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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
PRS SE Silver Sky
Aiming Higher
In a world filled with Strat-type guitars, it takes a lot to set one apart, let alone stand above. The PRS Silver Sky was one that did. Can the SE…
Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker
Poles Apart
Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker Price: $139 list / $89 direct Contact: railhammer.com Developed by Joe Naylor of Reverend Guitars, Railhammers are passive humbuckers that use a combination of pole pieces…
Arteffect Bonnie Wah
Cry No More!
Israel-based Arteffect’s new Bonnie wah pedal is an accurate re-creation of the highly soughtafter vintage Vox Clyde McCoy wah. The “Clyde wah,” you’ll recall, was designed to help guitar players…
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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
Reddick Voyager CS
Boss Delay Machine DM-101 Reddick Echo Heaven
Love the simplicity and warmth of analog in your effects? Well, meet Boss’ new Delay Machine DM-101, housed in a chassis that echoes their very first delay (the late-’70s DM-1)…
Donner DST-400
Seeing Green
If the pandemic had a silver lining beyond more time at home with our toys, it was the growth of our hobby, witnessed by the spike in gear sales and…
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…
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…
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…
Fender Player Jaguar
Updated Offset
Priced at entry level and built in Mexico, Fender’s Player Series provides affordable access to Fender’s most iconic solidbodies. The Player Jaguar updates a classic offset with a handful of…
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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
Breedlove Organic Performer Pro Concert Aged Toner CE
Natural Beauty
With climate change on the minds of so many, guitar builders have started to offer more instruments that are good tone tools and sustainable for the planet. Breedlove’s Organic series…
Fargen’s John Lennon Signature JL-15 and Micro Plex
Instant Karma?
Fargen’s John Lennon Signature JL-15 and Micro Plex Price: $2,700 (JL-15), $999 (Micro Plex) Info: www.fargenamps.com. From 50-watt monsters to 5-watt heads, Fargen Amplification is known for building amplifiers intended…
Knaggs Chena Old Violin
Righteous Axe
With notable string-bending monsters like Larry Mitchell, Eric Steckel, and Steve Stevens singing the praises of Knaggs Guitars, Peter Wolf and Joe Knaggs are obviously doing something incredibly right. Beyond…
Lollar Pickups
Super-Suitable Substitutes
Seattle’s Jason Lollar not only builds fine pickups, he also builds archtop, solidbody, and lap steel guitars (his list of clients includes National, DeTemple, Harmos, and Zero Guitars). And he…
Danelectro Doubleneck
Twice the Tone
Jimmy Page. Don Felder. Even Elvis Presley. In fact, who amongst us hasn’t drooled over a 6/12 doubleneck at one point or another in our musical lives? Danelectro knows…
Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E
Grand-Auditorium Cousins
Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E Price: $1,100 (Sean Harkness Model); $1,350 (CG4070E-CERT) Info: www.waldenguitars.com. With 16 years of producing attractive, understated instruments, Walden Guitars puts an accent on quality materials…
The Vox AC15 Custom Classic
A Classic Improvement?
Vox AC15 Custom Classic. In the lore surrounding Vox Amplification, the AC30 is the king of the hill, the alpha male, the one that first springs to mind. But history…
Mike Lipe Virtuoso
Back to the Future
Mike Lipe Virtuoso Price: $4,000 Contact: lipeguitars.com; phone (818) 352-6212 Mike Lipe has built guitars for top players and guitar companies (notably heading up the Ibanez Custom Shop in the…
John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ
Classy & Sassy
The John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ is another hip offering from the former Fender Custom Shop honcho and co-founder, revamping the Tele concept into something fresh. To achieve that…
PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF
From Jimi to Eric to Angus
PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF Price: $3,908 (retail)/$2,329 (street) Contact: PRSguitars.com. The PRS 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF is a guitar that attempts to thread many needles:…
Ernie Ball’s Music Man Cutlass/Stingray
Talkin’ Tonewoods
For many builders of solidbody guitars, the challenge is to improve on a handful of pioneering designs from the 1950s and ’60s. No one knows this better than Ernie Ball…
Supro’s Titan 1642RT
Born To Gig
Supro’s new Titan amp is built to play out. This 50-watt 1×10 tube combo packs it all into a compact, portable package that’s simply antsy to gig. The Titan cranks…
Volt Electrics #004 Reverse
Mirror Image
From Johnny Winter and Stephen Stills to Scott Holiday, the Firebird has been turning heads since the early ’60s. Builders Sander de Gier and Ewout Nijman out of the Netherlands…
Novax Sweet Annie
Silver Anniversary
Remember chuckling at the Rick 481 slant-fret guitar? Or wondering about those fret intervals on Joni Mitchell’s dulcimer, or the flying frets on Ravi Shankar’s sitar? Ralph Novak did. But…
Walrus Audio’s Bellwether Dela
The Bell Tolls For Thee
The Bellwether from Walrus Audio is a high-end analog delay notable for its tone, adaptability, and depth of control. The pedal’s capabilities will exceed many players’ needs, but the Bellwether…
Xotic Guitars’ XSC-1 California Classic
New Connection
Xotic is known for its plethora of sonic effect-pedal goodies, but its current guitar line also tends to turn heads. The Xotic XSC-1 California Classic is an American Strat-style guitar…
Alairex H.A.L.O.
Heavenly Possibilities
Alairex H.A.L.O. Price: $399 Info: www.alairex.com. Guitarist Alex Aguilar is a veteran player, former guitar-mag columnist, and today runs an effects company that recently released its first box, the Alairex…
Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model
A Semi-Hollow For Joe
Gibson ES-335 Joe Bonamassa Signature Model Price: $3,335 (street) Contact: gibson.com. The collaboration of Gibson and blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa began with a limited run of goldtop Les Paul’s in 2009,…
Daredevil Pedals Atomic Cock
Green Monster
Daredevil Pedals’ Atomic Cock Price: $150 (list) Info: www.daredevilpedals.com. Despite the many clever take-aways one could derive from its name, the Atomic Cock is “just” an effects box offered by…
Epiphone 1966 SG G-400 PRO
For Those About to Rock
Epiphone’s 1966 SG G-400 PRO Price: $582 (list); $349 (street) Info: www.epiphone.com Gibson’s SG is a classic design with plenty of great players behind it, from Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend,…
Dunlop MXR Carbon Copy, ’74 Phase 90 and Buddy Guy Signature Wah
Legendary pedal builder MXR/Dunlop recently introduced a sweet trio of effects; something new from its Custom Shop in the form of the Carbon Copy analog delay, something old in the…
