• Fender American Vintage II 1965 Strat

    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

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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…

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…

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

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

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

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…