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Will McNicol pays a visit!

Will McNicol pays a visit!

We were lucky enough to have the all round lovely human and immensely talented, Will McNicol swing by earlier this week to hang out a little bit and nerd out on guitars!

If you happen to be unfamiliar with Will's playing and music, I urge you to check it out as the compositions are varied, interesting, complex yet melodic and memorable as well as the execution of his playing immaculate. Big fans of Will in our house and within the family too and great to get chance to hang out here. Cheers Will!
James P Gascoigne
Thank you for your Mind Charity fundraising help!

Thank you for your Mind Charity fundraising help!

Just wanted to say another quick thank you to everyone who was able to help contribute towards our total donation amount of £604 to Mind Charity from our Coffee & Guitars event.
£434 was raised in cash at the event which I have just donated to Mind, and £170 was raised via my Just Giving page, bringing the total to £604 which is incredible.

I think it's safe to say Coffee & Guitars needs a follow up, and hopefully I can bring together an even better gathering with the great relaxed atmosphere this year's event captured.

Thank you,

James

James P Gascoigne
Josh Smith, a Retrograde Cambridge & a set of McNelly Stagger Swagger V2s!

Josh Smith, a Retrograde Cambridge & a set of McNelly Stagger Swagger V2s!

Josh Smith is a player on most guitarists radars these days. Whether you are a blues/jazz fan or not, the respect for his ability is undeniable, and rightly so! I just came across this video by a wonderful looking US store, Music Emporium, of Josh playing a stunning Retrograde Cambridge guitar which has a set of Dogear mount McNelly Pickups Stagger Swagger V2s fitted.
Although that particular mount style is custom order (but can happily be made again no problem!) this is a wonderful demonstration of how well this pickup responds to the guitar's they're mounted in.
Enjoy!
Podcast with Tom Sands!

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!
Coffee & Guitars helps raise £604 for Mind Charity!

Coffee & Guitars helps raise £604 for Mind Charity!

What a wonderful get-together! Thank to everyone who made it down to our Mind Charity event today, such a lovely atmosphere, lots of friendly faces.
A huge thank you to family and friends that helped make it all come together!
I barely had chance to leave the kitchen to grab photos, but luckily my wife Emma took charge of the camera and grabbed lots of photos to share along with luthier, Daisy Tempest too.
James P Gascoigne
Workshop Spotlight - Diamond Bottlenecks glass guitar slides with Ian McWee

Workshop Spotlight - Diamond Bottlenecks glass guitar slides with Ian McWee

I have known Ian McWee of Diamond Bottlenecks for many years. When I first became interested in slide guitar, I was reading an issue of Guitarist Magazine and a review of some beautiful glass slides caught my eye. After reading I realised these were made local to me, and knew I had to pay a visit. This must have been over 15 years ago now, and Ian was as enthusiastic about his slides and slide guitar in general as he is today. 
Coffee.Guitars - The Home of Tone 2019 Mind Charity fundraiser

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).
Yellowcake PSYCHOTROPIA demo by the awesome Living Room Gear Demos!

Yellowcake PSYCHOTROPIA demo by the awesome Living Room Gear Demos!

Well this was a rather pleasant surprise! LRGD is one of my favourite guitar channels on YouTube, his demo work is always creative and that really suits the new Psychotropia! Great to hear the pedal in action on his channel, and don't forget, I am a UK representative of Yellowcake Pedals and handle UK orders of this awesome pedal!
New shirts!

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. 
Dipswitch Demos takes on the challenge of demo-ing a compressor! The Ground Control Audio Serpens

Dipswitch Demos takes on the challenge of demo-ing a compressor! The Ground Control Audio Serpens

I must admit, approaching a demo channel with the intention of asking them to demo a compressor pedal is daunting. But luckily for me, Jackson knows a thing or two about pedal demos and compressors so he was able to lay down this fantastic run through of our beloved Ground Control Audio Serpens! 

A huge thank you to jackson for taking the time to demo the Serpens and the other GCA pedals he worked on for us, I know both myself and Seb at GCA are very grateful of his work. Be sure to check out his channel and subscribe!
Dipswitch Demos at it again! This time with the Ground Control Audio, Blood Oath!

Dipswitch Demos at it again! This time with the Ground Control Audio, Blood Oath!

I love this pedal, I own one and it sits proudly on my personal pedal board. For me it feels like two drives in one with the drive side and the pre-amp side capturing two vibes and dynamic response. Jackson has captured and described this very well indeed in his video but ultimately, demonstrates it brilliantly too!
A huge thank you to jackson for taking the time to demo the Blood Oath, I know both myself and Seb at GCA are very grateful of his work. Be sure to check out his channel and subscribe!
Dipswitch Demos feature the Ground Control Audio 'Locust'!

Dipswitch Demos feature the Ground Control Audio 'Locust'!

If you've visited the friends page on my website, you'll see that I'm a fan of Jackson's great work over on his Dipswitch Demos YouTube channel and other medias. Well, I'm very honoured to say he featured the brilliant Ground Control Audio 'Locust' pedal for us and has done a superb job of both describing the functionality and design of the pedal along with an in-depth demo too!

Huge thanks to Jackson!