Fender – HomeToneBlog.com

27th October 202526th October 2025

First Impressions: Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive (Hand-wired 2025 Edition)

I recently bought another Sweet Honey Overdrive pedal.

The o.g. Sweet Honey Overdrive, the 2025-edition Sweet Honey Overdrive, and the Arc Effects Klone v2 on my pedalboard.

What do I think of it? Read on for my First Impressions.

7th October 20256th October 2025

#TweedTone: Is A 5e3 Tweed Deluxe Valve Amp Right For You In 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.

30th September 202530th September 2025

New Arrivals: September 2025

One regret I have over the years is missing out on “limited edition” guitars (especially the early Gibson Collectors’ Choice Les Pauls). I’m not interested in getting one as a collector, and in the past either the timing hasn’t been right or I haven’t known enough about the guitars to feel confident in getting one.

Not this month.

Although, frankly, it sure was made easier because I didn’t have to find Gibson Collectors’ Choice money to get one …

30th September 202529th September 2025

#TweedTone: The Cost Of A Tweed Deluxe Amp In September 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?

30th September 202529th September 2025

First Impressions: Fender Vintera II Road Worn 60’s Telecaster In Blonde

I’ve just bought myself one of the new Road Worn 60’s Telecasters.

Now that I’ve had it for a full week, what do I think of it? Does it live up to the hype? Read on for my first impressions of my new guitar, which I’ve named Jody.

13th August 202512th August 2025

First Impressions: Origin Effects Deluxe55 Tweed Recreation

Back in June, I bought a Deluxe55 amp-in-a-box pedal by Origin Effects.

This is a photo of my pedalboard.

There are 3 pedals on the board. From left to right, they are:

- Origin Effects Deluxe55
- Lazy J Cruiser Deuce
- Arc Effects Klone v2 — Origin Effects Deluxe55, Lazy J Cruiser Deuce and Arc Effects Klone v2 on my pedalboard.

What do I think of it? Here are my first impressions.

28th July 202527th July 2025

First Impressions: BJFe Honey Bee OD Retro

Earlier this month, I picked up one of my holy grail pedals: a Honey Bee OD made by BJFe.

This is a photo of three guitar effects pedals on the author's pedalboard.

On the far-left, is the BJFe-in-your-hand series Honey Bee Overdrive by One Control. It's a distinctive warm honey colour, with four control knobs on the top surface.

In the middle is the BJFe Honey Bee OD Retro, by BJFe. This pedal is a lighter shade, almost yellow. It has three control knobs on its top surface.

On the right-hand side is the Klone v2 by Arc Effects. This pedal has a metallic gold finish. It spots the Klon's distinctive control knobs.

What do I think of it? Read on for my First Impressions.

8th July 20255th July 2025

First Impressions: One Control Honey Bee OD 4K Mini Standard

I recently bought the Honey Bee OD 4K Mini Standard, from One Control.

This is a photo of three mini-sized guitar effects pedals on my pedalboard

On the left, in blue, is the One Control Blue Bee OD 4K Mini (BBOD4K-mini for short).

In the middle, in yellow, is the One Control Honey Bee OD 4K Mini Standard (HBOD4K-mini-standard for short). This review is about this pedal.

On the right, in a crimson red, is the One Control Honey Bee OD 4K Mini Custom (HBOD4k-mini-custom for short).

Each mini pedal has four control knobs, for Volume, Gain, Bass and Treble.

Although all part of the same family, and based on the same circuit design, all three pedals sound quite different.

What do I think of it? I’ve made my photo of it the wallpaper on my phone …

6th July 20255th July 2025

#CoffeeAndKlon 42: Can I Learn To Love My RYRA The Klone?

#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?

3rd June 20252nd June 2025

First Impressions: Tone King Imperial MKII Synergy Preamp Module #TweedTone

Synergy have just released the Tone King Imperial MKII preamp module.

This is a photo of the Imperial MKII preamp module in a (dusty!) Synergy SYN-1 housing.

On the left of the module, there are two rows of three pots, one row per channel.

The top row of three controls are for the Lead channel (the tweed-voiced overdrive channel). They are labelled Volume, Tone, and Mid Bite.

The bottom three controls are for the Rhythm channel (the blackface-voiced clean channel). They are labelled Volume, Bass and Treble.

Next to them are two large, fixed stepped controls. These are the Attenuation controls, one for each channel.

There's a mini toggle switch nestled in between the two large controls. This enables a high-frequency cut.

On the right, there are two more toggle switches, to switch on the built-in, valve-driven tremolo. Next to them are two more pots, for controlling the speed and depth of the tremolo circuit.

I found one in stock here in the UK the day after launch, and ordered it straight away.

Now that it’s here in a very dusty Hermit’s Cave, what do I think of it? Here are my (very positive) first impressions.