•  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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Gibson Everly Brothers SJ-200

Full Dress

Gibson has always had a knack for producing distinctive guitars. The EDS-1275 in Cherry finish will forever be tied to “Stairway to Heaven,” while the white version veritably proclaims “Hotel…

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…

Elite Acoustics EAE D6-8 Pro

Power-Packed

A knee-jerk first impression of the Elite Acoustics D6-8 Pro might be, “Dang, that is small.” But its one-foot cube packs serious effects and features, including an 80-watt amp, six-channel…

Fuchs Clean Machine II

Spotless Tone

The folks at Fuchs Audio Technology know that most guitarists use pedalboards loaded with effects they’ve loved, swapped, upgraded, and considered for years. For them, Fuchs offers the tailor-made Clean…

The MXR Custom Badass ’78 Distortion

Company Hot Rod

Dunlop Custom Badass ’78 Distortion Price: $79 Info: jimdunlop.com Custom Badass is a new division of MXR that offers the company’s engineers’ hot-rodded takes on popular designs. Packaged in MXR’s…

Magnatone Varsity

Magnatone Varsity

Less is More, Plus

Magnatone Varsity Price: $1,699 (list); $1,799 (as tested) Contact: www.magnatoneusa.com Magnatone earned a cult of admirers in the mid 20th century. Buddy Holly and Lonnie Mack used the company’s amps,…

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…

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Overture JS-Session

Do-It-All Guitar?

Overture JS-Session Price: $ 1,499. Info: overtureguitars.com When designing a new guitar, builders often face a quandary. Some go to extremes to be original, while others tend to “re-create” the…

Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder

Gettin’ Loopy!

Electro-Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Recorder Price: $476.21 (street); $119.25 (foot controller) Info: www.ehx.com. Looping has a rich history, with roots tracing to modern classical composers like Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, and…

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…

Danelectro Free Speech

"Do You Feeeeel"?

Well, we’ve all had the fun of trying to mimic – even on the worst of nights – a Peter Frampton tune featuring the dreaded “talk box,” possibly even venturing…

Fender FM52E acoustic/ electric mandolin

Mondo Mando!

I know what you’re thinking – “Yuck! A mandolin review! What next – a zither writeup?” Well, wait a second, because this mando is definitely worth your time. First off,…

Reverend Drivetrain Overdrive

Authentic crunch, Ry Cooder to AC/DC

The new overdrive pedal from the canny folk at Reverend Musical Instruments is cleverly named the Drivetrain Overdrive, and it weighs in at a mere pound or so. Overdrives and…

Jon Kammerer Customs Tone Pod Scorpius Deluxe

Comfort and Joy

For 25 years, Jon Kammerer has been on an evolving pursuit to design a comfortable guitar with superior tone and playability. His designs employ eye-catching body shapes and his new…

The Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi

Smooth Successor

Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi Price: $133 (list)/$99.75 (street). Contact: ehx.com. The Big Muff Pi overdrive is the effect stompbox that put Electro-Harmonix on the map, and in the…

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…

Juke 1210

Tonal Treat

Warbler/Juke’s 1210 is unique both for its 2×10/1×12 speaker layout and lack of a distortion/overdrive. And though the amp shares many characteristics often seen in high-end boutique amps (i.e. point-to-point…

Bad Cat Hot Cat

New Roar in Ampland

With a name like Bad Cat and a product pedigree that includes Matchless, our expectations for this new amp line were quite high. So it was with some anxiety that…

Marchione Guitars’ 16″ Archtop

The Golden Mean

In 1922, Gibson introduced Lloyd Loar’s L-5, lauded as the first modern archtop. Luthiers have been “advancing” the design ever since.  Marchione Guitars’ 16″ Archtop shows how the violin family…

Juke 1210

Tonal Treat

Amp purists may have a tough time dealing with Warbler/Juke’s 1210. Until they hear it! The 1210 is unique both for its 2×10/1×12 speaker layout and lack of a distortion/overdrive.…

Marshall Triple Super Lead

Marshall's Triple Super Lead

Marshall’s new JCM2000 Series was introduced last year and has been well-received by Marshall fans and amp aficionados in general. The 2000 Series started with the two-channel Dual Super Lead…

Strobel Rambler Travel Bass

Traveling in Style 

As a rule, travel guitars and basses are intended to help one keep up their chops while on the road for work or vacation. But Florida-based Strobel Guitars strives for…

Tuki Amp Covers

Tuki Tough Stuff

Tuki Covers has been around since 1986, developing ever-better ways to protect various musical equipment from the many hazards that accompany real-word, professional use. The company started with – and…

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard

Atomic Punk

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard Price: $799.99 (list); $599.99 (street) Contact: www.evhgear.com Decades after the release of the first Van Halen album, universal acceptance of Edward Van Halen as the last…

Epiphone Valve Junior and Valve Special amps

Epiphone Valve Junior Through the years, a number of amplifier manufacturers have tried their hands at producing budget tube amps. The problem with the vast majority of these items was…

AnalogMan Jim Weider Big-T Bridge Pickup

AnalogMan Jim Weider Big-T Bridge Pickup

Mr. Clean

AnalogMan’s Jim Weider Big-T Bridge Pickup Price: $135 Info: www.buyanalogman.com Jim Weider is one of the few guitarists who can truly wear the title “Telemaster” without being crushed by the…

Marshall’s EH-1 Echohead, RG-1 Regenerator & RF-1 Reflector

Little Marshalls, Big Tones

Continuing the tradition set forth by the stout little metallic gray/gold boxes of the GV-2 Guv’nor Plus, BB-2 Bluesbreaker II, VT-1 Vibratrem, and others, Marshall recently introduced the EH-1 Echohead…

Virtuoso Polish and Cleaner

Easy on, easy off, UV protection

Virtuoso Polish and Cleaner Easy on, easy off, UV protection Virtuoso Polish and Cleaner, prominent features at vintage guitar shows a few years ago, were recently reintroduced after a not-so-brief…

Soul Tramp Tweed 12

5E3 (Non) Copy

Soul Tramp Amps are builder Don Hill’s take on classic amp circuit designs… for instance, his Tweed 12 offers a spin on Fender’s Deluxe at the height of its form.…

TWA WR-3 Wah Rocker

Duck In A Box

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck… it might be the TWA WR-3 Wah Rocker. Lovingly known as “the duck box,” the Wah Rocker is based…