It was looking like a quiet run-up to Easter … then Marshall reissued those pedals …
Continue reading “(Overdue) New Arrivals: March 2023”New Arrivals: January 2023
Normally, I try to pick up something memorable in January, to celebrate another year of running my own business. It doesn’t always happen, but the idea’s always in the back of my mind when I’m looking at what’s around on the second-hand market.
This month, I picked up just the one item … but it turned out to be very special to me.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: January 2023”New Arrivals: December 2022
I’ve only picked up a couple of new (to me) pieces this month. One of them was a pedal that I’ve been looking for for over a year, so that was nice. The other? It’s a new release, and one that I’m already looking to put onto my board as an always-on pedal.
Definitely a month of quality over quantity.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: December 2022”New Arrivals: November 2022
The end of the month saw a huge change in the second-hand market here. For the first time in … I don’t know, it feels like 18+ months … there’s a lot of very interesting (to me) amps and pedals available. And I swear there were more Les Pauls listed during a 5-day period than overdrive pedals. It sure seemed that way, anyway.
Sadly, I think most of these pieces are being listed because people need the money. The mood of the country is pretty grim right now. We’ve had 12 years of single-party government, and they’ve led us into the worst cost of living crisis in living memory. The worst of it is still come too, too.
I was working abroad for part of the month (it was educational taking my new company to Web Summit for the very first time), and had no time to do very much at all with a guitar.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: November 2022”New Arrivals: October 2022
The tail end of September brought a bit of a surprise: PRS now makes pedals! And the initial demos made them sound really, really good. Fortunately for my bank balance, they haven’t hit the stores yet over here. Well … except for one …
Continue reading “New Arrivals: October 2022”New Arrivals: August 2022
August was shaping up to be a very quiet month, gear-wise. I had a plan: I was going to pick up just the one pedal – as long as I could find it nice and cheap.
But then something came along that I knew I’d regret if I didn’t get it …
Continue reading “New Arrivals: August 2022”New Arrivals: July 2022
I didn’t pick up any new (to me) gear last month, and just the one item this month.
The Axe FX 3 has definitely been a big factor in this. I’ve promised on Twitter that I’ll do a separate blog about this soon. The short version is that it’s been much better than I hoped for, and I’ve been putting so much time into exploring what it can do that I haven’t really had time to be curious about other gear.
So what did I find, and how was it interesting enough to wrench me away from the Axe FX 3 for a little bit?
Continue reading “New Arrivals: July 2022”New Arrivals: May 2022
After a couple of months with no new (to me) gear, May has been a very busy month.
There’s a few items I’ve been after, both professionally and for home use. All of these things needed to be imported: some because they’re not sold in the UK, and some because they are sold here but are constantly out of stock.
With the UK government threatening to illegally break its own treaty and start a (doomed) trade war with Europe, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get them if I didn’t act now. On top of that, rampant inflation means that buying later means paying a lot more.
Now that they’re here, what do I think of them? And how was the import process? Read on for my First Impressions.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: May 2022”New Arrivals: February 2022
This month is a tale of two eras: before land war in Europe, and after the war started.
My plan was to get Hedgehog back in action, and (if they came into stock) pick up a couple of things I felt I needed for some planned recording. And that’s how the month started.
Then Putin launched his invasion of a democratic European nation, while willy-waving his nuclear arsenal at the rest of the world. While we’re almost certainly safe from major consequences ourselves, I decided to bring forward my major planned purchase of the year anyway.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: February 2022”New Arrivals: January 2022
The Christmas break is always good for getting me to wire up and fire up the home recording studio, and the end of 2021 was no exception. It was a good reminder of just how much I enjoy making music (rather than just noodling around).
So, this year, I want to at least try and have a bit more purpose when I choose which new (to me) gear to try:
- Things that will help me record music.
- Things that will help me perform music.
- Bucket list items.
- Things that will help me learn about the gear I already have.
Last year, we had one month when there were no new arrivals to write about. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have several more this year. But not this month 🙂
Continue reading “New Arrivals: January 2022”