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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
Ernie Ball Steve Morse Model & Silhouette Special
High-Octane Solidbodies
The guitars of the Ernie Ball/Music Man Company generally cater to “guitarist’s guitarists,” that is, those fretboard virtuosos we all stand in awe of. Over the years, players who’ve lent…
Maestro Ranger Overdrive and Invader Distortion
Evil Twins
Maestro’s new all-analog overdrive and distortion pedals are like evil twins – two black-sheep siblings that differ in concept but work great together. Part of Maestro’s new Original Collection –…
Lazy J Cruiser Deuce
Revved Up
Lazy J Cruiser Deuce Price: $420 Info: www.lazyjprojects.com. The Lazy J Cruiser Deuce is more complex than your classic stomp-and-go pedal, though its functionality is intuitive. The Cruiser Deuce’s brown…
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LSL Instruments’ Lucid OD and OG OD
Lively Drives
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
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The Chase Bliss Clean
Posh Squash
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
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The Eastwood Super Axe
Chet Powered!
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
Carr Amplifiers’ Super Bee
’60s Muscle
Inside its chicken hatchery turned amp shop in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Carr Amplifiers has hatched another beauty in the low-watt/single-channel Super Bee. With three distinct voices plus a wattage attenuator…
Taylor 814ce
New Life at 40
Taylor 814ce Price: $4,378 (list); $3,399 (street) Info: www.taylorguitars.com Of all the guitars in Taylor’s product line, the 814ce is one of the most popular. Most manufacturers are loath to…
Garage Guru
The Epiphone Crestwood
The original Epiphone Crestwood was built at Gibson’s Kalamazoo factory, alongside Les Pauls and other ’50s classics. A double-cut solid-body, it appeared a full three years before that other double-cut…
Durham Electronics’ ReddVerb
’Verb, Extra Saucy
Durham Electronics’ ReddVerb Price: $219 (list) Info: www.durhamelectronics.com Take it from Redd Volkaert; good reverb is hard to find. And that’s especially true if you’re gigging on the road and…
Cast Engineering Texas Flood OD
Bring On The SRV
Tube Screamers, those famed overdrives from Ibanez, have been screaming off the shelves ever since guitarists first learned the little green machines were key to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s tone. But…
EHX’s Bad Stone Phase Shifter, C9 Organ Machine, and Pitch Fork Polyphonic Pitch Shifter
Pedal Heaven
When it comes to stompboxes, there are the standard go-to effects that every guitarist, whether a gigging musician or a bedroom noodler, seems to have in his or her arsenal.…
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The Bad Cat Era 30
Retro-Great
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
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Eastwood MRG Lap Steel
Slide Piece
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
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Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive
Icon In Reach
If the iconic Soldano SLO-100 is perpetually on your wish list but its price tag keeps you from pulling the trigger, its creator now has a realistic alternative. Expanding on the original single-channel SLO Overdrive pedal, the SLO Plus introduces a Normal channel alongside Overdrive, each with dedicated controls that allow for detailed tweaking of
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Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100
Playpen Power
For 2025, Orange has expanded on its compact Pedal Baby introduced a few years back with a new trio – the Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby. All 100-watt amps with solid-state Class A/B output stages, Jfet preamp stages (another form of solid-state), and two footswitchable channels, they’re housed in 12″ x 3.25″ x
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Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay
Double Echo
Based on the famed Roland SDE-3000 rack unit, Boss’ SDE-3 combines some classic delay sounds of the 1980s, updated with a bevy of modern tricks and features. Like a lot of delays, it can be run in mono, but you’ll get the biggest bang going in stereo to different amps or outputs. The core of
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Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ Reissue
Dual-Mode Delivery
