The Hermit’s Cave – Page 20

30th November 2021

First Impressions: Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Telecaster Bridge Pickup

I recently picked up another Antiquity pickup, to go into my other Squier Esquire. The guitar’s now back from the shop … so what do I think? Is this another great mod?

Read on to find out.

19th November 202116th November 2021

First Impressions: Gravity Vari-Tilt Studio Monitor Speaker Stand

I recently bought a new floor-standing speaker stand for my home studio. How did I get on with it? Here are my first impressions.

17th November 202116th November 2021

First Impressions: Apple HomePod mini Stereo Pair

I want to listen to music while I work, without having to physically plug a cable into my laptop. Will Apple’s HomePod mini do the job? Read on for my First Impressions.

15th November 2021

First Impressions: VS Audio Royal Flush Dual Overdrive Pedal

This photo shows three pedals on my practice board.

On the far left is the VS Audio Royal Flush - the subject of this blog post. In the middle is the Analogman King of Tone. On the right is the gold JRAD Archer Ikon.

The Royal Flush has a distinctive graphic on the top, of a woman's face. Half of the face is a skull with Medusa-like snakes for hair. It's really quite striking. — The VS Audio Royal Flush on the left, next to the legendary Analogman King of Tone

I recently managed to snag one of my bucket list pedals: the VS Audio Royal Flush. Here are my First Impressions.

13th November 202125th January 2022

New Arrivals: October 2021

Towards the start of the month, something in me snapped. That’s the best way that I can describe it. I looked at three guitars that have fallen out of favour this year, and said to myself, “why am I not sorting this out?”

All three guitars have the same issue: I just don’t get on with their pickups atm.

One of them (The Squirrel) has a stock pickup that can’t compete with its sister guitar (Hedgehog). One of them (Dexter) has stock pickups that just deeply disappoint. And one of them (the Charvel) is already on its fourth or fifth bridge pickup, and I’m still not happy.

So this month, it’s new (to me) pickups all around. Is this going to be money well-spent, or an expensive disappointment? Read on to find out.

12th November 2021

First Impressions: Bare Knuckle Pickups Polymath Bridge Humbucker

I recently bought the newly released Polymath pickup, to go into my old Charvel. I’ve been looking for a bridge pickup that suits both the guitar and me for a long time.

Have I found it?

7th November 2021

First Impressions: PC30 Lovepedal Englishman Clone Overdrive

The photo shows a rather dusty-looking pedal in a black enclosure.

There are two control knobs, labelled Level and Drive. Also shown is a toggle switch, which is (if you zoom in a lot) has settings labelled 'D' and 'S'. — The “PC30”, a one-off Lovepedal Englishman clone.

Back at the end of August, I bought a (I suspect) one-off clone of the Lovepedal Englishman overdrive pedal, called the PC30. It arrived in early September, and I promptly forgot about it 🙁

What is it like? Here are my First Impressions.

16th October 2021

First Impressions: Seymour Duncan Antiquity Tele Bridge Pickup

This photo shows the Seymour Duncan Antiquity Tele bridge pickup, fitted to my Squier Esquire known as The Squirrel.

We can see that the pickup has six flat pole pieces (ie no raised pickup poles at all), in a black bobbin.

The pickup has been distressed to make it look old. So have the screws that came with the pickup. — The Seymour Duncan Antiquity Tele bridge pickup fitted to The Squirrel.

I recently bought a new bridge pickup for one of my cheap-and-cheerful Esquire guitars.

How did I get on with it? Read on for my First Impressions.

10th October 2021

Second Bite: Fender MTG:LA Overdrive Pedal, Through The Marshall DSL20HR

The photo shows Fender's MTG:LA pedal sat on my pedal board, next to an MXR Sugar Drive pedal.

This photo really brings out the brushed copper look of the MTG:LA, as well as the LED pipes that light up each of the adjustable control knobs.

The settings shown in the photo are the ones that I ended up settling on by the end of this blog post.

Top row: Tone at max, Treble at max, Bass at 12 o'clock, Tight at just after 3 o'clock.
Bottom row: Level just under 9 o'clock, Boost Level 12 o'clock, Boost Boost 12 o'clock, and Gain at 9 o'clock. — Fender’s MTG:LA pedal, sat on my board at home

I’ve had Fender’s MTG:LA overdrive pedal for coming up on two years now, and it’s fair to say that it’s largely spent most of that time sat in its box on the pedal shelf. It’s a pedal for Strats and Teles, but I play my Les Paul most of the time.

Last July, I had a go at using additional pedals to shape the tone of the MTG:LA, to try and make it work better with my Les Paul. While I liked the results, nothing really stuck, so the pedal went back onto the shelf.

Let’s give the MTG:LA another go, this time by trying my new secret weapon: the Marshall DSL20HR.

10th October 2021

New Arrivals: September 2021

September has been another quiet month for new arrivals – but not quite as quiet as August was! A couple of interesting (to me) pieces came available at prices that suited me.

What did I get? Read on to find out …