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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
Valco FX Five-0
Garage Band
The Valco FX Five-0 was conceived as “Dick Dale in a box.” Offering overdrive, reverb, and tremolo – each with its own on/off footswitch – it’s a multi-effects unit without…
TWA Hot Sakè and Dynamorph
Circuit City
Totally Wycked Audio (TWA) builds a line of cool stompboxes that consistently push the envelope in the right direction. Two recent installments are perfect cases in point. TWA’s Hot Sakè…
Blackstar ID:30TVP
Tone in the Digital Domain
Blackstar ID:30TVP Price: $399.99 Info: www.blackstarampsx.com. Since forming in 2007, Blackstar has been building user-friendly amplifiers and attracting high-profile artists like Leslie West, Neal Schon, and Gus G. The company’s…
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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
Wampler’s Ego Mini Compressor and Faux Tape Echo v2
Both Ends
With an extensive line of nearly 30 devices, it’s no surprise Wampler Pedals has entries in both the traditional-size and a micro pedal markets – and pedals to cover both…
Danelectro Baby Sitar
Paint It Sunburst
Legend has it that during a break in the filming of Help!, George Harrison picked up a sitar left behind by the prop men and attempted to play it. Soon…
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…
Death By Audio’s Deep Animation
The Other Side
If you thought envelope filters died out after Jerry Garcia passed into the great beyond, think again. Submitted as proof – the Death By Audio Deep Animation. Tested with a…
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…
Laney L50 Head and L412 Cab
Classic British Tone
Laney L50H/L412 Price: $1,990 (head); $1,499 (cab) Info: laney.co.uk. Lyndon Laney is no stranger to fans of the iconic British stack. Established in 1967, Laney Amplification found its early fame…
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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
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Soldano SLO Plus Super Lead Overdive
Icon In Reach
If the iconic Soldano SLO-100 is perpetually on your wish list but its price tag keeps you from pulling the trigger, its creator now has a realistic alternative. Expanding on the original single-channel SLO Overdrive pedal, the SLO Plus introduces a Normal channel alongside Overdrive, each with dedicated controls that allow for detailed tweaking of
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Orange Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby 100
Playpen Power
For 2025, Orange has expanded on its compact Pedal Baby introduced a few years back with a new trio – the Dual Baby, Gain Baby, and Tour Baby. All 100-watt amps with solid-state Class A/B output stages, Jfet preamp stages (another form of solid-state), and two footswitchable channels, they’re housed in 12″ x 3.25″ x
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Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay
Double Echo
Based on the famed Roland SDE-3000 rack unit, Boss’ SDE-3 combines some classic delay sounds of the 1980s, updated with a bevy of modern tricks and features. Like a lot of delays, it can be run in mono, but you’ll get the biggest bang going in stereo to different amps or outputs. The core of
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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 the form. Building on what was already a high-gain amp by the standards of the day, the M/B team piled on even more gain, more
The String Sling
Trapper Keeper
Almost all of us have a guitar – maybe even two – we like a bit more than “the other ones.” Maybe it’s a favorite color, is from our “birth…
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…
Ya’ Gig What Ya’ Pay For
Incase’s Tour Bag is ultra-functional, durable
It wouldn’t be a surprising reaction. “A $200 gig bag?” And one could reasonably assume the price includes a guitar. But it doesn’t. It does include one of the best-conceived…
Moonrock Fuzz/Distortion
Otherwordly distortion sounds
Glenn Wylie has been experimenting with guitar effects pedals for over 10 years – when he’s not working on guitars or amps. In the Moonrock, he has come up with…
Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423
Classic Comeback
Silvertone’s 1449 and 1423 Price: $739 list/$479 street (1423); $629 list/$399 street (1449) Info: www.silvertoneclassic.com With an up-swell of interest in vintage Silvertones, current parent company Samick has begun to…
Fender American Vintage II ’57 Stratocaster
Period Piece
Sure, we all drool over Fender Custom Shop axes, but those instruments are sometimes out of wallet’s reach. Coming to the rescue is Fender’s new American Vintage II series, which…
Walrus Audio Iron Horse Distortion V2
Versatile Beast
Like virtually every distortion pedal on the market, Walrus Audio’s Iron Horse Distortion V2 will produce enough distortion to molest anyone’s ears, but this box differentiates itself from the distorting…
DryBell Unit67
Balkan Boost
DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory has been kicking out great pedals for a few year, with clients like Mike Landau, John Mayer, Steve Stevens, and Joe Perry, to name a few.…
Martin D-18 Satin
Spruce Stalwart
Death, taxes, and spruce on mahogany. There are only so many certainties in life, and these are three. Another is that there will always be spruce-on-mahogany Martin guitars. The newest…
Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom
Rockin’ Down the House
Musicvox Space Cadet and MVX-15 Studio Custom Price: $999 (Space Cadet)/$699 (MVX-15) Contact: www.musicvox.com For nearly two decades, Musicvox’s designs have captivated players and fans, appearing in Austin Powers and…
Epiphone Zenith Fretted and Fretless Bass
New Groove Territory
For decades, guitar players have known the name Epiphone. Renowned for making great-sounding jazz boxes like the Zephyr and Emperor Regent, which have been seen in the hands of major…
Mayfly Goddess Chorus
Come As You Are
Chorus pedals have been around for decades and for many players are an integral part of their tone. But not all are created equally. Some tone purists swear by the…
Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-M
Satisfying Source
Can’t get no satisfaction from your fuzz pedal? Step back to the source, with Maestro’s new Fuzz-Tone. The FZ-M is modeled on the world’s first production fuzz pedal – the…
Sundragon Super Dragon
The Sound Remains
A few years back, amp builder Mitch Colby and music producer Perry Margouleff teamed with Jimmy Page to introduce the Sundragon amp (VG “Approved Gear,” July ’19), a reproduction of…
Oxford Guitar Supply
Fine Finish
One factor keeping many people from working on their guitars is the availability of tools and materials to make those repairs. For refinishers, it meant owning a spray booth and…
Budda’s Baby Budda Amp Head
Big-Boy Tone
Budda Amplification staked its claim in 1995 with the Twinmaster boutique amplifier. Its hand-wired construction and user-friendly tones were hits in the guitar community and led to a broader line…
Novax Sweet Annie
Silver Anniversary
Remember chuckling at the Rick 481 slant-fret guitar? Or wondering about those fret intervals on Joni Mitchell’s dulcimer, or the flying frets on Ravi Shankar’s sitar? Ralph Novak did. But…
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…
Danelectro Baby Sitar
Paint It Sunburst
Legend has it that during a break in the filming of Help!, George Harrison picked up a sitar left behind by the prop men and attempted to play it. Soon…
Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive
A Step Further
Visual Sound’s H20 V3 Liquid Chorus & Echo and VS-XO Premium Dual Overdrive Price: H20 V3 $199 (list); VS-XO $199 (list) Contact: www.visualsound.net Since bursting on the scene with its…
Supro Comet 1610RT
Desert-Island Jams
Supro’s Comet 1610RT just may be the perfect desert island amp – a high-gain, low-watt 1×10 combo that maybe doesn’t do it all, but does most everything you’ll ever need…
