Rotary Club
In this day and age, there’s a lot of spin going down, but perhaps not enough of the right type. Enter the new Billionaire line of affordable effects from Danelectro,…

Stage, Studio, Etc.
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 Price: $1,299 (list) Contact: www.mesaboogie.com Housed in teensy cabinets, so-called “lunchbox” amps are all the rage, and to varying degrees do a nice job of living…

High Flyer
In 1964, Guild launched its original Jetstar as the company’s budget-friendly solidbody. With a more-conventional shape than the S-200 Thunderbird introduced shortly before, the Jetstar didn’t quite set the market…
English Flavor
Divided By 13 BTR23C Price: $2,800 Info: www.dividedby13.com. After years of repairing and modding amps for himself and pals like Lyle Workman, Joel Shearer, and Corky James, guitarist Frederic Taccone…
Orange VT1000 Valve Tester Price: $499 Info: www.orangeamps.com. Many a Vintage Guitar reader has a stash of tubes lying about their music room/workshop or in a box in a closet.…

Highly Educational
Teaming with Rupert Neve, Bogner Amplification has developed a line of pedals based on its renowned amp channels. One result, the Oxford Fuzz, is a smooth and highly refined fuzz…

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…

Andy Flange
With its mouthful of a name – The Andy Summers Walking On the Moon Flanger/Filter Matrix – the latest Electro-Harmonix stompbox is modeled after Summers’ legendary tone, with nuance that…

During four years of back and forth, Reverend Guitars and legendary punk-rock bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose, Stooges), developed a partnership that ultimately produced the Wattplower signature bass. The Wattplower…

Bridging the Gap
In the mid 1950s, Leo Fender and his crew spent countless hours on the design and manufacture of their revolutionary new Stratocaster tremolo bridge. And in the 60-plus years since…

Yankee Doodle Tony
When it comes iconic guitar tone – especially “British” tone – Vox and its flagship AC30 are at the top of most players’ list. After all, the Vox AC30 is…