Home of Tone Blog
Home of Tone at The Guitar Show 2024
It's approaching that time of year where prep has well and truly begun for this year's Guitar Show. This is a superb show, no doubt in my mind that it's the biggest and best show in the UK and I'll proudly be there again! Right in front of the main public entrance to the main hall, you'll see me! I'll be bringing along a great selection of all of my stocked brands, and you'll of course have chance to check out the gear in person, see some of the current guitar stock, try out pedals and more. Look forward to seeing you there!
THE GUITAR SHOW | MARCH 2ND & 3RD 2024 | CRANMORE PARK | B90 4LE
Indra Guitars x Home of Tone exclusive 4 bolt UFO neck plates!
I've been following Richard's work at Indra Guitars for a number of years, I finally became a customer of his after admiring his work by ordering a beautiful custom etched aluminium pickguard for my Sterling MusicMan Albert Lee guitar to which he did a wonderful job with. During that design process, he threw together a really cool edit in his illustration/design style of my classic UFO logo. It got my brain cogs turning about a collab! The design looked so cool on a standard 4 bolt neck plate, I figured I had to ask if we could get some made to stock. Thankfully Richard was able to accommodate and has made these stunning Home of Tone exclusive UFO neck plates! Available in aluminium, brass & anodised black aluminium and match up with the standard 4 bolt Fender style neck plates.
5 Years of the Home of Tone!
It has been 5 years since I started James' Home of Tone, which feels amazing to say! Some of you reading may have been following since the beginning, whilst some of you may be totally new to what I do here so I thought the 5 year anniversary of beginning this venture would be as good a time as any to share a little about my story! A great deal has happened over the past 5 years, to say the least, so I'll try not to bore you with every detail! But I thought it would be healthy to touch on some of the things that helped shape the Home of Tone and moments that continue to mean a lot to me and this journey. Plus it's nice to be open about the story behind a business!
Podcast with Tom Sands!
Tom Sands not only is one of the worlds finest luthiers, he also (among many other things) runs a regular guitar based podcast alongside his apprentice, Daisy Tempest. The Podcast has featured some inspiring guests since it's beginnings, and it's one I've enjoyed as a listener for some time now. Well, somehow I have found myself now featured on the podcast as a guest! Tom & Daisy traveled down from Yorkshire for my Coffee & Guitars charity event, and were kind enough to hang around and record this podcast with me along with making a fantastic video here inside the Home of Tone too.
It was such good fun, I find both Tom & Daisy very inspiring in my journey and am grateful for their support and friendship, so it was a genuine honour to record this with them. Hope you enjoy listening to a little about my story!
It was such good fun, I find both Tom & Daisy very inspiring in my journey and am grateful for their support and friendship, so it was a genuine honour to record this with them. Hope you enjoy listening to a little about my story!
Coffee.Guitars - The Home of Tone 2019 Mind Charity fundraiser
Each year I have tried to organise a fundraiser, for Mind Charity, a cause which has proved to mean as much to my customers as it has to myself. This year I wanted to organise a relaxed get-together and what better way to do that than over some coffee. So I'm going to be your barista for the day, apologies though, my 'latte art' leaves a lot to be desired, but it should taste good! (Other warm and cold drinks will be available of course, as well as some nibbles of which I'll do my best to ensure a mixture of foods to cater for a variety of dietary requirements).
New shirts!
This shirt idea came about for a few reasons. Firstly, I love those late 90s Independent Trucks brand skateboard shirts, and this design started life as an idea to capture some of the vibes from those awesome designs I loved so much.
Home of Tone Record of the week - Laura Marling's Semper Femina
Laura Marling is a consistent sound in our house, my wife and I adore her music and this particular record is a real favourite of mine. Semper Femina kicks off with the incredibly atmospheric 'Soothing'. Laura's voice is utterly haunting over the double bass line, a definite headphones moment. This album is a real journey right from the start, with some beautiful more 'traditional' if you can use the word, Laura Marling songs, alongside her clearly wandering musical mind intertwining perfectly together. Definitely one of my favourite albums of hers, and I don't think a week goes by where we don't listen to this, so about time I shared it as my record of the week! I might note as a bit of a showing off moment, but you may notice our record sleeve is signed too, Marling geeks will appreciate I'm sure.
London International Guitar Show!
It's felt like a long time since our last guitar show, so we're making up for it with a trip down to the big smoke for the London International Guitar Show 2018!
This is a brilliant show organised by Pete and Gail of Northern Guitar Shows, who always provide a great atmosphere and diverse range of exhibitors. My favourite shows due to the relaxed nature of the events, perfect for guitarists to indulge in some geekery. This is my first time at the London show, and myself and Emma are looking forward to heading there in October! If you're local to this show, be sure to come along and come and say hello!
This is a brilliant show organised by Pete and Gail of Northern Guitar Shows, who always provide a great atmosphere and diverse range of exhibitors. My favourite shows due to the relaxed nature of the events, perfect for guitarists to indulge in some geekery. This is my first time at the London show, and myself and Emma are looking forward to heading there in October! If you're local to this show, be sure to come along and come and say hello!
Home of Tone interview by 'Squid Guitar'!
Hal from Squid Guitar reached out about doing a written interview, was nice to share some more about the Home of Tone! Hope you enjoy reading some further insight into what I do here, and why I love doing it!
Click HERE for the interview
Click HERE for the interview
Meet the maker - Florian Bouyou of Millimetric Instruments.
The work of Florian Bouyou first came to the attention by the tip off from a friend via the visual social world of Instagram. I wanted to note this in particular as the visual aspect of that media platform is reflective of what perhaps demands your attention when first gazing upon a Millimetric Instrument. Handbuilt in Canada by Florian, A hypnotically simplistic style and design greets you, and it is clear that there are so many more influences than just the guitar world behind these instruments and the Millimetric brand aesthetic.. I was really keen to learn more about that. I've personally been infatuated ever since, keen to see more of his work and to learn more of the brand, so I knew at some point I had to get Florian involved in my Meet the maker interview series. Luckily for me, Florian was happy to speak with me! So let's delve in, as I'm itching to learn more!
Meet the player - An interview with R.J.Ronquillo
The last few years has seen the rise of YouTube as a incredibly immersive, influential, and powerful tool in the guitar world (among others too of course!). From providing viewers with what is essentially quality weekly TV programming revolving around our gear obsessions like the brilliant 'That Pedal Show' or 'Andertons TV', to in depth lessons and incredibly vast selections of demo, almost taking away the need to get your hands on the gear to try in a store for yourself, (almost!). This strong following on a versatile platform has resulted in a large number of talented players to get the spotlight their hard work deserves, perhaps where they otherwise may have gone unnoticed. One thing YouTube has certainly done is broaden your knowledge of talented players further than the odd guy tearing it up at the local gig venue or guitar showroom on any given weekend. YouTube has firmly made it's stamp on the guitar industry.
We're back!
Thank you for your patience, to those that got in touch and to those that ordered during the past week. I appreciate the support, especially seeing as I couldn't dispatch...