The evolution of Randall Smith’s legendary high-gain Mesa/Boogie design into the revered Mark IIC+ of the mid ’80s established a rock amp that many guitarists still consider the epitome of the form. Building on what was already a high-gain amp by the standards of the day, the M/B team piled on even more gain, more
Tech 21 Fly Rig 5
Tone To Carry-On
Tech 21 Fly Rig 5 Price: $249 (list) Contact: www.tech21nyc.com Long before the Line6 POD, the Box of Rock, or the iRig, there was the SansAmp from Tech 21 –…
PRS CE 24
One Guitar, All night
There are gigs where a guitarist needs to cover a vast range of sounds and tones yet yearns to schlep just one 6-string to the show. It might be a…
Crucial Audio WahVelope
Tube Funk
Crucial Audio makes high-end tube pedals and studio gear at its shop in southern Delaware. Its latest, the WahVelope, is both auto-wah and envelope filter – and it also hides…
Tone Electronix Animalizzer
Fuzz Feast
At first glance, Tone Electonix’s Animalizzer might appear to be a Big-Muff-style fuzz with too many knobs. A closer look is in order… A Volume control and a three-band EQ…
The Reverend Thundergun Bass
Three In One
Players who love a hotrod Lincoln, a good drive-in, or a rocking retro guitar are familiar with Reverend Guitars, a brand that builds instruments that all but ooze vintage style…
EHX Ripped Speaker Pedal
Tore Up
Since the dawn of rock and roll, guitarists have (by accident or with intent) loosened tubes, sliced, or poked holes in their speakers to get low-fi natural distortion – think…
Flying High Again
The Eastwood Airline ’59 3P
Long before the brazen, pointy electrics of the 1980s, Airline created a model with all kinds of modern angles and attitude. The original Airline electric guitars were made by Valco…
TTS Music BMT Overdrive
Fine-Tune Your Crunch
TTS Music BMT Overdrive Price: $175 Info: www.ttspickups.com. No, the “BMT” in the name of TTS Music’s overdrive pedal does not stand for a “bacon, mayo, and tomato.” The initials…
Dr. Z Mini Z
We Don't Got To Show You No Stinking Headroom!
The Mini Z is amp builder Dr. Z’s (a.k.a. Mike Zaite) entry into the low-watt/single-power-tube practice/recording category of amps. Extremely compact at under one cubic foot in size, and weighing…
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…
EHX Canyon Delay & Looper, Blurst Modulated Filter
Ambient Possibilities
Today’s guitarists looking to create those sounds they imagine in their heads have it easier than ever before. Electro-Harmonix can be partially thanked for this. EHX is notorious for creating…
Strymon Ultraviolet Vintage Vibe
Modern Spin
Pioneered by Jimi Hendrix, the Uni-Vibe became synonymous with psychedelic rock sounds in the 1960s. Strymon’s modern interpretation is the Ultraviolet Vintage Vibe. The Ultraviolet offers a variety of tone-shaping…
Epiphone Greeny Les Paul
A Legend Within Reach
Following Peter Green Collectors Edition and Custom Shop tribute models from Gibson (priced in the tens of thousands), Epiphone recently jumped into the segment with its version, the Kirk Hammett…
EarthQuaker Devices’ Space Spiral Modulated Delay
Will You Repeat That?
One particularly well-worn joke about playing a bad note advises you to play it twice so folks will think you meant it. But what about all those good notes that…
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…
Universal Audio Max and Del-Verb
Smart Stomps
After rolling out several “amp-in-a-box” pedals last year, Universal Audio is back with a fresh line of stompboxes to help guitarists groove. The Max Preamp/Dual Compressor gives models of famous…
Fender Strat-o-Sonic
Mahogany body, P-90-style pickups, wraparound tailpiece, 243/4″ scale? Sounds like a Gibson Les Paul Special. But alas, the instrument bearing these features looks like a Fender Stratocaster. Recently launched as…
Acoustik Attak Picks
Each of Acoustik Attak’s three guitar picks has a different raised formation that alters the way it interacts with strings; the intent is to provide enhanced upper-midrange and distinct snap.…
Buzz Feiten Blues Pro
Cantankerous Tones
Buzz Feiten Blues Pro Price: $2,395 (list) Contact: www.buzzfeitenguitars.com Buzz Feiten is a Woodstock alumnus who has played with a who’s who of music artists and lent his guitar artistry…
Gibson Everly Brothers SJ-200
Full Dress
Gibson has always had a knack for producing distinctive guitars. The EDS-1275 in Cherry finish will forever be tied to “Stairway to Heaven,” while the white version veritably proclaims “Hotel…
Schertler’s Magnetico AG6
Direct Results
For performers, the struggle to amplify acoustic guitars properly never goes away. But as Schertler shows, things are getting better. It’s generally accepted that a combination of pickups can yield…
