•  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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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…

Killer Guitar Components Killer Trem Bridge

Bridging the Gap

In the mid 1950s, Leo Fender and his crew spent countless hours on the design and manufacture of their revolutionary new Stratocaster tremolo bridge. And in the 60-plus years since…

The Carvin LB70

Höfner Hybrid

When a Carvin instrument has been featured in this space over the years, it was a either a doubleneck or an unusual custom instrument. And while the 1977 LB70 featured…

Visual Sound Route 66 V3 American Overdrive

Visual Sound Route 66 V3 American Overdrive

Get Yer’ Kick

Visual Sound Route 66 V3 American Overdrive Price: $179 (street) Contact: www.truetone.com/ Over the years, the Route 66 pedal by Visual Sound (Ed. Note: the company is undergoing a rebranding,…

Dr Z Octal Six 1×12 combo

Valve Variation

Classic guitar amplifiers have made certain vacuum tubes household names (among gearheads) – 12AX7, 12AT7, 6L6, 6V6, EL84, and EL34. Working with various combinations of them along with carefully selected…

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Mu-FX Octave Divider

The Mu Is Back

This is rocket science. Or at least as close as a stompbox gets. Sure, building a pedal that tweaks a guitar’s signal around and about isn’t exactly putting a man…

Jam Pedals RetroVibe

Bridge Of Floyd

In a civilized world, every guitarist would have a bit of Robin Trower, Pink Floyd, and Band Of Gypsys shimmer in their musical vocabulary. Fitting, then, that a company headquartered…

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…

The D’Angelico Excel 59

Hybrid Hotshot

Some might see it as a Frankenstein’s monster, while others will view it as the best of all worlds. The D’Angelico Excel 59 is a throwback to an original John…

Ernie Ball Rosewood Axis Super Sport, Steve Morse SM-Y2D

Sexy, Super, and Sonic

Ernie Ball/Music Man Rosewood Axis Super Sport. There’s something ridiculously sexy about a rosewood neck. No, not a rosewood fretboard – we’re talking a rosewood neck. Ernie Ball/Music Man’s Rosewood…

5150 Iconic Series 60-Watt 2×12

Little Monster

When Edward Van Halen released his 5150 head with Peavey in 1992, it quickly grew famous for its massive gain, tight compression, and ability to chug. Co-designed by engineer James…

Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini Distortion Pedal

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…

Electro-Harmonix POG III Big Generator

Big Generator

Introduced in 2005, the Electro-Harmonix Polyphonic Octave Generator – a.k.a. POG – has spurred a handful of offshoots and updates. Born as an ultimate octave box, it conjures everything from…

Demeter FZO-1 Fuzzy Octavulator

Demeter FZO-1 Fuzzy Octavulator

Fuzz Flavors

James Demeter has a long history in the amp and effects biz. His project-boxed/Dymo-labeled Tremulator pedal pre-dates the ’90s boutique pedal explosion by more than a decade. During his 30…

Railhammer Billy Corgan Z-One Humcutters

Clear Crunch

In the quest for tone, the secret is a combination of pickups, wood, construction, and the magic in a player’s fingers. Aiming for a tone like a P-90 with hot…

Mooer’s Slow Engine Volume Swell

Bring It Up

Long out of production, the Boss Slow Gear was one of the coolest pedals of the ’80s, duplicating the sound of a volume swell without putting your pinky to work.…

Retro and Wonderful

The EHX Mainframe Bit Crusher

The Mainframe Bit Crusher is a nasty little pedal that warps, mangles, distorts and produces lo-fi digital sounds and trippy sci-fi gizmo textures reminiscent of computers and video games of…

Electro-Harmonix Synth9

Downright Synth-Ful

For 40 years, guitar synthesizers have come and gone, but the Electro-Harmonix Synth9 looks to be a game-changer for several reasons. First, you don’t need an external pickup to make…

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…

Tsakalis Experience, Emma ON-1 Okto-Nøjs, and Mad Professor Twimble

World Sounds

It seems that every other stompbox on the market has dual-footswitch functionality, packing two entirely different circuits into one housing. And judging by the trio here – all three of…

Crucial Audio’ Die Götterdämmerung Germanium Fuzz/Ring Modulator

Ring Tones

Named by Flaming Lips guitarist Steven Drozd after composer Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle opera, Crucial Audio’s lavishly named Die Götterdämmerung Germanium Fuzz/Ring Modulator is a wild, wicked pedal. (Note the…

Henretta Engineering Pedals

Henretta Engineering Pedals

Good Things, Small Packages

Henretta Engineering Pedals Prices: Green Zapper, Bluebird, and Purple Octopus, $125 each; Chord Blaster, $140 Info: www.henrettaengineering.com. Bigger is not necessarily better – especially when you have a pedal board…

John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ

Classy & Sassy

The John Page Classic Aqua Burst AJ is another hip offering from the former Fender Custom Shop honcho and co-founder, revamping the Tele concept into something fresh. To achieve that…

Tyler Amp Works’ HM-18 Combo

Jersey Original

New Jersey has a history as home of some iconic amplifiers, and Tyler Amp Works in Westfield is a father-son operation that uses local resources in producing some of the…

Ramble FX Twin Bender Fuzz

Whole Lotta Fuzz

Fuzz comes in a lot of flavors. From spitty or choked-off splat to gritty gated sounds, from classic ’60s to ’90s grunge and beyond, Ramble FX’s take on the classic…

Jerry Jones Master Electric Sitar

High-quality build, authentic groove

If you’ve always wanted to learn the sitar, but could never quite scrape up the cash to fly to India and study with the Maharishi for several years, then you’ll…

Fender’s American Deluxe Stratocaster V Neck

Still Killer After All These Years

One look Fender’s latest Frontline catalog and you’ll see a huge array of models – Custom Shop N.O.S., Closet Classic, and Relics, artist signature models, American Strats, Mexican-made Strats, vintage…

Guild D-50 Standard

Rosewood Renaissance

With a tradition going back more than 70 years, Guild Guitars was there from the beginning of rock and roll, at the peak of folk, and through the Summer of…

D’Angelico Premier Bob Weir SS

Touch of Grey

When Bob Weir introduced his D’Angelico Premier SS at NAMM last January, he performed a set of Grateful Dead and solo tunes for a select audience with backing from an…

Keeley Electronics Zoma

’65 Vibe

Inspired by Robert Keeley’s fondness for combining effects, the digital Keeley Electonics Zoma Stereo Reverb and Tremolo simplifies interface and function compared to his earlier Hydra pedal and many other…