• 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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Digitech RP-200

Budget-conscious way to go ampless

Last month, I disclosed that I’ve gone ampless in 2002. Now let’s discuss how, and with what gear. My criteria is the same as with any gear I use –…

Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder

Gettin’ Loopy!

Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder Price: $476.21 (street); $119.25 (foot controller) Info: www.ehx.com. Looping has a rich history, with roots tracing to modern classical composers like Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, and…

Metal Pedals JH-3

Metal Pedals JH-3

Swiss-Army Distortion

Metal Pedals JH-3 Price: $235 (list) Contact: www.metalpedals.com Like a Swiss Army knife, the multifunction Metal Pedals JH-3 Johnny Hiland has more options than you’d expect in such a small…

Mesa Boogie California Tweed 6V6 2:20 1×10 Combo

Ankle Biter

Classic Fender tweed amps are known for fat, warm clean tones, but even more for their raunch when cranked. Mesa Boogie’s California Tweed amps are firmly rooted in those ’50s…

Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus 50th Anniversary

Mr. Clean

The Roland Corporation was born in 1972 and just a few years later introduced its landmark Jazz Chorus JC-120 amplifier. To celebrate the half-century mark, the company has reissued a…

65Amps London

18 Watts of Bliss

For nearly 20 years, Dan Boul and Peter Stroud have been close friends. In a bond secured by music, particularly guitars and amps, the two have gone through the phases…

Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe

Stomp Festival

Jimi Hendrix passed into infinity at the tender age of 27. The fact that his influential career lasted only four years over 45 years ago speaks volumes. A visionary former…

Dean Zelinsky Tagliare Z-Glide Custom

Dean Zelinsky Tagliare Z-Glide Custom

Future Tense

Every so often, a builder gives the art of guitar design a firm shove into the future. The Dean Zelinsky Tagliare Z-Glide Custom certainly fits into that category. On the…

Black Creek Musical NYS Guitar

New Axe From the "Woodstock Contingent"

Before starting his Black Creek Musical Instrument Company, upstate New Yorker Chris Hofschneider spent time building instruments with other members of what has grown into the “Woodstock Contingent,” an elite…

D’Angelico’s EX-DC and EX-SD

D’Elegance and Power

D’Angelico’s EX-DC and EX-SD Price: $1,769 list/$1,259 street (EX-DC); $1,659 list/$1,185 street (EX-SD) Info: www.dangelicoguitars.com John D’Angelico produced just 1,164 guitars during his career on Kenmare Street in New York…

Guild’s Starfire I DC GVT

Big Green Monster

Guild’s Newark Street guitars are a line of lower-priced instruments anchored by a reissue of the classic Starfire; the most distinctive is the I DC GVT. A handsome semi-hollow, it…

Wayne Lap Steel

Wayne's new lap packs a wallop

Wayne Charvel’s name is familiar to any guitarist who was on the scene in the 1980s. If that rock star or bar wunderkind you saw was playing something with a…

Xotic Effects RC Booster Reissue

Return of A Legend

Twenty years ago, Xotic Effects unleashed its iconic RC Booster. With variable Gain, EQ, and Volume controls, it was a mainstay on pedalboards the world over for players seeking top-shelf…

Chicago Blues Box Roadhouse amp

Hot Windy City Tone

Illinois-based Butler Custom Sound recently introduced its Chicago Blues Box amp series with the blues player very much in mind. Company president Dan Butler has repaired and modified countless tube…

JHS 3 Series

Budget Boutique

JHS’ seven new 3 Series pedals strip away cosmetics and frills. History has told us that simple pedal designs can sacrifice key elements. Is that the case here? Presented in…

Reverend Slingshot

Modern Sound with a Cool Vintage Vibe

Many Vintage Guitar readers are probably familiar with Reverend guitars, designed and built by Joe Naylor in Michigan (VG, May ’99). Naylor created Naylor Amplifiers, but later left the company…

The Postal Delta Zephyr

No Reservations

It’s nice to find guitar builders producing hand-made guitars that are more than a rehash of familiar models, while using traditional hand tools. Meet Jonathan Postal, whose single-cutaway Delta Zephyr…

Yamaha DG Stomp

Plug 'n' Play Preamp for Recording

It’s always been a struggle for home recordists to capture a good guitar tone on tape or hard disk. Yamaha, however, wants to cure that often aggravating dilemma. To that…

76 Watts the Hard Way

The VG Low-Watt Boutique Tube Amp Shootout

For many electric guitarists, the sound coming out of an amp is just not happening until power-tube saturation enters the tonal spectrum, with the richness and warmth you just don’t…

The D’Angelico Excel 59

Hybrid Hotshot

Some might see it as a Frankenstein’s monster, while others will view it as the best of all worlds. The D’Angelico Excel 59 is a throwback to an original John…

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT

Shagadelic

Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT Price: $799 (guitar); $899 (bass) Info: www.musicvox.com. Popularized in film and television, Musicvox Spacerangers have drawn attention for their mondo lower horn and freakishly…

ToadWorks Lil’ Leo and John Bull

OD, Spiced to Your Liking

Washington-based ToadWorks USA was founded by Ryan Dunn and Doug Harrison in 2001. They recently asked if we’d be hip to checking out their Lil’ Leo and John Bull units.…

Xaviere XV 700

Lofty Promises, Fulfilled

Xaviere XV 700 Thinline. The Massachusetts-based guitarfetish.com is an instrument/parts importer that carries a complete line of goods, from pickups and vibratos to knobs and pots. Its guitar line, dubbed…

Rocky Mountain Slides Company Firecracker Aluminum Slides

Slick Slide

Rocky Mountain Slides Company’s new “Firecracker Aluminum Slides” may look like other guitar slides but it is internally flared in two inner diameter combinations allowing the player to comfortably use…

Reverend Billy Corgan

Smashing Sounds

Reverend’s new twist on its Billy Corgan Signature guitar updates several features but remains a stylish retro-meets-modern solidbody. The most notable tweak is alder wood replacing korina for the chambered…

Marshall MXL V57M

Big-buck mic sounds – small bucks required

If you do any serious recording, analog or digital, you a need a great mic. Condenser mics have been the de facto standard for recording music and voice since World…

Luna Art Vintage Parlor Acoustic/Electric

Rustic Charm

Luna’s newest entry in its Vintage Series, the Art Vintage Parlor takes modern playability and puts it in a rustic package. The guitar’s solid spruce top on mahogany back and…

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Larry Alan Guitars’ The Harlot

Siren Song

Hot idea: pack a sturdy-yet-petite 1590B casing with specially selected parts rendering a powerful, variable guitar overdrive, add a couple of vintage-look knobs, a titillating pinup-girl graphic, and call it…

Paul Hartmann Dutchess

Regal Archtop

Based in the Hudson River Valley, luthier Paul Hartmann has made a name for himself crafting solidbodies, semi-hollowbodies, and most recently, full-on archtops. The Dutchess – named for the New…

Kay’s K161 Thin Twin

Post-war Blues Box

In his day, Jimmy Reed was a huge influence on everyone from Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield to the Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Among its reissues, Kay Guitar…