31 Oct 2025

October 2025 – Vintage Guitar Gear Collections Within A Collection: Part II – CRAVE Effects

by | posted in: History, Introduction, Observations, Opinion | 0

HI Y’ALL GOOD FOLKS. HOW ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE? The CRAVEman bids you a warm welcome and hopes all is as well as it can be, wherever you are on our precious shared planet. It is kinda a rhetorical question intended to encourage one to consider, albeit very briefly, the importance of one’s own health and wellbeing. I am not expecting responses. Honest. Well, here we are, heading irretrievably towards winter in the northern hemisphere. Gracious greetings once again, it’s fab to have you along in the abstruse alliterative arena of CRAVE Vintage Guitar Gear. I thank you, sincerely, for your attendance – it is genuinely and humbly appreciated. I’m sure you probably have much better things to do than join me in my repetitively random rants and ramblings.

Just a short up‑front re‑statement in support of my on‑going cultural campaign to promote humanity’s desperate need to bring peace and harmony to our divided, embittered world. Amity is not only about stopping existing conflict but also about preventing future hostilities. True and lasting peace can only be achieved through unceasing efforts to stimulate genuine understanding, co‑operation and tolerance. Reconciliation and peaceful collaboration should be a collective imperative for everyone on our only world. War is ignorance. Peace is wisdom. Simple. Apologies but this is my only platform to disseminate that vital message.

“Authoritarian societies are inherently corrupt, and corrupt societies are inherently unstable” – William Gibson (1948‑)

Prelude

Last month’s article looked at ‘Vintage Guitar Gear Collections Within A Collection: Part I – CRAVE Guitars & CRAVE Basses’. This month, we have the sequel, based on CRAVE Effects, which delves into the weird, wonderful and occasionally wild dark side of vintage gear to explore what vintage effect pedals are, what they do and why they might be of interest. Vintage effects are a bit of a niche interest and can often be overlooked by the mainstream ‘collecterati’, so they are by default of interest to your humble host.

Upfront, I really love old analogue effect pedals. I’ve owned some of my favourite pedals since the late 1970s and they are still going strong. It is probably needless to say that modern digital effects provide pristine, crystal clear tones, low noise levels, consistent and reliable power supply, and feature seemingly limitless combinations of control. Call me old school but the excellent new models lack that grubby, grimy imperfectness that makes the oldies the goodies. Some manufacturers recognise this and, alongside their modern DSP (Digital Sound Processing) based ‘computers’, companies reissue and/or (try to) replicate the vintage classics. However, from my perspective, these modern effects can be considered ‘too good’ in comparison, lacking a bit of warmth, soul and charm. An analogy may be like comparing a clapped out old Citroën 2CV with a brand new Bentley Continental. I’d actually go for the cheaper and decidedly more eccentric Deux Chevaux.

As with last month, this article’s featured quotes bring a few carefully selected thoughts about human ‘perception’ to the proceedings. As usual, no AI was used in the writing of this article, just the tired and worn out brain cells of your mentally atrophied author. Apologies for intellectual standards falling short of real intelligence. I did, however, use AI image creation for The CRAVEman image towards the end of this article.

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” – Henry David Thoreau (1817‑1862)

Previously… on Collections and Collections within a Collection

There is little point in reiterating the original idea on which this article is based. If you wish to view/review CRAVE Guitars articles on the compulsion of vintage gear collecting and guitar/bass collections within a collection, those blogs can be accessed by following the links below (each link opens a new browser tab).

May 2025 – The Compulsion to Collect Vintage Guitars
September 2025 – Vintage Guitar Gear Collections Within A Collection: Part I – CRAVE Guitars & CRAVE Basses

Last month, guitars and basses were grouped by other criteria for an alternative perspective. Sadly, there aren’t enough CRAVE Amps to justify a similar treatment, so there won’t be a Part III. However, effect pedals just cry out for a different method for appreciating their vintage charm, hence this article.

“If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is — infinite” – William Blake (1757‑1827)

Effect Brands

Since the 1990s and particularly since the beginning of the 21st Century, there has been an explosion of interest in, as well as supply of and demand for, effect pedals. The massive proliferation in effect pedals (way too many to mention here) is effectively excluded from this article on vintage pedals, as CRAVE Guitars has an arbitrary cut‑off of 1989. All the effect pedals featured herein all come under the heading of CRAVE Effects.

For the purpose of this article, a good starting point is to define the effect brands featured on the CRAVE Guitars’ web site. The ‘big four’ and ‘the rest’ are:

  1. Electro‑Harmonix (EHX)
  2. MXR
  3. BOSS
  4. Ibanez
  5. Other – Colorsound, Dallas Arbiter, DOD, Dunlop, Jen, Marshall, Pro Co, Sola Sound, VOX

On the CRAVE Guitars’ web site (as CRAVE Effects), effect pedals are organised according to the de facto ‘standard’ way of cataloguing vintage gear brand. Like other vintage guitar gear, effects are usually referred to by brand, model and date. This is how effects are grouped on the web site features and galleries. It is also how I tend to keep track of the pedals in which I’m interested. Therefore, I am assuming that this standard methodology of curatorship is a given and I won’t expand on this further.

As mentioned on the web site, not all these brands are American. CRAVE Effects is the only part of the ‘collection’ where I extend the boundaries to include brands from across the globe. The reason is that these pedals were integral to the cultural zeitgeist of, particularly, American and British music from the 1960s onward, possibly more so than instruments. While I am usually pedantic about such things, I am flexible in this regard. ‘They’ say there is always an exception to a rule. ‘They’ also say that rules are there to be broken. ‘They’ should really make ‘their’ mind(s) up.

There are some notable effect brands missing from the above list, for instance Binson, Digitech, Maestro, Maxon (who made effects for Ibanez), Morley, Musitronics, Roland (who make BOSS), ROSS, Shin‑Ei, Thomas Organ, etc. The simple reason is that this article is focusing on CRAVE Effects and the ‘collection’ doesn’t have any of these effect brands (yet). As with instruments, the scope has to be limited, if only for my sanity. The point will, nevertheless, hopefully be made anyway.

For clarity, there are no rack effects featured here, even though some were common during the period covered (for instance from Roland and MXR). Also, there are no digital multi‑effect units or software effects, as these tended to appear more recently than vintage pedals.

“Everything hinges on how you look at things” – Henry Miller (1891‑1980)

Effect Types

The standard methodology, as you may have gleaned from last month’s article, isn’t the only way to look at things. Even more than instruments, effects fall relatively easily into an alternative, convenient set of groupings. It is this that I’ll be using for the rest of this article. This might prove interesting because it isn’t easy to view this perspective on the web site.

