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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
Visual Sound Route 66 V3 American Overdrive
Get Yer’ Kick
Visual Sound Route 66 V3 American Overdrive Price: $179 (street) Contact: www.truetone.com/ Over the years, the Route 66 pedal by Visual Sound (Ed. Note: the company is undergoing a rebranding,…
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,…
Z.Vex Fuzz Probe
There-Mayhem
The Z.Vex Fuzz Factory pedal unleashed sonic possibilities ranging from a horde of wasps to the (presumed) sound of the end of the world and became a go-to stompbox for…
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PRS Swamp Ash Special
Narrow(field) Win
The bolt-on Swamp Ash Special has been around for nearly three decades, but PRS just retooled the U.S.-built version and dropped it at NAMM. There are significant upgrades. While earlier versions had humbuckers with a single-coil pickup between them, this latest plank has a PRS Narrowfield (NF) humbucker in the middle. Another bonus is the
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Martin D-28 Standard
If nobody mentioned that Martin’s new Standard line had been updated, a player might be forgiven for not immediately noticing that the latest D-28 has been subtly changed. After all, it’s the D-28 – one of the most recognizable and enduring American icons – and the thought of altering such a flagship is likely to
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Carr Skylark Special 1×12
Take Flight
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive combo. Specs remain much the same, deriving 12 watts of power from a pair of 6V6GT output tubes into a 12″ Celestion A-Type speaker. But,
Blackstar Fly 3
Best In Show… And More
While listening to AC/DC’s Back in Black on a small, audiophile-grade table radio, Blackstar Amplification CEO Ian Robinson had an epiphany: small amps don’t have to sound crappy. Previously, there…
Taylor T3
Tone Poet
The Taylor T3 Price: $2,998 Info: www.taylorguitars.com. Some guitar players never touch a tone knob, while others view it as the Holy Grail of guitar controls. If that sounds like…
PureSalem Bette
Unfiltered Garage Rock
If you’ve ever worked in the music retail field, you know that not everybody shares your excellent taste in guitars. There’s a whole other mutant strain out there that does…
The Rivolta Combinata Bass VII
Euro Flash
Rivolta’s Combinata VII bass takes ideas from Rickenbacker, Höfner, and various European builders lost to history and wraps them into a four-string with a chambered mahogany body. Working in collaboration…
The Providence Velvet Comp, Red Rock OD, and Phase Force
Tones of Destiny
The Providence Velvet Comp, Red Rock OD, and Phase Force Price: $199 (per piece, list) Contact: www.providence.jp Providence is a Japan-based manufacturer of effects, cables, guitars, pickups, and audio-switching devices.…
The ASIA Symposium
Kinship and Connections
As much a celebration of kinship as it is an educational forum, the biannual Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (ASIA) Symposium, held at East Stroudsburg University, in Pennsylvania, is mini…
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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
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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
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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
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…
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…
H&D, Running Dog, and Gibson
Downsize, Upmarket L-Style Guitar
In the July issue we looked at affordable L-style flat-tops for the acoustic blues player. This month, we look at similarly inspired instruments, but at a premium price point. All…
CopperSound Telegraph V2 Autostutter/Killswitch
All the Rage
Need the perfect stutter effect or killswitch in a pedal? Massachusetts-based CopperSound Pedals’ latest iteration of its popular Telegraph Stutter box was recently launched, with a nice dash of increased…
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…
The EHX Super Pulsar
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…
Small Wonder
The Orange Rocker 15 Terror
Small-footprint amp heads – tube and solidstate – are all the rage and getting better all the time. Case in point, the Orange Rocker 15 Terror. At just 15 pounds,…
Gretsch G5622T Electromatic
Can’t-Miss Double-Cut
Enamored with the Cadillac of guitars, can’t quite spring for a Coupe de Ville, and don’t want to get stuck with an econobox? Take one of Gretsch’s new center-block Electromatics…
Fargen Olde 800 MKII, Sonic Edge J&J Overdrive
Decades of Tone
The Fargen Olde 800 MKII Price: $1,949 Info: www.fargenamps.com. For 10 years, Ben Fargen has established a reputation for building amps based on British and American designs, and for offering…
Ernie Ball Steve Morse Model & Silhouette Special
High-Octane Solidbodies
The guitars of the Ernie Ball/Music Man Company generally cater to “guitarist’s guitarists,” that is, those fretboard virtuosos we all stand in awe of. Over the years, players who’ve lent…
Way Cool Version: Newman Guitars’ Honeycomb Chambered Jr.
Following Ted Newman Jones’ passing in 2016, protégé Jeff Smith took over Newman Guitars and is furthering the vision, using the same offset body as Jones’ original guitars but employing…
Weller El Dorrado
Rock-and-Roll Screamer
Tucked away in southwest Illinois near St. Louis, luthier Steve Weller is making interesting instruments. His El Dorrado model is a solidbody with nods to the angular shapes of the…
Sturdy and “Purdy”
Dashboards Pedalboards
Founded in 2010 by guitarist Ashley Dasher and based on his vision of the ideal touring pedalboard, Dashboards offers well-crafted, easy-to-use pedalboards. And they look sharp, too! With lightweight, yet…
Ernie Ball’s Music Man Cutlass/Stingray
Talkin’ Tonewoods
For many builders of solidbody guitars, the challenge is to improve on a handful of pioneering designs from the 1950s and ’60s. No one knows this better than Ernie Ball…
Ibanez Artcore AF105NT
Class Axe
Ibanez has always had two distinct personalities – first as a purveyor of shreddy solidbodies for the hard rock/metal crowd, but also as a maker of fine archtops, thanks to…
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…
Fender Player II Series Telecaster
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…
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…
Donner Rising-G Pro
Weather-Ready
Composite and graphite guitars have been around for more than 50 years, from famous Ovation acoustics to the Parker Fly, Steinberger, Brian Moore MC/1, and RainSong acoustics. The China-based Donner…
Taylor 814ce
New Life at 40
Taylor 814ce Price: $4,378 (list); $3,399 (street) Info: www.taylorguitars.com Of all the guitars in Taylor’s product line, the 814ce is one of the most popular. Most manufacturers are loath to…
Line 6 M5 Stompbox modeler
100 Sounds, One Box
Line 6 M5 Stompbox modeler Price: $279.99 (retail) Info: line6.com Have you ever thought, “Maaaan, I wish I had that [fill in the blank with the name of that rare…
