Home of Tone Blog

Pickup spotlight - McNelly Jazzmaster range

For me, the Jazzmaster totally reset the bar of what I wanted from a guitar. The Chime, overall feel, scale, string tension and versatility spoke to me instantly. This is the same for so many of my customers, so I wanted to highlight the range of Jazzmaster pickup options available through us, how you can capture the classic JM tones and how you can mix it up a little without the need for re-routing or a new pickguard. So let's dive right in.

November 27, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: 46/58 Guitar pickups Jazzmaster Jazzmaster humbuckers Jazzmaster P90s Jazzmaster pickups Jazzmaster single coils JM90 McNelly McNelly 46/58 McNelly Jazzmaster McNelly Jazzmaster pickups McNelly JM90 McNelly P90 McNelly Pickups McNelly pickups UK McNelly UK pickups

Last few 2018 Mind Charity fundraising shirts available!

I wanted to share a little more with you about the 2018 Mind Charity Fundraiser I'm currently running, and the limited edition shirt currently available!

In case this shirt is new to you and haven't spotted it on previous e-mails or the website yet, the 2018 design was again a collaboration with illustrator, Kevin Wilson. Taking off from our first shirt together, we wanted to show the famous little UFO now taking over your rigs at home, giving us the UFO Tone takeover 2018 shirt design!

November 26, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Charity Charity fundraiser Charity shirt Home of Tone shirt Home of Tone UFO shirt Millimetric Millimetric instruments UFO shirt UFO tone takeover

McNelly Black Friday new model release!

For this year's black Friday, we have officially launched a range of pickups which have always been available, but upon special request previously, making them part of the main line-up!

November 23, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: McNelly McNelly bass pickups McNelly jazzmaster McNelly jazzmaster pickups McNelly pickup McNelly Pickups McNelly Pickups UK McNelly Sparkletron McNelly Stagger Swagger V2

Jennings Guitars Announce 'Navigator' - Their homage to an icon

After months of work, I was really pleased to see Jennings announce their latest guitar, The Navigator last week. I was lucky enough to be sent quite a few teaser photos whilst Chad & Devin were working on this model, and you could definitely tell they weren't content with simply making another 'Tele'. Sure, it would be very important to be true to the design, the reason why the Tele works as well as it does after all! But do so with their own stamp, as well as an interesting ethos behind why they wanted to approach a classic design as opposed to another unique shape to their lineup.

November 19, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: announcement Jennings Jennings Guitars Jennings Tele Jennings Telecaster Jennings Tradesman New guitar news T-Style Tele Telecaster

How to guide - Wiring your guitar's jack mono socket

Your guitar's jack socket can take a lot of punishment over a long amount of time, and it's not uncommon to need to replace it from time to time. They can sometimes work loose, meaning the solder connections are damaged, perhaps general wear & tear or maybe you'd like to upgrade a lower quality item to a high end replacement like those by Switchcraft & Pure Tone. Hopefully this how to guide will help you learn a bit more about them, and importantly how to replace them. The jacks most commonly found on our guitars are standard, two connector, 1/4" female audio jack sockets.

November 4, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: guitar jack guitar jack socket guitar jack socket fitting guitar jack socket install guide how do I solder a jack socket how do I wire a guitar jack socket how to guide How to solder a guitar jack how to solder a jack socket how to wire a guitar jack socket how to wire a jack socket pure tone guitar jack pure tone guitar jack socket pure tone jack socket switchcraft jack switchcraft jack socket

Friendships - The real 'USP' of handmade, custom instruments? - My Odessa Deadbeat Baritone build

Lusting after the 'next' guitar rarely stops for many of us. The idea of a baritone has stuck with me for quite some time, and being without a main electric whilst I await my own Millimetric MGS3 to be built next year has had the cogs turning on the idea more than ever. My mind wandered to a Jazzmaster based parts build, 3 pickups, perhaps an extra one behind the bridge for weird sounds, a walnut long scale neck and although this notion was undeniably exciting, I couldn't help but think about supporting a luthier brand over doing a parts build which in some cases can soon see costs creep up to a similar mark.

November 3, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Hipshot bridge Hipshot tuners McNelly firebird Odessa odessa deadbeat Odessa deadbeat baritone Odessa Guitar odessa guitar review Odessa Guitars Odessa Guitars deadbeat Odessa guitars review

Jennings Guitars arrive, and leave me a little speechless..

This has been a long time coming. A lot of planning, trust building, spec decisions and simply making sure that we launch Jennings in the UK in the best way possible. The result yesterday, as the beautiful custom made G&G tweed cases were opened, was something that truly took my breath away. Chad and Devin at Jennings Guitars have created something incredibly special for us, and I can't wait to share more. So here's a tease until then for you kind readers and followers of the blog....