There are plenty of resources on the hinterwebby thingummy that suggest a variety of different effect types. I analysed these and I don’t necessarily agree with any of them. In the end, I went with my own intuition and came up with the following broad categories, noting that some pedals fall across or between these groups (for instance, compression and EQ often feature a clean boost and hybrid effects such as octave/fuzz, wah/fuzz and wah/volume pedals are commonplace). There are also some effects that could be classified entirely within a different category, for instance compression, which doesn’t easily fall within any category.

  1. Gain Effects (e.g. clean/treble boost, overdrive, distortion, fuzz)
  2. Modulation Effects (e.g. phaser, flanger, chorus)
  3. Time‑Based Effects (e.g. reverb, echo/delay)
  4. Filter Effects (e.g. wah‑wah, envelope follower, ‘synth’, ring modulator, EQ, talk box)
  5. Amplitude Effects (e.g. tremolo, volume, swell, compression, limiter, noise gate)
  6. Pitch Effects (e.g. vibrato, octave, pitch shifter, harmonizer)
  7. Speciality Pedals (e.g. tuner, channel switch, buffer, power supply, effect loops)

Breaking the above groups down, there are around 30 different sub‑types, which provide a seemingly obvious way of looking at effects differently, something that I have not previously done with CRAVE Effects.

You may well argue that pedals grouped under #7 above aren’t effects at all and you’d be right. However, they are more or less, integral to many musician’s pedalboards, so for this article, they are included as an additional category. There are also some effects often used by guitarists/bassists that don’t fall into any of the above categories, for instance drum machines and loopers.

CRAVE Effects currently doesn’t have some effect sub‑types, for instance analogue synth, ring modulator, tremolo, limiter, noise gate, pitch shifter, etc. That means that there are some gaps at the time of writing. My aspiration is for the collection to become more comprehensive over time.

Phew! That’s even before we get started for real. Fewer words from here on in, mainly images – ‘they’ (again) say an image speaks a thousand words, so that’s what I’m banking on. Enjoy the colourful world of diminutive floor‑based stomp boxes with the following 7 headlines and 15 mini‑collections, each with an introductory section explaining what the grouping means for the sounds we hear.

“One person’s craziness is another person’s reality” – Tim Burton (1958‑)

Mini Collections 1 – Gain Effects (16)

Gain effects work by boosting the signal to varying degrees in certain ways. At its simplest, a clean boost will simply amplify a signal, making it stronger (louder). Used carefully, it can be used to overload the input stage of subsequent effects or (valve) amplifiers, causing then to start ‘clipping’ the signal – effectively flattening off a normal sine wave signal. In itself, an average clean boost doesn’t clip a signal. Overdrives take the principle a bit further by intentionally overloading circuits to force them into ‘clipping’, intended to produce a warm saturated valve‑like sound. Distortion effects inherently create a definite ‘clipping’ as an integral part of their circuits and present these already distorted sounds to whatever follows them. A good distortion effect will retain the core signature of the signal it receives. Fuzz pedals take the effect to logical extremes by forcing a sine wave signal into a brutal square wave signal, creating a wall of heavily distorted sound that can, if pushed, even obscure the original signal altogether.

Boost Effect Pedals (2)

Left‑right: 1976 Electro‑Harmonix LPB‑2, 1980 MXR Micro Amp

Overdrive Effect Pedals (4)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1980 BOSS OD‑1 Over Drive, 1985 BOSS SD‑1 Super Over Drive, 1981 Ibanez TS‑808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro, 1981 Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer

Distortion Effect Pedals (7)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1975 MXR Distortion +, 1981 BOSS DS‑1 Distortion, 1985 BOSS HM‑2 Heavy Metal, 1983 Ibanez SD9 Sonic Distortion, 1984 Ibanez SM9 Super Metal, 1989 Marshall The Guv’nor, 1988 Pro Co RAT

Fuzz Effect Pedals (5)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1977 Electro‑Harmonix Big Muff Pi, 1978 Electro‑Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, 1975 Colorsound Supa Tone Bender, 1969 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, 1976 Sola Sound Tone‑Bender Fuzz

“What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are” – C.S. Lewis (1898‑1963)

Mini Collections 2 – Modulation Effects (21)

Modulation relies, in theory, on a time‑based effect but they produce a distinctive sound. First of all, they retain the original signal. A phase effect will copy a signal and put it through an analogue delay circuit called a bucket brigade device (BBD). A BBD will store the original signal and delay it very slightly. Then it does the same again to the delayed signal and so on. This creates a delayed signal that is out of phase and mixed with the original signal – hence phasing. Controls usually feature rate and depth (strength). Flange takes the concept and extends it, producing a second audio signal and mixing it with the original, causing a swooshing or ‘airplane engine’ sweep across frequencies. Chorus works by layering multiple copies of the original signal and slightly detuning and delaying them, thereby creating what was intended to sound like multiple instruments. Chorus is often used to thicken and deepen the overall sound.

Phaser Effect Pedals (10)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1980 Electro‑Harmonix Bad Stone, 1977 Electro‑Harmonix Small Stone, 1976 MXR Phase 45, 1977 MXR Phase 90, 1982 MXR Phase 100, 1979 BOSS PH‑1 Phaser, 1981 BOSS PH‑1r Phaser, 1978/79 Ibanez PT‑909 Phase Tone, 1981 Ibanez PT‑909 Phase Tone, 1982 Ibanez PT9 Phaser

Flanger Effect Pedals (5)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1977 Electro‑Harmonix Electric Mistress, 1982 MXR Micro Flanger, 1981 BOSS BF‑2 Flanger, 1981 Ibanez FL301‑DX Flanger, 1982 Ibanez FL9 Flanger

Chorus Effect Pedals (6)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1981 Electro‑Harmonix Small Clone, 1980 MXR Micro Chorus, 1982 MXR Stereo Chorus, 1980 BOSS CE‑2 Chorus, 1981 Ibanez CS‑505 Chorus, 1984 Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are” – Anaïs Nin (1903‑1977)

Mini Collections 3 – Time‑Based Effects (8)

Delay effects fall broadly into two general types. The subtler of the two is reverb. It works by delaying the original signal very slightly so that the resulting sound creates a feeling of space, as if sound waves were reflecting of surfaces and gradually decaying. Reverb recreates sound wave reflections reaching the listener at slightly different times, for example in a large open space, such as a church, cathedral, cave, hall or empty venue. Echo effects basically do what they say on the tin. It copies the original signal and replays it one or more times with a delay that is sufficient for the brain to process it as a separate sound wave from the original. Originally tape loops were used to record, play back and then erase the signal. Solid state analogue BBD circuits superseded tape but are limited in clarity and the time between repeats. However digital delays can create very long delays with crystal clean echoes. The ultimate extreme of delays is used as the basis for modern looping effects.

