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VG Approved Gear
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
Epiphone’s 75th Anniversary Electar “1939” Century
Little Heartthrob
Many vintage amp connoisseurs have a special place in their hearts for the early Epiphone Electar amplifiers. David Bromberg is one such fan; as he raved to VG recently about…
Donner LAX Comp
To The Limit
Whether used for funky tones, a gentle sonic sheen, or as gatekeeper for your rig’s volume, compressors are handy – and often misunderstood – pieces of gear. Fortunately, Donner’s affordable…
Ibanez M522S
F-Style For Less
Thanks to acts such as the Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, and the Punch Brothers, the mandolin is suddenly hip again, particularly among guitarists interested in expanding their stringed horizons.…
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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
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The Chase Bliss Clean
Posh Squash
With is Clean compressor, Chase Bliss set out to create a pedal that would duplicate the vivid interactivity of a dirty tube amp, but with a completely clean tone. While a standard compressor can give your guitar (bass, keyboard, etc.) a professional sheen, the Clean is a stereo unit that can polish mixes or deliver
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The Eastwood Super Axe
Chet Powered!
Wait – what? Did Eastwood just bring back the Super Axe, that incredibly rare bird from the late ’70s? Indeed, they did. A Korean-made reissue, it captures the spirit of Gretsch’s chambered curiosity. Grabbing one, the first thing you’ll notice is the oversized yet thin body, with its arched top and the enchanting lines of
Rock City RockSlide
Alluring Accessories
The RockSlide Guitar Slide is the creation of Mark Morse, a guitarist who wanted more from a guitar slide. Morse found most conventional slides uncomfortable because they’d pinch the fleshy…
Andrew White Guitars’ Freja 1013W
Shape Shifter
Though electric guitars have undergone radical change since the world first laid eyes on Rickenbacker’s “frying pan,” acoustics have rarely strayed from tradition. Andrew White is tweaking the system. The…
Sweet Swingin’ Royalty
Louis Rosano, proprietor of Louis Electric Amplifier Company, has been building and repairing guitar amps for 15 years. After spending a great deal of time digging around in the inventions…
Carr Impala
Big-Block Tone
Carr Impala Price: $2,490 (retail, in black); $2,640 (two-tone) Info: www.carramps.com. While the new Carr Impala amplifier gets its name and some of its aesthetic inspiration from the classic Chevy…
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…
Dr. Z 35th Anniversary Carmen Ghia 1×10
Start Me Up
At the forefront of high-end boutique design, the Carmen Ghia was Dr. Z’s first commercially available amplifier when launched in 1988, and has never been absent from the company’s lineup.…
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The Bad Cat Era 30
Retro-Great
So often has the phrase “Mark Sampson era” been applied to pre-2000 Matchless amps or early examples of the Bad Cat line that the term has become a “thing” in and of itself. As applied to Bad Cat’s new Era 30, it means Sampson is back in the fold (see our interview in the March
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Eastwood MRG Lap Steel
Slide Piece
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
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Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive
Icon In Reach
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
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Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100
Playpen Power
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
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Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay
Double Echo
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
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Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ Reissue
Dual-Mode Delivery
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
Kay’s K161 Thin Twin
Post-war Blues Box
In his day, Jimmy Reed was a huge influence on everyone from Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield to the Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Among its reissues, Kay Guitar…
Frenzel FM-DP1 Tube Preamp
Old-School Bang Without Breaking the Bank
For five decades after he built his first guitar amp in 1952, Jim Frenzel designed tube and solidstate equipment for the military, FAA, and Texas Instruments. But it wasn’t until…
Walrus Audio’s Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo
Delirious Tremors
At some point, nearly every guitarist realizes they simply can’t function without an effects pedal that creates warm, pulsating modulation. Walrus Audio’s Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo not only works as…
Vox Giulietta VGA-3D
Unconventional Archtop
It may look like a conventional archtop, but Vox’s latest box offers something truly different. Within the Giulietta VGA-3D is a modeling engine that can conjure tones from humbucker and…
James Trussart SteelCaster
Rust Never Sleeps
James Trussart’s guitars exist on a plane of their own. With their peerless styling, the builder’s guitars-as-art are nonetheless fully functional, gigable axes. Trussart began building violins, dulcimers, and hurdy-gurdies…
Strymon Flint Tremolo and Reverb
Our Man Flint
Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb Price: $200 Info: www.strymon.net. In just a few short years, Strymon has established itself as a premier developer of pedal effects. With boxes like the…
GluBoost MasterGlu, Fill N’ Finish, MasterTint, and Gludry Accelerator
Stick-To-It-Iveness
There exists a subculture of guitarists who build, customize, or resurrect their own instruments, or help friends with theirs. GluBoost’s line of glues, dry accelerators, and wood finishing products allows…
Universal Audio Ruby, Woodrow & Dream
Model Of Perfection
With digital recording more popular than ever, audio designers are working to capture guitar tone directly, without miking an amp. Universal Audio – renowned maker of studio gear – has…
Dino’s Guitars Rust Box and Dynabox
Old-World Build For a New Gen
Dino’s Guitars Rust Box Italians have historically been known for great craftsmanship and detail. Names like Lamborghini and Maserati conjure the image of the exotic and the high-end detail required…
Reverend Avenger
Tough, Bold, and Fun
Our first entry this month is a new line of instruments, Reverend Guitars, from veteran inventor Joe Naylor, a graduate of the Roberto-Venn School of Lutherie, and well-known maker of…
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…
IK Multimedia iRig HD
Pocket Rocket
Ain’t technology grand? With a device like the iRig HD, you can plug your guitar into an iPhone, iPad, or a computer and rock out with shockingly good sounds. The…
ToneWorks AX1500G
New Tool from ToneWorks
Ahhh, there are never enough toys for us guitarists, are there? Just when we think our rigs are complete, along comes some cool box to turn our heads and make…
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…
Eastwood Airline Deluxe
Get Yer' Wings
The demand for vintage and retro-style axes has become so prevalent in today’s guitar-crazy culture that there’s hardly a brand, style, or color of guitar from the ’50s to the…
65Amps London
18 Watts of Bliss
For nearly 20 years, Dan Boul and Peter Stroud have been close friends. In a bond secured by music, particularly guitars and amps, the two have gone through the phases…
Fender Player Jaguar
Updated Offset
Priced at entry level and built in Mexico, Fender’s Player Series provides affordable access to Fender’s most iconic solidbodies. The Player Jaguar updates a classic offset with a handful of…
ToneConcepts’ The Distillery
100-Proof Tone
While many pedal makers tinker away on effects that exhibit their personal tonal philosophies, the fact is that most don’t play gigs or compose music. Seraphim Marcopoulous of ToneConcepts was…
Blackbox Effects Inferno, X-Ray, Cobalt, Ultraviolet 2, Oxygen
Stimulating sounds
During a recent chat with our friends at Willie’s Gui-tars, Minneapolis, we were turned on to an interesting new line of boutique stompboxes made by Blackbox Music Electronics – a…
Reverend Mike Watt Wattplower
During four years of back and forth, Reverend Guitars and legendary punk-rock bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose, Stooges), developed a partnership that ultimately produced the Wattplower signature bass. The Wattplower…
Zemaitis GZA500-H&D
Tony's Vibe, Unplugged
The Zemaitis GZA500-H&D acoustic guitar is manufactured by Greco and boasts many features and the attention to detail players have come to expect from instruments carrying the Zemaitis name. Along…
