-
VG Approved Gear
Fender American Vintage II 1965 Strat
Classic Character
The 1965 Stratocaster joins Fender’s American Vintage II reissues of Strats from ’54, ’57, ’61, and ’73. It’s the company’s first dip into a “transitional” instrument from the year CBS acquired the brand amidst the “guitar boom.” With the AVII series, Fender’s goal in part is to reexamine underappreciated instruments while fixing a few details
Carvin CT6M California Carved Top
Carvin CT6M In a way, it’s like those clothing catalogs that fill your mailbox (especially this time of year). It’s regular, it’s reliable. But instead of sweaters and shoes, the…
Fender American Vintage II 1954 Precision Bass
Ageless Anchor
It wasn’t literally the first electric bass, but Fender’s Precision was the genesis of the instrument the world knows today. For more than seven decades, the four-string workhorse has been…
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…
-
Meris Enzo X
Synth Evo
The world of guitar synthesizer is vast and often confusing, from older floor units to the latest generation of synth pedals, all of which have pros and cons. Meris is pushing the envelope outward with the Enzo X, which uses the company’s acclaimed “bubble screen” interface. It looks daunting at first, but is actually intuitive
-
Xotic Effects AC Booster-V2
Musical, Minimalist
Xotic Effects’ AC Booster-V2 offers all the signature sounds of the company’s popular original while bringing improved touch sensitivity, gain, and overtones. Using Classic Mode, the pedal offers the original AC Booster’s signature sound; Gain controls grit, Volume tweaks output level, Bass secures low-end, Treble manages highs. Jump to Modern Mode and you’ll hear enhanced
-
Grez Grand Tour
Big Bottom
Barry Grzebik had an ambitious goal for his all-new line of hollow-bodies: Deliver the low-end resonance of a deep archtop in a guitar with a slim, lightweight profile. With just one open-stringed strum of this 5.8-pounder, even unplugged, there’s no mistaking he hit his mark. Behind that big bottom end is a novel approach to
The Wampler Catacombs
Shimmer Box
In the pedal market, the category of reverbs and delays is straight fire these days. Wampler has jumped in with the Catacombs, a stereo box that can operate as a…
Carvin Audio’s X1 Preamp
Welcome Back
The recently re-tooled Carvin Audio has stayed active with product offerings aimed at the player/sound-reinforcement segment. Its new X1 combines the front end of Carvin’s old X100B with cool tweaks…
Peterson VS-1 Tuner
The accurate, real-time tuner goes mobile
Most guitar techs will tell you that there has always been a void between small battery-powered tuners and full-blown rotating disc strobe tuners; the small ones are not all that…
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.…
Echopark Ghetto Bird
Sweet Emotion
Echopark Ghetto Bird Price: $6,800 (as reviewed) Contact: www.echoparkguitars.com You know you’re holding something special when the guy who previously borrowed your review guitar was none other than Aerosmith guitarist…
Loar LH-309 VS Archtop
One Cool Cat
Loar LH-309 VS Archtop Price: $569.99 (street) Contact: theloar.com As the retro craze delves deeper into six-string history, a spate of non-cutaway archtops have hit the market, celebrating an era…
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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,
-
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
-
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
Newman Guitars 5 String
Less Is More
Getting one’s hands on a five-string electric like the one Ted Newman Jones built for Keith Richards in the ’70s is a rare treat. Thanks to a partnership with the…
The Drew & Sebastian Avenger
Multi-“caster”
At first glance, the D&S Avenger looks like a long-lost prototype from Leo’s shop, with its offset-waist shape and familiar pickup/ hardware/ control setup. The Avenger’s two-piece alder body sports…
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…
Amptweaker’s TightDrive Jr
Big Surprise, Small Package
You may remember James Brown as the mastermind at Peavey Electronics and Kustom Amplification. In addition to being the brains behind Peavey’s 5150, Classic Series, and JSX, Brown is an…
Blade California
Tone By Analysis
Long before Gary Levinson started making guitars under the Blade moniker, he was, like many builders, a guitar repair tech. He spent much of the 1960s and ’70s in that…
Gator Cases MiniVault
Rolling Rack
Every gigging guitarist who lugs their own gear (so, 95 percent of us) knows firsthand how instrument cases take a beating. No matter how carefully they’re handled, the reality is…
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…
Blackstar’s HT Series Pedals
Gain to the Third Power
Blackstar Amplification is known for its successful Artisan, Series One, and HT amp lines. Its new HT effects line includes boxes for delay, reverb, modulation, distortion, drive, and boost. All…
Fulltone Clyde Wah
Vintage Tone For Modern Players
The original Vox Clyde McCoy wah pedals of the late 1960s are high on the list of soughtafter vintage effects. They were widely used during live performances and on legendary…
Traveler AG-105EQ
Savvy Traveler
Traveler AG-105EQ Price: $499.99 (street) Info: www.travelerguitar.com When it comes to “travel guitars,” players are often forced to sacrifice size for portability and even functionality. Unlike many travel instruments that…
Kochel Resonator
Big-Sky Steel
Self-taught guitar builder Sean Kochel has always been a compulsive tinkerer, even as a child. Years ago, he and his father side-hustled by dismantling homesteader farmhouses, barns, commercial buildings, schools,…
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…
Cordoba Stage
Classical Gas
With a 1.5″/fully chambered mahogany body, the Stage – Cordoba’s first foray into the world of nylon-string electric guitars – brings a pleasing, ergonomic single-cut shape dressed with a beautiful…
Bad Cat Jet Black Combo
Back in Black
Guitar players around the globe praised Bad Cat’s Black Cat amp for its tone, but wanted more punch. Its ear twisted, the company delivered by doubling the output and tweaking…
Fender Acoustic Pro and Acoustic SFX
Curved Air
Fender has been making acoustic guitar amps for decades – now they’re reinventing the genre, and their designers deserve a round of applause both for the visual makeover and the…
Henriksen’s The Bud
This One’s For You
In theory, a big guitar amp should sound larger than a smaller one. Then there’s Henriksen’s The Bud. Based on a cabinet created by company founder Bud Henriksen, it’s a…
E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive
Tiny Footprint, Huge Sound
E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive Price: $160 (list); $130 (street) Info: www.ews-us.com. At 1.5″ x 3.5″, the E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive looks fun and toy-like, but, when plugged in, thoughts of…
Music Man Game Changer
Twelve Tons of Tone
Music Man Game Changer Price: $2,275 (street) Contact: www.gamechanger.music-man.com Since the introduction of the electric guitar, builders have sought ways to increase the variety of tones that can be had…
Washburn Pilsen Idol electric and D78SW acoustic
Ready For Prime Time
Washburn Pilsen. Most often when you see a Washburn guitar, it’s in the hands of artist endorsees (including Nuno Bettencourt, Dimebag Darrel Abbott, etc.). For whatever reason, though, the brand…
Fender PM-2
Sitting-Room Savoir Faire
Once wildly popular among everyone from drawing-room dilettantes to road-hardened bluesmen shuffling the dusty byways, parlor-sized guitars fell out of favor mid-century when popular ensembles demanded the volume better provided…