Reverb & Delay/Echo Effect Pedals (8)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1987 BOSS RV‑2 Digital Reverb, 1977 Electro‑Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, 1978 MXR Analog Delay, 1986 BOSS DD‑2 Digital Delay, 1982 BOSS DM‑2 Delay, 1984 BOSS DM 3 Delay, 1982 Ibanez AD9 Analog Delay, 1980 DOD Analog Delay 680,

“Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty” – David Hume (1711‑1776)

Mini Collections 4 – Filter Effects (10)

Filter effects effectively add or remove certain frequencies within a signal thereby changing the tone of the signal. They generally do not affect the volume or pitch of a signal, just the amount of bass, middle or treble. The simplest of these is the equivalent of a passive tone pot on a guitar or bass being used to shape the sound. Putting a tone pot in a treadle and operating it with the foot creates a filtered tone sweep (the crying wah‑wah effect) when the signal is changed continuously or, if kept in a fixed position, create a sound with an emphasis either on bass or treble characteristics of the original signal. An envelope filter, derived from analogue synthesiser technology attempts to recreate the wah‑wah type sound electronically without the need for the player to control the signal manually. EQ (short for equalisation) can be a straightforward ‘graphic equalizer’ with different controls for different parts of the signal, meaning that the sound spectrum can be shaped very accurately. EQ can also be parametric, where one control selects a certain frequency and a second control varies the tone around that frequency (often found in recording studio desks). Counter‑intuitively, low cut filters preserve high frequencies and vice versa (also slightly more sensibly called high and low pass filters).

Wah‑Wah Effect Pedals (3)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1977 Colorsound Supa Wah‑Swell, 1980s Dunlop Original Cry Baby GCB‑95, 1980 Jen Cry Baby Super

Envelope Follower Effect Pedals (5)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1976 Electro‑Harmonix Doctor Q Envelope Follower, 1980 Electro‑Harmonix Zipper Envelope Follower, 1978 MXR Envelope Filter, 1985 BOSS TW‑1 T Wah, 1981 Ibanez AF 201 Auto Filter

EQ Effect Pedals (2)

Left‑right: 1981 MXR Six Band Graphic Equalizer, 1981 Ibanez GE‑601 Graphic Equalizer

“Though we see the same world, we see it through different eyes” – Virginia Woolf (1882‑1941)

Mini Collections 5 – Amplitude Effects (7)

Put simply, amplitude effects change the volume of a signal. They generally do not affect the tone or pitch of signals. Amplitude and frequency affects are often confused, for instance, tremolo (affects the volume) and vibrato (affects the pitch). They are fundamentally very different things. At its simplest, a swell pedal puts a volume control in a treadle that can be foot operated, giving the same result as a volume control on a guitar or bass. A swell effect is actually very hard to replicate electronically. Tremolo provides a ‘throbbing’ or ‘pulsing’ sound by increasing and reducing volume in a predetermined cycle and was the first on‑board effects in vintage valve amps. Compression generally falls into this bracket and works by boosting low level signals and cutting (or limiting) high level signals thereby ‘compressing’ the dynamics of a signal that can vary from slight to significant. Compression can be used to smooth, warm, thicken and sustain a signal, often very useful for guitar signals that are usually dynamic with sharp attack, rapid decay and short sustain. Noise gates work in the opposite way, by eliminating low level signals including extraneous noise.

Volume & Swell Effect Pedals (3)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1970s Colorsound Swell, 1960s VOX Volume/Expression, 1979 BOSS SG‑1 Slow Gear

Compression Effect Pedals (4)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1980 MXR Dyna Comp, 1980 BOSS CS‑1 Compression Sustainer, 1981 Ibanez CP‑835 Compressor II, 1982 Ibanez CP9 Compressor/Limiter

“There is no fixed physical reality, no single perception of the world, just numerous ways of interpreting world views” – Deepak Chopra (1946‑)

Mini Collections 6 – Pitch Effects (3)

Pitch effects do what they say, they affect the pitch of a signal without changing the tone, tempo or volume. Pitch effects can be used on their own, such as a simple octave generator which mixes the original signal with a tone that may be one or more octaves up or down. A harmonizer is more complex in being able to shift the pitch by degrees, e.g. thirds, or fifths up or down, creating a harmony that depends on the key of a piece of music. Some of the simpler pitch effects are often combined with other effects, particularly octave and fuzz being a popular option thanks to one James Marshall Hendrix. The MXR Blue Box below is an example of a combined fuzz/octave effect pedal.

Octave Effect Pedals (3)

Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1976 Electro‑Harmonix Octave Multiplexer, 1975 MXR Blue Box, 1985 BOSS OC‑2 Octave

“Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic” – Edward de Bono (1933‑2021)

Mini Collections 7 – Speciality Pedals (2)

As mentioned above, speciality pedals may or may not affect the overall sound effect at all but can be vital for guitarists or bassists as an integral part of a pedalboard.

Channel Switch Pedals (2)

Left‑right: 1970s Electro‑Harmonix Switch Blade Channel Selector, 1986 BOSS PSM‑5 Power Supply & Master Switch

“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view” – George Eliot (1819‑1880)

Yet Another Alternative Perspective

As always, there are different ways of looking at ‘collections within a collection’. To be exhaustive would be gruelling and extraordinarily dull, so I will use just one example, grouping by model series, rather than effect.

During the early days of Ibanez pedals, they released a series of effect pedals commonly known as the Ibanez ‘0’ series pedals – with the ‘0’ being the middle number of the model designation (puzzlingly except for the CP‑835 Compressor II). The most famous of the Ibanez ‘0’ Series pedals was the iconic TS‑808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro. The ‘0’ series pedals were distinguished by the unique square footswitch.

Ibanez ‘0’ Series Effect Pedals

In reality, the ‘0’ series did not last long and was really a transitional model. It was replaced by the completely restyled Ibanez ‘9’ series pedals, with the ‘9’ being the last number of the model designation. For instance, the TS‑808 became the TS9. The most obvious design change is that the ‘9’ series pedals replaced the square footswitch with a more traditional large (BOSS‑style) treadle‑operated footswitch.

Ibanez ‘9’ Series Effect Pedals

These two ‘mini collections’ clearly show the evolution of effect pedals during a short and very prolific period for stomp boxes. While there are many other permutations, this comparison makes the point quite clearly that other approaches can be taken. Say no more.

