Home of Tone Blog

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

August 23, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: guitarist interview Home of Tone Home of Tone Blog Meet the Player R.J.Ronquillo RJ RJ Ronquillo Session Guitarist Session musician

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

June 11, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Ambler Custom Guitars Ambler Guitars Ambler Interview British guitar luthier british guitar maker British guitars british luthier British made guitar british made guitars Guitar Guitar Builder Guitar maker Handmade Interview John Ambler John Ambler Guitars John ambler interview Luthier Made in the UK Meet the Maker Peak District UK guitar maker

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!

June 5, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Home of Tone Home of Tone News

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...

15 Second Gear Demo!

April 26, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: 15 Second Gear Demo Furry Burrito UK Gear Demo Guitar YouTube Guitar YouTube Channel Yellowcake Furry Burrito UK Yellowcake Pedal Yellowcake Pedals Yellowcake Pedals UK

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!

McNelly Charlie Christian Soapbar Pickup demo!

April 20, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Charlie Christian Pickup Charlie Christian Pickup Demo Charlie Christian Pickup UK Charlie Christian Pickups UK Guitar Pickups Guitar Pickups UK Handmade Pickups Home of Tone Blog McNelly McNelly Charlie Christian McNelly Charlie Christian Pickup McNelly Charlie Christian Pickup demo McNelly Charlie Christian Soapbar McNelly Pickups McNelly Pickups for sale McNelly Pickups UK McNelly UK Partscaster Partscaster for sale Partscaster for sale UK Telecaster Telecaster demo

Using traditional components, true to the original CC Pickup design but of course in typical McNelly fashion, trying to further improve on it too. This pickup is beautifully clear and very transparent, whilst also being incredibly responsive to touch and tone/volume settings. I recorded this clean demo (which also shows it mixed with a T-Bar bridge pickup for example purposes) to hopefully show what a beautiful sounding and versatile pickup this is. Charlie Christian by name and design, but a whole lot more than just a swing/jazz sound!

Thinking of swapping your pickups? - A handy guide for new tone hunters!

March 6, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Beginners guide to guitar pickups Blog filterton Pickups UK Fitting Guide gearnerds Geartalk gearwire Gold Foil Guitar Blog Guitar magazine Guitar Pickup Guitar Pickups handmade Handmade Filterton Pickups Handmade pickups Home of Tone Blog Humbucker Humbuckers James' Home of Tone James' Home of Tone Blog McNelly McNelly Bass Pickups McNelly Pickups McNelly Pickups Review McNelly Pickups UK McNelly UK P90 P90 Pickups PAF Single Coil Single Coils Soapbar Pickups Upgrading my guitar pickups Upgrading pickups

Changing your guitar's pickups can prove to be a brilliantly cost effective way of transforming the sound of your guitar, and also a way of bringing out the best in your instrument. For so many it has been the first port of call in modifying their guitar and changing their sound. Perhaps you're planning on tweaking a more entry level Squier for example, chances are that you love how the guitar feels and plays but it's low quality pickups just don't quite do the job. This can sometimes even be the case with higher value instruments and it's existing pickups just simply don't fit the bill for you, be it personal tastes etc.

I want to replace my guitar's wiring, would it make a difference?

February 15, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: 335 harness 335 wiring harness choosing guitar pots choosing the right guitar pot choosing the right guitar pots ES335 harness Firebird Harness Gibson Firebird Harness Guitar wiring Guitar wiring boards Guitar Wiring Harness Guitar Wiring Harness UK Guitar Wiring Harnesses Guitar Wiring Harnesses UK Guitar wiring loom guitar wiring mods Handwired Harness Home of Tone Home of Tone Blog Home of Tone harness Home of Tone Harnesses Home of Tone pre-Wired Is it worth upgrading my guitar wiring Les Paul Harness Les Paul Harnesses paper in oil paper in oil capacitors Pre-Wire Harness Pre-Wired Guitar harnesses Pre-Wired Harness Pre-Wired harness UK Pre-Wired Harnesses Pre-Wired Home of Tone harnesses Sg Harness should I fit a new harness to my guitar should I fit a new loom to my guitar Should I upgrade my guitar wiring Strat Harness Stratocaster Harness Stratocaster Harnesses Tele Harness telecaster Harness

Replacing, or in some cases, upgrading your guitar's wiring may be a matter of necessity if there are niggling faults like faulty switches or noisy pots where no amount of cleaning has brought them back to life. But you may also have considered replacing it as a way of improving or modifying the guitar too. So the big question is of course, would it make any difference and would I see any improvement? That's ultimately what I'm hoping to address in this post! I'm looking to touch on the various aspects of guitar wiring components, what to look for and why it would, or wouldn't positively help the guitar in question sound it's best.

