As mentioned in my Danish/Denmark pedals feature I had initially intended to do the Best of Scandinavia, but Denmark has so many internationally known brands I had to separate them out. For the remaining Scandinavian countries Sweden is obviously the strongest here with 6 featured in the Top 9 listing, then 2 Finnish and only 1 Norwegian brand of significant note.

Probably the most significant persona in Scandinavian pedal design / building is Swede Björn Juhl - who has pretty much ...

These are all tools, utilities and gadgets that I have and love and use all the time, or are on my wishlist for imminent acquisition. I’ve chosen to stick to the more casual side of guitar maintenance - and have thus excluded things such as fret-rockers and the like. If you want to do full setup, intonation and nuanced maintenance of your guitar you will need some more serious tools than these - these are really just for everyday maintenance, string changes, quick restore, buff and polish...

This article was inspired by a number of things really, but most recently triggered by a few YouTube videos - by Louis The Tone King and Darrell Braun. I’ve been an avid follower of Louis, Darrell and one Ben Crowe over at Crimson Guitars for a few years now. I have watched all of Ben’s crazy guitar builds and have for a long time been tempted to go on one of the Crimson Guitar Building Courses and make my own axe as it were.

In my recent feature about Guitar Tuning ...

The last time I covered this subject - ’The Shape of a Guitar’s Headstock has a significant impact on Tuning Stability’ I focused more on what the issues were rather than the solutions. Here I will go into slightly more detail about the science of guitar tuning fidelity and all the little gains that can be made by doing things properly! This article was sparked in part by my recent article on 9 ’SG’-style guitars, where I really decided for once and for all that I would never buy a guitar with ...

Note - follow up article [here]

Many a owner of a vintage guitar has experienced the difficulty of keeping the guitar in tune. There are a couple of factors here that are critical to tuning fidelity. Firstly, get over the hangup of having to use the original tuners - you really need locking tuners for any reasonable peace of mind. Locking tuners are available in a vast variety of shapes and types, including various vintage-inspired ones, so it should not prove to be problematic to find a ...

I’ve reported before how disappointed I was with a recent guitar setup. Being a follower of ’Know Your Gear’ guru Phillip McKnight, I have taken it upon myself to adapt his own excellent setup checklist - with a view and a mission towards creating a universal standard that all guitar owners and technicians can make use of.

Phillip McKnight guarantees his work for 12 months, which lends itself to an annual MOT-style checkup - which I believe is the right sort of ...

Beyond the Guitar there are a variety of other accessories you need to have in order to play, protect and maintain your guitar and playing. I’ve listed essentials at the top, and then additions for Maintenance. depending on how much of that you wish to do. Most guitars come with a basic set of tools - necessary allen keys and truss-rod wrench, but not much else. Most Ibanez owners get the benefit of a freely included amazing guitar multi-tool which is also available to buy and recommended...

As reported in a previous post, I recently got back into guitar after several years’ absence. I will do a separate later post about the decision making process which led me to my new guitar. When I received it however and in my dealings since, I have become acutely aware that the UK does not seem to adhere to the same quality standards / standards of professionalism as the USA.

There was some mystery as to the state of my guitar when I first received it - it was supposed to be ...