• Eastwood MRG Lap Steel

    VG Approved Gear

    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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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…

Heritage Guitars’ H-157W

Turnkey Head-Turner

In 1985, Heritage Guitars took over a certain factory space at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after the former owners decided to move production to Nashville. Since then, Heritage…

Reverend Rumblefish Bass

Striking semi-acoustic

The Rumblefish is an electric bass model from Reverend Guitars, out of Michigan. This is a striking semi-acoustic in the best tradition of Danos and Silvertones, but has the finesse…

Roland Micro Cube

Mighty Mouse

Roland Micro Cube Price: $130 (street) Info: www.rolandus.com. Every once in a while you have to pinch yourself and thank your lucky stars to be a guitarist in the 21st…

PRS Modern Eagle and SE Soapbar II

From "10" Top To Bottom

Gee, I have to review two Paul Reed Smith guitars today… I know – it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. Today’s subjects are the top-end, USA-made Modern…

Martin SC-13E Special Burst

Blueprint Blow-up

For nearly two centuries, Martin has been building acoustic instruments befitting the company’s august reputation. The slew of budget-friendly models in its Performing Artist series offer modern takes on traditional…

GIFFIN VITKA

Giffin Vikta

Feelin’ Special

Giffin Vikta Price: $2,295 Contact: premierbuildersguild.com. Roger Giffin is a guitarmaker to the stars, having built for Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, Mark Knopfler, Andy Summers, David Gilmour,…

B.C. Rich Eagle Supreme, Bich 10 Supreme

For the Metalhead in All of Us

From the Mockingbird to the Bich and the Eagle, since the 1970s, B.C. Rich guitars have been seducing players (and fans!) with their over-the-top looks and sexy body shapes. Loaded…

LANEYL50H-HOME-MAIN-BIG

Laney L50 Head and L412 Cab

Classic British Tone

Laney L50H/L412 Price: $1,990 (head); $1,499 (cab) Info: laney.co.uk. Lyndon Laney is no stranger to fans of the iconic British stack. Established in 1967, Laney Amplification found its early fame…

Daredevil Pedals’ Atomic Cock

Daredevil Pedals Atomic Cock

Green Monster

Daredevil Pedals’ Atomic Cock Price: $150 (list) Info: www.daredevilpedals.com. Despite the many clever take-aways one could derive from its name, the Atomic Cock is “just” an effects box offered by…

Reddick Voyager CS

Mods Made Easy

Exploring creative designs at his shop in Georgia, luthier Ian Reddick aimed to solve a common problem – how to cover a range of tones on a gig without lugging…

Reverend’s Rick Vito Signature Soul Shaker

Built For Speed

Blues-/roots-rocker Rick Vito knows what he wants from a guitar, and the Reverend Soul Shaker is proof. An art deco-inspired design, it sports Rick’s specs for rockin’ blues, slide, and…

Savage Audio Macht 12x

Sweeter Mids, Smoother Twang

The Savage Audio Macht 12x Savage Audio gained a solid reputation for its repair work before moving into amplifier production in 1990. Today, the company builds a full line of…

Iconix Pickups Black Mass

Michigan Metal

Michigan may have given us the automobile production line, but Troy-based Iconix Pickups is the antithesis of an assembly line operation, and now Iconix is building quality pickups for a…

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade

Wicked Switch

Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade Price: $149.99 (black or white three-ply); $164.99 (white pearloid); $169.99 (brown tortoiseshell) Info: www.awesome-guitars.com. When Leo Fender was designing the Strat back in…

AJ Peat Screaming Flamingo, Wild Goose, Dirty Buzzard

Birds Are the Word

AJ Peat is in the business of creating some of the hippest music gear on the planet. Boutique guitars, pedals, and audio devices all bare his thumbprint, and his take…

Luker Chameleon Combo

The Luker Chameleon Combo

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,…

Retroman effects

Five Boxes of Fun

Retroman proprietor Joe Wolf is a dedicated one-man-shop that designs, builds, and finishes effects pedals all by hisself. Wolf, a guitarist and electronics engineer, began building pedals for his own…

Guild’s S-200 T-Bird

Cult-Fave Phoenix

Sometimes admired, often maligned, the cult classic Guild S-200 T-Bird has enjoyed a rebirth in the hands of Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach, whose use of a vintage S-200 caused…

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…

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…

Mooer’s Slow Engine Volume Swell

Bring It Up

Long out of production, the Boss Slow Gear was one of the coolest pedals of the ’80s, duplicating the sound of a volume swell without putting your pinky to work.…

Martin D-42 Modern Deluxe

Boom Box

Martin’s new Modern Deluxe line offers a tantalizing idea – a traditional-looking/playing premium acoustic, but with high-tech innovations under the hood. Being a revised take on an iconic dreadnought, it…

Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker

Poles Apart

Railhammer Hyper Vintage Humbucker Price: $139 list/ $89 direct Info: www.railhammer.com Developed by Joe Naylor of Reverend Guitars, Railhammers are passive humbuckers that use a combination of pole pieces on…

Strymon’s DIG Dual Digital Delay

Diggin’ In

Offering the heart and soul of those crystal-clear first-generation 1980s digital delays, California-based Strymon’s DIG Dual Digital Delay provides not only three classic digital voicings, but dual cascading or parallel delay…

Radial Engineering Tonebone Classic, Hot British, and Switchbone

Tonebone Pedals

Radial Engineering’s Tonebone distortion pedals have been making serious “noise” in the few short months since their introduction. Whether online or in print, the good word has spread quickly, and…

Fender ’57 Amp

What Would Leo Do?

History tells us that Leo Fender wasn’t much for “fancifying” things. More meat-and-potatoes than Chicken in Walnut Curry, Leo was a simple guy, and that ethos carried over to the…

Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz

A Good Buzz

Amptweaker’s TightFuzz and Bass TightFuzz Price: $280 retail/$199 street (TightFuzz); $310 retail, $219 street (Bass TightFuzz) Info: www.amptweaker.com. Since the birth of the fuzz pedal in 1960s, its scratchy, buzzy,…

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Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo

Endless Echo

Like politics, religion, and overdrive pedals, echo boxes are sure to incite staunch views, heartfelt arguments, and perhaps even fisticuffs. But Strymon’s El Capistan is one worth fighting for. To…

Killer B Standard

Feel the Buzz

In a marketplace crowded with indie guitar builders, Killer B differentiates its Standard model with uncommon contours and a customizable feature set. The Standard reviewed was loaded up with sophisticated…