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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
PureSalem Honey Bunny, Pink Beard, Attack Captain
Bring The Fuzz
Remember your first fuzz pedal? Maybe, like a certain reviewer, you literally worked up a sweat trying to strike a deal between the body resonance of an ES-175D and the…
Tone Pump Solara Studio
Clean ’N Dirty
Tone Pump Solara Studio Price: $1,099 (list) Contact: www.tonepumpamplifiers.com The story is a familiar one. A guy learns to repair amps and then gets frustrated with the shortcomings of the…
ToneTron’s Billy-Rocker
Best Amp You've Never Heard of
ToneTron’s Billy-Rocker Price: $1,200 Info: www.tonetroamps.com. On a quiet residential street in Minneapolis lives a mad scientist. Erstwhile rockabilly guitarist Jeffrey Falla is the brains behind ToneTron. And from his…
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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,
JHS Pink Panther
Diamond Delay
To mark the 10th anniversary of its original Pink Panther delay, JHS has created an updated edition that packs a plethora of cool appointments in an attractive box. Modeled after…
Eventide H9
Maximum Effect
Eventide H9 Price: $499 Info: www.eventide.com. Stompbox evolution is getting to the point where huge libraries of sound are coming out of single pedals. You might say, “Well, those are…
Electro-Harmonix Tube Zipper
Exotic Tones For Eclectic Players
Hailed by its creators as the greatest product introduced by Electro-Harmonix in over 20 years, the new Tube Zipper was developed jointly by E-H’s legendary stompbox guru, Mike Matthews, and…
Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini Distortion Pedals
Face Lift
Dunlop’s Fuzz Face Mini Distortion Pedals Price: $129.99 (Germanium, street);$99.99 (Silicon and Jimi Hendrix, street) Contact: www.jimdunlop.com. When it comes to fuzz pedals, the one that comes to mind for…
Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Model
Tuna Bass
Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass Price: $699 (street) Info: www.epiphone.com. Rock-and-roll bassists of the ’60s like Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, and Duck Dunn brought something to the game…
Speedster 25 Watt Deluxe and Class A 40 amps
Flat-Out in Two Gears
It’s one of the great comeback stories in the history of boutique amps – short as that history may be. In 2003, manufacturing engineer/entrepreneur/guitar buff Joe Valosay contacted the founders…
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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
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…
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,…
Echopark Clarence
Wayback Machine
Gabriel Currie’s Echopark Guitars have been played around the world by some of the music industry’s heaviest hitters. His is a line of handmade gems that just ooze vintage flavor.…
Heritage Guitars’ H-157W
Turnkey Head-Turner
In 1985, Heritage Guitars took over a certain factory space at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after the former owners decided to move production to Nashville. Since then, Heritage…
Santa Cruz HT/13 Happy Traum
Fingerstyle Dream
In a career spanning more than 60 years, Happy Traum has been a fixture of the American folk scene, from the Village to Woodstock and the New World Singers to…
Boss Katana Gen 3
Big Step
The Boss Katana amplifier has a cult of devotees, many of whom have been waiting for a Bluetooth version that allows access to the amp’s deep models and effects with…
Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O Wah
The Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O Wah is definitely one of the coolest-looking wah pedals available, with its bright red base and foot-shaped treadle, it’s reminiscent of those custom gas…
Rowan Cimarron
Amazing craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal
Michael Rowan operates a one-man custom gui- tar shop in Garland, Texas, and he recently submitted for review one of the most appealing guitars we’ve grabbed, groped, and fondled in…
Reverend’s Rick Vito Signature Soul Shaker
Built For Speed
Blues-/roots-rocker Rick Vito knows what he wants from a guitar, and the Reverend Soul Shaker is proof. An art deco-inspired design, it sports Rick’s specs for rockin’ blues, slide, and…
Koll Super Glide Almighty
Grady’s Choice
What do you get when you cross a Jazzmaster, Les Paul, Gretsch Duo Jet, ES-335, and Tele? You just might end up with an axe from Koll Guitar, a Portland-based…
Hall & Collins Signature Echo
Echo Rock
For guitarists whose lives are dedicated to replicating the echo effects heard on songs like Hank Marvin’s “Apache,” Hall & Collins Signature Echo is at their service. Combining analog and…
Supro Amulet 1×10
Old-School Soul
Paying homage to low-powered tube amps from yesteryear, the Supro Amulet was designed to re-create classic Supro sounds with a few added features. The Amulet is a 15-watt/Class A 1×10…
EarthQuaker Devices Zoar
Fuzz Fury
An all-analog, transistor-based fuzzbox, EarthQuaker’s new Zoar is billed as a “Dynamic Audio Grinder Distortion Pedal.” In plain English, it delivers square-wave sorcery for guitar or bass rigs that’s great…
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…
Armadillo Blues Preamp/Roadkill Fuzz
The boost you need, with no noise
The TAL Audio Armadillo Blues Preamp/Roadkill Fuzz is a dual-purpose pedal the company describes as “A low-noise instrument preamp with a footswitchable harmonic overdrive designed for the professional musician.” Professional…
Gretsch Malcolm Young “Red Beast” Signature Jet
Let There Be Rock
Forty-odd years beyond when AC/DC first hit American airwaves, the band still inspires multitudes of guitarists with intoxicating riffs, mesmerizing grooves, and a head-banging blues-adjacent ethos. Much of the power…
Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.
Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using the same offset body as Jones’ original guitars but employing…
Area 51 Fuzzwah
Two Great Tastes
Fuzz wahs are nothing new, of course. Released under scores of badge-engineered monikers, they’ve promised aural overload ranging from sirens to tornadoes. Problem is, most have sounded like novelty toys…
The PRS Studio
Bird Watcher
The new Studio model is the culmination of many decades of work from the design minds at PRS, as they attempt to craft a solidbody that can do it all.…
Bacino BAC 18
Tone, With a Big T
Bacino Bac 18 Mike Bacino makes no bones about his mission in recreating the Marshall 18-watt model 1958 2×10″ combo from the mid 1960s. The original amps are rare and…
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…
