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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
Seymour Duncan P-Rails pickups
All-In-One Slam Dunc
Seymour Duncan’s new P-Rails pickup is a P-90 with a slim rail-style coil tucked in next to it, designed to fit into a standard humbucker ring. Coupled with a standard…
Fender Nile Rodgers Hitmaker Stratocaster
Good Times
Guitarists know Nile Rodgers as funkmaster general of Chic, but he looms even larger as a Grammy-winning producer whose skill has helped sell more than 500 million albums. Fender’s Artist…
Durham Electronics’ ReddVerb
’Verb, Extra Saucy
Durham Electronics’ ReddVerb Price: $219 (list) Info: www.durhamelectronics.com Take it from Redd Volkaert; good reverb is hard to find. And that’s especially true if you’re gigging on the road and…
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PRS Swamp Ash Special
Narrow(field) Win
The bolt-on Swamp Ash Special has been around for nearly three decades, but PRS just retooled the U.S.-built version and dropped it at NAMM. There are significant upgrades. While earlier versions had humbuckers with a single-coil pickup between them, this latest plank has a PRS Narrowfield (NF) humbucker in the middle. Another bonus is the
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Martin D-28 Standard
If nobody mentioned that Martin’s new Standard line had been updated, a player might be forgiven for not immediately noticing that the latest D-28 has been subtly changed. After all, it’s the D-28 – one of the most recognizable and enduring American icons – and the thought of altering such a flagship is likely to
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive combo. Specs remain much the same, deriving 12 watts of power from a pair of 6V6GT output tubes into a 12″ Celestion A-Type speaker. But,
Fire-Eye Red-Eye Twin DI
Double Your Pleasure
In a simple system, even a basic direct-input box with little in the way of adjustments will work fine. But what if your setup includes a plethora of pedals and…
Guitar Tone Company’s Bloody Finger
Rugged Facelift
While honing his ears at Greene Street Recording Studio in New York, David Harrington was inspired to build studio-quality stompboxes. He must have done something right because as word spread,…
G&L Fallout
Form Follows Function
G&L Fallout Price: $1,400 (retail) Info: www.glguitars.com. From automobiles to kitchen appliances to, of course, electric guitars, designers have gotten a lot of mileage out of retro style in the…
Supercool “800,” The Thneed, and ’77 Fuzz Blender
Hip Sounds
Supercool Pedals is a Canadian company that makes stompboxes that sound hip and look seriously groovy. Among its offerings is the “800” Preamp/Distortion, which harkens back to ’70s mid-overdrive designs…
Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus 50th Anniversary
Mr. Clean
The Roland Corporation was born in 1972 and just a few years later introduced its landmark Jazz Chorus JC-120 amplifier. To celebrate the half-century mark, the company has reissued a…
MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22
Crossing the Rubicon
MTD Kingston Rubicon 6-22 Price: $999 Info: www.mtdkingston.com Intuitive, player-oriented design, prime materials, and first-class execution distinguished Michael Tobias’s work even before he began concentrating on innovative electric basses in…
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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
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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
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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
Keeley Electronics’ D&M Drive
Tone Stacker
As the gear industry seeks to reach new segments, Robert Keeley has turned his attention from making products for road warriors who perform onstage to tone freaks who obsess about…
Mojo Hand Swim Team Chorus Flanger
Double Duty
Michigan-based Mojo Hand Effects has been building a variety of hand-assembled pedals since 2010. Their latest, the Swim Team, pulls double duty as a chorus and flanger packed into a…
McElroy OM Model
OM, Gee!
McElroy OM Model Price: $7,500 (base; $8,500 as reviewed) Info: www.mcelroyguitars.com. Brent McElroy is a Seattle luthier specializing in high-quality acoustics. One of them, the OM Model from his Generation…
HomeWrecker Pickups
Slumbering Strats, Awake!
In 2011, session guitarist Joshua Hernandez began winding pickups in his living room. From these modest beginnings, and with no desire simply to replicate the sounds of vintage pickups, Hernandez…
Amalfitano Pickups
Houston Hot, Texas Cool
Texas-based Amalfitano Pickups specializes in hand-wound pickups as well as pickup rewinding and restoration. Owner Jerry Amalfitano uses high-grade Alnico magnets, 42-gauge vintage enameled magnetic wire, vintage-style cloth-covered leads, and…
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…
Positive Grid Spark Go
Ready, Set…
Following the success of its highly portable Spark and Spark Mini practice amps, Positive Grid went really small with the new Spark Go. Measuring less than 5″ wide by 31/4″…
Tone Tubby 4×12
Sweet, full tones from funky hemp cones
Northern California’s A Brown Soun has been repairing speakers for nearly 30 years. Founded in 1974 by John Harrison, the company was named after the way Harrison “sees” sounds –…
EVH Stripe Series Star
Romeo Delight
There was time when guitarists waited for new Van Halen records like ferrets on crack. After all, in the early ’80s, Edward Van Halen was a huge deal – a…
GJ2 Arete 5-Star
Monster of Rock
Bergen Guitars ST and TL Price: $3,999 Info: www.gj2guitars.com. Grover Jackson is a name forever associated with classic metal and custom “superstrats,” thanks to Randy Rhoads and iconic bands like…
Line 6 M5 Stompbox modeler
100 Sounds, One Box
Line 6 M5 Stompbox modeler Price: $279.99 (retail) Info: line6.com Have you ever thought, “Maaaan, I wish I had that [fill in the blank with the name of that rare…
Budda’s Chakra and ZenMan Pedals
Zen and the Art of Tone Maintenance
Budda’s Chakra and ZenMan Pedals Price: $149.99 Contact: www.budda.com Best known in guitar circles as an admired amp builder, Budda has released a pile of new stompboxes that cover all…
Zemaitis S22 Metal Top
Zemaitis company makes its initial offering
Zemaitis S22 Metal Top Amongst the sometimes bizarre, always esoteric lot that is any given group of vintage guitar collectors, the name Antanus Casimere Zemaitis carries a special connotation. The…
Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins
New Traditionalists
Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins1 Price: FF $2,265 (list), $1,699 (street); KO $1,999 (list), $1,499 (street) Info: www.breedlovemusic.com. Unlike luthiers who re-create classic designs, Kim Breedlove prefers new ideas and…
Pigtail Music
Pigtail music makes ABR-style and wraparound bridges (in the U.S.) with vintage-style appearance and materials, but to tighter tolerances. Their bridges hold saddles in place by friction (not with a…
The Selmer Zodiac 50
The Zodiac Twin Fifty
An amp maker at the very heart of the British guitar boom of the late ’50s and early ’60s, Selmer was, for a time, the leader in the field, though…
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…
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…
Harden Engineering BluesBird
Bird Can Sing
If you’re wondering about builder Bill Harden’s inspiration in creating the BluesBird, think Coodercaster – a customized Frankenstein’s monster of a guitar based on a pickup or two that wail.…
The String Sling
Trapper Keeper
Almost all of us have a guitar – maybe even two – we like a bit more than “the other ones.” Maybe it’s a favorite color, is from our “birth…
Oddfellow Napoleon Boost
Little Dictator
Oddfellow Napoleon Boost Price: $119.99 (list) Contact: www.oddfellowfx.com Overdrive is one of the guitarist’s great joys. Unlike flat-out distortion, overdrive is a broad tonal palette, from clean and full to…
