Tone. At Home.
“The Hermit’s Cave” is my little home recording studio. This is a general catch-all tag for anything about me and my gear.
Back in January 2023, I picked up something a bit different: a pedal that’s designed (amongst other things) for boosting tweed amps.
Read on for my (overdue!) First Impressions, with audio examples too!
Continue reading “(Overdue) First Impressions: Lazy J Cruiser Deuce Boost Pedal”Now that I’ve spent a little bit of time with the new reissues of Marshall’s legendary drive pedals, I think it’s worth talking about them collectively.
You can read my individual First Impressions of each pedal here:
Read on for my First Impressions of the vintage reissue drive pedals.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Marshall Vintage Reissue Drive Pedals”At the start of March 2023, I picked up all four of Marshall’s vintage reissue drive pedals. I’ve already posted my First Impressions on the ShredMaster and DriveMaster pedals.
Last, but not least, it’s time to explore the most legendary of them all: the Bluesbreaker. Here are my First Impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Marshall Bluesbreaker Vintage Reissue Overdrive Pedal”At the start of March 2023, I picked up all four of Marshall’s vintage reissue drive pedals, and I’m gradually working my way through each of them.
The DriveMaster is (basically) Marshall’s legendary The Guv’nor pedal, just in the same housing that they used for the Bluesbreaker and ShredMaster pedals.
And if you love the sound of Marshall amps, you’re going to want one for yourself. It’s that good. That’s what I think, anyway. Read on for a bit more detail in my First Impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Marshall DriveMaster Distortion Pedal”At the start of March 2023, I picked up all four of Marshall’s vintage reissue drive pedals. The original pedals are all legendary pedals, much revered in the guitar pedal community. Alas, that means that the original pedals also come with second-hand prices to match.
These re-issues are bringing these classic circuits back within reach of regular guitarists (just about …).
Regular readers might be wondering why I bothered with the ShredMaster at all, and why I’m posting about this pedal first. There’s a good reason for that. Read on for my First Impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Marshall ShredMaster Distortion Pedal”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”I’ve had a lot of success – and a lot of joy – using my Axe-FX 3 to record guitar pedal audio demos. Heck, it sounds so good, it’s my go-to pedal platform all the time now.
Can I do the same with my Synergy rig? Instead of running my Synergy modules through the SYN-5050 power amp + attenuator, can I run them straight into the Axe-FX 3 instead? Can the Axe-FX 3 add a bit of that power amp tonal magic?
I’m going to experiment, and find out.
Continue reading “Studio Diary #37: Can I Use The Axe-FX 3 As A Power Amp For My Synergy Rig?”#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.
Back at the end of September, PRS announced that they were getting into the pedal business. There were three pedals launched, and amongst them was a drive pedal that they called ‘Horsemeat’ … because it’s a Klon-killer.
But is it really? Read on to find out what I think …
Continue reading “#CoffeeAndKlon 34: Is The PRS Horsemeat A Klon-Killer?”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”Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m doing a rundown of what home studio gear I’ve used this year, and why.
Previous years: [2019] [2020] [2021]
Continue reading “2022 Review: Home Studio Gear”