•  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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Zemaitis GZ-3200DF

One For the Rest of Us

Looking to score one of those legendary guitars made by the late British luthier Tony Zemaitis? Yeah, so are we. But given that Tony’s work today occupies its own unique…

Rivera Shaman Series Pedals

Holy Tones

Rivera Shaman Series Pedals Price: $299 each (street) Info: www.rivera.com. With roots stretching to the late ’70s, SoCal-based Rivera Amplification is best known for their handbuilt-in-the-U.S.A. tube amps. Not to…

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…

RS Guitarworks Rock Master

Lotta Green, Buncha Mean RS

RS Guitarworks Rock Master In 1994, RS Guitarworks was just another guitar repair joint that every so often did some refinishing work. But it has since grown to become a…

Walrus Audio Deep Six and Mayflower; Celestial Effects’ Cancer Wah the Fuzz?

Walrus Audio Deep Six and Mayflower; Celestial Effects’ Cancer Wah the Fuzz?

Trio of Tappers

Stompboxes range from organic, transparent circuits that let a guitar’s natural tone shine through, to effects that intentionally color the signal with gobs of sonic insanity. This trio of pedals…

Fender Vaporizer Amp

Fender Vaporizer Amp

Retro on 11

Fender’s Vaporizer Amp Price: $399.99 (street) Info: www.fender.com Given the popularity of smartphones, tablets, digital recorders, and amp modeling in today’s music industry, when it comes to guitar amps, what…

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,…

Ramble FX Twin Bender Fuzz

Whole Lotta Fuzz

Fuzz comes in a lot of flavors. From spitty or choked-off splat to gritty gated sounds, from classic ’60s to ’90s grunge and beyond, Ramble FX’s take on the classic…

Carvin’s AE185-12

Stairway to Heaven

Carvin’s AE185-12 Price: $1,239 (base retail) Info: www.carvinguitars.com. Most guitarists love the sound of a 12-string, but the thought of owning one often raises several questions. Should you get an…

ZVEX Woolly Mammoth 7

Fuzzy Beast

Zachary Vex masterminds some of the most radical and downright fun pedals known to mankind. And as he states in the user’s manual to the Woolly Mammoth 7, “Because why…

Prestige Guitars DC Coupe Custom T Hybrid

“Tele” Twist

The first Telecasters were so good that today they’re made almost exactly as they were 70 years ago. Working just as well for rock as they do for country and…

Dusky Electronics Toasted Overdrive

Let It Burn

Dusky Electronics’ new Toasted Overdrive is an upgrade of the company’s two-stage MOSFET amp in a box; builder Chris Rossi grew dissatisfied with the tonal quality of the first version,…

Walrus Audio’s Bellwether Dela

The Bell Tolls For Thee

The Bellwether from Walrus Audio is a high-end analog delay notable for its tone, adaptability, and depth of control. The pedal’s capabilities will exceed many players’ needs, but the Bellwether…

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer

New Tradition

Riversong Guitars Tradition One Performer Price: $3,299 (list) Contact: www.riversongguitars.com Occasionally, a luthier’s innovation defines a new acoustic guitar sound. The Riversong Tradition One Performer blends modern build techniques, visionary…

Andrews Spectraverb 16

No Limits

Taking inspiration from Fender’s classic AB763 Deluxe Reverb, the hand-wired Andrews Spectraverb 16 uses a pair of JJ 6V6 power tubes (producing 16 watts), a GZ34 rectifier, two 12AX7 and…

Blackstar HT Club 40

Blackstar HT Club 40

Monster of Rock

Blackstar HT Club 40 Price: $699.99 (list) Contact: www.blackstaramps.com Standalone combo amplifiers that cover broad sonic terrain are popular with guitarists looking for quick, pedal-free stage setups. Blackstar’s HT Club…

Musicvox MI-5 12-String

Musicvox MI-5 12-String

That Timeless Jangle

The Musicvox MI-5 12-String Price: $899 Info: www.musicvox.com. Since its appearances in the Austin Powers movies, Musicvox guitars have received a cachet for cool ’60s hipness and wicked space-age designs.…

Electro-Harmonix Pog and English Muff’n pedals

Sounds, Classic and Funky

For the last 37-plus years, Electro-Harmonix has been a prolific innovator and manufacturer of effects pedals and other preamp devices. A few times each year, E-H president Mike Matthews offers…

The PRS HX 50 and HX 2×12 Cabinet

Jimi Jam

Paul Reed Smith has earned a reputation building guitars of the highest quality. It wasn’t until just over a decade ago he tried his hand at building amps, pairing with…

Rockn’ Stompn RS-4

Order!

Powering up your favorite rig in the wrong order can lead to, at minimum, a loud pop through your valued speaker. Rockn Stompn solves that problem with the RS-4; a…

Epiphone’s Masterbilt Century Deluxe Classic

The New Vintage

Most vintage aficionados admire the grand old acoustic archtops of the 1920s and ’30s, but admire them from afar. They’re beautifully built and boast lovely tone, but they have limitations…

Zinky True Grit Pedal

Tone charismatic enough to thrill the Duke

Yeah, we know! You’re thinking, “Wha? Another overdrive pedal?” It seems that one thing guitar players will forever be in search of is the ultimate dirty tone, and few players…

James Trussart SteelCaster

Rust Never Sleeps

James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully functional, gigable axes. Trussart began building violins, dulcimers, and hurdy-gurdies…

Fralin’s Wide-Range Humbucker

Gibson and Fender have a long history of influencing each other’s designs. When hard rock and warm, jazzier textures were on the rise in the early ’70s, Fender wanted some…

Frantone Peachfuzz

One Furry Lead Tone

The Frantone Peachfuzz bears a strong physical and functional resemblance to the Frantone “The Sweet” pedal we tested in the December ’01 issue. Like the Sweet, the Peachfuzz is housed…

The Wampler Catacombs

Shimmer Box

In the pedal market, the category of reverbs and delays is straight fire these days. Wampler has jumped in with the Catacombs, a stereo box that can operate as a…

Xotic XW-1 LPB Limited Edition

Small Wonder

Wah pedals come in a variety of sizes and textures, so finding one that checks all the boxes can be difficult. Based on the iconic Clyde McCoy wahs of the…

Dunlop MXR Carbon Copy, ’74 Phase 90 and Buddy Guy Signature Wah

Legendary pedal builder MXR/Dunlop recently introduced a sweet trio of effects; something new from its Custom Shop in the form of the Carbon Copy analog delay, something old in the…

PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow

Multi-Functional Gem

While most guitarists are familiar with PRS (and some dream every day of adding one of the company’s Private Stock axes to their collection), the company’s import SE line typically…

The Yamaha THR10

Yamaha THR10

Practice Perfection?

Yamaha THR10 Price: $299 Contact: usa.yamaha.com. As a rule of thumb, practice amps are a compromise. Blissfully portable, they typically lack tone and features. Yet whether in a bedroom or…