“Perception and reality are two different things” – Tom Cruise (1962‑)

The CRAVEman’s Pedalboard

Many people get confused about the general sequence in which effects should be placed in the signal chain. ‘The conventional wisdom’ (NB. Commonplace beliefs that are generally accepted to be true without critical questioning – a term often credited to Canadian/American economist John Kenneth Galbraith in ‘The Affluent Society’ (1958), even though it might originally date back to c.1838) suggests the following sequence:

Instrument –> filter effects –> amplitude effects –> gain effects –> modulation effects –> time‑based effects –> amp.

This sequence is only a guide, not a diktat. Many guitarists change it up to create a different type of soundscape that suits them. No surprise, I prefer a different effect pedal order that I developed over several years playing in a band. Even so, it still doesn’t mean that it’s fixed in perpetuity. What I learned was, ‘do your own thing’ to suit you and create your own signature sound.

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else” – Fred Rogers (1928‑2003)

The CRAVEman’s favourite effect pedals, regardless of brand, represent a back‑to‑basics approach and may provoke a debate based on opinion. For me, in order of favourites, it was/is #1 echo, #2 fuzz, #3 flangers, #4 envelope followers. The CRAVEman’s least favourite effect pedals #1 phasers (too common), #2 chorus (ditto), #3 overdrive (others do it better), #4 pitch shifters (inconsistent tracking). May I be cast into the abyss of Tartarus in the underworld to suffer eternal torment, such is the extent of my judgemental wickedness! However, I stand by my heresy and shall not repent.

Unlike many contemporary musicians, my preferred pedal line‑up is very simplistic. I do play around with it but I keep coming back to a core that suit my playing style and musical leanings. They are all classics in their own right and are all very analogue. The creative possibilities with this set can be quite ‘out there’. It also has the advantage that pedals from the same manufacturer are also more likely to work together than a mix‑and‑match approach. Are there better examples of each effect from other brands? Undoubtedly, but not for me. Here’s my go‑to line up…

  • Electro‑Harmonix Big Muff Pi
  • Electro Harmonix Bad Stone
  • Electro‑Harmonix Electric Mistress
  • Electro‑Harmonix Zipper Envelope Follower
  • Electro‑Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man

I also use a combined wah/volume pedal but no specific model. You notice I have a soft spot for EHX effect pedals. There is no particular reason, it’s just that they sound and behave the way I like. Admittedly, they were also the first serious pedals I used, alongside Dallas Arbiter/Colorsound/Sola Sound pedals. Others come close, for instance the MXR 100 phaser, as well as the MXR and DOD analogue delays. There are plenty of newer exceptional effect units (e.g. Line6) but this article is about vintage pedals, so that’s where I’m focused. While undoubtedly excellent, most Japanese pedals (e.g. BOSS/Ibanez) just don’t do it for me, which is a bit weird.

“All our knowledge is the offspring of our perceptions” – Leonardo da Vinci (1452‑1519)

Final Thoughts on Effect Collections within a Collection

I hope you enjoyed the colourful selection of CRAVE Effects’ stomp boxes viewed from a slightly different perspective. In one sense, they all look alike, while on closer inspection, they are all very different aesthetically. Although ‘new’ acquisitions are currently in abeyance, I have become besotted with vintage effect pedals, for better or worse. Vintage effect pedals represent quite a convoluted playground, fostering much confusion, misunderstanding, debate and conjecture.

I have finally given up the fight and I now concede that I am a small‑scale, limited ‘collector’ of vintage guitar gear. I think that this and the previous articles tend to cement this unfortunate conclusion. Yup, I have become something I have tried hard to avoid becoming. Darn it! I refuse, as far as I am able, to go full ‘collecterati’ though.

Even though a single effect pedal doesn’t take up much space, collectively, they do. The CRAVEcap (the constraint of space and funds) currently in place means that any ‘new’ acquisitions to CRAVE Effects may be a while off yet. It may come as a surprise that some rare effects can cost more than vintage guitars, basses or amps, including several pedals featured herein and on the web site.

“Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all” – Arthur C. Clarke (1917‑2008)

One thing, though, does ‘bother’ me about the whole world of vintage effect pedals. One of the fundamental principles of vintage guitar tone is to keep the signal chain as short and as direct as possible. Vintage gear enthusiasts will often spend (many) thousands of pounds/dollars on expensive vintage guitars, basses and amps because of their undeniably unique and attractive tonal characteristics.

Then what do we go and do? Those same enthusiasts buy a cheap little box crammed full of transistors, resistors, capacitors, pots, ICs, switches, circuit boards and wiring, and then we put them directly in the signal path. A few older effects may be passive, while most others are battery driven (usually one or two 9V 6LR61/MN1604/PP3 blocks), which has proved to be an unreliable power source dependent on charge levels. The alternative is to use AC power transformed into DC, often with variable voltages and currents as well as polarities. In addition cable attenuation is also a problem – lots of pedals use lots of interconnects. Pedal circuit boards, components and cables usually comprise budget items originally ordered in bulk quantities for mere cents/pennies per unit. Older circuits were often also hand assembled using whatever was lying around and often constructed with variable soldering quality. All things considered, consistency and quality control certainly weren’t manufacturing strong points in the 1960s and 1970s.

Open up some older pedals and one can be amazed at the crude nature of the assembly. Open some of the newer pedals and there are massive amounts of components, often with multiple IC (Integrated Circuit) chips suddenly placed directly into the signal chain, seemingly intent on corrupting it. When analysed, many electronic circuits are inherently ‘noisy’, often with unintended audio effects, which we can hear. There can be profound issues with mixing and matching ‘true bypass’ effects with buffered effects, as well as issues combining analogue with digital effects. A complex pedalboard can also be very sensitive to the order in which effects are used. Many modern amps have an effect send/return loop between pre and power stages, rather than the traditional method of effects feeding directly into the pre‑amp’s input stage.

Bottom line, there has really been nothing fundamentally new in the last 65 years of effect pedal development since the early days of innovation. Many modern pedals are copies of classic pedals or just variations of tried and tested themes. The old ways of specialist analogue pedals have been superseded by an overwhelming multiplicity of layered digital complexity. However, the principal aims and core characteristics have remained largely unchanged.

“Perception is a mirror not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803‑1882)

Nowadays, inline effects and amps are not always needed and guitarists rely on DI (Direct Input) into studio/stage digital audio processors, weirdly set to mimic vintage analogue gear. Then we also add in wireless signal transmission. All of these factors can affect the tone of the rest of the signal chain, often very significantly. Problems are frequent and often hard to identify and eradicate.

