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.
It’s not every pedal that gets not one, but two First Impressions posts here on the HomeToneBlog. In fact, I believe this is the first one that I’ve done this for.
How does the Mad Professor Super Black preamp pedal sound, when I run it straight into a power amp? Let’s find out.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Mad Professor Super Black Pedal (Straight Into A Power Amp)”
I recently managed to tear myself away from my beloved Tweed Deluxe amp long enough to snag a second-hand Super Black pedal. And I swear that I didn’t realise this is (partially!) a tweed pedal when I bought it!
Continue reading “First Impressions: Mad Professor Super Black Preamp Pedal (Into The Front Of An Amp)”For the first time (that I can remember) since I started this blog, there have been no new arrivals this month.
Last month, I got my bucket-list amp: the Fender 57 Custom Deluxe, and I’ve been enjoying it so much I just haven’t been bidding on any second-hand items that have come up for sale.
Along with that, I’m back working for myself once again. I need to get some invoices raised and paid before I can afford to pay myself any wages, and that’s not going to happen until September.
You probably haven’t heard of this guitar. We certainly hadn’t. But once we’d tried one, we were sold.
I’m supposed to be rehearsing the four (possibly five) songs for acoustic guitar that I’m aiming to record by the end of the year. However, for the last few weeks, I’ve been lured away by the seductive purr of my guitar amps.
Here are three short narratives on the sirens that have waylaid my acoustic adventures …
Continue reading “Studio Diary #27: A New Lease Of Life To My Old Amps”This month has been a very special month. A couple of purchases I’ve been working towards unexpectedly all came together at the same time. And then I learned that you really do need to be careful what you wish for!
The second-hand market remains pretty flat. I did miss out on one of my bucket-list pedals though. It’s going to take me a while before I stop kicking myself over that one. I managed to pickup another great BJFe-designed pedal instead, so it wasn’t all bad 🙂
Continue reading “New Arrivals: July 2021”My new Tweed Deluxe amp is a bit of a dream come true. Being a vintage amp circuit, it’s also a bit too loud for regular use at home. If I’m going to enjoy it, I need a way to turn it down.
My tool of choice for the job? Fryette’s Power Station PS-100. Why did I pick this over the considerable competition? And does it actually do the job? Read on for my research notes and First Impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Fryette Power Station PS-100”Earlier this month, I took a trip up to Birmingham to try out a couple of B&G Little Sister P90 Crossroads guitars. I liked them so much, I brought one home with me and named it Merrang! (The exclamation mark is part of the name.)
Why did I get it, and what is it for? Read on for my First Impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: B&G Little Sister P90 Crossroads”I’ve finally done it. I’ve gone and bought an actual 5e3 circuit tweed amp. I wasn’t planning on getting one, but when a different planned purchase didn’t happen, I went for it. And then, by an amazing stroke of luck, the amp arrived months earlier than expected – right when I’ve got a short break from work between jobs.
This is going to be one of the longer First Impression posts. I’ve got a lot of notes to share with you, even though I’ve only had the amp a couple of days.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Fender 57 Custom Deluxe Amp”
First time around, the NABLA Custom Black Tweed overdrive pedal just fell a little bit short of what I was hoping for. While I loved the feel of playing the pedal (honestly, it’s like playing an amp), I struggled with the EQ controls and the lack of top-end presence in the overall tone.
That was last year. Six months or so later, do I still feel the same?
Continue reading “Second Bite: NABLA Custom Black Tweed Overdrive Pedal”