•  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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Grez Mendocino Short Scale Bass

Time-Machine Tone

In the beginning, there was the Precision Bass. Following Leo Fender’s revelation, things branched out in all directions as builders experimented with the idea that the double bass could be…

Martin D-13E Ziricote

Contemporary Cannon

From the time the first self-branded models shipped from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, in the early 1930s, the Martin dreadnought has been one of the most recognizable guitars in American music. The…

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…

The MXR Custom Badass ’78 Distortion

Company Hot Rod

Dunlop Custom Badass ’78 Distortion Price: $79 Info: jimdunlop.com Custom Badass is a new division of MXR that offers the company’s engineers’ hot-rodded takes on popular designs. Packaged in MXR’s…

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade

Wicked Switch

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade Price: $149.99 (black or white three-ply); $164.99 (white pearloid); $169.99 (brown tortoiseshell) Info: www.awesome-guitars.com. When Leo Fender was designing the Strat back in…

Visual Sound Effects Pedals

Two-for-one punch

Always on the watch for good-looking, good-sounding, durable pedals, we were recently drawn to three of the latest gizmos from Visual Sound, the Florida-based company that started out building a…

Keeley Electronics Compressor Mini

The Tighten-Up

One entry in Keeley’s next-gen pedals, the Compressor Mini is an automatic “Manhattan-style” compression. The tiny tool’s secret is an Automatic Tone Recovery Circuit that ensures signal maintains clear high…

Carvin’s HH2 Allan Holdsworth

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…

Airline Bojotar

Airline Bojotar

Hybrid G-String Machine

There’s something about the Airline Bojotar that makes one ask, “What if Keef had added a high-G banjo string to the bass side of his five-string Tele?” With a scale…

Rick Turner Model 1 Deluxe LB

All-Terrain Guitar

Ever wonder about that strange-looking guitar Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac has been playing all these years? The same one John Mayer has occasionally been spotted with as well? It’s…

Ovation 1798 Figured Koa Elite

A Classic Reimagined

Ovation 1798 Figured Koa Elite Price: $5,199 Info: www.ovationguitars.com. The folks at Ovation decided to shake things up a bit and revisit the design of their standard roundback models. The…

B.C. Rich Eagle Supreme, Bich 10 Supreme

For the Metalhead in All of Us

From the Mockingbird to the Bich and the Eagle, since the 1970s, B.C. Rich guitars have been seducing players (and fans!) with their over-the-top looks and sexy body shapes. Loaded…

Danelectro Baby Sitar Home Feature Image

Danelectro Baby Sitar

Paint It Sunburst

Legend has it that during a break in the filming of Help!, George Harrison picked up a sitar left behind by the prop men and attempted to play it. Soon…

Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O Wah

The Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O Wah is definitely one of the coolest-looking wah pedals available, with its bright red base and foot-shaped treadle, it’s reminiscent of those custom gas…

Squier Paranormal Custom Nashville Stratocaster

No Choice Required

Can’t decide between a Tele and a Strat? The new Squier Paranormal Custom Nashville Stratocaster may ease your worried mind. With a double-bound/double-cut poplar body and maple neck, the guitar…

Moonrock Fuzz/Distortion

Otherwordly distortion sounds

Glenn Wylie has been experimenting with guitar effects pedals for over 10 years – when he’s not working on guitars or amps. In the Moonrock, he has come up with…

D’Addario/ Planet Waves Accessories

Goodies Galore

The D’Addario family has been making musical-instrument strings since before brothers-in-law Rocco and Carmine moved to the U.S. from Italy in the early 1900s. A longtime music-industry fixture, D’Addario &…

Rahbek Standard

A fine custom guitar, Danish-style

Rahbek Guitars hail from Copenhagen, Denmark, hotbed of electric guitar production. Huh? Okay, so that ain’t the case. But those who would rush to judgment over the thought of buying…

Cimarron Guitars’ Model P

From the Parlor to the Stage

Cimarron Guitars has being making custom instruments since 1978 in the dry, mild climate of southwest Colorado. The company’s Model P guitar gets its name from its parlor-guitar-sized body (“parlor”…

Yamaha’s Revstar RSP20CR

Mod Rocker

Having spent the last 120 years perfecting righteous guitar tones, Yamaha has set out to increase their coolness quotient. The design of their latest guitar line – the Revstar Series…

Homestead Amps HS50

Tone On The Range

So, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Waylon Jennings walk into a bar… No, wait, they walk into a NAMM Show. And, no joke, when they carry their iconic tooled-leather Firebird and…

BBE Sonic Stomp Pro & Green Screamer V2

Maximized Tone

Contributing to a recent burst of creative releases in the effects market, BBE added a pair of stompboxes to its offerings; the Sonic Stomp Pro is a pedal version of…

The Epiphone ES-175 Reissue

Return of a Classic

There are plenty of affordable hollowbodies on the market, but Epiphone’s recent reissue of the Gibson ES-175 is almost a slam-dunk out of the box. Whether your guitar guru is…

Nocturne Dyno Brain Booster

Smart Boost

In the not-so-distant past, guitarists learned that those great tape-echo units of the 1960s and ’70s not only added echo, but their preamps boosted signal, and in turn sweetened tone.…

Fender ’57 Amp

What Would Leo Do?

History tells us that Leo Fender wasn’t much for “fancifying” things. More meat-and-potatoes than Chicken in Walnut Curry, Leo was a simple guy, and that ethos carried over to the…

Mayfly Goddess Chorus

Come As You Are

Chorus pedals have been around for decades and for many players are an integral part of their tone. But not all are created equally. Some tone purists swear by the…

PRS S2 Custom 24-08

Plentiful Tones

As the youngest of the big three guitar manufacturers, PRS Guitars has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 1985. Known for radiant tones, playability, and lofty MSRPs,…

Marshall Handwired Series 2245THW Head and 1960AHW Cabinet

Marshall Handwired Series 2245THW Head and 1960AHW Cabinet

Bluesbreaker Redux

Marshall Handwired Series 2245THW Head and 1960AHW Cabinet 2245THW Prices: $4,800 (list); $3,299.99 (street); 1960AHW Prices: $2,180 (list); $1,399.99 (street) Contact: www.marshallamps.com Marshall Amplification needs no introduction. The company’s iconic…

Ibanez Artcore AGS73FM and Vintage VSA500HB

Solid Semis

In the past several years, many import guitar brands have improved their build quality while continuing to offer their goods at very friendly prices. They’ve included a variety of semi-hollow…

Lace Cybercaster LS

Modern Mixer

The mere name of Don Lace’s Cybercaster may set calloused fingertips to head-scratching. After all, “cyber” connotes cutting-edge, futuristic. How could that possibly jibe with “caster,” which implies beloved mid-century…