•  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 PM-2

Sitting-Room Savoir Faire

Once wildly popular among everyone from drawing-room dilettantes to road-hardened bluesmen shuffling the dusty byways, parlor-sized guitars fell out of favor mid-century when popular ensembles demanded the volume better provided…

Henriksen Amplifiers’ The Blu

Sound Cube

One old cliché among gigging musicians is, “They pay me for the aggravation, the music is free.” A good deal of that aggravation comes from lugging gear. If you play…

PRS David Grissom Trem

"Swiss Army" Axe

PRS David Grissom Trem David Grissom is at or near the top of any list of significant Texas guitarists, having toured or recorded with artists ranging from Ringo Starr to…

Tech 21’s Boost Series Pedals

The Way Up

Tech 21 Boost Pedals Price: $149 each, street Contact: www.tech21nyc.com Tech 21’s new Boost Series of fuzz, overdrive, and distortion pedals offers a compelling concept – premium effects with the…

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…

Keeley Noble Screamerb

Ultimate Mash-Up

Just when guitarists thought the golden age of gear couldn’t get better, Robert Keeley has combined two great pedals that sound great together. One side of his new Noble Screamer…

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…

Supro Amulet 1×10

Old-School Soul

Paying homage to low-powered tube amps from yesteryear, the Supro Amulet was designed to re-create classic Supro sounds with a few added features. The Amulet is a 15-watt/Class A 1×10…

The Prestige Classic TBK

Hidden Treasure

One of the best-kept guitar secrets, Prestige is a small Vancouver-based operation that has flown under the radar for 18 years. The company farms its own tonewoods, which are shipped…

Gurus Amps’ SexydriveMkII

Bellissimo!

Chalk up another score for Italian innovation. Chicco Bellini and his company, Gurus Amps, are among the top dogs in the Italian gear market. They’ve also been gaining steam worldwide…

HeadRush MX5

Many Riches

In 2021, Ibanez re-tooled its hollowbody line to devise big surprises like the Japanese-made AF95, a full-bodied archtop with a traditional vibe thanks to flatwound strings and vintage looks. Let’s…

Marshall’s DSL1C

Small Stack

For those who love classic British tone, nothing beats the sound of a Marshall stack cranked to 10. Unfortunately, unless you live on a Montana cattle ranch, actually producing this…

Supro Huntington

Looking supremely ’60s-like with its gorgeous, vintage-y cherry-red finish, petite body, and fancy-topped pickups, the Supro Huntington is inviting as all get-out. A short-scale axe, it combines a classic shape…

Dean HardTail Collector’s Edition

Grace and Nuance

If you were part of the scene in the late 1970s, you may recall how two companies – Hamer and Dean – at the time carried the torch for players…

Tech 21’s Fly Rig Brit and Cali

Little Monsters

In this age of shrinking guitar rigs, Tech 21’s Fly Rig pedals show just how guitar-related technology is getting smaller but more powerful. Fly Rigs measure a mere 11.5 x…

The Peavey ValveKing II Micro-head 20-Watt Amplifier

The Peavey ValveKing II Micro-head 20-Watt Amplifier

Royal Rock

The Peavey ValveKing II Micro-head 20-Watt Amplifier Price: $429.99 Contact: www.peavey.com Famous for their sturdy build and quality overdriven sounds, Peavey’s original ValveKing amplifiers were marketed to musicians who required…

PRS Silver Sky

Stratospheric

Paul Reed Smith has for years experimented with Leo-inspired concepts, and his newest guitar, conceived in collaboration with rocker John Mayer, lands squarely in that traditional single-coil solidbody arena. But…

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…

Backlund 400

Over the Moon

If George Jetson – or his daughter Judy, for that matter – played guitar, it’s safe to assume they’d go in for the Backlund 400, a futuristic-looking solidbody that’s part…

PRS Guitars’ McCarty

Ted Talkin’

In the late 1980s, Ted McCarty, the man who served as president of Gibson during the company’s “golden age,” became a special consultant to Paul Reed Smith, sharing insight on…

The Vox Bruno TB35C2

Yankee Doodle Tony

When it comes iconic guitar tone – especially “British” tone – Vox and its flagship AC30 are at the top of most players’ list. After all, the Vox AC30 is…

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…

Epiphone Tony Iommi SG Special

Monkey Time

Digging into the primordial ooze of heavy metal, players often start with Black Sabbath and their resident guitar necromancer, Tony Iommi. Armed with various Gibson SGs and custom-made copies, he…

Singleton Guitars Capella

Shining Bright

Mark Singleton holds the distinction of being a smokin’ guitarist as well as, for the past 24 years, a builder of boutique guitars and basses. One side of the coin…

Godin A6 Ultra Baritone

Sub Sandwich

The basic premise of a baritone is that it allows guitar players to occasionally twang genuine bass notes – not enough to get in the way of the bassline, but…

Taylor Classic, Custom, and Standard

Worth the Wait

Taylor SolidBody Classic. For years, Bob Taylor fended off the question, “When are you going to build a solidbody guitar?” Well-known as a builder of top-notch acoustics, for his company,…

Bray Coco 50

Feelin’ Brown

Eddie Van Halen’s “brown sound” is, for many players, the Holy Grail of guitar tone. Featured on his band’s 1978, debut album, it continues to captivate listeners and amp builders,…

Magnatone Varsity Reverb

Too Cool For School

Face it. They may look oh-so-cool, but rarely do you really, truly need that full amp stack. Most gigs for mere mortals these days are in smaller venues where smaller…

Charles Fox Ergo

A New Voice, From Experience

When experienced luthiers reach “a certain age,” they often make changes in their work.

SynapticGroove Snapperhead OD/Distortion

SynapticGroove Snapperhead OD/Distortion

Dirty Deeds

With their first offering, Benjamin Harrison and Chrystal Gilles of SynapticGroove set out to fill the gap between heavy effects users and straight-into-the-amp players. Apparently, they’re on to something. They…