If you've considered modding or replacing your guitars wiring, you might have considered your shielding or grounding methods too. If you've ordered a replacement wiring loom, whether that's from myself or from another supplier you will have likely noticed that there are ground wires between the pot casings. Exact method or wire used possibly may vary between maker, but generally speaking there will be some form of ground connection present.
This one has been a long time coming! After the popularity of my Descendant Vibrato install/adjustment guide, it was due time that I follow up with a guide on installation and adjustment of the superb Companion bridge by Chris Swope at Descendant. If your purchase a bridge, it does of course come supplied with some superb instructions courtesy of the man himself, but I do hope this feature helps along the way too :)
Our friends over at Record Culture in Stourbridge town centre have organised 'Stourbridge Record & Music Fair' to be held at the Stourbridge Town Hall on Saturday 4th March 2023. Lee kindly invited me to be a part of it, so I'll be exhibiting along side an awesome selection of record, art, music vendors right here in our hometown which I'm really looking forward to.
Stratocasters have played a major part in my guitar playing life and I think as a result I naturally put a lot of care and attention into the Pre-Wired harness range for them. Over the years I have further developed the specs available so I can offer a great selection for players hoping to refine their tone and find controls that suit the way they play. But with such a broad range of options for a single guitar model, I thought it would be useful to shine a spotlight on the range and discuss how each would suit certain Strat sounds and variants to hopefully guide you in finding the right kit.
I'll break these options down into sections, looking at Vintage inspired specs, to modern takes and alternative pickup combinations to help you in navigating this article and find the kits suitable for your requirements.
Last night I learnt of the news that one of my peers, friends and very long time Home of Tone Supporters, the lovely JM Davis Fernandez 'Fern' had passed away. I had the pleasure of following his work, speaking a lot over the years (our instagram direct message feed was a long one that's for sure) and meeting and I was always left with a smile afterwards. Such a unique vision for his own builds, always showing his personality and creative outlook throughout and I admired that a great deal. He was always kind enough to support the Home of Tone too, I remember a photo he sent me of the little brown paper parts bags that I send items out in, I had stamped it with the UFO logo and he loved it so put it in a little frame at the workshop. A little gesture I'm sure, but it meant a lot to me. I'd often pop a little fallen bit of fern leaf in his parcel labels when I'd ship stuff his way, going to miss that for sure. From me, my family and on the behalf of the Home of Tone followers, I want to send our wishes to his family and close friends. Thoughts are with them and Fern is on my mind for sure. X
I was asked by the awesomeT.R.Musicto be part of their new event being held atThe Table Coffee Shopnamed Pedal Day on Saturday 8th Jan, 12-4. Something to look forward to in the new year, to connect with like minded people. TR are welcoming people to buy, sell and trade too, they’ve invited me to do a little mini pop-up shop alongside them which is ace! There will also be a showcase of Walsall based talentsFullertone Guitars&Accidental Noise Devices, as well as demonstrations fromBlackstar AmpsA nice, community driven, relaxed afternoon for guitar gear obsessives to gather in the new year at a great venue (particularly looking forward to a coffee!). I hope to see some H.O.T followers there too. Full info can be found over on the TR Music page
Strats have long since been a major part of my harness range, with a great choice of specs to choice from to suit your needs. Many of them being modern takes or vintage modified style specs, so it was about time that I offered a more 'true to vintage' inspired spec and option. So here I introduce my new '54-77' style kits!
I had the pleasure of spending the day at a truly superb local education facility, Resonance, last week courtesy of students Harrison Vaughan and Josh Oldfield. The plan was to capture some tones with the Jennings Guitars 'Navigator' I currently have in stock, from traditional demos to jams and soundscapes. Great to watch the two talented chaps work, how they'd set up the rig for recording etc and to watch them play too! Harrison will be uploaded a collection of videos recorded on the day on his own YouTube channel for his portfolio, and you can check out the first of the bunch below!
Next up for my stock feature, is this seriously fun, La Cabronita inspired spec build. This one features a Swamp Ash body finished in a beautiful new colour from Jennings, Satin Fern Green in exposed grain. This we felt this complimented the colour of the roasted quartersawn maple neck (one piece board and neck too) really nicely!
Let's take a closer look at one of my recent custom guitars for stock, with a beautiful 'Navigator' model by Jennings Guitars.
For this build I took inspiration from one of my favourite eras of vintage Telecasters, the 62 Custom, and opted for a double bound model, but with some superb Jennings character and unique boutique specs.
I had a bit of a unique experience in June, by being selected as a finalist in the 'Customer Service Excellence' award by Nachural Business Awards. I was put forward by my local council, and had to chat a bit about what my business is and aspects of it that mean a lot to me. Their panel of judges selected me for this category which was really cool to be honest as it has been a very important thing for the Home of Tone from day 1. The awards evening itself was held on 8th July where me and Emma attended, we sadly didn't win the category but that doesn't matter, it was just great to be chosen for an aspect of my business that means so much to me and that is you all! I am 100% certain that I was chosen after they saw the amazing amount of reviews so many of you have left on my Trustpilot, google, facebook etc review platforms so for that, a huge thank you.
I've been following Richard's work at Indra Guitars for a number of years, I finally became a customer of his after admiring his work by ordering a beautiful custom etched aluminium pickguard for my Sterling MusicMan Albert Lee guitar to which he did a wonderful job with. During that design process, he threw together a really cool edit in his illustration/design style of my classic UFO logo. It got my brain cogs turning about a collab! The design looked so cool on a standard 4 bolt neck plate, I figured I had to ask if we could get some made to stock. Thankfully Richard was able to accommodate and has made these stunning Home of Tone exclusive UFO neck plates! Available in aluminium, brass & anodised black aluminium and match up with the standard 4 bolt Fender style neck plates.