Yet, we continue to adore and admire these miniature miracles of electronic bits and pieces for destroying the very things we so desire from the rest of our vintage equipment. Go figure! This dilemma completely blows my mind when I stop and try to rationalise it objectively. Am I alone in contemplating this peculiar incongruity or is it a widespread understanding? I have absolutely no idea; the whole gamut of convolutions is not straightforward to resolve.

When I rejuvenated my guitar playing in the 1990s, I tried a multi‑effect unit but found I was spending more time working out how to use the seemingly unlimited and not very intuitive controls, rather than to focus on what mattered, playing guitar. The multi‑effect was soon ditched and I reverted back to a mix‑and‑match approach of separate pedals. This soon changed again, by replacing new effect pedals with vintage ones and the rest, as ‘they’ say, is history.

Believe it or not, digital effects started appearing in the early 1980s, supplementing rather than superseding analogue ones. Some of these early vintage digital stomp boxes are included here (I’m not prejudiced!). Digital processing started appearing, mainly in delay/echo pedals and reverb effects (reverb can’t easily be replicated using analogue circuits).

Another question. Are some effect reputations worthwhile? In my opinion, sometimes but not always. Some highly regarded pedals are good but overrated, often hyped by artist association, rather than by their inherent characteristics. Others can really surprise because they ‘fit’ with a particular situation. Some will swear that a script logo MXR Phase 90 sounds better than a block logo one, even when the internals are identical and the change is purely cosmetic. Some models will sound different from pedal to pedal, even if the circuit design is the same. Some circuits behave differently from pedal to pedal, for instance anything with an environmentally sensitive germanium resistor. Some seemingly identical pedals used different components from one to the next due to component availability and/or price at the time. Some commentators will also swear that component ‘a’ sounds great while component ‘b’ sounds like total garbage, while to the average user, the differences are so slight as to make no audible difference, especially in a band setting. Does it really matter or does snobbery fit the bill (again)?

What I’m really trying to say is, go with your ears and instincts, rather than brand name, effect specification and hype. The best way to sound unique is not to go with the flow but to do your own thing. Be creative and experiment not only with the pedals you use but also in the order they are used. It is way more fun creating the unique way you want to sound, rather than trying to sound like someone else. Inspiration can be found in these marvellous and magical miniscule machines (Ed: alliteration still alive and well then).

The effects featured here aren’t the only effects owned by CRAVE Guitars/Effects. I have a number of newer (i.e. non‑vintage) pedals, as well as a number of studio rack effects. Hunting down vintage effects, though, has become my main focus. The non‑vintage effects are excluded from this article.

“People only see what they are prepared to see” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803‑1882)

Some vintage effect pedals are ubiquitous and can be picked up for very little money. Others however can cost astronomically silly amounts. This may be because they are highly regarded and much in demand, for instance, early Dallas/Colorsound/Sola Sound Tone Benders, Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Faces, and Ibanez Tube Screamers. Others are just very hard to come by, especially in good condition (remember these things are used on the floor and tend to get a lot of physical abuse). Some others are pricey because they were niche products only produced either for a short time or in very small numbers (or both), for instance the BOSS Slow Gear featured.

One of the reasons I got into vintage pedals in the first place was during a period of austerity lasting many years. During that time, I couldn’t afford or accommodate guitars, basses and amps but effects were relatively cheap and didn’t take up much space. Thus, they became a serious part of the CRAVE Guitars/Basses/Effects/Amps family. The fascination with these little bits of gear heritage suffer from the same GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) that affects most guitarists. This means that ‘collecting’ vintage effect pedals can be seriously addictive – be warned!

Will traditional single‑effect pedals be replaced by modern digital modelling ones? Probably, but not just yet. Studio DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software has already gone a long way down that path in many home and pro studios and there is plenty of scope for further improvement. In fact, one might wonder where AI will take effect pedals and digital plug ins in the future. For many, the AI‑influenced future will look very bright. Me? I’m defo old skool. Personally, I think the archaic noisy, temperamental, analogue effects have a certain allure and charm that no end of digital meddling will ever be able to replace (a bit like our enduring love for real valve amps and vinyl records).

As of 2025, the effect industry is largely alive and well and still thriving (within the overall operating environment of a declining music industry), especially in the rarefied realms of boutique pedals. It seems that guitarists and bassists can’t get enough of these tone mangling monstrosities. Love ‘em. When it comes to the crunch, these are serious toys with which a creative musician can extract great fun and satisfaction in our own inventive sound pits. Enjoy.

“Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world” – Nikola Tesla (1856‑1943)

A Seasonal Message From The CRAVEman

This section has nothing to do with vintage guitars. However, it does take a brief look at a different aspect of western society’s cultural heritage. Apologies.

At the end of October each year, we tend to celebrate Halloween on the 31st of the month. The traditional roots of Halloween go back some 2,000 years ago (or more) with Irish and Scottish Celtic harvest festivals signifying the beginning of the dark half of the year and the onset of winter.

Celebrations around this time of the year and the origins of Halloween as a mystical event derive from the festival of Samhain (NB. translated as ‘summer’s end’ from Old Irish), with its roots in pagan custom for honouring dead ancestors. It was believed that the veil between the living and the dead of the Otherworld was at its weakest, allowing spirits to manifest and roam in the world of the living. Believers would set bonfires to ward off evil spirits and wear masks to avoid being recognised by ghosts.

In Christianity, All Hallows’ Eve (from where we get the word, ‘Halloween’) on 31 October is the holy day before All Hallows’ Day (All Saints’ Day) and All Souls’ Day on 1 and 2 November respectively (NB. The noun ‘hallow’ means a saint or holy person and the verb means to honour as holy). The relative timing of such festivities led to a blending of pagan, Roman and Christian traditions over the centuries.

In Mexico, ‘el dia de los muertos’ (literally, the day of the dead) festival coincides with the end of October/beginning of November every year, when families gather to remember and pay respect to those that have died. This suggests that paranormal revelries at this time of year have become widespread across many countries.

Incidentally, the film, ‘Halloween’ (1978) is one of the author’s favourite cinematic masterpieces, directed by the legendary John Carpenter and starring Jamie Lee Curtis. A great horror film for a Halloween party/film night. Great soundtrack too.

It therefore seems appropriate to conclude this seasonal message with a fittingly festive “Happy Halloween” from your favourite Stone Age guitarist and founder of CRAVE Guitars, The CRAVEman. Rock On!

