•  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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Singleton Guitars Capella

Shining Bright

Mark Singleton holds the distinction of being a smokin’ guitarist as well as, for the past 24 years, a builder of boutique guitars and basses. One side of the coin…

The Jext Telez Jonathan Wilson’s Canyon Climber, Jext Face

Fuzz Buzz

There’s nothing subtle about Jext Telez stompboxes; they’re about loud colors, loud sounds, and loads of fuzz. The latest creations from designers Bob Ebeling and Colin Simon harken to the…

Valvetech Amplifier Company’s VAC 25

Tractable Tweed

Who says pragmatic utility and classic tones have to be mutually exclusive? Not Rob Pierce, whose Valvetech Amplifier Company deals in classic tones and enhanced flexibility. Case in point –…

L-Guitar Lance Glass

Tweak City

Builders love tweaking the creations of Leo Fender and his squad of ’50s innovators; California luthier Lance McCormick is making his mark with the L-Guitar Lance Glass. It may look…

Line 6 DM4, DL4, and MM4

Line 6 Modeling Pedals

In an addendum to its well-known line of guitar and bass PODs, combo amps, and amp/cab stacks, the Line 6 company recently launched four stompbox-style effects units. All share features…

PureSalem Honey Bunny, Pink Beard, Attack Captain

Bring The Fuzz

Remember your first fuzz pedal? Maybe, like a certain reviewer, you literally worked up a sweat trying to strike a deal between the body resonance of an ES-175D and the…

Fret-King Esprit III

Déjà Vu, Again

What do you get when you cross a Gibson Explorer with a Fender offset and Firebird vibe? The answer is the Fret-King Esprit III, designed by Trev Wilkinson as part…

The Soldano

Super Lead Overdrive

One of the leaders of what we might call the second wave of high-end high-gain tube amps, Soldano has been making a big noise since 1987 – the year Michael…

Bixonic Expandora

The Bixonic Expandora is a distortion box par excellence. The name just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? I think Rocky Jones and his Space Rangers had one. I’m sure…

Eastwood Marksman 5

Bullseye!

Eastwood Marksman 5 Price: $999 (retail) Info: www.eastwoodguitars.com. Reviving great and unusual designs from the past has been the focus of Eastwood Guitars since their inception in 2001. For well…

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…

Fender Twin & Deluxe

Fender’s ’57 Twin Amp and ’57 Deluxe – Tweed for Two

Fender “tweed” guitar amplifiers – the Twin, Deluxe, Bassman, Champ, etc., from the 1950s – are the most sought after amps in the annals of guitardom. Whether it is Leo’s…

Mojo Hand Swim Team Chorus Flanger

Double Duty

Michigan-based Mojo Hand Effects has been building a variety of hand-assembled pedals since 2010. Their latest, the Swim Team, pulls double duty as a chorus and flanger packed into a…

EVH Stripe Series Star

Romeo Delight

There was time when guitarists waited for new Van Halen records like ferrets on crack. After all, in the early ’80s, Edward Van Halen was a huge deal – a…

Jensen Tornado Stealth Speakers

Sheer Magnetism

Jensen has been in the speaker game for a very long time and its wares are some of the most sought-after vintage drivers. The company’s new 12″ Tornado Stealth series…

Jazz Trio

Fender’s Geddy Lee Jazz Bass and Ibanez’s Black Eagle Reissue Take On an Icon

Though it got most of the looks in the family, Fender’s Jazz Bass is nonetheless the tag-along younger brother to the Precision. Benefitting from the elder’s success, it was designed…

Electro-Harmonix Pog and English Muff’n pedals

Sounds, Classic and Funky

For the last 37-plus years, Electro-Harmonix has been a prolific innovator and manufacturer of effects pedals and other preamp devices. A few times each year, E-H president Mike Matthews offers…

Kendrick Sirius

"Star" guitar from the Lone Star State

In devising its limited line of gui-tars, Kendrick, the Texas-based custom amp and guitar builder, has stuck to traditional guns, offering a Strat-inspired axe in its Continental, and Les Paul…

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.…

Fender Micro Mustang

Fender’s Micro Mustang is a pocket-sized contraption offering 12 amplifier models including classic Fender, “British,” and “American,” along with 12 time-based effects. It uses color-coded LEDs instead of an LCD…

Fender’s Player Plus Meteora HH

Familiar Face

Billed as “futuristic and familiar,” Fender’s Meteora design first arrived as part of the Parallel Universe line – mashups of Leo’s body types, hot-rod concepts, and blasts of pure guitar…

Prestige Guitars DC Coupe Custom T Hybrid

“Tele” Twist

The first Telecasters were so good that today they’re made almost exactly as they were 70 years ago. Working just as well for rock as they do for country and…

Harden Muddy Waters

Mojo Working

Harden Engineering is a small Chicago shop that specializes in hand-made instruments in a variety of shapes and sizes and aims to bring a custom approach at affordable prices. Its…

Debut Drive

Slamo Guitars’ Turquoise Cabronita

Slamo Guitars may not have yet achieved the name recognition of certain others, but Frank Silano has been building guitars under the radar for about 10 years. Silano got his…

Gretsch’s G6128T-CLFG Cliff Gallup Signature Duo Jet

Tip Of The (Blue) Cap

Hot dog! Gretsch has long dreamed of issuing a Cliff Gallup signature guitar, but the stars never quite aligned – until now. Gallup, of course, was the fleet-fingered guitar man…

Relic Guitars The Hague T-Style

Relic Guitars The Hague T-Style

Aged to Perfection

Relic Guitars The Hague is a Dutch builder that produces, obviously, relic’d guitars. Mostly using the archetypal Strat and Tele shapes, the company sells their axes online and often for…

Joe Gore Pedals Cult Germanium Overdrive and Filth Fuzz

Dirt Simple

Composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joe Gore’s career path has been multilayered and includes “guitar effects builder.” Two of his pedals are Cult and Filth – effects capable of great and…

Mesa/Boogie Badlander 25 1×12

Tonal Muscularity

In the solar system of amplifier badassery, the name Mesa/Boogie needs no introduction. From the mellifluous guitar sounds of Carlos Santana to the hard-charging intensity of Metallica, Mesa continues to…

Cort’s Sunset I and II Feature

Cort’s Sunset I and II

Jonesin’ For Tone

When Cort isn’t busy making guitars and basses for major musical instrument companies, they’re hard at work building some pretty cool instruments under their own name. From jazz boxes to…

Kiesel JB5 Classic

The look and feel of Kiesel’s JB5 Classic align well with what a bassist expects when they gaze upon it – modern take on a Fender Jazz, with similar cuts…