Skip to content

HomeToneBlog.com

Tone. At Home.

Category: First Impressions

What do I think about a piece of new (to me) gear at first? We all know first impressions don’t last, but at least this way I can look back and see how my opinion has changed from when I first tried something.

Posted on 25th December 2021

First Impressions: Bare Knuckle Apache & Stormy Monday Pickups In A HSS Strat

A couple of months ago, I ordered a set of new pickups for my Fender Player HSS Stratocaster. It took a bit of time for them to arrive, and then a bit longer to get them installed.

Now that they’re in the guitar, what are my First Impressions? Read on to find out.

Continue reading “First Impressions: Bare Knuckle Apache & Stormy Monday Pickups In A HSS Strat”
Posted on 25th December 2021

First Impressions: Lovepedal Superlead Distortion Pedal

Just before Christmas, I was able to pick up a Lovepedal Superlead distortion pedal. Is this going to be a great little present to myself? Read on to find out.

Continue reading “First Impressions: Lovepedal Superlead Distortion Pedal”
Posted on 30th November 2021

First Impressions: Gravity Vari-Tilt Studio Monitor Speaker Stand

I needed to move one of my Focal monitors off of my desk, so I ordered myself a dedicated speaker stand. Here are my First Impressions.

Continue reading “First Impressions: Gravity Vari-Tilt Studio Monitor Speaker Stand”
Posted on 30th November 2021

First Impressions: Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Telecaster Bridge Pickup

I recently picked up another Antiquity pickup, to go into my other Squier Esquire. The guitar’s now back from the shop … so what do I think? Is this another great mod?

Read on to find out.

Continue reading “First Impressions: Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Telecaster Bridge Pickup”
Posted on 19th November 202116th November 2021

First Impressions: Gravity Vari-Tilt Studio Monitor Speaker Stand

I recently bought a new floor-standing speaker stand for my home studio. How did I get on with it? Here are my first impressions.

Continue reading “First Impressions: Gravity Vari-Tilt Studio Monitor Speaker Stand”
Posted on 17th November 202116th November 2021

First Impressions: Apple HomePod mini Stereo Pair

I want to listen to music while I work, without having to physically plug a cable into my laptop. Will Apple’s HomePod mini do the job? Read on for my First Impressions.

Continue reading “First Impressions: Apple HomePod mini Stereo Pair”
Posted on 15th November 2021

First Impressions: VS Audio Royal Flush Dual Overdrive Pedal

This photo shows three pedals on my practice board.

On the far left is the VS Audio Royal Flush - the subject of this blog post. In the middle is the Analogman King of Tone. On the right is the gold JRAD Archer Ikon.

The Royal Flush has a distinctive graphic on the top, of a woman's face. Half of the face is a skull with Medusa-like snakes for hair. It's really quite striking.
The VS Audio Royal Flush on the left, next to the legendary Analogman King of Tone

I recently managed to snag one of my bucket list pedals: the VS Audio Royal Flush. Here are my First Impressions.

Continue reading “First Impressions: VS Audio Royal Flush Dual Overdrive Pedal”
Posted on 12th November 2021

First Impressions: Bare Knuckle Pickups Polymath Bridge Humbucker

I recently bought the newly released Polymath pickup, to go into my old Charvel. I’ve been looking for a bridge pickup that suits both the guitar and me for a long time.

Have I found it?

Continue reading “First Impressions: Bare Knuckle Pickups Polymath Bridge Humbucker”
Posted on 7th November 2021

First Impressions: PC30 Lovepedal Englishman Clone Overdrive

The photo shows a rather dusty-looking pedal in a black enclosure.

There are two control knobs, labelled Level and Drive. Also shown is a toggle switch, which is (if you zoom in a lot) has settings labelled 'D' and 'S'.
The “PC30”, a one-off Lovepedal Englishman clone.

Back at the end of August, I bought a (I suspect) one-off clone of the Lovepedal Englishman overdrive pedal, called the PC30. It arrived in early September, and I promptly forgot about it 🙁

What is it like? Here are my First Impressions.

Continue reading “First Impressions: PC30 Lovepedal Englishman Clone Overdrive”
Posted on 16th October 2021

First Impressions: Seymour Duncan Antiquity Tele Bridge Pickup

This photo shows the Seymour Duncan Antiquity Tele bridge pickup, fitted to my Squier Esquire known as The Squirrel.

