Soundings
Thirty years of opinions, arrived at by doing it wrong first.
Words that were spoken, not written. A cup of tea, a microphone, and a question — then cut into pieces. John’s words, nothing sanded.
Why I finish a guitar in nitroWhat nitrocellulose is, how it differs from poly, why it fades and checks, whether it changes the sound, how to look after it, and why, with a Blind John's guitar, all four coats are nitro.
How I relic a StratocasterWhat year, what sound, and what the Strat's been through. The questions, where the wear goes, the paint, and why it takes longer.
Every overdrive pedal is an ampThe Maestro and Satisfaction, an AC30 at the point of destruction, and working back from the amp to what feeds it.
Has that guitar earned it?Every guitar has a story. You'll fill this one with yours.
The volume control is the first testOn ten it crunches. At six it cleans up. The fuzz that's always on.
When a relic isn't a relicRolled edges, a bare neck, the tide mark under the pickguard and the ring under the strap button. Comfort first, convincing second.
Why a hand-wound pickup sounds better lumpyThe winds, the variance, the Friday-afternoon pickup — and an Epiphone with a £45 neck pickup nobody could explain.