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Home of Tone interview by 'Squid Guitar'!

Home of Tone interview by 'Squid Guitar'!

Hal from Squid Guitar reached out about doing a written interview, was nice to share some more about the Home of Tone! Hope you enjoy reading some further insight into what I do here, and why I love doing it!

Click HERE for the interview
James P Gascoigne
Geeking out...with The Guitar Geek!

Geeking out...with The Guitar Geek!

Just before the Guitar Show I was messaged by Andrew, who runs the brilliantly informative and varied YouTube channel, The Guitar Geek. I was really humbled to be asked to be part of his new series of videos named 'Geeking out', not only that but to be the first!

After getting chance to speak with Andrew, learn more about his channel and also now be part of his facebook group, I learnt that he has created a brilliantly supportive community for those of us that suffer with mental health issues. A place to be open, have a support network of understanding people all whilst sharing our mutual love of the guitar. It was an honour to be part of his new video series & talk about what I do here at the Home of Tone!
James P Gascoigne
Meet the maker - Tom Sands

Meet the maker - Tom Sands

This series is somewhat self indulgent of me, I love discovering brands and guitar makers I've not come across prior, including that of the aspects of guitars I'm perhaps not familiar with either. I enjoy hearing about all the different luthiers approaches and influences, from a guitar geeks perspective it's really quite insightful. But one thing the series was lacking so far, was an acoustic guitar maker's thoughts.

Rewind about a year, and Nick Pourfard of Prisma Guitars asked me if I knew Tom Sands, an acoustic guitar maker friend of his. I hadn't sadly, and to my surprise he was UK based, and I was hooked instantly after a look at his website and media content. You could tell there was more than just guitars that Tom was influenced by. Super clean designs, that seemed to balance beautifully between pure functionality and getting the very best from each aspect of the instrument, to being incredibly aesthetically pleasing and unique. Over the course of the time first hearing of Tom's work, to speaking with him a little over social media, I knew he had to be the first acoustic guitar maker to join the Meet the Maker series and luckily he was keen too! So let's find out more about Tom, his influences, processes and work...
Meet the maker - Florian Bouyou of Millimetric Instruments.

Meet the maker - Florian Bouyou of Millimetric Instruments.

The work of Florian Bouyou first came to the attention by the tip off from a friend via the visual social world of Instagram. I wanted to note this in particular as the visual aspect of that media platform is reflective of what perhaps demands your attention when first gazing upon a Millimetric Instrument. Handbuilt in Canada by Florian, A hypnotically simplistic style and design greets you, and it is clear that there are so many more influences than just the guitar world behind these instruments and the Millimetric brand aesthetic.. I was really keen to learn more about that. I've personally been infatuated ever since, keen to see more of his work and to learn more of the brand, so I knew at some point I had to get Florian involved in my Meet the maker interview series. Luckily for me, Florian was happy to speak with me! So let's delve in, as I'm itching to learn more!

The Guitar Show 2018

Back in 2015 I was lucky enough (IE nagged the organisors most likely to the point of exhaustion!) to snag a cancellation spot for a booth at the biggest guitar show in the UK. Torn & Frayed' awesome 'The Guitar Show', and ever since then it has become one of the real highlights of the year for me.
The Yellowcake lida machine - The most beautiful and informative demo you'll hear

The Yellowcake lida machine - The most beautiful and informative demo you'll hear

I often get asked about Yellowcakes' Lida Machine. And rightly so, not many will have come across a resonant filter pedal, nor fancy takling a pedal with that many knobs. But believe me, if you love creating unique sounds, it's worth delving into. 
I respond with the best collection of words I can string together into a sentence, but this beautiful demo released by 'Knobs' on YouTube, is quite possibly the most informative, simple and beautiful demo videos physically possible of this intriguing pedal.
If you want to know about the lida machine, this will fulfill your needs!
McNelly 46/58 Jazzmaster pickup demo now up!

McNelly 46/58 Jazzmaster pickup demo now up!

My latest McNelly pickup demo is out now over on YouTube! It spotlights the 46/58 set which I have featured before, but this one shows them paired with the 'recommended' 500k pots, which as you might tell from my expression at one point in this clip, sounds a bit good!
James P Gascoigne
I'm importing a guitar from the USA, where do I even begin?!

I'm importing a guitar from the USA, where do I even begin?!

Over the years since beginning the shop, the sometimes baffling language of importing goods from over the pond has become almost like a first language to me. Due to the nature of what I do here, working with other small businesses like guitar, pedal, string etc makers, means there are no big distributors to provide a UK price. The calculator has to come out a hell of a lot to figure out what everything will cost to my door and whether it will be affordable to do so. It's a tightrope walk at the best of times. But because of this I very often get asked by followers of the Home of Tone for a little advice with players looking to import a guitar themselves. As I do totally understand that it can be scary doing this yourself, making sure there are no nasty unexpected bills from HMRC etc, then I'm always happy to help the best I can! So here's a handy little reference guide I've put together which may perhaps help you if you're planning on buying a guitar from the USA!
Meet the player - An interview with R.J.Ronquillo

Meet the player - An interview with R.J.Ronquillo

The last few years has seen the rise of YouTube as a incredibly immersive, influential, and powerful tool in the guitar world (among others too of course!). From providing viewers with what is essentially quality weekly TV programming revolving around our gear obsessions like the brilliant 'That Pedal Show' or 'Andertons TV', to in depth lessons and incredibly vast selections of demo, almost taking away the need to get your hands on the gear to try in a store for yourself, (almost!). This strong following on a versatile platform has resulted in a large number of talented players to get the spotlight their hard work deserves, perhaps where they otherwise may have gone unnoticed. One thing YouTube has certainly done is broaden your knowledge of talented players further than the odd guy tearing it up at the local gig venue or guitar showroom on any given weekend. YouTube has firmly made it's stamp on the guitar industry.
Meet the maker - An Appetite for Perfection, John Ambler of Ambler Custom Guitars

Meet the maker - An Appetite for Perfection, John Ambler of Ambler Custom Guitars

Over the years of playing the guitar, one thing that has increasingly sparked my interest almost more than playing in some instances is the skill of a great luthier and the work they create. 
One which really stood out to me, was UK luthier John Ambler of Ambler Custom Guitars. From the rough and ready 'Junk Yard Dog' model featuring a real metal coating, full of character and patina, to the absolutely stunning figured woods used on a range of his other models. John is truly a maker to watch, as already early on in his career, the quality of work is right up there with the very best and often surpasses!
In our series of Meet the Maker interviews, we caught up with John to chat about his work!
We're back!

We're back!

Thank you for your patience, to those that got in touch and to those that ordered during the past week. I appreciate the support, especially seeing as I couldn't dispatch...
James P Gascoigne
15 Second Gear Demo!

15 Second Gear Demo!

There's an absolute wealth of gear demo accounts, pages and channels these days but Dan's for me really stands out. All are really well recorded, feature Dan's great, honest playing and they're all straight to the point!