• Fender American Vintage II 1965 Strat

    VG Approved Gear

    Fender American Vintage II 1965 Strat

    Classic Character

    The 1965 Stratocaster joins Fender’s American Vintage II reissues of Strats from ’54, ’57, ’61, and ’73. It’s the company’s first dip into a “transitional” instrument from the year CBS acquired the brand amidst the “guitar boom.” With the AVII series, Fender’s goal in part is to reexamine underappreciated instruments while fixing a few details

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EMG T-52 Set

EMG pickups have been around since 1976, offering a diverse line of active pickups used in just about every genre of music and matched with top guitar manufacturers. EMGs have…

JangleBox J-Gate Noise Suppression Gate

Silence, Please!

JangleBox J-Gate Noise Suppression Gate Price: $225 Info: www.janglebox.com Dynasonic, lipstick, and P-90 are all great names for pickups with iconic single-coil tones – typically accompanied by the 60-cycle hum…

Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter

Tremolo Transformed

Tremolo is a simple effect: the amplitude, or volume, of an incoming signal is raised and lowered in pulsating waves. With the Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter, the player is invited…

The Winfield Dust Devil

Devil’s In The Details

Unlike most amp builders who take up the challenge to create amplifiers that replicate the sounds of the 1960s, Winfield Thomas was actually wielding those sounds as a musician in…

Flying High Again

The Eastwood Airline ’59 3P

Long before the brazen, pointy electrics of the 1980s, Airline created a model with all kinds of modern angles and attitude. The original Airline electric guitars were made by Valco…

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…

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…

Carr Mecrury

Tone of the Gods?

Depending on where your affinities lie, the word “Mercury” can call to mind either the mythological messenger to the Roman gods, or upscale Ford cars. Amp builder Steve Carr’s latest…

McGregor Pedals’ Crunch and Crunch Plus

Transparent Pair

McGregor Pedals founder and self-proclaimed “Chief Mad Scientist” Garth McGregor Heslop hand-wires pedals in his Vancouver shop. Two of them – the Crunch and Crunch Plus – are overdrives that…

RainSong WS 1000

No wood in sight, but your ears won't know it

RainSong is a Hawaii-based company (in the process of moving to the mainland) that has been building its unique graphite/epoxy instruments since 1995, and earning a huge reputation for its…

Martin’s DJr-10E StreetMaster

Dread, Not

The big, booming dreadnought has been a Martin hallmark since its debut in the 1930s. From that tradition comes Martin’s Dreadnought Junior, a smaller, more playable version of the signature…

FOMOfx Virtual Jeff Pro

Whammy For All

On most guitars, installing a traditional vibrato is a task ranging from difficult to impossible. And even done right, mechanical vibratos impact tuning stability and increase wear on nuts and…

Budda 10th Ann. Limited Edition Twinmaster

Purple, Proud, and Punchy

In 1995, Budda Amplification made its debut with the Twinmaster Ten, a stripped-down, no-frills 18-watt combo designed to keep up with full stacks in terms of tone and volume. The…

BC Audio Grand Prix 100

Hand-Wired Heaven

For the past few years, builder Bruce Clement of BC Audio has been getting attention for his killer-sounding and meticulously wired tube heads and matching cabs. New for 2017 is…

Peekamoose Model 3

Modern Retro

There’s no shortage of cool, retro-looking solidbodies on the market today, from the big guys as well as the increasing numbers of boutique builders. Cool looks are great, but for…

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature

Grand Designs

PRS Alex Lifeson Signature Price: $8,999 (list) Contact: www.prsguitars.com What do you call the most beautifully made production acoustic you’ve ever seen? You might consider calling it the Paul Reed…

Traveler AG-105EQ

Traveler AG-105EQ

Savvy Traveler

Traveler AG-105EQ Price: $499.99 (street) Info: www.travelerguitar.com When it comes to “travel guitars,” players are often forced to sacrifice size for portability and even functionality. Unlike many travel instruments that…

Blueridge BR140

Time to Sell the D-28?

Usually, I don’t give Chinese-made acoustic guitars a second glance. But when I saw that the Blueridge BR140 was made of all solid woods and retailed for $650, my interest…

Coppersound Kingpin Clipper and Iris Optical Compressor

Royal Restraint

With the growing popularity of small-footprint effects, Coppersound’s Kingpin Germanium Clipper and Iris Optical Compressor nicely fit the bill – and pedalboard. Though nearly identical (Volume, on/off switch and three-way…

The SeaGlass Route6jr

Boutique Nobility

Roger Mello of SeaGlass Guitars officially opened shop in 2011. Today, he offers four electric models; his Route6jr maintains the simplicity of the guitars that inspired it while re-creating their…

D’Angelico NYSS-3 and NYSD-9

Accoutrements, quality worthy of the name D'Angeli

When one thinks of D’Angelicos, elegant jazz archtops from the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s spring to mind. As it should be. John D’Angelico was the preeminent archtop builder of his…

G&L Fallout

Form Follows Function

G&L Fallout Price: $1,400 (retail) Info: www.glguitars.com. From automobiles to kitchen appliances to, of course, electric guitars, designers have gotten a lot of mileage out of retro style in the…

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25

Stage, Studio, Etc.

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 Price: $1,299 (list) Contact: www.mesaboogie.com Housed in teensy cabinets, so-called “lunchbox” amps are all the rage, and to varying degrees do a nice job of living…

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…

Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 FR E HSS

Ultimate Hod Rod

Designed more than 30 years ago, the latest incarnation of Charvel’s Pro-Mod So-Cal keeps the “super” in superstrat. An eye-catching, ergonomic guitar with alder body bolted to a U-shaped, oiled-maple…

Gibson Falcon 5

Timeless

Drawing inspiration from its classic Skylark amplifiers of the 1950s and ’60s, Gibson is revisiting those beloved tones with the Falcon 5. Designed by Randall Smith and his Mesa/Boogie team…

Godin

Godin’s 5th Avenue CW Kingpin II and Richmond Dorchester – Funky to Fab

We’re living in a golden age of retro guitars – a period when you can barely turn around without tripping over some cool, vintage-styled plank. Granted, the retro fad has…

Providence Silky Drive and Stampede DT

Japanese Silk (and Stomp)

Providence Silky Drive and Stampede DT Price: $394 (Silky Drive); $249 (Stampede DT) Info: www.providence-ltd.com. From the Land of the Rising Sun, Providence pedals have been building an audience among…

Ernie Ball Rosewood Axis Super Sport, Steve Morse SM-Y2D

Sexy, Super, and Sonic

Ernie Ball/Music Man Rosewood Axis Super Sport. There’s something ridiculously sexy about a rosewood neck. No, not a rosewood fretboard – we’re talking a rosewood neck. Ernie Ball/Music Man’s Rosewood…

Orangewood Guitars’ Echo 12 Live

Fresh-Squeezed Jangle

Twelve-string sales ebb and flow in part with the popularity of a song featuring one. Orangewood Guitars aims to change such fickle trends with an affordable 12 that plays and…