We can see that the pickup has six flat pole pieces (ie no raised pickup poles at all), in a black bobbin.

The pickup has been distressed to make it look old. So have the screws that came with the pickup.
The Seymour Duncan Antiquity Tele bridge pickup fitted to The Squirrel.

I recently bought a new bridge pickup for one of my cheap-and-cheerful Esquire guitars.

How did I get on with it? Read on for my First Impressions.

Continue reading “First Impressions: Seymour Duncan Antiquity Tele Bridge Pickup”

Posts pagination

Previous page Page 1 … Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 … Page 14 Next page

Recent Posts

  • New Arrivals: November 2025
  • First Impressions: Blackstar Debut 100RH Amp Head
  • First Impressions: Mad Professor The Green Wonder Overdrive Pedal
  • #TweedTone First Impressions: NUX 59 Bassguy Overdrive Pedal
  • New Arrivals: October 2025

Recent Comments

  • New Arrivals: November 2025 – HomeToneBlog.com on First Impressions: Blackstar Debut 100RH Amp Head
  • First Impressions: Blackstar Debut 100RH Amp Head – HomeToneBlog.com on #TweedTone First Impressions: NUX 59 Bassguy Overdrive Pedal
  • David Gerlach on Studio Diary #36: Why Does My Fryette Power Station Squeal?
  • First Impressions: Mad Professor The Green Wonder Overdrive Pedal – HomeToneBlog.com on Studio Diary #43: How I Level-Match Demo Tracks In Universal Audio’s LUNA
  • Scott on First Impressions: Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60’s Telecaster In Blonde

Archives

  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • July 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018

Categories

  • 5e3 Alternatives
  • Admin Corner
  • Always Be Recording
  • Amp It Up
  • Annual Review
  • At Your Feet
  • Cabinet Members
  • Coffee And Klon
  • Community
  • Compare This
  • Echo Chamber
  • First Impressions
  • Gear News
  • Gear Outlets
  • Get Out And Gig
  • Guitar GAS
  • Home Studio Gear
  • Interviews
  • Keep On Learning
  • Keeping Time
  • Kemper Corner
  • Lets Get Social
  • Listen To This
  • Maintain The Gear
  • Making Music
  • Modding Along
  • Musical Challenges
  • New Arrivals
  • On The Fretboard
  • On The Gain Stage
  • Pickup Place
  • Play Alternative
  • Plexi Tone
  • Quick Listen
  • Reasons To Play
  • Second Bite
  • Series
  • Short Term Review
  • Side By Side
  • Signal Chain
  • Studio Diary
  • Taking The Microphone
  • Tele Tuesday
  • The Hermit's Cave
  • The Low Down
  • The Monday Blues
  • Today I Learned
  • Tone Stacking
  • Tone Test
  • Tweed Tone
  • Universal Truths
  • Unplugged
  • YouTube

Popular Tags

  • 57 Custom Deluxe (26)
  • Andertons (18)
  • Axe-FX 3 (61)
  • Bare Knuckle Pickups (16)
  • Bearfoot FX (15)
  • Blackstar (25)
  • Boss (31)
  • Celestion (17)
  • Centura (15)
  • Ceriatone (15)
  • DSL20HR (16)
  • Esquire (15)
  • Fender (149)
  • Fractal Audio (60)
  • Fryette (17)
  • FW 25 Pedal Platform Patch (20)
  • Gibson (47)
  • In The Blues (20)
  • JRAD (22)
  • Kemper (17)
  • Klon (23)
  • KTR (17)
  • Les Paul (39)
  • Lovepedal (28)
  • Mad Professor (52)
  • Marshall (53)
  • MXR (15)
  • Original Content (19)
  • Origin Series (24)
  • Paul's Guitar (16)
  • Power Station (15)
  • PRS (63)
  • Seen Elsewhere (157)
  • Silver Sky (21)
  • Squier (18)
  • Stratocaster (26)
  • Studio 10 (20)
  • Sweet Honey Overdrive (24)
  • Synergy Amps (34)
  • Telecaster (22)
  • The Squirrel (15)
  • Tone City (16)
  • Tweed Tone (21)
  • Universal Audio (36)
  • Wampler (37)

Pages

  • About HomeToneBlog.com
  • Axe-FX 3 Pedal Platform Preset
  • Pedal Demo Signal Path: July 2023

Credits

Front page header photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Proudly powered by WordPress