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Merry Christmas!

December 23, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

I wanted to make this short and sweet, as I'm sure everyone is super busy with their lives at this time of year (plus I'm sure your e-mail inbox is inundated enough!) but a quick wish of Merry Christmas to everyone.
I've gained so many friends, supportive customers and great experiences this year and I'm very grateful for each and everyone of you. Thanks for your support this year and I hope everyone has a great time over Christmas and New year.

News!

There will be some changes going into 2018, some major, some natural progressions but all I assure you for the right reasons and to stay true to why it is I wanted to start my business and true to how I want to continue to run it. I look forward to sharing them with you when the time comes, but for now have a great festive time and thanks again for your continued support. It means so much to me and my family,

James, Emma & Miles

Ariel Posen performs "I'm Gone" for the Fretboard Journal

December 16, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

We're big fans of Ariel Posen here, he always provides a great lesson in tasteful playing, and this performance for the Fretboard Journal is no different. I wanted to share this video in particular as it's a great example of his McNelly Stagger Swagger, soapbar sized pickups handling the low tuned, big strings on his Collings 360LTM guitar. Dig in

History of Fuzz!

December 14, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: 1976 Tone Bender 1976 Tone Bender Fuzz for sale Original tone bender for sale Original tone bender fuzz Sola Sound Fuzz Tone bender fuzz for sale Tone Bender Mkiii Tone-Bender Tone-Bender fuzz

There's more and more articles and videos popping up about the iconic Tone Bender Fuzz and the birth of Fuzz in general. This new article from Premier Guitar is worth a read if you're a Fuzz guy/gal or are new to the gritty world!

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/28190-fifty-years-of-filth-the-story-of-the-mighty-tone-bender-fuzz?page=3

I actually have an all original, mint condition Tone Bender Mkiii Fuzz here on consignment which is available. This is a real collectors piece, check it out on the website if you'd like to find out more!

NGD

December 2, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: baritone NGD Odessa Odessa Deabeat

Pickup spotlight - McNelly Jazzmaster range

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

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.

Last few 2018 Mind Charity fundraising shirts available!

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

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!

McNelly Black Friday new model release!

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

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!

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

November 19, 2018 — James P Gascoigne

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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....

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

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

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!

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