•  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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Mr. Mojo Sustainin’

The Teye Jazz Cat

Teye Wijnterp is a top-shelf guitar craftsman whose work brings to mind Keith and Ronnie’s famous Zemaitis guitars of the ’70s, but with an obvious Spanish influence. With its semi-hollow…

Gigliotti Special

More Than Just Another Classic-Inspired Axe

The Gigliotti Special is a lot more than just another guitar inspired by a classic design. Rather, it’s a unique-looking custom instrument that sounds as good as it looks. Builder…

Grez Mendocino Short Scale Bass

Time-Machine Tone

In the beginning, there was the Precision Bass. Following Leo Fender’s revelation, things branched out in all directions as builders experimented with the idea that the double bass could be…

Swart Atomic Jr.

Splitting The Atom

When Swart decided to split their Atomic Jr. five-watt combo into a piggyback, they not only went from an 8″ speaker to a 12″, they added more speaker options, including…

Rupert Neve Designs’ Portico 5017/ SE Electronics’ Voodoo VR1

Studio on the Go

Despite what some folks may tell you about the merits of “going direct” for guitar, nothing sounds better than a good microphone and preamp. The Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5017…

Singleton Guitars Capella

Shining Bright

Mark Singleton holds the distinction of being a smokin’ guitarist as well as, for the past 24 years, a builder of boutique guitars and basses. One side of the coin…

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13

Nice Roll

Blackbird Guitars’ Lucky 13 Price: $1,850 (list)/$2,050 (with Fishman electronics) Info: www.blackbirdguitar.com What has a 13-fret neck, a small-but-curvaceous body like a classic early-’30s Gibson, and a sound that conjures…

Setting Up Effects

Certain Guidelines Apply to a Signal Chain, But Your Ears Are the Ultimate Judge

One question frequently asked by guitar players is how to set up effects and arrange them in a 
proper signal path. While there isn’t any “one and only” correct setup…

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PureSalem Bette

Unfiltered Garage Rock

If you’ve ever worked in the music retail field, you know that not everybody shares your excellent taste in guitars. There’s a whole other mutant strain out there that does…

Henriksen Amplifiers’ The Blu

Sound Cube

One old cliché among gigging musicians is, “They pay me for the aggravation, the music is free.” A good deal of that aggravation comes from lugging gear. If you play…

Louis Electric Buster

Beyond Deluxe

Louis Electric Buster Price: $1,595 (street) Contact: louisamps.com. Lou Rosano has been building amps in the Fender vein for more than 17 years. His first build wound up in 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…

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,…

Chemistry Design Werks’ Holeyboard 123

Chemistry Design Werks’ Holeyboard 123 is made of 1/8″ aluminum with overlapping surfaces that can be adjusted from 13″ to 30″ at 1.5″ increments using one or both panels and…

Epiphone’s ES-339 PRO

Scale-Sized Kicks

Epiphone’s ES-339 PRO Price: $400 street Info: www.epiphone.com. The Gibson ES-335 quickly revealed its versatility and tone following its introduction in 1958 – all warm ’n’ woody like a jazz…

D’Angelico NYSS-3 and NYSD-9

Accoutrements, quality worthy of the name D'Angeli

When one thinks of D’Angelicos, elegant jazz archtops from the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s spring to mind. As it should be. John D’Angelico was the preeminent archtop builder of his…

Debut Drive

Slamo Guitars’ Turquoise Cabronita

Slamo Guitars may not have yet achieved the name recognition of certain others, but Frank Silano has been building guitars under the radar for about 10 years. Silano got his…

Eastwood La Baye 2x4 Devo Signature Model

Eastwood La Baye 2×4 Devo Signature Model

Whip It Good

For decades, guitarists have lovingly referred to their solidbody guitars as “planks.” In the mid ’60s, a small builder called LaBaye upped the ante by offering a guitar truly was…

Black Cat’s D&S and N-Fuzz

Two Faces of Fuzz

Located in south-central Connecticut, Black Cat blends an ear for vintage tones with an eye toward modern function and bulletproof construction. On the fuzz front, they have captured two distinct…

Boss IR-2 Amp & Cabinet

Sim Plus

With the rise of home recording, videos, and gigging without amps, Boss has introduced its IR-2 Amp & Cabinet, a small box with a range of amp and cabinet sounds…

Radial Headload Guitar Amp Load Box

Taming a Shrew

As low-power amps gain in popularity, one wonders what will happen to all the 50- and 100-watt amps starting to gather dust in storerooms. Radial Engineering’s Headload attenuator/load box to…

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…

Fender ’57 Twin Amp and ’57 Deluxe

Tweed for Two

Fender “tweed” guitar amplifiers – the Twin, Deluxe, Bassman, Champ, etc., from the 1950s – are the most sought after amps in the annals of guitardom. Whether it is Leo’s…

Magnets and Magic The PAF – Yesterday, Today

Magnets and Magic

The PAF – Yesterday, Today

When it came to launching a solidbody electric guitar, Fender beat Gibson to the punch with its Broadcaster model in 1950. Big G, though, had a cross to counter the…

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…

Banker Excalibur Derringer

Lordy Mama, Light My Fuse

Gibson guitars from the ’50s and ’60s are some of the most-sought after instruments on the planet, and re-creating the look, tone, and feel from that golden era is no…

Guild’s Starfire I DC GVT

Big Green Monster

Guild’s Newark Street guitars are a line of lower-priced instruments anchored by a reissue of the classic Starfire; the most distinctive is the I DC GVT. A handsome semi-hollow, it…

Martin D-13E Ziricote

Contemporary Cannon

From the time the first self-branded models shipped from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, in the early 1930s, the Martin dreadnought has been one of the most recognizable guitars in American music. The…

Strymon Ultraviolet Vintage Vibe

Modern Spin

Pioneered by Jimi Hendrix, the Uni-Vibe became synonymous with psychedelic rock sounds in the 1960s. Strymon’s modern interpretation is the Ultraviolet Vintage Vibe. The Ultraviolet offers a variety of tone-shaping…

Reverend Rick Vito Soul Agent

Swank Plank

Some guitars look great, while others sound or play great. With Reverends’ Rick Vito Soul Agent, you get all three in one package. With a chambered korina (white limba) body…