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…

Production-Line Custom
After 20-plus years with Fender, where he co-founded and helped guide the renowned Custom Shop, John Page struck out on his own to start John Page Custom. One of the guru’s…

The Zodiac Twin Fifty
An amp maker at the very heart of the British guitar boom of the late ’50s and early ’60s, Selmer was, for a time, the leader in the field, though…

Natural Beauty
With climate change on the minds of so many, guitar builders have started to offer more instruments that are good tone tools and sustainable for the planet. Breedlove’s Organic series…
If the iconic Soldano SLO-100 is perpetually on your wish list but its price tag keeps you from pulling the trigger, its creator now has a realistic alternative. Expanding on the original single-channel SLO Overdrive pedal, the SLO Plus introduces a Normal channel alongside Overdrive, each with dedicated controls that allow for detailed tweaking of…
For 2025, Orange has expanded on its compact Pedal Baby introduced a few years back with a new trio – the Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby. All 100-watt amps with solid-state Class A/B output stages, Jfet preamp stages (another form of solid-state), and two footswitchable channels, they’re housed in 12″ x 3.25″ x…
Based on the famed Roland SDE-3000 rack unit, Boss’ SDE-3 combines some classic delay sounds of the 1980s, updated with a bevy of modern tricks and features. Like a lot of delays, it can be run in mono, but you’ll get the biggest bang going in stereo to different amps or outputs. The core of…

Superstar Trem
The new Electro-Harmonix Super Pulsar may not be the most tremolo for your buck, but then again, it’s tough to think of any unit anywhere at any time that gives…

Twang Banger
As the world’s first mass-production solidbody electric guitar fast approaches its 75th birthday, Fender continues to offer variations on the theme. But the biggest takeaway from the design’s diamond anniversary…

A New Spin
There are plenty of takes on the Leslie rotating speaker and its most famous stompbox offshoot, the Shin-ei Uni-Vibe. Dawner Prince Electronics’ Pulse, however, is an open-cabinet revolving speaker emulator…

Golden Child
Every now and then, you pick up a guitar and realize you’re holding magic in your hands. Welcome to the Collings CJ-45 T. The inspiration is obvious in a slope-shouldered…
Budget-conscious way to go ampless
Last month, I disclosed that I’ve gone ampless in 2002. Now let’s discuss how, and with what gear. My criteria is the same as with any gear I use –…
Grand-Auditorium Cousins
Walden Sean Harkness 12-String, CG4070E Price: $1,100 (Sean Harkness Model); $1,350 (CG4070E-CERT) Info: www.waldenguitars.com. With 16 years of producing attractive, understated instruments, Walden Guitars puts an accent on quality materials…
The evolution of Randall Smith’s legendary high-gain Mesa/Boogie design into the revered Mark IIC+ of the mid ’80s established a rock amp that many guitarists still consider the epitome of the form. Building on what was already a high-gain amp by the standards of the day, the M/B team piled on even more gain, more…
Xotic’s S-style guitar line pays homage to the man who revolutionized rock guitar in the ’80s. Hint: He was hot for teacher. The latest version is the XSS-1 Super S, offered in an assortment of pickup configurations, necks, and an array of colors. With an alder body and C-shaped/bolt-on maple neck dressed with tall (Jescar…
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 electronic synth-bass, eight-string bass, and 12-string guitar to organs and harpsichords along with a universe of synthesizer textures. Set up like a mixer, the new…
The Bad Cat Cub has evolved through several iterations since arriving with the maker’s inaugural lineup 25 years ago. It has gained (and lost) features, morphed into more-affordable PCB-based versions, even occasionally doubled in power. The new Cub V returns to its entirely hand-wired/point-to-point origins equipped for two popular power levels – a 20-watter with…
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 reverbs on the market. The concept is to deliver reverb and modulation that brings to mind ’60s blackface, while upping ease of operation. There are…
Greg Koch is arguably the Roy Buchanan of our time, wrestling squawks ’n squeals, burning blues and some absolutely haywire chicken-picking from his guitar. Being not only a big talent but a big fella at 6’7″, he asked Reverend to build a Strat-style guitar distinguished (like the single-cut that preceded it) by a slightly increased…
Art that carries at tune
Hearing we were set to receive lapsteel to review, we thought “Finally, something we’re qualified to review!” Then the Lapdancer arrived in its huge case, and we thought, “It’s a…
A fine custom guitar, Danish-style
Rahbek Guitars hail from Copenhagen, Denmark, hotbed of electric guitar production. Huh? Okay, so that ain’t the case. But those who would rush to judgment over the thought of buying…
Exotic Tones For Eclectic Players
Hailed by its creators as the greaest 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…

