My green Strat is back from the shop. It’s been in for some more mods. What have I had done to it this time, and am I happy with the results of the upgrades I asked for?
Continue reading “The Green Strat Is Back”Followup: D’Addario XT Strings
At the start of the month, I tried D’Addario XT strings for the first time. With the end of the month almost here, I thought I’d write a quick follow-up about how I’m getting on with them.
They’re coming off both guitars, just as soon as I’ve got replacement strings.
Continue reading “Followup: D’Addario XT Strings”Choosing A Gibson Les Paul
Yes, Gibson the company has a knack for bringing bad publicity on itself (to put it mildly). If you want to boycott them, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a Les Paul. There’s still plenty of great second hand Les Pauls out there to choose from.
Either way, there’s a lot more to buying a Les Paul than simply clicking ‘Buy Now’ on an online store, or buying one from your friendly local guitar store. And, in my experience, the same advice applies to Les Paul-like guitars made by other companies too.
Continue reading “Choosing A Gibson Les Paul”First Impressions: Kinman Impersonator 54 Noiseless Pickups For Stratocaster
Back in November 2019, I picked up a set of Kinman pickups from Knighton Music Centre. I’d taken my wife there so that she could look at their impressive range of acoustic guitars, and while I was there, I spotted a promo poster for Kinman pickups.
I didn’t even know you could get these in the UK.
I bought a set, brought them home with me … and then they sat on the shelf here for several months. I’ve finally had them put into my Strat. What do I think of them? Read on to find out.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Kinman Impersonator 54 Noiseless Pickups For Stratocaster”#HomeTone Thoughts Before Winter NAMM 2020
Winter NAMM is almost here. It’s one of the most high-profile guitars & gear trade shows in the world, and traditionally, many manufacturers use it to announce or launch their major new products of the year.
YouTube is going to be dominated by NAMM show floor coverage for the next few weeks. If you want to see everything that will be displayed at the show, subscribe to one of the YouTube channels I recently recommended.
From a #HomeTone perspective, what are the gaps in the market that I’m hoping to see filled by new products?
Continue reading “#HomeTone Thoughts Before Winter NAMM 2020”2019 Review: Brexit And Buying Gear
With the UK about to leave the European Union, we need to talk about Brexit: the impact it has already had on guitars and gear, and what impact it might have going forward.
This post is all about us here in Britain, and the British guitar gear market.
Continue reading “2019 Review: Brexit And Buying Gear”2019 Review: Gigging Gear
Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m going to do a rundown of what gear we started with and what gear we ended up with – along with a discussion of why.
Continue reading “2019 Review: Gigging Gear”2019 Review: Guitars For Home Playing
Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m going to do a rundown of what guitars I’ve had my hands on, and what I’ve learned from the experience.
This post covers guitars I play at home for fun. I’ll cover the guitars that I gig with on Thursday.
Continue reading “2019 Review: Guitars For Home Playing”CoffeeAndKlon #21: Fender Elite Strat And A Klon
This conversation was originally posted on my Twitter feed.
Good morning! It’s a (rare!) sunny day here. I hope it’s nice wherever you are too. For this week’s #CoffeeAndKlon, I want to talk about how I’ve been using my Klon these past few days.
Continue reading “CoffeeAndKlon #21: Fender Elite Strat And A Klon”CoffeeAndKlon #20: Giving Up Gear (That You’re Not Using)
This conversation originally appeared on my Twitter feed.
Good morning! This week’s #CoffeeAndKlon is a day late … because Kristi and I went to the UK International Guitar Show yesterday. Today, I want to talk about giving up gear. As in, letting go of gear you’ve outgrown or stopped using.
Continue reading “CoffeeAndKlon #20: Giving Up Gear (That You’re Not Using)”