Tone. At Home.
Overdrive, distortion, fuzz – the glorious sounds of dirt and filth!
Back in June, I picked up an MXR Sugar Drive. How does this mini Klon klone compare to the real thing? And is it a cheaper alternative to any of the other klones that are in my collection?
Continue reading “First Impressions: The MXR Sugar Drive”I’m still recovering from surgery in April, which really limited how much time I could spend with my guitar this month. On top of that, the medical bills came due.
And then I ended up having a second (completely unrelated and unplanned) procedure this month too. I’m still recovering from that at the time of writing.
But I did get about a week in between all of this to try something new (to me).
Continue reading “New Arrivals: June 2021”Regular readers are probably bored with me talking about the state of the second hand market here, so I’ll keep that brief. Anecdotally, there still isn’t a lot of second hand gear turning up, and (again anecdotally) it’s becoming more and more common for sellers to list second-hand guitars at above-retail prices. eBay has really cut back on its offers this month too, which probably isn’t helping the situation.
This month, though, there has been a number of interesting (to me) items crop up. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to even think about bidding on them because I’ve been into hospital for an operation, and it’ll be July before I’m fully recovered and able to lift amps and guitars again.
I was able to pick up a couple of pedals off my wish list, thankfully. And this month saw the release of a new guitar that’s completely blown me away. Read on to learn more!
Continue reading “New Arrivals: May 2021”The big news this month (here in the UK) is that non-essential retail has been allowed to re-open. We’re coming out of lockdown, and guitar shops can open their doors to visitors once again. It’s too soon to travel the length and breadth of the country to hunt for hidden gems gathering dust on a wall somewhere, but we’re getting closer to that day.
In the meantime … this month, I’ve managed to pick up a couple of curious pieces to try. They’re a bit left-field, and (he says, having not tried them at the time of writing) probably not for everyone.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: April 2021”It’s been a very quiet month for new arrivals. This time, it’s mostly down to me.
(The second hand market here is still a mess, but that’s a topic that probably deserves its own blog post …)
I’ve been enjoying both the Mad Professor Sweet Honey Custom and Sweet Honey Deluxe Overdrives so much, I’ve just not been very curious about the pedals that have been cropping up on the second-hand market this month.
But, you know me: I’m always on the lookout for tweed-tone pedals, and this month, I picked up a couple that are pretty rare in their own ways.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: March 2021”
Earlier in March, I picked up a second-hand Brantone Electronics Vintage Tweed overdrive pedal.
Read on for my First impressions. Spoiler alert: I like this pedal a lot.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Brantone Electronics Vintage Tweed Overdrive Pedal”Earlier in March, I picked up an unbranded pedal from eBay. It was sold as an AZABACHE pedal by TH Custom Effects. Does it live up to the hype of “the best sounds [sic] Fender Tweed Amp simulator I ever heard”?
Read on to find out my first impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: TH Custom Effects AZABACHE Overdrive Pedal”A couple of weeks ago, I bought a second-hand Leo Jr overdrive pedal.
I’ve been after one of these for a long time. Now that I have it, was it worth the wait?
Continue reading “First Impressions: ToadWorks Leo Jr American Overdrive”It’s been a quiet month.
The second hand market … is a bit weird right now. It’s become all-too common for asking prices to be close to (or even above!) the original retail price. It isn’t just rare or vintage gear that’s seeing high prices, either.
Instead, I’ve focused on trying to make the most of what I’ve already got – especially my Telecasters. I think it’s been a month well spent.
Continue reading “New Arrivals – February 2021”It feels weird to write ‘2021’. While it always takes a bit of time to get used to writing down the new year each time around, this year it just feels plain weird. 2020 was one of the hardest years many of us have had to face, and it seemed to go on forever. [So far, 2021 is shaping up to simply be Season 2 of 2020 – Ed]
This month, I’ve been focusing on things that will help me hit my 2021 New Year Resolutions. Oh, and I found another tweed-tone pedal too.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: January 2021”