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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
Evil Robot EVR-C30
Advances in Mojo
Evil Robot EVR-C30 Price: $999 (list) Info: www.frettedamericana.com. In 2010, music retailer Fretted Americana joined forces with amp wizard John Kasha to “reimagine” the tonal qualities of a vintage Magnatone…
Strymon Iridium Amp & IR Cab
Model Citizen
It can be tough, living in the golden age of gear tech. Which piece of amazing equipment to get next? Strymon’s Iridium might be worth a look. A stompbox-sized amp…
PRS Fiore
Tone Poet
If you’ve seen guitar wizard Mark Lettieri (VG, November ’22) at work, you know how expressive he is. Whether laying down deep funk rhythms with Snarky Puppy or whipping out…
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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,
Foxrox Captain Coconut
New Pedal, True Vintage Vibe
Dave Fox’s new electronics company, Foxrox, recently hit the market with its Captain Coconut pedal. While most of the interest in the pedal has been through word of mouth, the…
Friedman IR-X Dual Channel Preamp
Stack in the Box
Most guitar-electronics companies make a direct-recording preamp, many promising to provide ultimate distortion and overdrive via impulse responses (IR) or cabinet simulations. Dave Friedman, of course, is known for putting…
Smit Boosted Classic and Bucker Lite pickups
PAF Plus? S
Smit Boosted Classic/Bucker Lite Being a guitarist for more than 30 years, Kevin Smith learned much in his quest for great tone. For years he has dissected pickups while devising…
Boss’ SD-1-4A Super Overdrive
Black Magic
Boss’ SD-1 has 40 candles on its cake and the company is celebrating with the SD-1-4A, a new Super Overdrive has a swank finish plus those three knobs you’ve come…
The BBE Soul Vibe
Taking Soul to New Levels
The original Shin-Ei Uni-vibe became hugely famous after Jimi Hendrix used it with Band of Gypsys (and at Woodstock). Later practitioners like Frank Marino and especially Robin Trower used the…
Bohemian Boho Moonshine
In The Can
Here at VG, we see all manner of guitars – those made out of steel, graphite, even animal shells. But I’d never seen a guitar with a body made of…
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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
CopperSound Strategy
Strat-Jack Boost
CopperSound pedals started in the winter of 2014 as a group of friends in Massachusetts who wanted to build pedals for themselves. Soon, though, people outside their circle wanted one…
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…
The Dantzig Tulsa Korina
The New Vintage
Legendary luthier Jol Dantzig’s “Team Built” lineup comprises guitars handcrafted by a small group of artisans under his direction. One of these, the Tulsa Korina, is an exquisite instrument envisioned…
Walrus Audio Messner Stage-One Overdrive
Into Thin Air
First off, who the heck is this Messner guy? Well, in 1978, mountaineer Reinhold Messner became the first person to scale Mount Everest without the help of oxygen tanks. Cool,…
The Hi-Tone HT30/JP 15
Living Loving Gain
While many have tried via transistor trickery to replicate the tone of Jimmy Page’s Hiwatt at Led Zeppelin’s legendary January ’70 Royal Albert Hall performance, the Hi-Tone HT30/JP 15 is…
Heritage Guitars’ H-155M
Best-Kept Secret
Heritage Guitars still builds instruments by hand… in Kalamazoo. Like its veteran brethren in the industry, it focuses on craftsmanship, timeless aesthetics, and a consistent product line. One of its…
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…
Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo
Endless Echo
Like politics, religion, and overdrive pedals, echo boxes are sure to incite staunch views, heartfelt arguments, and perhaps even fisticuffs. But Strymon’s El Capistan is one worth fighting for. To…
Carl Martin Contour & Boost
Pedals For All Occasions!
The Carl Martin Contour & Boost is a hybrid EQ pedal with two filters, a high pass, and a low pass crossed over at 440 hz. The company says it…
Fuchs Overdrive Supreme
Amazing craftsmanship and aesthetic appeal, top-notch
Andy Fuchs, a tube audio product builder from Bloomfield, New Jersey, recently sent us one of his Overdrive Supreme amp heads. Cased in a finger-jointed pine cabinet with tolex covering,…
MXR’s M250 Double-Double Overdrive
Rectified!
Tone might be in the hands, but you need more than your mitts and a clean amp to bring that heavy-rock masterpiece to life. The list should include skull-caving midrange,…
Louis Electric KR M12
Ready To Roll
Lou Rosano, founder and namesake of Louis Amplifiers, was one of the first of what has since become dozens of “boutique” amp builders, having first produced a Fender tweed…
DST MarWatt and UV6 amplifiers
Small-Watt Punch
DST MarWatt/UV6 Bob Dettorre and Jeff Swanson are longtime gearheads who played in bands starting when they were just kids. As adults, one went to college and worked a “real”…
Analog Man Bi-Comprossor
Fresh-Squeezed Sounds
Analog Man Bi-Comprossor Price: $275 Info: www.analogman.com Mike Piera, a.k.a. Analog Man, is known for creating pedals with a vintage flavor. Clients include guitarists who want to achieve that classic…
Bedrock Royal Series
Steve and G.E.'s Excellent Adventure
One of the standouts at this year’s NAMM Show in California was the new retro series of amplifiers from Bedrock. Derived from an uncommon formula (in other words, not just…
B.C. Rich Eagle Supreme, Bich 10 Supreme
For the Metalhead in All of Us
From the Mockingbird to the Bich and the Eagle, since the 1970s, B.C. Rich guitars have been seducing players (and fans!) with their over-the-top looks and sexy body shapes. Loaded…
Gittler Classic
Back to the Future
The Gittler guitar was invented in the late 1970s by Allan Gittler, whose vision to reduce the guitar to its most essential elements led him to design an instrument that…
Fender Joe Strummer Campfire
Punk Burner
Punk legend Joe Strummer might not be the first name that comes to mind when the subject turns to “acoustic guitars.” But in fact, all-night hootenannies hosted by the former…
The Framptone Talkbox
Do You Feel (Like Frampton)?
The Framptone Talkbox When you hear the words “Do you feel,” what comes to mind? If you’re of a certain age demographic, you know how ubiquitous Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes…
Boss Katana 100
Impressive Amenities
More and more, guitarists’ passion for tube amps is being balanced by the rise of quality digital, solidstate, and modeling amps, and for good reason – they’re often inexpensive while…
Gamechanger Light Pedal
Spring Thing
All-analog and made with a genuine spring tank, Gamechanger Audio’s Light Pedal adds a wrinkle to the reverb equation in the form of optical sensors that move it beyond the…
