Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m going to do a rundown of what I’ve written about on the blog this year.
A Lot Less Energy For The Blog
Regular readers may be aware that I’m self-employed. Most years, I’m able to keep the hours down to a sensible level. But when the economy’s tough, I’d rather charge a little less for my work, to avoid having no work at all. I have to make up the difference (as best I can) by increasing my hours.
And this year, not only is the economy tough, but I needed to replace my car ahead of when I planned to. (Have you seen the price of cars today?!? No wonder folks are keeping their existing cars on the road as long as they can!)
I’m not complaining: I’m grateful to have work at a time when some of my peers have had little-to-no work for months at a time. The project’s very interesting, and should be high-profile when it’s finished.
It’s probably the most demanding project I’ve had in the last decade. There’s been very little left in the tank to write blog posts at the end of each day, though .. and almost nothing left come the weekend.
Spending More Time On Each Signal Chain
The other reason the blog’s been very slow is that I’ve started sticking with the same signal chain for weeks at a time.
Once I’ve built a signal chain – whether it’s a new (to me) drive pedal to check out, or a tweak to my Axe-FX 3 pedal platform presets, or I’ve switched over to a physical amp – I’m gradually dialling it in over several different listening sessions.
I’ve found that coming back to it time and time again with fresh ears really helps me become more confident that I’m hearing the signal chain … in more depth? in more detail?I’m not exactly sure how to describe it.
What I’m trying to do, with each signal chain, is get to the point where I fire it up for the first time each day and don’t feel the need to tweak anything at all. I’ve realised that’s what I need to be truly happy with my signal chain.
I don’t always get there. Sometimes I run out of time, and need to move on to a different signal chain. Sometimes, I just can’t find a tone that I like.
What Happened To Last Year’s Plans?
Last year, I said that I want to start documenting pedals Trogly-style (just in written format, instead of as YouTube videos).
I haven’t had the free time or energy to figure out how I want to present that. Do I publish this on a dedicated site? Do I build a custom WordPress plugin, so I can publish them here on the blog? Is there another option that I haven’t thought of?
I also need to sit down and start compiling a master list of all possible pedal characteristics. I won’t get them all straight away, but I do need a decent checklist to work through before I can start.
Any Plans For 2026?
At the time of writing, it’s really hard to plan ahead for next year.
It’s starting to look like this economy isn’t going to improve anytime soon, so my focus and energy needs to be on bringing in more work. I don’t know how much is going to be left for working on the blog in 2026.
If nothing else, I need to investigate the features that WordPress has added since I launched the blog, to see if there’s something there that I could be using.