Blutone's Boutique Baby!

 A versatile tone machine. More than a decade ago I was in Las Vegas and I visited the Guitar Center  and I spent some time trying out what (in my mind) I called a 'Telecaster Stratocaster".  It was a Fender Telecaster body and neck but had a three single coil pickup set up not too dissimilar to that of a Stratocaster.  I am a huge single cut guitar fan and for me I wondered if this could be the guitar for me that would give me Strat tones on a telecaster platform.  The reality is that this is not a Stratocaster tone machine, it is it's own unique 'thing'. At the time I didn't really appreciate that.   I didn't purchase that beautiful guitar because, despite at the time the currency rate meant that I could have had it at effectively half price, I also had to get it on a plane. The shop assistant suggested that I remove the neck in order to fold it into my luggage but that seemed absolutely ridiculous (with what I know now, I might have done it, but the thou

The Boss Nextone Artist changed everything for me! Since buying this amp in early 2022, I have not looked back.  It is not a valve amp, technically not a modelling amp but an awesome tweakable amp that allows the user to work with different power stages based on tube configurations such as 6v6, 6L6 (US Style) EL34 and EL84 (UK Style) tube set ups. Personally I use it mostly as a pedal platform but the onboard tremolo and delay make this amp a versatile tone deliverer in most settings. This amp is 80 watts (simulated tube power rating) and I probably should have gone for the Nextone Stage at 40W as I simply have not cranked this amp at all.  It is LOUD!  The beauty is that the head room is awesome and for practising you can set it to 40W or 0.5W.  It even lets you output the signal for recording via USB or jack.  You even get to play with the settings on a PC using the USB cable. Have a listen and tell me what you think? I tend not to connect my amps directly to the PC when recording o

A standard feature of Epiphone and Gibson guitars that you may not have even noticed! After a false start purchasing the Epiphone Emperor Swingster from GAK, and having to send it back and get it replaced (see video below), I have been really pleased with my new purchase. I have enjoyed getting to know this guitar as it is different from most of the guitars that I have owned over the years.  The closest I have gotten will have been my Epiphone The Dot guitar which was nice but I didn’t really connect with it. With this guitar I have enjoyed the wire handled Bigsby tremolo and the range of tones that I can get from the pickups but something happened yesterday that surprised me… As you will know, Epiphone and Gibson guitars like this one have four control knobs, two tones and two volumes.  One for each pickup.  The pickup selector switch allows one to switch between the individual pickups or have them both selected at the same time. I thought I would have some fun trying to dial in some

  After a month of playing with the Chapman ML 1X, I am keen to share with you what I have found about this striking guitar. If you follow my articles and videos then you will know that I have borrowed a Chapman ML1X from Chapman Guitars  in order to see how it sat with my own style of playing.  Rob Chapman once described his guitars as knocking on the door of "heavy, scary, pointy guitars" and this is certainly the impression that I had about Chapman guitars, hence why I have never purchased one.  I mean lets be honest, personally I am a Blues player and Blues players don't use scary, pointy guitars! Or do they? The video below explores blues artists who have played 'scary and pointy' guitars in the past and includes some sample tones played by myself on this guitar.  Read on further for my full review of the Chapman ML1X. Reviewing the Chapman ML1X electric guitar in Deep Red Gloss. The Specifications. The Chapman ML1X is an Super S-Style (HSS) equipped with tw