“There are misfortunes in life that no one will accept; people would rather believe in the supernatural and the impossible” – Alexander Dumas (1802‑1870)

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’

In keeping with the theme of this month’s article, I thought I’d delve into one of the landmark American bands that went to extreme lengths to introduce inventive soundscapes to their music. The band in question made extensive use of heavily modified guitars, alternative tunings and abused effect pedals to produce oodles of off‑the‑wall clamour. The band I’m talking about is Sonic Youth from New York who went out of their way to sound like no other band around at the time. They formed in 1980 and, sadly, after over 30 years, they disbanded in 2011. During those three decades, the main three audio terrorists of the band were Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo (both on guitar) and Kim Gordon (on bass). They had a string of highly regarded studio albums including ‘Evol’ (1986), ‘Sister’ (1987), ‘Daydream Nation’ (1988), ‘Goo’ (1990), ‘Dirty’ (1992) and ‘Washing Machine’ (1995). However, my choice is not one of these but it is a personal favourite…

Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse (2004): Sonic Nurse was Sonic Youth’s 13th studio album released in June 2004 on Geffen Records, comprising 10 tracks over an hour’s running time. The cover was designed by renowned American conceptual artist Richard Prince (1949‑). Despite being a lot less well known that their peak period albums, Sonic Nurse is close to where the band would eventually end up. This album was the middle one of a later career resurgance including, ‘Murray Street’ (2002) and ‘Rather Ripped’ (2006). Track one (6:33) is clearly influenced, fittingly so, by acclaimed American‑Canadian author, William Gibson’s cyberpunk novel, ‘Pattern Recognition’ (2003).

Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse (2004)

Basically, any of the albums mentioned here can provide a great insight into what the band could do and fans will all have their own favourite. It just so happens that Sonic Nurse is mine. Even their very early albums (not mentioned here) have a great deal going for them. Naturally, there are inconsistencies but, over their career, those lesser albums were also better than most others in the experimental alternative noise rock genre. Turn up the volume and listen to the aural mayhem on show at your peril.

Alas, Sonic Youth fell apart in October 2011 following the separation of Moore and Gordon, after 27 years of marriage. The band’s influence and legacy has been profound in modern rock music and they deserve to be admired and respected for ploughing their own unique furrow throughout their career, rather than capitulating to studio mundanity for the sake of commercial success. Despite the hopes of many loyal fans, the band has, to‑date, not reunited and its status is officially ‘in hiatus’.

BELIEVE IN MUSIC!

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses” – Abraham Lincoln (1809‑1865)

Tailpiece

As usual, I’m at a loss for what to do next month but I’m sure I’ll think of something. It is getting harder to come up with different material, so I hope you’ll bear with me. Once the quality starts dropping off, I’ll have to call it a day but I don’t think the time has come just yet. You may think otherwise, of course! I don’t want to outstay my welcome. That’s it. No more in the way of dreary diatribe for this month. The holidays are a‑comin’. Yay!

Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. The CRAVEman, signing off for now. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Always have great first thoughts, then you’ll never need to have second thoughts”

© 2025 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.

 

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30 Aug 2025

August 2025 – ‘The Distortion Diaries’: A Teaser Trailer

by | posted in: Event, Fiction, Introduction, News | 0

Prelude

HEYYY, YO, WASSUP, HI Y’ALL, G’DAY, SALUTATIONS, howdy‑doody, henlo, aloha, Namaste, how’s it hangin’, salut, top o’ the morning, salaam, hey there, ahoy, ‘ello, ciao, greetings, etc. One hopes you’re all chipper this late August 2025 (NB. The first documented use of the noun ‘chipper’, meaning upbeat and cheerful, is from the ‘Boke of Keruynge’ (1508) – The Book of Carving – by publisher Wynkyn de Worde, a Tudor handbook for how to behave at court). Nowt to do with contemporary man‑eating wood chippers a la the film, ‘Fargo’ (1996) or even, ‘Tucker & Dale Vs Evil’ (2010)! I digress, as usual. Good to know some things never change. I bid you welcome, once more.

I was tempted to rant on (again) about the dire state of global politics and conflicts. However, I felt another polemic could disproportionately and negatively affect the overall tone of the article, so I will refrain. Regular readers will already know my views, so there is little to be gained from restating them here (again). Peace & Love, people.

This month’s article bears no direct relation to last month’s introduction of ‘The CRAVEman Cometh’ spinoff. However, there is a tenuous parallel in the pure imaginary creations of the contorted cavities of CRAVEs creative cerebellum. The subject matter this month is not entirely new but it is an expansion of previously hinted at material. It is also only tangentially relevant to vintage guitars, which means I am continuing on a fictional summer sabbatical at CRAVE Guitars for the second month running. Apologies to vintage guitar aficionados.

For this article, I return to the subject of the draft novel, ‘The Distortion Diaries’. Given that the potential book is the focus of this article, there deserves to be quite a bit of new material to explore. Expect a plentiful portion of pompous prose.

“For aren’t memories the true ghosts of our lives?” – Stephen King (1947)

Previously… on ‘The Distortion Diaries’

Several times now, I have intimated in the public domain that there was the potential for a fictional vanity side project. This was first implied at, way back in December 2023. At that time I wrote… “I felt an irresistible urge to write a fiction novel. Its status is currently work‑in‑progress. It will be called, ‘The Distortion Diaries’ (remember, you read it here first).” So, here we are, some 20 months on and the evolution of the tome is probably best be described as slow but steady.

However, while the novel has been referenced in subsequent articles, it has not yet been the main focus of a blog. So, I thought this month I would set the matter straight and take another brief diversion from the world of vintage guitars and put this long‑gestating idea centre stage. Why? Because I can.

In order to give the book’s narrative a bit more authenticity, I embarked on writing my own journal (well over 600 days into the real thing and counting). While there are some notable differences between a journal and a diary, ‘The Distortion Journals’ doesn’t have an alliterative ring to it (and you know how much I like to alliterate). The process of writing about events and random thoughts on a daily basis gives a valuable insight into the fictional diary of the novel’s main character. The rhythm, reflection and routine of writing the real thing helps with the introspective compositional style of the fabricated story. Very method! Pretentious? Most probably but not deliberately.

Back in 2023, I was very used to writing in various forms but, as I quickly found out, a fiction novel is a completely different proposition. Everything I had learned counted for very little. After an intense period of inexperienced book writing during the first half of 2024, the first draft had been completed, if not finished (there is a subtle difference). Then things were put on hold for a considerable period due to other things going on in ordinary life that took priority over writing. It was in October 2024 that I took the bold step to reveal the idea as part of the monthly article published that month. If you want to revisit that article as a preamble to this month’s update, click on the link below (opens in a new tab). In fact, I would recommend reading the relevant part of that blog in order for the rest of this article to make sense, as I don’t want to repeat material from 10 months ago here, unless absolutely necessary for coherency.

