•  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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SurfyBear Compact Reverb

Bringin’ Springs

Reverb got a big push into the world of guitar when Leo Fender installed Hammond’s Accutronics Type 4 Spring Reverb in his 1962 Twin Amp. Ever since, players have pursued…

E.W.S. BMC2

E.W.S. BMC2

Tiny Green Giant

As mini-sized pedals continue to gain in popularity they are also becoming increasingly refined and versatile in their layouts. One of these, the popular BMC (Bass Mid Control) from E.W.S…

Vox Real McCoy Chrome Wah Ltd and V846 Vintage Wah

Replica Treadles

Thanks to notable users ranging from Del Casher and Frank Zappa to Jimi Hendrix and Kirk Hammett, the “wah wah” is perhaps history’s most-recognized guitar effect. Vox, which marketed the…

Guild Starfire I-12

Budget Jangle

Twelve-string electrics were ubiquitous in the swinging ’60s, popularized by bands like The Byrds, Beatles, Searchers, Turtles, Beau Brummels, and many others. Though they eventually fell out of fashion as…

Taylor AD11e-SB

Small Gem

This latest addition to Taylor’s American Dream line builds on its Grand Theater (GT) series of small-body guitars, the goal being to offer an American-made acoustic that balances subtle ornamentation…

Acoustic Remedy’s ClimaStand Display Case

Open and Shut

Acoustic Remedy ClimaStand Price: $899 (walnut) Info: www.acousticremedycases.com Most players have at least one guitar they would like to display in a manner that allows them to enjoy its beauty…

Pirate Guitar Effects’ Plank Overdrive and Boost

Walk The Plank

Every pro guitarist who has laid eyes on the Pirate Guitar Effects Plank has initially thought they recognized the logo and taken a second look. The Plank is something other…

Wangs #2204 HW

Chinese Rocks

Even as new technology spawns new sounds, ease of use, and portability, there remains among guitarists a predilection for technologies of old. New sounds are inevitably compared to the earthy…

Rowan Cimarron

Amazing craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal

Michael Rowan operates a one-man custom gui- tar shop in Garland, Texas, and he recently submitted for review one of the most appealing guitars we’ve grabbed, groped, and fondled in…

Orange TH30 Combo

Orange TH30 Combo

Small Clubs, Big Tones

Orange TH30 Combo Price:$1,379 (list) Info: www.orangeamps.com Beyond their eye-catching color, Orange amplifiers have always rendered a distinct sound. Today, the company offers an assortment of amps, and its TH30C…

Oddfellow Caveman Drive

Oddfellow Caveman Drive

Tone Evolution

Oddfellow Caveman Drive Price: $174.99 (list) Info: www.oddfellowfx.com. Handmade in California, the Oddfellow Caveman Drive is a boutique pedal whose simple layout belies its tonal complexities. But even before hooking…

Avante Gryphon

Avante Gryphon

Game Changer?

Avante Gryphon Price: $1,495 (street) Info: www.veilletteguitars.com People bandy about the term “game changer” so often these days it barely means a thing, but the Avante Gryphon may be just…

Golden Age Pre-73 MkIII, Ear Trumpet Edwina, and Avantone CR-14

The Front End

Strike up a conversation with anyone who records music and they’ll talk your ear off about mics and preamps. If you want to make your guitar and vocals sound good…

Magic Magnets

TV Jones’ Starwood Humbuckers

Best known for making the vintage-sounding Magna’Tron, Power’Tron, and Supra’Tron pickups, TV Jones has expanded its well-regarded line to include pickups for Telecasters, Stratocasters, and Les Pauls. The TV Jones…

Lovepedal Purple Plexi

Glory & Overtones

Fans of guitarists with superb tones routinely spot Lovepedal boxes on pedalboards in almost every music genre. From their early days emulating the tones of Billy Gibbons and Jimi Hendrix,…

The Hi-Tone HT30/JP 15

Living Loving Gain

While many have tried via transistor trickery to replicate the tone of Jimmy Page’s Hiwatt at Led Zeppelin’s legendary January ’70 Royal Albert Hall performance, the Hi-Tone HT30/JP 15 is…

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges

’Verb Voyage

Billed as a Tri-Dimensional Reverberation Machine, the Earthquaker Ledges boasts a user-friendly interface with no menus or deep MIDI commands to figure out. Its controls are Mix (wet/dry) and Length…

D’Angelico’s EX-DC and EX-SD

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…

Tremcaster Single Ninety Home Feature Image

Tremcaster Single Ninety

Best of Both Worlds

Today’s guitar market is one of extreme preferences. For some, the idea of countless options and exotic woods and craftsmanship is the name of the game. For others, the tendency…

Rockn Stompn Sequential Power Strip

“Good” Power!

Power. Juice. Electricity. The brilliance of Ben Franklin, James Watt, and Nikola Tesla helped harness, if not tame, this vital energy. Subsequent refinements that are of particular interest to guitarists…

EHX Spruce Goose OD

Blues-breakers Bump

Known and loved for its smooth breakup and sensitivity, Marshall’s Bluesbreaker circuit is a legend unto itself. The Spruce Goose Overdrive is the Electro-Harmonix version of it. Offering a simple…

BluGuitar Amp1

Tiny Tube Terror

The trend toward the miniaturization of guitar gear shows no signs of slowing. Thanks to modern technology, guitarists are fitting more and more sorcery in their bags of tricks. BluGuitar’s…

Danelectro ’84

Love Struck

The Danelectro name first surfaced on amplifiers in the late 1940s, then later on guitars made with Masonite bodies and lipstick-tube pickups, along with electric sitars, baritone guitars, and “Longhorn”…

Fender G.E. Smith Telecaster

G.E.'s Electric

G.E. Smith is a guitarist, vintage-instrument authority, and holder of several past high-profile gig including 10 years as the bandleader on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” where he proudly displayed pieces…

Maestro Agena, Orbit, and Mariner

Wavy Gravy

Everyone loves modulation and filter pedals – those swishy, soupy sound makers that doll up a guitar’s signal. Maestro is now offering a new trio with the Agena Envelope Filter,…

Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+

Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+

35 Watts on a Gold Platter

Supro’s Thunderbolt S6420+ Price: $1,599 (list) Contact: www.suprousa.com Upon introduction in 1964, the Valco-made Supro Thunderbolt Model S6420 was a misfit. Like Fender’s 4×10 Bassman, it was designed “exclusively for…

SX SST-57 Guitar and SJB-57 Bass

Redefining "Low-End" Gear

SX SST-57 guitar. Once upon a time, cheap guitars were just that – inferior imported planks bought as Christmas gifts then replaced as fast as one could afford. But with…

Bass Bruiser

The HomeBrew Hematoma Bass Overdrive

Like a lot of gear-making companies whose stuff is warmly received, Joel and Andrea Weaver at HomeBrew Electronics have never rested on their laurels. Instead, the effects-pedal builders have launched…

PRS SE Silver Sky

Aiming Higher

In a world filled with Strat-type guitars, it takes a lot to set one apart, let alone stand above. The PRS Silver Sky was one that did. Can the SE…

Republic 207 Tricone

Brass Ring

Resonator guitars appear to inspire a particular kind of affliction among players. And it’s a difficult addiction to maintain, given the paucity of vintage National and Dobro instruments, their much-cursed…