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July 1st 2021 'Brexit' Trade deal changes, what they mean and what I'm doing to adapt

Well, we're on the brink of another revision to the post-brexit 'trade' deal, with some changes coming into place as of tomorrow.
 
One of the changes in particular has the potential to make ordering goods under the value of 150Euro from the UK, into the EU ever so slightly more predictable and slightly more cost effective(!) so I wanted to touch on it here in case it is of any help to my EU based customers.
James P Gascoigne
"10 Classic Rock Riffs from ONE Pedal" A great new video of the Tate FX Sirens Scream!

"10 Classic Rock Riffs from ONE Pedal" A great new video of the Tate FX Sirens Scream!

A great new video courtesy of Matt at 'Let's Play All' YouTube channel of our beloved TateFX 'Sirens Scream'. I think this is a brilliant way to showcase the variety of heavy, grungy distortion tones available from this pedal. Well worth checking out if you dig anything RAT based! Don't forget, TateFX are available here at James' Home of Tone too!

Update for International customers regarding importing

Since January 1st, importing and exporting changed for us (by us I mean consumers all across UK and Europe). It has been a frustrating time which hasn't eased up much at all with delays still happening on international shipments and in particular, delays through customs clearances.
I do still get the same messages of concern and questions about the process even 6 months on, why they've received a customs invoice, why the parcel is delayed at customs etc. Although this has been mainstream news for some time now, I do respect this may possibly be a first time import for some customers. So in light of that I want to share a page/article I put together back in January to help provide as much information as I can to help ensure you're aware of the process and possible costs involved. I spent a lot of time researching and making sure this information would be as helpful as possible, and feel it covers what an importer needs to know and what to expect both in the process and costs involved.
James P Gascoigne
Brand new overdrive from Redbeard Effects, the Angry Rhubarb!

Brand new overdrive from Redbeard Effects, the Angry Rhubarb!

Mikey at Redbeard Effects launched his new pedal yesterday (8th June 2021), a highly versatile new overdrive called the Angry Rhubarb Paradynamic Overdrive MKII! And much like the two pedals before this one, it very much hit the ground running!
Two new strat wiring kits join the Signature Series range!

Two new strat wiring kits join the Signature Series range!

I wanted to share the news that I have introduced two new harnesses to my Strat wiring kit range. One is inspired by the Eric Johnson Strat wiring specs, and the other is unique as far as I am aware and don't know of anyone else offering this variation, but it was an idea I had to find a way to create a no compromise combination of my personal favourite modern and vintage style Strat wiring specs.
Two new Jennings Guitars builds commissioned!

Two new Jennings Guitars builds commissioned!

I have just confirmed the orders of two new stock instruments from Jennings Guitars due for completion around February 2022! Both me and Chad wanted to shine the spotlight on the Navigator model this time around and we have spec'd out two amazing builds to do just that. Both of these builds are available, so you can make either yours! As we've picked specs that have otherwise not been built before, I don't have photo examples of exactly what they will look like, but I do have photos of other builds that have featured one or more of the options I've chosen for each, so hopefully they will help visualise things!
Product Spotlight - Treble Bleed mod

Product Spotlight - Treble Bleed mod

A really common question I get asked when customers are looking to order a new pre-wired harness is whether or not they should order a treble bleed mod too as for some this is a mod/spec that they may not have knowingly experienced yet. I offer most harnesses the choice of one included, or not, and there's good reason for that rather than fitting them as standard. That is of course, personal preferences! As we all know, tone is like, totally subjective, man...

So how would you decide if the treble bleed mod is for you or not? Also, how do you choose which type?! This is particularly relevant if you haven't played a guitar with one installed before. Let's start with breaking down what it is, and what it does.
New retro Jacquard straps from RightOn! and these ones are vegan friendly too!

New retro Jacquard straps from RightOn! and these ones are vegan friendly too!

You may recognise a lot of these retro jacquard weave fabric straps, the designs have been around for decades and countless strap companies offer their take on them. Those usually just feature leather ends and the designs sewn onto seatbelt material which is strong but not too comfy and the strap can slide about with the design edges fraying easily too.
A totally surreal moment, but I have been interviewed by Guitar Magazine!

A totally surreal moment, but I have been interviewed by Guitar Magazine!

Guitar.com / Magazine have been insanely kind and featured me in an interview! Very humbled by this and I’m not quite sure I fully deserve it yet 🤦🏻‍♂️ but man, so grateful for the chance to talk about my love of guitar, the business from early on to now and more. Thanks so much Guitar Magazine for the support from day one, means the world to a humble business like mine to see the name alongside the brands I admire.

You can read the interview HERE!
How to guide - How to install a Les Paul full wiring harness harness/loom

How to guide - How to install a Les Paul full wiring harness harness/loom

In the previous posts for this series we've looked at the right tools for the job, selected the right parts, making the harness and making any alterations to the Les Paul to prepare for installing imperial spec parts. So it's about time we got to installing it all right?
If you missed the previous posts they are all linked to on the origin post HERE

 

How to guide - Making your own Les Paul 3 way toggle switch harness with traditional braided wire

How to guide - Making your own Les Paul 3 way toggle switch harness with traditional braided wire

So you've wired up your pots and they're ready to go, now it's time to pre-wire your new switch. There's a couple ways I like to do this, but first up I'm going to look at the more traditional style braided two conductor wire. 


Before we dive in, I wanted to highlight the different types of Switchcraft 3 way toggle switch that are available and suit Les Pauls. There are the traditional 'long frame' switches or the slightly more recent creation of the 'short frame' version. Both operate and are wired up the very same way, but are different sizes and feature different mounting thread lengths so felt it is worth discussing both and hopefully help you in deciding which would suit your guitar or install best.
How to guide - Making your own 50s or modern style harness/loom (pots section)

How to guide - Making your own 50s or modern style harness/loom (pots section)

Let's dive right in, because we have already covered the tools and parts we'll need in the main article HERE.

You may be installing a pre-wired harness, but I thought it would be useful to show how to wire up a Les Paul pot harness from scratch as well. So if you have a pre-wired harness you can skip this stage, but if you're planning a re-wire from scratch please do read on!