Blutone's Boutique Baby!

The PRS SE DGT - Photo courtesy of Andertons.co.uk OK I am not messing around.  It is clear that we are close to the launch of the promised PRS SE DGT and whilst estimates have been a January launch, today we saw a clear indication of how close it is to launch with Premier Guitar releasing their demonstration of the PRS SE DGT. If you don't know about the PRS DGT history or indeed Dave Grissom (check him out because he is awesome) then check out the three videos below and then watch the big reveal video from Premier Guitar... OK so whilst you have seen Dave Grissom in the last video playing the new guitar, this next video will show it in the hands of someone else playing in their own style which is a useful comparison. I absolutely can't wait to get my hands on one and see if this particular PRS SE gets me as excited as my PRS SE Starla... What I am particularly intrigued by is the comment from John Bolinger about how the pickups are very PAF sounding. What are your thoughts?...

  Ever wanted to get a guitar built to your own specifications but haven't due to the cost?   Well luthier Neil Ravey is changing that expectation producing surprisingly affordable guitars for his customers. In this video, I am reviewing the Rascal Guitars offset which has a pair  of filter tron pickups and a brass saddled, string through Wilkinson Bridge.  This guitar feels like it is strung with a set of nines. With a single volume and tone pot, this guitar oozes sustain and is great for my style of playing. With the lower cost (circa £500) there is a couple of elements that I would want to change which would be having a more refined and comfortable neck (currently a 25.5 inch scale, radius unknown) and I would pay more to have a more refined finish on the body. Rascal Offset headstock logo. A single tone and a single volume pot, just how I like my guitars! Filtertron pickups and a string through Wilkinson bridge with brass saddles. A magnificent hand made gui...

  Please note that the links in this article are affiliate links that pay a small commission should you click through and purchase.  This helps to pay for producing my content, but doesn't influence my views on the guitars that I talk about. 2022 started something for me in terms of getting back into the joy of playing electric guitars.  Towards the end of 2022, I started to find out about Sire's offering.  Let's take a closer look at a manufacturer who already disrupted the market with their Marcus Miller basses.  Clearly it is now time for Larry Carlton's lineup to shine! In 2015, the renowned jazz bass player, Marcus Miller, collaborated with Sire Guitars to bring out a series of bass guitars that provided good quality instruments for relatively low prices.  Marcus Miller and Sire Bass Guitars  Initially, I was cynical about how good the basses would be and just because a signature artist was involved did it really mean that these basses would set ...

  2022 has been a bit of a guitar renaissance for me.  In January I purchased a new electric guitar and since then I have been obsessed with specs and tone.  I have tried out loads of guitars and it has been a sheer joy.  It is also the year that I decided to start a blog about guitars and my music in general.  Very much a hobby and despite the affiliate links, I really don't make any money.  It's really for my own interest and mapping my own experiences. Anyway, today I watched the latest video from one of my YouTube heroes, Darrell Braun.  I have learnt so much from watching his videos and in the one I watched today he talked about the guitars that he felt were the best 'affordable' guitars in 2022. I was surprised to find that three of them I had done quite a lot of research into and two of them I actually have played with one of them being the one I purchased in January of this year. Watch the video below and then scroll on for the links to the thr...

  In January 2022, I purchased my first PRS guitar.  It is the PRS SE Starla and I have written an article about that guitar more recently.   I absolutely love it, I use it all the time and I get so many tones out of it that I can use for lots of different styles of music and songs.  It has literally rebooted my interest in six string electrics and guitar tone over a period of 35 years, mostly as a bass player.  Brilliant! Added to this, I absolutely love the marketing from PRS Guitars.  Obviously it is aimed at getting you to buy their guitars but the man himself, Paul Reed Smith, is just brilliant at explaining how electric guitars work and I have been glued to their videos.  So in theory, I should be one of the legions of fans who end up buying multiple PRS guitars and proudly post on PRS Owners Facebook groups about how I have purchased my sixth PRS Private Stock in some exotic colour for £10k . Apart from not having anywhere near the disposable ...

There's a story behind this guitar. I am referring to my Fender 1972 Reissue Thinline Telecaster . You see I have a problem, I collect guitars that talk to me. If you are a guitarist then you will understand what I mean by that. If you don't then let me explain. I bought my telecaster in 2008 from a guitar shop in Chester called Back Alley  Music. I had always wanted a telecaster. As a boy my dad used to take me along to play with his friends who met in a tiny room, in a rough area of Cambridge. One upright piano with Keith doing his best 'Jerry Lee Lewis' and Roy on his telecaster. Roy was simply rhythm, not a lead guitarist but his sense of rhythm and his tone was beautiful. I was so inspired. He had a white traditional single coil Tele.  Roy had this tone that was exciting and inspiring as he played through his Fender amps. Roy seemed to know hundreds of chords. I was learning at the time and was doing my best to keep up on my battered acoustic guitar. I...

About four years ago, I decided that I wanted to do some busking... Having played bass in bands for 30 odd years, and lead guitar on occasion, I realised that busking would completely take me out of my comfort zone and could help me to grow as a performer.  I even went out and bought the gear to enable me to do it as well. Then I bottled it for two years... Then a pandemic happened... It is fair to say that I was experiencing some anxiety about standing on a street and playing my mix of music to passers by and I was putting it off.  The thought was terrifying! In that period of time, what didn't really help with my anxiety was doing little solo gigs for parties and bars.  These little gigs, I thought, would help me to feel better about busking, after all in the most part, the audience would be close friends supporting me.  What could I possibly have to fear?  Whilst I have done quite a few gigs in this way, my anxiety about busking stayed with me until last Satu...