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…
D’Elegance and Power
D’Angelico’s EX-DC and EX-SD Price: $1,769 list/$1,259 street (EX-DC); $1,659 list/$1,185 street (EX-SD) Info: www.dangelicoguitars.com John D’Angelico produced just 1,164 guitars during his career on Kenmare Street in New York…

Next-Gen Echo
Designed for guitarists drawn to effects with a simple, straightforward interface, Meris LVX Modular Delay System is an attention-getter. Perfect for the menu-phobic, it’s a powerful box that’s incredibly easy…

Flower Power
Named in honor of Ted McCarty, the Theodore is based on a design the legendary Gibson president penciled into a sketchbook back in 1957. Ted was angling for more radical…
Plexi Tone, Nailed
Voodoo Amplification V-Plex Marshall’s famed 1960s “plexi” and early-’70s 50-/100-watt amps gained notoriety for their fantastic tones. Of course, the downside was that they had to be driven hard to…

By The Horns
Musicvox has earned a well-deserved reputation for capturing the mojo of ’60s-era gear in their import guitars and basses (and amps). The new MI-6 line is no exception. With their…

Hand-Wired Heaven
For the past few years, builder Bruce Clement of BC Audio has been getting attention for his killer-sounding and meticulously wired tube heads and matching cabs. New for 2017 is…

Legend, Resurrected
Jim Kelley began making his highly acclaimed guitar amplifiers 1978. His big revelation came while he was still doing mods and repairs. A customer brought in an Ampeg SB12 for…

Masterful Mashup
Though Bob Logan has been building guitars since 1972, he worked in construction for a few decades before fully dedicating himself to custom builds. Today, he specializes in models like…

Dainty Device
National launched its first ukulele in 1927, combining a brass-bodied, nickel-plated uke with the sweet-sounding amplification of a resonator cone. Plenty of vintage-uke fans see those rare National (and subsequent…

Holiest of Holies
Amid this golden age of music gear, the Analog Man King of Tone Overdrive, first produced in 2005 in collaboration with Jim Weider, heads a distinguished list of “Holy Grail”…
Built like a tank, but sings like a bird…
To call Legendary Tones’ Time Machine Boost “…a distortion pedal” would be to sell it extremely short. Designed for use with high-quality tube amps, the Time Machine’s purpose is to…

True to Its Colors
The Luker Chameleon Combo Price: $1,850 (list) Contact: www.lukeramps.com Considering the state of modern vacuum tubes, a surprising number of great tube amps are currently being built. And of those,…

Flying Fingers
Through the decades, the Gretsch White Falcon has been spied in the hands of everyone from top Nashville session cats to rockers like Neil Young and Billy Duffy of the…

Each of Acoustik Attak’s three guitar picks has a different raised formation that alters the way it interacts with strings; the intent is to provide enhanced upper-midrange and distinct snap.…

Tube SaviorDream Machine
Taylor’s AD (American Dream) line aims to put affordable U.S.-made acoustics in the hands of most any player. The new AD17e employs what Taylor dubs “woods with character,” meaning cosmetic…

Rock Machine
Mike Soldano is the man behind amp tones that influenced a generation of guitarists, his hot-rodded ideas having been used on countless albums by artists from Warren Haynes and George…
Heavenly Possibilities
Alairex H.A.L.O. Price: $399 Info: www.alairex.com. Guitarist Alex Aguilar is a veteran player, former guitar-mag columnist, and today runs an effects company that recently released its first box, the Alairex…