Tone. At Home.
All of the recurring features – #CoffeeAndKlon, First Impressions, #LongTermReview, New Arrivals – all in one place.
‘Studio Diary’ is an occasional series where I talk about building a home recording setup for hobbyists and enthusiasts like us. I share my personal experiences, and the thinking behind some of the decisions that I’ve made along the way.
After exactly 13 years and 11 months – to the day! – my Furman power conditioner appears to have died without warning.
Continue reading “Studio Diary #62: When A Power Conditioner Fails”Traditionally, November is a quiet month for me. With Christmas on the horizon, I normally hold off on buying things, in case I end up accidentally buying something that Kristi’s decided to get me.
Not this year 😁
Admittedly, the haul looks a lot bigger than it was, as I bought a guitar that came with three free pedals. But still. There’s plenty in here to keep me busy well into 2026.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: November 2025”I recently bought a Blackstar Debut 100RH amp head.
This is going to be an additional pedal platform amp. Read on for my first impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Blackstar Debut 100RH Amp Head”I recently bought a brand new NUX 59 Bassguy overdrive pedal.
What do I think of it so far? Read on for my First Impressions.
Continue reading “#TweedTone First Impressions: NUX 59 Bassguy Overdrive Pedal”It’s been a very quiet month. I’ve had my head down working on improving my Tweed Deluxe signal chain, and haven’t really been interested in any of the gear that’s come up for sale on the second-hand market this month.
There was one item, though: a new challenger to be my #1 drive pedal.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: October 2025”Last week, I published an updated Tweed Amp Rig price comparison, looking at how much it would cost (here in the UK) to build a Tweed Deluxe rig for home use in 2025.
There was one answer that was too long to fit in that blog post: is it worth you spending that amount of money on a Tweed Deluxe rig for home use?
Today, I’m going to try and answer that question.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Is A 5e3 Tweed Deluxe Valve Amp Right For You In 2025?”Back in September 2023, in a blog post called “You’ve Got To Be A Huge Fan Of Tweed Tone To Get A Real Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp In 2023“, I looked at the costs of buying a real 5e3 Tweed Deluxe amp here in the UK.
Two years later, I’m wondering: what has changed? How has the price changed … and how have my feelings on the price changed?
Continue reading “#TweedTone: The Cost Of A Tweed Deluxe Amp In September 2025”This month, the golden gear theme unexpectedly continued, with a bucket-list item that I thought wasn’t made any more and (I’m ashamed to admit) I’d actually forgotten all about.
And I took my first step towards trying to improve as a musician. Well, I tried, but there are problems …
Continue reading “New Arrivals: August 2025”This month’s theme was going to be “retro”. I’ve picked up one of the o.g. Klon klones from before they were a thing, and (effectively) a re-issue of the original Honey Bee circuit.
Then, towards the end of the month, I had the opportunity to get two more pedals from Origin Effects (the one brand that I planned to explore this year). That has added a distinctly modern vibe to go alongside the “retro” theme.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: July 2025”#CoffeeAndKlon is my (irregular!) Sunday morning magazine series, where I talk about whatever’s on my mind right now. There’s always coffee, and there’s normally chat about the Klon and its many competitors.
I’ve had my RYRA The Klone pedal longer than this blog’s been going, so why haven’t I featured it at all until now? Why hasn’t it had the love from me that its fan base says it deserves?
And is that about to change? Can I learn to love my RYRA The Klone?
Continue reading “#CoffeeAndKlon 42: Can I Learn To Love My RYRA The Klone?”