• Walrus Audio’s Mako Series MKII

    VG Approved Gear

    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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Aiken Invader 30

Randall Aiken makes his home in Buford, Georgia, and for many years has been repairing and designing amps. A double-degree holding electrical engineer who put himself through college by fixing…

Musicvox Space Cadet USB 30″ Custom

Short-Scale Slugger

Don’t be confused by the USB in this four-string’s name – there’s no computer-cable hookup. Instead, USB stands for “ultimate short-scale bass” and, indeed, this Musicvox Space Cadet sports a…

Newman Guitars 5 String

Less Is More

Getting one’s hands on a five-string electric like the one Ted Newman Jones built for Keith Richards in the ’70s is a rare treat. Thanks to a partnership with the…

Gator Cases MiniVault

Rolling Rack

Every gigging guitarist who lugs their own gear (so, 95 percent of us) knows firsthand how instrument cases take a beating. No matter how carefully they’re handled, the reality is…

Sonic Machine Factory 15 Watter

With tube amp gurus like Mark Sampson and Rick Hamel piloting the crew, we had a sneakin’ hunch that the Sonic Machine Factory’s 15 Watter we received for review was…

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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…

Epiphone Tony Iommi SG Special

Monkey Time

Digging into the primordial ooze of heavy metal, players often start with Black Sabbath and their resident guitar necromancer, Tony Iommi. Armed with various Gibson SGs and custom-made copies, he…

IK Multimedia iRig HD

Pocket Rocket

Ain’t technology grand? With a device like the iRig HD, you can plug your guitar into an iPhone, iPad, or a computer and rock out with shockingly good sounds. The…

Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ Reissue

Dual-Mode Delivery

The evolution of Randall Smith’s legendary high-gain Mesa/Boogie design into the revered Mark IIC+ of the mid ’80s established a rock amp that many guitarists still consider the epitome of…

Chicago Blues Box Kingston 18

Goin' Back to Chicago…

The latest creation from Dan Butler, of the Chicago-based Butler Custom Sound, is the Kingston. Available in 18- and 30-watt configurations, the Kingston is 1x 12 combo that features a…

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…

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Sitori Sonics pedals

New Highs with Sitori Sonics’ Doob Dreamer, Tidal Phase, and Reel Repeat

Sitori Sonics pedals Price: $188 list (Doob Dreamer, Reel Repeat); $168 (Tidal Phase) Info: sitorisonics.com. Despite the vast possibilities of electronic guitar effects, boutique pedal builders perhaps sometimes focus their…

Lazy J 20

Deluxe inspiration

The Lazy J 20 Price: $2,700 (reviewed) Contact: www.lazyjprojects.com After moving to England and leaving behind the vintage Fender Deluxe he modified as a gigging amp, Jesse Hoff decided to…

Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro

Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro

Game Changer

Keeley Engineering Compressor Pro Price: $299 (list) Contact: www.robertkeeley.com Studio-quality dynamic control at your feet is a luxury that guitarists haven’t seen before. With the Compressor Pro, Keeley Engineering has…

Roland’s JC-22 Jazz Chorus

More Than Just Chime

The original Roland Jazz Chorus doesn’t get the kind of love that American and British amps in the rock and blues world receive, but its place in history is well…

PRS NF 53

Mojo, Distilled

Players who appreciate simple, elegant, well-built guitars may find themselves enamored with the new PRS NF 53, inspired by one of Paul Reed Smith’s favorite Fenders – a ’53 Telecaster.…

BC Audio JTX45 Octal Plex

Plexi Class

In an amp world full of boutique clones, Bruce Clement has developed a unique twist on the venerable ’60s British plexi circuits using octal preamp tubes, true point-to-point wiring, and…

El Dorado Vintage, Plain and “Gator” Straps

Secure, sturdy, and stylish

We’ve checked out (and recommended) El Dorado straps before, but that was many years (and new readers) ago, so the time has come again, especially since the company recently released…

Emma Electronic DiscumBOBulator V.2 & Big Joe Powerbox Lithium

Envelope Pushed

Scandinavia may not be the first corner of the globe that comes to mind when one ponders classic funk tones. But with their DiscumBOBulator V.2 the tone-tweakers at Denmark’s Emma…

Louis Electric KR M12

Ready To Roll

  Lou Rosano, founder and namesake of Louis Amplifiers, was one of the first of what has since become dozens of “boutique” amp builders, having first produced a Fender tweed…

Blues Guitars On A Budget

A New Breed of L-Style

Picture the archetypal 1930s blues man, photographed with a studio backdrop, jaunty hat, knowing leer…. What else do you see? A guy with not too much money, that’s what! That’s…

Guild Surfliner

Hang Ten

The Surfliner is Guild’s first new solidbody to come along in decades. A thoroughly modern design with classic features, there’s no mistaking the influence in this offset guitar. Named after…

Fulltone Clyde Wah

Vintage Tone For Modern Players

The original Vox Clyde McCoy wah pedals of the late 1960s are high on the list of soughtafter vintage effects. They were widely used during live performances and on legendary…

EarthQuaker Devices’ Erupter

Bring The Fuzz

EarthQuaker Devices is one of the most admired pedal builders today, thanks to their original designs that feature tweakable controls which allow players to easily dial in their own unique…

Radial Tonebone Hot British V9 and North-Star

Tone Deep Down

Since the mid ’90s, Radial Engineering has been making audio products with a rep for superb performance and top-tier construction. Its Tonebone pedal line has gained exceptional street cred, finding…

Ibanez GB10SE

Jazzed Up

In the late ’70s, Ibanez debuted the GB10, a signature jazzbox for crossover icon George Benson. It turned heads with its novel approach – a smaller design, but still fully…

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…

Lace California Twister

Just This Side of Twisted

When most people go shopping for a new guitar, they look for one with a nice, straight neck. But maybe we’ve been doing it all wrong… The California-based Lace company…

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive

Ka-Boom!

David Allen Bazooka Overdrive Price: $250 (list) Contact: www.dallenpickups.com An Internet search for “overdrive pedals” yields 1,610,000 hits, indicating a well-saturated market. The Bazooka Overdrive stands out from the crowd.…

Strymon Cloudburst

Celestial Seasonings

Equipped with powerful delay, modulation, and pitch-shifting abilities, Strymon’s new Cloudburst stretches its “Ambient Reverb” label by adding space and depth to the conventional effect. Beyond that, its orchestral pad…