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.
I’m lucky enough to own a physical Tweed Deluxe amp. I also think that a Tweed Deluxe amp rig for home use has become so expensive in 2023, it’s difficult to justify. So I’ve started looking at alternatives, to see how they compare to the real thing.
First up is the Fender 55 Tweed Deluxe plugin from Universal Audio.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Comparing Universal Audio’s Fender 55 With A Real Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp”Regular readers will know that I’m quite the fan of “tweed tone”: the sound of classic amps from the fifties. So much so that, back in 2021, I went out and bought Fender’s modern reissue of the holy grail of tweed amps: the 5e3 Tweed Deluxe.
I’m glad that I got mine when I did, because I’m not sure that I could afford – or justify – buying the same amp in late 2023.
Read on if you’re interested in my thoughts and experiences on this topic.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: You’ve Got To Be A Huge Fan Of Tweed Tone To Get A Real Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp In 2023”After ticking off a whole heap of bucket-list items in July, August was mostly about something on my bucket list that had nothing to do with guitars and gear. Yes, I do have a life away from browsing eBay listings 😂
I did pick up a couple of items, though …
Continue reading “New Arrivals: August 2023”At the end of 2022, I said that I want to revisit some gear that I used to have. Completely by coincidence, I managed to pick up both pedals (one of them pretty rare) this month – along with another pedal off my bucket list, a pedal that I’ve been asked about … and pretty sweet guitar that I plan to gig with.
Read on to see what’s arrived this month.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: July 2023”
It’s impossible to talk about the King of Blues without comparing it to the Analogman King of Tone – because that’s the question everyone wants to know. Is it a King of Tone clone, or (at the very least) a passible substitute?
No, it isn’t. The King of Blues is its own thing. And I really dig it. Read on for the full details, including audio demos to demonstrate why.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Tone City King of Blues Dual Overdrive Pedal”With recent problems behind me, my enthusiasm for music has started to return this month. While I haven’t picked up a lot of new (to me) gear, the items I did snag are all very special to me.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: June 2023”This month, I had – and took – the opportunity to add a couple of increasingly-rare tweed tone pedals to my collection. In both cases, I’m very glad that I did.
I also tried out a new (to me) pedal brand for the first time: NUX. I grabbed a couple of their pedals. Both were excellent in their own way.
Finally, I picked up another clone-in-a-box from my favourite pedal clone maker, websmurfer. It’s always a delight for me to try one of their designs.
Read on for all the details.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: May 2023”A week or so ago, I picked up a new (to me) NUX Morning Star overdrive pedal.
Is it going to be another fantastic find, a big disappointment, or somewhere in between perhaps? Read on for my First Impressions of this pedal.
Continue reading “First Impressions: NUX Morning Star Overdrive Pedal”I recently picked up a new (to me) Bearfoot FX Honey Bee X overdrive pedal.
Is this going to be the Honey Bee variant to rule them all? Will it be the Honey Bee that finally knocks my beloved Sweet Honey Overdrive (SHOD for short) off my pedal board?
Read on for my First Impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Honey Bee X Overdrive Pedal”I recently picked up the black sheep of the legendary Honey Bee pedal family: the Honey Beest.
And I’m going to get through this First Impressions review without making any jokes at all about it being a beast of a pedal 😂
Continue reading “First Impressions: Bearfoot FX Honey Beest Overdrive Pedal”