•  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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Fender Acoustasonic Player Telecaster

Well-Bred Hybrid

The truth? Hybrid guitars are a tall order. But with the Acoustasonic line – now five models strong – Fender’s new factory dedicated to it is producing instruments boasting excellent…

Guild A-20 Marley

Get Up, Stand Up

When it comes to famous Bobs in rock, Dylan is first to mind. But just behind him is another songwriting behemoth – Marley. As it turns out, the Jamaican icon…

TTS Music BMT Overdrive

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…

Siegmund Micro Tube Overdrive

The Nuance of OD

Chris Siegmund is an up-and-coming guitar/amp wizard from Vienna, Austria. A unique type of craftsman, Siegmund is a musician born to a family of architects and furniture makers. He began…

Carvin VL212 Legacy Combo

Hotrodded Marshall, glimpse of gussied-up Fender

Carvin’s Legacy series amplifiers were designed exclusively for fretboard wizard Steve Vai – un-questionably one of the best players around is Vai well-known for his keen ear, incredible technique, 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…

John Page Classic AJ

Production-Line Custom

After 20-plus years with Fender, where he co-founded and helped guide the renowned Custom Shop, John Page struck out on his own to start John Page Custom. One of the guru’s…

Fender’s Dhani Harrison Signature Ukulele

Here Comes The Fun

Ukuleles are inherently charming, and Fender amplifies (literally) that charm with the Dhani Harrison Signature model. A tilted four-inline headstock with vintage-style tuners? On a glued-in mahogany neck? It’s a…

Xaviere XV-950

Jazzy Looks, Multi-Purpose

Gibsonguildgretsch! Cumbersome as it may be in word form, Xaviere’s XV-950 gracefully combines attributes from the “big trio.” The XV-950 employs a classic Florentine cutaway body measuring a small-ish 15″…

AJ Peat Screaming Flamingo, Wild Goose, Dirty Buzzard

Birds Are the Word

AJ Peat is in the business of creating some of the hippest music gear on the planet. Boutique guitars, pedals, and audio devices all bare his thumbprint, and his take…

Lazy J 20

Deluxe inspiration

The Lazy J 20 Price: $2,700 (reviewed) Contact: www.lazyjprojects.com After moving to England and leaving behind the vintage Fender Deluxe he modified as a gigging amp, Jesse Hoff decided to…

Evil robot Feature Page

Evil Robot EVR-C30

Advances in Mojo

Evil Robot EVR-C30 Price: $999 (list) Info: www.frettedamericana.com. In 2010, music retailer Fretted Americana joined forces with amp wizard John Kasha to “reimagine” the tonal qualities of a vintage Magnatone…

Carvin Belaire 212

A Classic, Re-Voiced

When Lowell Kiesel started Carvin in 1946, his focus was on electric guitar pickups and lap steels. He had a fair amount of initial success, as many top country and…

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…

DryBell Module 4

Compress Yourself

  Inspired by the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, Drybell Musical Electronic Laboratory’s Module 4 Compressor adds several highly usable features. Running on a 9-volt adapter, the Module 4 allows users…

Andrew White Guitars’ Freja 1013W

Shape Shifter

Though electric guitars have undergone radical change since the world first laid eyes on Rickenbacker’s “frying pan,” acoustics have rarely strayed from tradition. Andrew White is tweaking the system. The…

Musicvox 20th Anniversary MI-6 Guitar and Bass

By The Horns

Musicvox has earned a well-deserved reputation for capturing the mojo of ’60s-era gear in their import guitars and basses (and amps). The new MI-6 line is no exception. With their…

Boss Katana Gen 3

Big Step

The Boss Katana amplifier has a cult of devotees, many of whom have been waiting for a Bluetooth version that allows access to the amp’s deep models and effects with…

Baker B1H and BJH

Top quality looks, playability, and tone

This month, the VG Product Advisory Council received a pair of Baker guitars, a B1H and a BJH, from new-kid-on-the-block Gene Baker, in California. Both guitars are mid-sized semi-hollow designs…

Valvetech Suplex

A Kinder, Gentler Plexi

Used by rock royalty, the 100-watt Marshall Model 1959 Super Lead unleashed hellacious tones. Problem was, it was ridiculously loud and lacked a master volume. Rob Pierce of Valvetech Amplifiers…

McGregor Cozmic Fuzzball

Sweet & Gnarly

The culmination of a quest to build the perfect transparent overdrive, Garth Heslop’s Cozmic Fuzzball is the third pedal in the series from his company, McGregor Pedals. Designed and hand-soldered…

EHX String9

Orchestral Stomp

The EHX String9 String Ensemble lets guitar players create electronic-string sounds, in full polyphony and without requiring a special pickup – just plug in and you’re on your way to…

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab

Lights! Sound! Action!

Immix Eleven V-Series 30 Amp/Cab Price: Amp $1,995 (list); cabinet $895 (list) Contact: www.immix11.com Remember the first time you encountered the Rick 331LS Light Show guitar? You thought, wow, that’s…

Nik Huber Orca

Good Wood, Good Sounds

German guitar builder Nik Huber is the latest in his family to continue a 100-year tradition of woodworking. Huber started in the guitar business as a Paul Reed Smith authorized…

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…

Kiesel Solo S6

Spank ’N Twang

Buying a guitar made by Kiesel starts with a visit to the company’s website, where you’ll find a bevy of custom options for its American-made instruments. The designs include solidbody…

Peavey VYPYR X2

Small Wonder

Continuing its decades-long innovative streak, Peavey’s VYPYR X2 Guitar Modeling Amp brings modern styling, a new open-back cabinet, and re-tooled TransTube technology. There’s also Bluetooth control, audio streaming, and the…

PRS Modern Eagle and SE Soapbar II

From "10" Top To Bottom

Gee, I have to review two Paul Reed Smith guitars today… I know – it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. Today’s subjects are the top-end, USA-made Modern…

Fuchs Audio Technology Full House-50 Combo

The Art of the Deal

The Fuchs Full House-50 1×12 is a compact amp that strives to deliver a range of tones in a small footprint. Weighing in at 52 pounds, the amp has a…

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…