•  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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D’Angelico’s EXL-1 and EX-SS

Deco Redux

3rd Power Solo Dream/Switchback amps Price: $1,859 list/$1,149 street (EXL-1); $1,999 list/$1,409 street (EX-SS) Info: www.dangelicoguitars.com. Images of John D’Angelico crafting masterpieces in his Little Italy shop haunt guitar enthusiasts…

Epiphone USA Coronet

Simple Screamer

Single-pickup guitars are flat-out cool: think Leslie West, Keith Richards, Johnny Thunders, Steve Marriott, Johnny Marr, and Jimi Hendrix. Once fluffed off as a one-trick pony or a kid’s guitar,…

Louis Electric 6L6-183 Cobra

Humble, Capital D

One glance at the control panel and cabinet styling of the Louis Electric 6L6-183 Cobra is all most will need to know what this amp is about – and builder…

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom

Rockin’ Down the House

Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom Price: $999 (Space Cadet)/$699 (MVX-15) Contact: www.musicvox.com For nearly two decades, Musicvox’s designs have captivated players and fans, appearing in Austin Powers and…

Ernie Ball Rosewood Axis Super Sport, Steve Morse SM-Y2D

Sexy, Super, and Sonic

Ernie Ball/Music Man Rosewood Axis Super Sport. There’s something ridiculously sexy about a rosewood neck. No, not a rosewood fretboard – we’re talking a rosewood neck. Ernie Ball/Music Man’s Rosewood…

Moniker Dixie Solid

Click to Customize

Moniker Dixie Solid Price: $849 (base) Info: www.monikerguitars.com. Moniker Guitars recently launched a line of customizable electric guitars that players design using an online configurator. Customizing a Moniker begins with…

Shaw Audio Bass 130

Classic Tone for the Modern World

Tennessee amp builder Kevin Shaw loves restoring old cars – and creating fine-sounding amplifiers. His ToneRod SE and Fulltilt 18 helped establish him as a factor among amp builders, and…

Wylde Audio Odin Grail Genesis Bullseye

Berserker Broadax

Zakk Wylde emerged from New Jersey in the late ’80s to give Ozzy Osbourne’s music a style and attitude unlike that of any guitarist before him, using an approach spawned…

L-Guitar Lance Glass

Tweak City

Builders love tweaking the creations of Leo Fender and his squad of ’50s innovators; California luthier Lance McCormick is making his mark with the L-Guitar Lance Glass. It may look…

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…

Reverend Drivetrain Overdrive

Authentic crunch, Ry Cooder to AC/DC

The new overdrive pedal from the canny folk at Reverend Musical Instruments is cleverly named the Drivetrain Overdrive, and it weighs in at a mere pound or so. Overdrives and…

Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01

Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01

This Old Strat

Dogu Custom Electric Guitars’ MOS-01 Price: $2,200 (list) Contact: www.actionfigurestudios.com Improving upon classic designs is a consistent theme in the guitar-manufacturing community. While many companies take a pragmatic approach to…

Ernie Ball Music Man Luke3

Cool-Hand Luke

The latest model in Ernie Ball Music Man’s Steve Lukather signature series was designed to answer Lukather’s demand for an instrument that is simple yet versatile. The Luke3 (a.k.a. LIII),…

MXR’s M250 Double-Double Overdrive

Rectified!

Tone might be in the hands, but you need more than your mitts and a clean amp to bring that heavy-rock masterpiece to life. The list should include skull-caving midrange,…

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…

Deluxe Dirt

Wampler’s Tumnus Deluxe & Paisley Drive Deluxe

Already road-proven overdrive stompboxes, the Wampler Tumnus and Paisley Drive have received a makeover for 2018. But, is there is anything new to gain? The original Tumnus was intended as…

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 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…

Great Eastern FX Small Speaker Overdrive

Little Big Tones

Recording engineers and DIYers have long known what a small amp can do in a big room – that is, sound awesome. The U.K.-based Great Eastern FX Co. has created…

The Reverend Koch Gristle 90

Pop The Hood

What happens when you mix a classic design with the creativity of twang ace Greg Koch? You get the Reverend Gristle 90, which may look like a sporty T-style guitar…

Swart Atomic Jr.

Splitting The Atom

When Swart decided to split their Atomic Jr. five-watt combo into a piggyback, they not only went from an 8″ speaker to a 12″, they added more speaker options, including…

Danelectro Free Speech

"Do You Feeeeel"?

Well, we’ve all had the fun of trying to mimic – even on the worst of nights – a Peter Frampton tune featuring the dreaded “talk box,” possibly even venturing…

The Clark Gainster

Trick Your Tweed

Before he got into the effects pedal biz, Michael Clark had a reputation for building killer tweed-inspired amps. In 2001 he utilized his tonal superpowers to devise the first version…

Vox’s AC30CH and V212C Cabinet

Get Back

The Beatles helped popularize Vox amps, and Sir Paul tours with them today because they still have that sound – classic chime and overdriven grind. Introduced in ’59, Vox’s AC30…

Charis Acoustic SJ

Charis Acoustic SJ

Spirit in the Wood

Charis Acoustic SJ Price: $4,800 (base); $7,100 (as reviewed) Info: www.charisacoustic.com. The spiritual aspects of music perhaps originate with the creation of the musical instrument. To that end, Charis Acoustic…

Lipe Guitars Maestro

Lipe Guitars Maestro

Whole Lotta Mahogany

Lipe Maestro Price: $4,900 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has a wall of gold records. Why? Not because he’s a musical star, but because he’s a star to…

Eastwood Sidejack DLX 20th LTD

Horn Section

If you love twangy guitars from the ’60s, you know about Mosrites – the immortal slabs of The Ventures and Ramones. Twenty years ago, Eastwood Guitars made its own variation…

New Orleans Guitar Company Model 8

Sonic Mojo

New Orleans Guitar Company Model 8 Price: $2,999 Contact: neworleansguitar.com For over a decade, the New Orleans Guitar Company has been producing handcrafted electrics with an attention to design and…

Wylde Audio Odin Grail Genesis Bullseye

Berserker Broadax

Zakk Wylde emerged from New Jersey in the late ’80s to give Ozzy Osbourne’s music a style and attitude unlike that of any guitarist before him, using an approach spawned…

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…