Filter by
Jennings Navigator / McNelly demo!

Jennings Navigator / McNelly demo!

James P Gascoigne
Awesome video by Jay Leonard J of a beautiful new Jennings Navigator featuring a set of McNelly A5 pickups too! So a great chance to hear some of the features of the T based build from Chad Jennings! Killer playing too
Will McNicol plays a Tom Sands Model 'S' White label

Will McNicol plays a Tom Sands Model 'S' White label

I couldn't help but share this one. As you may already know, I'm a big big fan of Tom Sands' work, and equally of Will McNicol's mastery of tasteful playing. So when a video pops up of him playing Tom's latest Model 'S', with a piece of music I remember my Dad playing a lot, it had to be shared! Enjoy
Project - My wife's new archtop, now back in one piece for good, I promise.

Project - My wife's new archtop, now back in one piece for good, I promise.

Following on from yesterday's project article, this evening has been spent putting my wife's new archtop back together after I promptly took it apart..sorry Emma. But I can proudly say it was worth it, as my jaw hit the floor upon the first few chords and notes. The combination of the Bliss humbuckers and fresh quality components has opened the T49D/v right up tonally, capturing the sound I imagined it should have been and certainly managing to amplify the natural qualities the guitar has.
Project - My wife's new Archtop...which I promptly take apart because I can't help myself

Project - My wife's new Archtop...which I promptly take apart because I can't help myself

This is a guitar that really didn't need to become a project, so this blog article is part self help, part project thread! I'll get to why in a moment, but let's start with a little backstory. My wife has really wanted an archtop for some time, she's a fan of artists like Lianne La Havas & The Staves who often use ES-175D or ES-335s (latter being a semi hollow but let's not split hairs too much!), so hearing the sounds they achieve and of course the achingly cool looks, was something she wasn't achieving with her prior strat. I was conscious that we didn't have a lot of money to play with, and the prospect of a bad archtop wasn't filling me with much desire. So instead I suggested we look at Eastman Guitars, which although a stretch of the budget, meaning a bit more saving and hard work would be needed to justify it, the quality of guitar at the end of it would be certainly worth it. We'd browsed the website and UK stockists such as Peach Guitars and GAK who both carry a wide selection, and so far so good, I liked the specs and build standard, Emma loved how they looked and sounded in the videos.
The Guitar Show 2019

The Guitar Show 2019

The biggest UK show of the year is almost upon us, and I'm beginning to feel the excitement now finally! The run up to this show can feel a little overwhelming, planning the stand, getting builds and stock prepared and overall ensuring the whole thing looks just right. I hold my hands up and say I've been pretty darned hard on myself about the presentation in years past, but I'm feeling so much better about this year's stand and display and really looking forward to getting it all set-up and ready for door open time come 10:00am Saturday.
My Odessa Guitars Deadbeat Baritone build...and Degenerate?

My Odessa Guitars Deadbeat Baritone build...and Degenerate?

It's been a while since my last blog post about my Odessa, and there is a little reason as to why that is and I'll get to that later in the post, but for now accept my apologies if you were following since the original build update article! We left off at the finishing stage, where the neck and body were undergoing numerous coats of Livos natural oil, looking rather nice it was too.
Guitar.com demo video of our Jennings Voyager Deluxe and Catalina goes live!

Guitar.com demo video of our Jennings Voyager Deluxe and Catalina goes live!

Following on from the great editorial review feature in this month's Guitar Magazine, editor Chris Vinnicombe has also kindly filmed a demo video of our two stock Jennings Guitars too and it has just been released on their YouTube channel!

Huge thanks to the guys at Guitar.com for this, absolutely loved the video!
Jennings hit the pages of Guitar Magazine this month!

Jennings hit the pages of Guitar Magazine this month!

The latest issue of Guitar Magazine is out, and it has a glorious 6 page feature on our beloved Jennings Guitars! Whenever some of my brands get featured in this great magazine I can't help but feel very proud to represent them here. Huge thanks to Chris, Joe and the guys at Guitar magazine, really grateful for the continued support of my brands, and store.
My personal picks from NAMM 2019

My personal picks from NAMM 2019

James P Gascoigne
Tagged: NAMM 2019
Winter NAMM Week. An event that can likely be described best as the musical industry whirlwind. A showcase of innovations from companies all over the world, with some of the greatest, and craziest, new ventures and what to expect in the year to come. I often find that whirlwind can feel pretty difficult to keep up with, but this year has felt quite exciting so I've felt compelled to share some of my personal stand out items from following the show online. It has been great to see companies from both ends of the scale stretching the boundaries, I personally feel it's a positive step forward. So here's a few of my personal picks from Winter NAMM 2019!
Mark Johnston getting to know his Jennings Voyager

Mark Johnston getting to know his Jennings Voyager

I've been following Mark's instagram account for a little while as a constant source of ambient and pedal based inspiration, and recently he became the owner of a beautiful Jennings Voyager so have been following even closer to see what he creates with it. Mark's Voyager is outfitted with a set of McNelly Stagger Swagger V2s so it's been great to hear these pickups in an ambient setting. Here's a video from his YouTube channel, the first with his Jennings and displays both his tasteful music and the gear in question. Hope you enjoy
McNelly Pickups at the Home of Tone going into 2019

McNelly Pickups at the Home of Tone going into 2019

James P Gascoigne
I'll be honest, with so many aspects of starting and trying to grow your own business, It's difficult to pinpoint my proudest moment since doing this, but I feel I can very much put representing McNelly Pickups right up there at the top of the list. I've worked with Tim at McNelly Pickups since 2015, and he has been one of the most reliable, consistent, innovative and inspiring suppliers to work with and it's an honour to represent such a quality brand here in the UK. 
Michael Watts' 'Luthier Stories', with Ervin Somogyi

Michael Watts' 'Luthier Stories', with Ervin Somogyi

James P Gascoigne
I absolutely urge you to spare 37:55 of your time and enjoy this video. If you haven't ever happened to have heard the name Ervin Somogyi prior, he is a true icon of the guitar world and luthiery. Our friend Michael Watts visited him at his workshop and put together this inspiring video talk with Ervin and I loved every second. For anyone who is a fan of luthiery, guitars, design and even outlook on life, this is well worth a watch. Thanks for recording it Michael!