Project Offset Phase four! - Headstock refin and bone nut install

January 13, 2017 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Feature fender Fender AVRI Fender Jazzmaster Fender Jazzmaster Parts UK Gabriel Strings Gabriel Tenorio String Co Gabriel Tenorio String company Gabriel Tenorio Strings gabriel Tenorio strings UK Gabriel Tenorio Strings UK Dealer Handwound Handwound Strings Home of Tone Home of Tone Blog Home of Tone Jazzmaster James' Home of Tone James' Home of Tone Blog Jazzmaster Jazzmaster Parts UK Jazzmaster Project Squier Jazzmaster Squier Vintage Modified Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster The Guitar Show 2016

Well, it's safe to say that the Squier 'Vintage Modified' Jazzmaster project guitar has fully stolen my heart. I've really enjoyed working on it, and making it into a truly great guitar. I'm hooked!

Micheal James Adams & Pancake - Silent Night

December 28, 2016 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Christmas Fender Jazzmaster Jazzmaster Marshall Marshall Amp Michael James Adams Pancake Pancake Jazzmaster Puisheen Silent Night Vintage Jazzmaster

Friend of the Home of Tone, Mr Michael James Adams released this amazing cover of 'Silent Night' just before Christmas, and I just had to share it on here.

Project Offset Phase Three - Getting the best from the floating vibrato

October 26, 2016 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: AVRI Trem AVRI Trem Review AVRI Trem UK AVRI Tremolo Review AVRI Tremolo UK Fender AVRI Jaguar Trem Jaguar Tremolo Jazzmaster Trem Jazzmaster tremolo Mastery OMV Mastery OMV Feature Mastery Tremolo Stay Trem Stay Trem Arm Kit Stay Trem arm kit review Stay Trem Tremolo Stay Trem Tremolo arm Kit Stay Trem Tremolo Arm Kit Review

It has been a month or so now of getting to know the Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster project I've been putting together, and it has very quickly become a firm favourite of mine. Getting any 'new' guitar in your collection is an exciting time, granted, and we do tend to get caught up in it, it's a guitar geek common trait. But something about this humble JM seems to sit so right with me and it is becoming a really great companionship of guitar geek and guitar.

Vintage Guitar Feature - Ben's 'Birth Year' Prized Jazzmaster

October 15, 2016 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: 1970s Fender Jazzmaster 1970s Jazzmaster 1977 Fender 1977 Fender Jazzmaster Fender Fender Jazzmaster Fender Jazzmaster Parts UK Guitar blog Guitar Magazine Guitar Restoration Guitarists Anonymous Home of Tone Home of Tone Blog Home of Tone Jazzmaster Jazzmaster Jazzmaster Parts UK Jensen Capacitors Offset Corner Offset Fender Offset Guitars Round Core Strings Stay Trem Vintage Jazzmaster

In chatting to a few players and fellow gear heads like myself over the years, the idea of owning 'birth year' guitars has cropped up a few times. Finding a guitar made the same year as yourself has a pretty cool appeal, especially if it's still affordable to do so (Sorry to those born in 1958/59!! Not so cheap for yourselves!). But for friend and customer of ours, Ben, something cropped up for sale which simply had to come home with him.

Project Offset Phase two - Modding & tackling common Import obstacles.

October 2, 2016 — James P Gascoigne

Tagged: Guitar Talk guitar tech Guitarists Anonymous Home of Tone Home of Tone Blog James' Home of Tone James' Home of Tone Blog Magazine Feature McNelly 46/58 mcnelly pickups McNelly Pickups UK Offset Guitar Offset Guitars Product Testing Squier Guitar Squier Jazzmaster Squier Vintage Modified Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster

If you have a guitar you're planning on modifying, chances are that it will be an import instrument. There's good reason for that, they offer great quality bang for buck resulting in a great base for tweaks here and there than perhaps a more premium, pricier American made equivalent would. Let's face it, not everyone who's just spend £1500+ on a USA made instrument wants to go at it replacing bridges or pickups, so the import market offers great scope for DIY tweaking.

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