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Home of Tone Record of the week - Kurt Vile's b'lieve i'm goin down...

Home of Tone Record of the week - Kurt Vile's b'lieve i'm goin down...

James P Gascoigne
Kurt Vile's seemingly free falling guitar parts, meandering vocals and country-indie esq sound is something I've fell completely in love with. I was pretty late to the game with his music, but have truly been making up for it ever since particularly with b'lieve I'm goin down.. being right up there as one of my most listened to albums of recent years.
How to Guide - Fitting a Pre-Wired Harness to a Stratocaster!

How to Guide - Fitting a Pre-Wired Harness to a Stratocaster!

With every pre-wired harness I ship out, I supply a handy fitting guide with tips and key points to follow to make the install go smoothly as well as a simple to follow wiring diagram. But, understandably of course, sometimes translating that info to the real world when the soldering iron is smoldering away can be a little daunting if you're not used to it. So I've wanted to create a step-by-step guide to fitting one of my Home of Tone pre-wired Stratocaster harnesses! 
Seb from Ground Control Audio on The Guitar Knobs Podcast!

Seb from Ground Control Audio on The Guitar Knobs Podcast!

This is a great way to learn more about the world of Ground Control Audio direct from Seb himself, as he was featured on the latest Guitar Knobs Podcast!
NPD! - I finally own a Zvex Instant lo-fi junky!

NPD! - I finally own a Zvex Instant lo-fi junky!

I've been lusting after this pedal for quite some time and I'm very happy indeed to say I finally own one! So, if you're unfamiliar with it, I'll explain a little more and also share why I wanted one on my board.

Having enjoyed the music of Boards of Canada and Bibio for example, I've found myself captivated by some of the guitar sounds across their album catalogs. Beautifully hypnotic, warbly lo-fi guitar tones which I've fancied attempting to re-create at home for some time but not really known how to achieve it...
Home of Tone Record of the week - Laura Marling's Semper Femina

Home of Tone Record of the week - Laura Marling's Semper Femina

James P Gascoigne
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.
Ground Control Audio tease new pedal release

Ground Control Audio tease new pedal release

Today over on Ground Control Audio's Instagram page, Seb teased a photo of the finished up Tsukuomi enclosure stating the new pedal will be released very soon! I'm really excited about this one, especially as I have some on the way!

I'll be sure to share the announcement as soon as Seb puts us out of our misery and tells us more!
London International Guitar Show!

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!
Home of Tone Record of the Week - Godspeed you! Black Emperor, Slow riot for new zero Kanada

Home of Tone Record of the Week - Godspeed you! Black Emperor, Slow riot for new zero Kanada

Inspired by last weeks trip down memory lane for me, I continued onward to some albums which really meant a lot to me in my late teens, early twenties and continue to today too. One that always will stop me in my tracks is the iconic post rock EP from Godspeed you! Black Emperor, with 'Slow riot for new zero Kanada' so it had to be this weeks choice! I was introduced to Godspeed by the same friend who got me into Minus the bear whom I mentioned last week, for which I'm forever grateful. So my next record shop trip I bought their album 'Yanqui U.X.O', which at the time I didn't really get attached to sadly but I spotted this simplistic sleeve and decided to give Godspeed another try, I'm so glad I did. 
Home of Tone Record of the week - Minus The Bear, Highly Refined Pirates

Home of Tone Record of the week - Minus The Bear, Highly Refined Pirates

There are certainly albums that seem to freeze moments in your life and preserve the memories perfectly everytime you play it. This is one of those albums for me, Minus the bear's 2002 album, Highly Refined Pirates. I was 17 and I'd just learnt to drive, that stage in life where all you seem to want to do is go on road trips and spend copious amounts of time in this newly found freedom. I was at a friends house talking music and going through his record collection when he said 'you really should check these out'. One of the albums he passed to me was this amazing thing! We listened to it then and there, but it remained on repeat in my car for so long afterwards. I was absolutely captivated by it, and remain to be to this day. Catchy melodies, amazing guitar parts and interesting time structures and rhythms. It sat so well with me, and remains one of my all time favourite albums.
An insight into the McNelly Custom Pickups process

An insight into the McNelly Custom Pickups process

Tim McNelly recently shared a series of posts over on his social media pages featuring a brilliant insight into his methods behind a custom pickup idea/build. A huge percentage of the work McNelly carries out is custom based, be it for guitar makers or players alike who are looking for something unique for their instrument. Tim has a natural eye for making a design work, but luckily for us, an incredible attention to detail and knowledge of his craft. So these few posts I found incredibly interesting, and felt the need to share it on here! I'll quote the captions to each image exactly as he posted them, as no one can say it better than Tim when it comes to his work!
Home of Tone Record of the week - Todd Albright, Detroit twelve string blues & rags

Home of Tone Record of the week - Todd Albright, Detroit twelve string blues & rags

James P Gascoigne
Todd Albright first came to my attention courtesy of the great Charlie Parr, as they have played a lot of shows together in the USA so kept seeing Todd's name pop up alongside Charlie's. Knowing that Charlie only surrounds himself with great people I had to delve further. Todd is a thunderous 12 string guitar player, is downtuned sound with rhythmic, thumping bass and speeding up train like sounds are truly captivating. Obtaining an album of his proved quite hard over here, but I noticed a while back that Jack White (of White Stripes fame) had signed Todd Albright to his record label and they were putting together an EP. I pre-ordered it and eagerly awaited it's arrival, excited to hear what sounds were within.
Ground Control Audio teasing new pedal release!

Ground Control Audio teasing new pedal release!

Just after Summer NAMM, Ground Control Audio teased us via social media with a post simply saying 'TSUKUYOMI'.

A couple of weeks later the above artwork was released, showing what may be coming to the new pedal's enclosure. I have been give a brief run down of what the new pedal is, and I do also have some inbound on our pending stock order! So all will be revealed very soon upon it's release in August!

Sit tight, if the rest of the Ground Control Audio range is anything to go by, this is going to be another must have, and their following is already realising that!