October 2024 – CRAVE Guitars Writing: An Introspective Inquiry

For once, all this month’s quotes from here on in are not attributed to real people. Rather they are some of the main character’s observations about life. They may or may not make the cut for the finished product. He likes to think he is wise but an innate creative conceit may mask fallible foolishness. You decide.

In order to make a little bit more time for writing the novel, rather than write about writing the novel, I will try to keep this relatively brief (for me).

“Humans are hopelessly self-destructive. No matter how hard we try, we are addicted to those things that will ultimately destroy us” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

Brief Update on ‘The Distortion Diaries’

Back in October 2024, I suggested that the author’s real name will not be used if the novel ever gets published. Instead, it will be credited to a pseudonym. The nom de plume (NB. literal French for ‘pen name’) has been carefully selected to conceal my identity, gender, location and genre. I am reluctant to reveal my unique pseudonym at this time in case someone else appropriates it before publication. Paranoid? Me?

In last month’s article, I introduced the front man for CRAVE Guitars, The CRAVEman. The objective for CRAVE Guitars is that it is the instruments that deserve the attention, not the proprietor, hence the alter ego. The same applies for The Distortion Diaries – it is the fictional characters that should have all the attention, not the author. In case you were wondering, the book will not be credited to The CRAVEman, although I must admit that I was tempted for a very short moment. Given that his vocabulary extends only as far as “Grunt!”, it didn’t seem appropriate for authorship.

Even though I am writing about it here, my intention is to ensure that CRAVE Guitars and The Distortion Diaries are discrete entities and fully independent of each other, if only to preserve the integrity of both, hence my diffident anonymity. I do not care for either fame or fortune. I just want to be the best me that I can be (d’ya follow?) and that means making CRAVE Guitars and The Distortion Diaries as successful as they can be, even if that success is measured only by the unassertive existence of both, irrespective of me (the only common denominator between the two).

“What mysteries lie in the names we are given? How would our lives be different under another name, another identity?” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

The book’s cover art has also been prepared in early draft and not finalised. Last time I wrote on the subject, the main narrative was just a standard Microsoft Word document (for functional convenience). The fonts have been chosen, the layout firmed up and the whole thing has now been reformatted in book form. These are all minor but essential administrative tasks.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has NOT been used in any way for the book’s text – it is 100% my work, for good or bad. For once, though, I concede that AI has been used to prepare the basis for some of the draft images for The Distortion Diaries. Furthermore, AI did not produce the final images, just as a basis for further graphic manipulation. Whether the AI artwork makes it to the final product, we’ll have to wait and see.

So what has or hasn’t changed since October 2024? Fundamentally, not a lot. Sigh. Progress has, however, been made. If it hadn’t, there would be little point in writing this article. Enough expositional preamble. To business…

“The abundance of social company does not prevent the aching loneliness of the individual without a Girlfriend” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

The Main Premise of ‘The Distortion Diaries’

As a reminder, having said that I don’t want to repeat the October 2024 article, the synopsis is an exception to that particular rule. To reiterate, the summary was (and still is):

“The Distortion Diaries

Terry plays in a band. He doesn’t have a Girlfriend. He hasn’t had a Girlfriend for some time. Terry has a dreary job in IT. He lives alone with his feline overlord. One day, Terry decides to document his wretched existence in a journal. Rather than the journal reflecting and recording Terry’s lacklustre life, the journal begins to change it. A Lot. Is Terry’s life pre‑determined by fate or is his destiny in his own hands? Only his journal knows.

Based on a false story”

The synopsis remains relevant and unchanged (bar one word), even after a long period of reflection and having survived its first serious edit in April‑May this year (2025). That alone, is encouraging – that the original core idea remains largely unaffected. Thank goodness for small mercies.

I suggested in last year’s article that the book’s genre leaning is “a rom-sex-com-music-bio-mystery-drama-thriller-fantasy about contemporary man’s eternally favourite tripartite – sex, drugs and rock & roll”. Like the synopsis, that also remains unchanged. It is definitely not one for the politically correct woke crowd out there. I reserve the right to express free speech. Don’t agree with it, go read something else.

That’s really all you need to know at the moment. On the surface, the premise seems straightforward enough (a coming‑of‑middle‑age drama) and the structure (a chronological record) is a well‑worn story telling mechanism. So if the proposition and arrangement are (admittedly) clichéd, why bother? What makes this special or different? Why should it stand out from every other decidedly dreary ‘dear diary’ diatribe? Well, it’s the execution of the plot that I hope will entice, amuse, surprise and satisfy.

“I don’t want to be a character in a story, I want to be the storyteller” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

The Main Characters of ‘The Distortion Diaries’

Essentially, the concept revolves around eight individuals living in a fair sized town in the English West Country with the nearest large city being Bristol. The time period covered in the novel is 200 days over the summer of 2012.

The main character, as mentioned above, is Terence Wilder, aged 32. Wilder by name, not by nature. He is an IT specialist working in a dead end job for an anonymous company. Music is Terry’s major motivation in the absence of anything profoundly diverting – like a Girlfriend. He knows that something has to change, so he decides to start recording his life and thoughts in the titular diary. It is only a small change of routine but one that has major repercussions for Terry and those around him.

Terry is a founding member and guitarist with his band called The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair (TITA for short). The band’s name deriving loosely from a line in ‘The Peripheral’ (2014), a novel by ‘cyberpunk’ author, William Gibson (1948‑). The band has been together for a while and the bonds between the members is strong. Terry’s band mates are Xavier (guitar), Hector (bass) and John (drums). The band eschews the easy route of a cover or tribute band and battles with integrity to make their own multi‑/cross‑genre musical style they call HMSPGSALFGGSR (for short!) – you’ll have to read the full narrative to know what it stands for. Their debut studio album, ‘TITA Om Fyah’ is in incubation, as of 2012 (see ‘album of the month’ below).

“I thought of going full mullet. However, I don’t think it would be a good strategy for attracting a Girlfriend” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

The other three main characters provide the gender counterpoint to the band and, possibly, the catalyst for change. They are Olivia, Dakota and Alley. If you spotted that that only totals seven, you win a gold star. The eighth key character is Terry’s possibly supernatural ginger comrade and confidante, Kwat with whom Terry shares those things he can’t divulge to other humans. If you haven’t already guessed, Terry is Kwat’s human. Kwat exercises total dominion over Terry, just as it should be in the natural order of things.

