•  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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Phantom Guitarworks’ Teardrop

Droppin’ In On The ’60s

Phantom Guitarworks is dedicated to producing odd-shaped guitars based on designs introduced in the early 1960s like the Vox Mark VI “Teardrop,” which helped the company make a name in…

Breedlove FF and KO Mandolins

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…

Eastwood’s SD-40 Hound Dog and Classic AC

Subjective as it is, the term “mojo” usually refers to gear that’s been played-in over the years. Eastwood tries to counter that perception with their cool reissues, two recent examples…

Misa Kitara

Axe of the Future?

Misa Kitara Price: $789 Info: www.misadigital.com. The guitar synthesizer has been around for more than 30 years and made significant inroads to contemporary music, thanks to fusion heroes like Pat…

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…

Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93QM

Semi-Hollow Magic

There comes a time in a guitarist’s life when one becomes hollowbody curious, and semi-hollow guitars are often the gateway – and they ain’t cheap. Ibanez offers a solution with…

Strymon’s Riverside Multistage Drive

Down By The River

At first glance, the Strymon Riverside Multistage Drive doesn’t look much different from the rest of the herd. But dig deeper and you’ll find this is not just another overdrive…

The DryBell Vibe Machine V-2

Catch A Wave

DryBell is renowned for one of the most authentic and pedalboard-friendly Uni-Vibe recreations on the market. Five years after launching their original Vibe Machine, the fine folks at DryBell have…

D’Angelico’s Deluxe Atlantic Baritone

Lowdown

Baritone guitars have been around for decades, traditionally featured in Nashville and Hollywood studios and elsewhere to “sweeten” a track or for some other “special” application; to hear an example,…

Egnator Home Thumb

Egnater Tweaker 40

Small, But Mighty

Egnater Tweaker 40 Price: $1,149 (approx. $800 street). Info: egnater.com Egnater has just amplified its Tweaker line with a new 40-watt, two channel, 1×12 combo. This amp has a Celestion…

Jodi Head Guitar Straps

Stand out in a crowd

For over 15 years, artist and designer Jodi Head has been producing high-quality hand- beaded products, including guitar straps, and her client list reads like the guest list to the…

Victoria Regal II Amplifier

Tube-Swappin' Time

Mark Baier launched the Victoria Amplifier Company in 1993, intent on reproducing the tones and aesthetic style of the great tweed amps of the late 1950s. He began twisting these…

Danelectro 56 Pro

More Solid Vibe

Just a couple of years ago, music stores were having a hard time selling a new Danelectro guitar – the Dano reissue craze had run its course and dealers were…

Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+

Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+

35 Watts on a Gold Platter

Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+ Price: $1,599 (list) Contact: www.suprousa.com Upon introduction in 1964, the Valco-made Supro Thunderbolt Model S6420 was a misfit. Like Fender’s 4×10 Bassman, it was designed “exclusively for…

Schertler’s Magnetico AG6

Direct Results

For performers, the struggle to amplify acoustic guitars properly never goes away. But as Schertler shows, things are getting better. It’s generally accepted that a combination of pickups can yield…

Vox AC30CC2X

British, By Way of Beijing

Vox AC30CC2X When most guitarists think of Vox amps, memories abound of the British Invasion and all of the artists – famous, semi-famous, and not-so-famous – who used them at…

Oddfellow Napoleon Boost

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…

Zeppelin Design Labs Cortado MkIII

Zeppelin Design Labs Cortado MkIII contact microphone can record everything from acoustic guitars to a train bridge with a frequency range of 23 hertz to 40 kilohertz. It combines a…

Marshall 1974X and 2061

Low-Watts Rock the World, Again

Marshall 1974X and 2061 In the world of guitar amplifiers, the word “Marshall” often conjures images of 100-watt stacks capable of producing ear-bleeding levels of tube-powered volume – the kind…

LsL Instruments’ Soledad

T-Bone with a Side of Sustain

Based out of Santa Clarita, California, LsL Instruments was founded by Lance and Lisa Lerman in 2008 after many years in the furniture-manufacturing business as well as guitar building. Today,…

The Orange Acoustic Pedal

Juice To Spare

Since the dawn of amplification, engineers have sought a better mousetrap – a more-transparent signal chain that preserves signal and adds less noise. With its new Acoustic Pedal, Orange takes…

The PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo

Swiss Army Hybrid

PRS hits on its long-running trifecta – versatility, playability, aesthetic appeal – with its new twist on the electric/acoustic hybrid, the SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo. The visuals hook you…

Dusky Electronics Toasted Overdrive

Let It Burn

Dusky Electronics’ new Toasted Overdrive is an upgrade of the company’s two-stage MOSFET amp in a box; builder Chris Rossi grew dissatisfied with the tonal quality of the first version,…

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…

Radial Tonebone Shotgun and Mix-Blender

Swiss-Army Stompboxes

Whether it’s due to shrinking pedalboard real estate, shrinking discretionary budgets, or both, stompboxes that serve more than one function never fail to pique interest. Unfortunately, a lot of these…

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…

Citron CS1

Citron Guitars CS1

Harvey Citron has been building instruments since the 1970s, and was co-founder of Vielette-Citron in 1975. His own line of instruments, whose users range from James Taylor to Skunk Baxter,…

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…

Harley Benton Double Vision

Mod Duo

In this era of combination pedals, it makes sense to house similar effects together, as in the Harley Benton Double Vision. A dual-modulation box, it offers chorus and tremolo in…

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Ibanez RGA8

In the Deep End

Ibanez RGA-8 Price: $1,102.21 (approx. $800 street). Info: ibanez.com In the annals of cool, weird, and unusual guitars, they’re nothing like an eight-string axe. It’s a strange beastie, sporting a…