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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…
Acoustic Remedy’s ClimaStand Display Case
Open and Shut
Acoustic Remedy ClimaStand Price: $899 (walnut) Info: www.acousticremedycases.com Most players have at least one guitar they would like to display in a manner that allows them to enjoy its beauty…
Music Man’s JP13
Petrucci Pick
Music Man’s JP13 Price: $3,500 Info: www.music-man.com. Music Man has a knack for building blazing artist models for the likes of Steve Morse, Albert Lee, and John Petrucci – three…
Eastwood Marksman 5
Bullseye!
Eastwood Marksman 5 Price: $999 (retail) Info: www.eastwoodguitars.com. Reviving great and unusual designs from the past has been the focus of Eastwood Guitars since their inception in 2001. For well…
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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…
Sweet Sustain
Guitar Tech Craig’s Dino Sauce Compressor
Imagine a Strat tuned to open G, a D chord being floated at the seventh fret with a Craftsman deep-well socket. What is that ethereal sweetness and sustain under Lowell…
Taurus Devil Drive and Acid Reflux
No Bull Tone
Russ Pedersen and his crew at Arkansas-based Taurus Pedals build a wide variety of distortion, overdrive, chorus, fuzz, boost, and delay pedals for guitar and bass, using high-end components and…
VVT Lindy Fralin Model amplifier
Toneful Tag-Team
Maryland-based amplifier builder Vintage Vacuum Tube Amplifiers (you may know it as VVT) recently fielded a request from renowned pickup winder Lindy Fralin. He wasn’t looking for advice on wire…
Groove Tubes Soul-O Single
Soul-O Single
Groove Tubes founder Aspen Pittman is a tube connoisseur. For 24 years, he has listened to, tested, designed, and manufactured many variants of the familiar glass bottles that melt the…
The Dr. Z CAZ-45
Prescription Filled
When word got out in early 2020 that Mike Zaite and Alan Phillips (founder of Carol-Ann Amplifiers) were collaborating on a high-gain amp, the buzz was intense. After several prototypes…
Fender’s Johnny Marr Jaguar Signature Limited Edition
The Right Thing Right
Nostalgia can be a confounding thing. When most fans think of Johnny Marr, they remember him flailing on an array of Ricks, Gibson semi-hollows, and Strats during his days with…
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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…
Weller El Dorrado
Rock-and-Roll Screamer
Tucked away in southwest Illinois near St. Louis, luthier Steve Weller is making interesting instruments. His El Dorrado model is a solidbody with nods to the angular shapes of the…
Hamer Monaco III
Not Like The Others
After 30 years in the business, Hamer has gained a reputation for being one of the best guitar builders in the world, and for good reason. Hamer’s attention to detail,…
MXR Custom Shop Sub Machine Octave Fuzz
Lowdown And Nasty
Rising from the smoke and flames of the MXR Custom Shop is the pedal of which every fuzz freak dreams. You never know when you’ll need that extra octave, so…
St. Blues Juke Joint Series
Domestic Bliss
With the elimination of its Korean-made Pro Series and the introduction of the Juke Joint Series, Memphis-based St. Blues can boast an entire lineup made in the good ol’ U.S.…
Reverend’s Stage King Series Charger 290
Set to Out-Do
Reverend Charger 290 Guitar Reverend Musical Instruments’ luthier/boss Joe Naylor singlehandedly designs every Reverend guitar, and chooses their components and materials. And in some cases, Naylor provides specs for “external”…
Fender The Edge Strat, Edge Deluxe Amp
What You’re Looking For
Leo Fender once famously said, “A guitar is just a hammer.” If you haven’t yet found a hammer that fits like it should, this may be it. After U2 guitarist…
Rivet ’63/’64 Pickup Set
Pole Position
Rivet Pickups founder David Petschulat made the first locking vibrato with fine tuners for the EVH company, and worked stints at Kahler and Gibson. With Rivet, Petschulat has developed a…
The Koch Studiotone
No-Sweat Double-Duty
Koch Amplifier’s 20-watt Studiotone uses an all-tube circuit powered by a matched pair of Ruby EL84 tubes producing 20 watts and three 12AX7A preamp tubes. The Studiotone’s lightweight, compact (19…
BMF Effects’ GeSpot Fuzz
Pure Pleasure
If the sheer number of fuzz pedals available today is any indication, the “noisy” little boxes are perhaps the most popular effects. One outfit that offers a good selection amid…
The Carr Artemus
A Blend of Dick, Leo, and Steve
Steve Carr made a name for himself building fine amplifiers such as the Slant 6V and the Rambler. His Artemus model used four EL84 tubes, but was not a subtle variation on a classic design,…
Parker NiteFly Mojo Flame
Get Yer Mojo Workin'!
When Parker Fly guitars were introduced in July, 1993, they were strange aliens from a distant guitar planet, sporting a radical design, composite body, and neck, and one of the…
The Zelinsky Dellatera Custom
Easy on the senses
Dean Zelinsky’s history as a guitar builder includes unique designs that are toneful and eyecatching. To many, he might be best known for his early designs inspired by Gibson’s futuristic…
Fender FM52E acoustic/ electric mandolin
Mondo Mando!
I know what you’re thinking – “Yuck! A mandolin review! What next – a zither writeup?” Well, wait a second, because this mando is definitely worth your time. First off,…
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…
Epiphone’s 75th Anniversary Electar “1939” Century
Little Heartthrob
Many vintage amp connoisseurs have a special place in their hearts for the early Epiphone Electar amplifiers. David Bromberg is one such fan; as he raved to VG recently about…
Schertler’s JAM 150
Plays Well with Others
Schertler’s JAM150 Price: $1,249.99 (list); $999.99 (street) Info: www.schertler.com Schertler’s JAM150 is a compact combo amp capable of pulling double-duty as an acoustic amp and a multi-instrument PA. Built in…
Ibanez GB10SE
Jazzed Up
In the late ’70s, Ibanez debuted the GB10, a signature jazzbox for crossover icon George Benson. It turned heads with its novel approach – a smaller design, but still fully…
Universal Audio Max and Del-Verb
Smart Stomps
After rolling out several “amp-in-a-box” pedals last year, Universal Audio is back with a fresh line of stompboxes to help guitarists groove. The Max Preamp/Dual Compressor gives models of famous…
Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT
Shagadelic
Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT Price: $799 (guitar); $899 (bass) Info: www.musicvox.com. Popularized in film and television, Musicvox Spacerangers have drawn attention for their mondo lower horn and freakishly…
El Dorado Vintage, Plain and “Gator” Straps
Secure, sturdy, and stylish
We’ve checked out (and recommended) El Dorado straps before, but that was many years (and new readers) ago, so the time has come again, especially since the company recently released…
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…