October 16, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Boutique guitar boutique guitars handmade guitar handmade guitars Jennings Jennings Guitar UK Jennings Guitars Jennings Guitars UK Jennings guitars UK dealer Jennings UK dealer

Meet the... makers? - Chad & Devin of Jennings Guitars

Originality, and familiarity. Often something that's very hard to capture well. But it's something I've always felt Jennings Guitars have managed with their instruments. There's a real sense of familiarity with the aesthetic, they have a classic look but in no means do they replicate. They've always caught my eye for this reason, and have enjoyed following their work for some time now.

Chad Jennings reached out to me in the early parts of this year and we spoke on the phone a number of times which was great to be able to do with someone on the other side of the world. What struck me was firstly their passion for what they do, but also through discussing methods and ideas that they have an incredibly high attention to detail which shown that the beautiful photos of their instruments, branding and way they present themselves and their work is absolutely no fluke. This is their strong vision on what they want Jennings to be, and it's been a great experience learning more about that. It got me thinking, we need to do a Meet the Maker for these guys! But, being the first 2 man team I've considered interviewing, I thought it was important to involve them both so both Chad and Devin joined me for this and share their thoughts and processes on all things Jennings!

October 14, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Blog Californian guitar company Chad Jennings Guitar Guitar blog Guitar maker Guitar makers Interview Jennings Guitar Jennings Guitars Jennings Guitars interview Luthier interview Meet the maker Meet the makers

Short shaft or long shaft pots for my Les Paul, which will I need?

When it comes to Les Paul wiring queries, the question I probably get asked most is, "Will I need long or short shaft pots?". Unfortunately it can sometimes be a long or a short answer too, depending on your variation of Les Paul. Gibson are of course known for lots of transitional changes to specs from the golden era right up to modern day so the info can be a little cloudy as to which you'll actually need, particularly if you're not sure by physically checking them. The reason why some models require long shaft pots and others require 'short' shaft so to speak is down to the maple top or cap used on that model. Some Les Pauls have a carved maple cap which is a thicker and others a flat maple cap which is thinner. ...

October 13, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Les paul Les Paul harness Les Paul long shaft or short shaft Les Paul long shaft pots Les Paul pots les paul short shaft pots Les Paul wiring Les Paul wiring harness Les Paul wiring pots long shaft or short shaft pots

Home of Tone at the London International Guitar Show

It's almost time for the London International Guitar Show! I'm really looking forward to this one as it's my first time exhibiting in London, meaning hopefully I'll be able to meet some of you whom I've not had chance to meet yet from the area which is great!

I'll be bringing along Prisma Guitars, Titan Guitars, McNelly Pickups, Home of Tone wiring harnesses, Mother Mary Co straps, Ground Control Audio, Lehle, Yellowcake pedals, Gravity Picks, Bigfoot ceramic slides, D&A Stands and lots more!

October 9, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: guitar show London International Guitar Show 2018

Update for custom spec/requirement harnesses.

I have to unfortunately announce that, certainly in the short term anyway, I won't be continuing to offer custom spec/requirement harnesses. This is mainly due to it struggling to be a viable service to offer with time spent discussing the requirements & specs, research and development, drawing schematics and in some instances sourcing components not usually stocked. There unfortunately can't be the margin to make it a viable way to continue to run the business and now will solely be offering my selection of harnesses visible here. I am however further developing my range so that there is a wider selection of alternative options available. This only applies to custom schematics though, if you require a 335 style harness for example that isn't for a Gibson model, but perhaps say an import replica/style 335. Then this will most certainly continue to be do-able for you.

Thanks for your understanding and of course, if I can find a way to make it financially viable to offer custom requirement/spec harnesses in the future I will take on orders again.

James.

October 7, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

The UFO TAKEOVER 2018 Mind Charity Fundraising T-Shirts are now here!

The shipment arrived from our printers, Monster Press who have done an awesome job on the shirts for me. I shipped out all pre-orders yesterday, so those in the UK who ordered have probably began receiving your shirts today! Or certainly will early this coming week, if you have pre-ordered I want to say a special thanks to you for believing in the fundraiser and putting your name down for a shirt early, means a lot!

The shirts are now in stock and shipping straight after the point of order, so if you haven't had chance to grab one now is a great time as there is no pre-order wait! In stock and ready to go.
XL and XXL sizes have now sold out, and I have (at the point of this blog post) only 1x Small size left! I now only have a very small amount of medium and large, so if you want to grab one head to the merch collection here on the website to secure yours!

Thanks so much!
James

October 6, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Charity fundraising fundraiser fundraising Millimetric Mind Charity Shirt Shirts T-Shirt UFO

« Previous · 1 … 13 14 15 16 17 … 22 · Next »

Make the most of it!

Providing the best since 2015

Update for EU & NI customers

Customer Notice