•  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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Godin

Godin’s 5th Avenue CW Kingpin II and Richmond Dorchester – Funky to Fab

We’re living in a golden age of retro guitars – a period when you can barely turn around without tripping over some cool, vintage-styled plank. Granted, the retro fad has…

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…

Retro Guitar MelodyBurner

Retro Guitar MelodyBurner

Bite and Bark

Retro Guitar MelodyBurner Price: $999 (options available) Info: www.melodyburner.com In the realm of hot-rodded cars, there’s a cool genre known as rat rods – old, relic’d automobiles that sport a…

EHX J Mascis Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi

Always On

When Electro-Harmonix heard that guitarist J Mascis’ prized Deluxe Big Muff Pi was stolen years ago, they decided to make things right. The Big Muff is crucial to the sounds…

DryBell Vibe Machine 3

Big Deepness

DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory’s original Vibe Machine (its take on the classic Univibe) was developed 11 years ago and received thunderous accolades. When the company celebrated its 10th anniversary last…

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…

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…

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…

Walrus Slöer Ambient Reverb

Reverb Reimagined

Reverb is nearly omnipresent in modern music, and for those looking to add some with a twist, Walrus Audio has introduced its Slöer Stereo Ambient Reverb. The Slöer brings typical…

Epiphone Valve Junior and Valve Special amps

Epiphone Valve Junior Through the years, a number of amplifier manufacturers have tried their hands at producing budget tube amps. The problem with the vast majority of these items was…

Reverend Avenger

Tough, Bold, and Fun

Our first entry this month is a new line of instruments, Reverend Guitars, from veteran inventor Joe Naylor, a graduate of the Roberto-Venn School of Lutherie, and well-known maker of…

Tyler Amp Works’ HM-18 Combo

Jersey Original

New Jersey has a history as home of some iconic amplifiers, and Tyler Amp Works in Westfield is a father-son operation that uses local resources in producing some of the…

The DoleSonic Vintage 108 Woody

Not Your Dad’s Boutique Amp

The guitarist’s greatest quests is most often that of the tone that resides within their heads. That quest drove guitarist Ken Doles to design his own amplifier. The tone in…

ToneTron Billy-Rocker 10

Small Is Beautiful

Small amps are big. As venues become increasingly intimate and amplifiers are miked through sound systems rather than muscling-up to broadcast across a full room, you no longer need to…

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…

Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Guitar

New 'Glas Splash

If you were at the 1969 NAMM show in Chicago, perhaps you saw what was most regarded as that year’s show-stopping piece of gear – the Ampeg Dan Armstrong “see-through”…

Kendrick Canary

Purrdy bird with loads of chirp

Kendrick Amplifiers recently added a new variation of its Continetal guitar, their line’s Les Paul-inspired guitar. Dubbed the Canary, it’s monikered after the wood used to make its top. We…

Marshall Triple Super Lead

Marshall's Triple Super Lead

Marshall’s new JCM2000 Series was introduced last year and has been well-received by Marshall fans and amp aficionados in general. The 2000 Series started with the two-channel Dual Super Lead…

Full Dozen, Semi-Hollow

12 Variations on a Classic Design

To complement our February 2016 issue survey of the semi-hollow electric guitar, we tested 12 examples of the form as it exists today. Plus, check out 2 featured articles in…

KJL Dirty 30 amp

It's "Fat," It's Purple…

What’s Fat, purple, and loud? Well, Barney the Dinosaur is one answer, but not the one we’re looking for here. The correct answer is the KJL Dirty 30 amplifier head.…

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…

The Budda Twinmaster

Return of a Boutique Legend

In the early days of boutique-amp building, there were but a few contenders on the scene. One of the strongest amplifiers in those days was made by Budda. First released…

Roland’s Blues Cube Artist

Roland’s Blues Cube Artist

Roland’s Blues Cube Artist Price: $1,169 (list)/$899 (street) Contact: www.rolandus.com Roland has reinvented and relaunched its Blues Cube combos with a series featuring Roland’s exclusive Tube Logic design that carefully…

Fender Player Jazz Bass Fretless

No Frets, No Sweat

The fretless has long been mysterious territory for bassists dazzled by the sonic achievements of Jaco Pastorius, Pino Palladino, and Tony Franklin but reluctant to compromise their intonation. The Fender…

Dutch Kazoo Analog Fuzz Pedal

OD Treat

Dutch Kazoo Analog Fuzz Pedal Price: $225 retail Info: www.dutchkazoo.com It’s not easy for a new boutique overdrive or distortion pedal to stand out in today’s thick fog of clipped…

Roland V-Studio 20

The Roland V-Studio 20

Roland V-Studio 20 Price: $300 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Home digital recording has come a long way in the last 20 years, to the point where top bands are cutting full…

Buzz Feiten Blues Pro

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…

Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.

Way Cool Version

Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using the same offset body as Jones’ original guitars but employing…

PRS SE 245 Single Cut

Dressed to Impress

PRS SE 245 Single Cut Price: $650 (street). Info: prsguitars.com Pick up the PRS SE 245 and turn it around a few times. After blinking repeatedly at its finish, you…

Traynor’s Darkhorse DH15H

Canadian Bakin’

Hugely popular in its native Canada, Traynor amps are a formidable force from north of the 49th parallel and its line includes a variety of quality tube amps. The company’s…