After undertaking an in‑depth deep FBI‑style psychological analysis of the main characters, I can share with you a detailed profile of each of them. Apologies that the descriptions are so lengthy – these are inherently complex people:

  • Terry – unexceptional
  • Xavier – ambitious
  • Hector – debauched
  • John – mellow
  • Olivia – introverted
  • Dakota – intense
  • Alley – promiscuous
  • Kwat – numinous

OK, so I lied. Sue me. If you want to know more about them, then you’ll just have to wait. Soz. The dynamic interplay between these eight and the tertiary cast provide the core foundation of the yarn. You may get to like them. To say any more at this stage would be to provide too much of an insight into the concept and to render the actual narrative moot. Again, I want to tease you and dangle bait on a proverbial hook, not give everything away for nothing.

That’s really all I want you to know at the moment. The only other miniscule hint I will give away is that I will be manipulating the reader intentionally to subvert expectations (hopefully). All may or may not be what it seems. Beneath the surface, the tale could provide a profound existential observation, it all depends on how you want to approach it.

“I don’t want to be famous, I want to be good” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

The Plot of ‘The Distortion Diaries’

Nah! Not a chance! For the actual details of the storyline, you’ll have to wait and see when it’s completed and, hopefully, published. In the meantime, I will have to keep you on tenterhooks (NB. Not the literal meaning – hooks used to fasten cloth on a drying frame, called a tenter – dates from c.1633. The metaphorical meaning applies – to be in a state of uncomfortable suspense, anticipation or impatience). Let’s hope it will be worth the long wait.

Funnily enough, the conclusion of the story came easily, early on in the process, so I didn’t have to try too hard to fabricate a ham‑fisted finale. Maybe I’m not clever enough to pull off a successful denouement but one has to try, hopefully not in vain.

“Life is not a loser competition” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

Some brief excerpts from ‘The Distortion Diaries’

A special treat for you. The following three brief extracts were taken from relatively early in Terry’s journal entries. I don’t pretend that these are representative, they are just passages taken at sort of random. Due to liberal profanity and potential spoilers, there wasn’t that much that could be used in this article. I hope, though, that you get a sense of the style. Please bear in mind that these are from the first post‑edit draft and may well change (considerably) by the time the completed novel has been put to bed. After this article has been published, I intend to focus on the next substantial edit.

Excerpt from Day 1:

“Nothing happened today. Nothing is going to happen today. Nothing always does. This is my life. My real life. Not some made up life. Well, my life from today onwards. For however long that may be. The future has to start sometime and this journal will testify to my part in it. It is MY unique account, not anyone else’s. What went before is undocumented, available only from a fragile memory residing somewhere between then and the here and now.

This story is my mediocre, futile and fleeting folly of a presence on this small sapphire sphere floating in infinite black nothingness, with just our small saffron sun to warm and illuminate our existence. The 30 trillion or so cells that represent my entire body occupy an infinitesimally small place on this infinitesimally small space pebble.

…

“Hello Diary” (there, major cliché dispensed with). I bought you a few months ago, intending to fill your vacant leaves with exciting and interesting news about my run‑of‑the‑mill, mediocre life, mixed with the inevitable moments of whimsy, melancholy and pathos. Add oodles of hopefully hilarious humour. Ha‑ha. Don’t forget the counterpoint of joy, that of inevitable tragedy. I wouldn’t be into music if I wasn’t one of those sensitive animals with a severely damaged heart that pours their emotional baggage into the waiting cup of enchanted music.

It’s taken a while to get around to this because, well, that’s just me. I take time to get around to things. It’s not like I’m a professional procrastinator. Honest. I may dawdle a little on occasion but that can conceivably also be a virtue. Possibly.

‘They’ say the best things come to those that wait. That, of course, is bollocks. The best things come to those that go out and grab the great stuff first. The derisory dregs of detritus get left behind for the likes of me, one of the ones that wait. Adult real life, it has to be said, has turned out to be a big disappointment after the false promises of youthful expectation.”

Excerpt from Day 19:

“It was with irrational anticipation that I crawled out of bed feeling decidedly enervated in the outlandish world that is pre‑noon on a werkend. Why? The vain hope of seeing or even meeting the attractive young Lady I sort of ‘encountered’ at Everwax Records last week. As the veil of consciousness lifted, I became increasingly alert, as unheralded adrenalin flowed through my bloodstream. My pulse accelerated, my pupils dilated, my skin tingled and I felt jittery. The innate impulse for fight or flight didn’t seem appropriate. Contrary to my usual cynical demeanour, I was actually looking forward to going out. This is what the lack of a Girlfriend feels like.

Firstly, She might not even go to the record store at all. I have no idea whether She’s even local or not. Secondly, She might go to the shop when I’m not there. Thirdly, even if all the stars aligned and She is there at the same time as me, there is no guarantee that we will engage in any sort of meaningful interaction. Fourthly, and possibly finally, even if that unlikely linear sequence of events actually occurred, there’s no guarantee that such an interaction would prove positive. Having studied logic, probability, statistics and the science of BIG numbers as part of my degree, the odds were stacked heavily against me. However, irrational random anticipation overrules any sort of calculated common sense. Good job I don’t gamble.

And so it turned out. We, the band, dutifully deposited ourselves in Everwax Records at the usual time – the same time that She was there last week – and… She wasn’t there this week.”

Excerpt from Day 32:

“Yay! BIG gig day at The Lost Inn’s ‘dungeon’. I really don’t know why I’m making such a BIG thing out of it. We’ve done loads of gigs before, thirty or forty or so over the last couple of years. By the time we felt that TITA had potential, we already had a few public performances under our collective belts. We hadn’t documented our beginnings very well, which is a shame for my late life autobiography. Best laid plans of hindsight, eh.

I think the reason that this particular gig has gained some extra significance might be because writing about it in my journal helps me to focus and put everything in context. Articulating my thoughts provides me with some clarity previously masked amidst the dissonance of day‑to‑day disorder. Whatever it is that is happening, I am not complaining. Maybe this Diary thing has some motivational value after all.

…

As usual with gigs, once you get on stage, everything becomes an automatic blur. I can’t remember anything about our playing other than the odd bum note sticking out like a sore thumb (to us). It felt like we executed the whole set list in about five minutes. Actually, it was just over an hour but it felt like five minutes. There was no room for self‑indulgent virtuoso showmanship, it’s all about telepathic togetherness and sonic synergy. The feedback from the audience was pretty good and spurred us on. That’s what it’s all about, the reciprocal energy loop. We were stoked. TITA rules, at least in the moment.”

There you go, three snippets for the price of none. Just for clarity, the misspellings and capitalisation of the excerpts are entirely intentional and are a running theme throughout the full chronicle. You may well recognise the similarity of florid flair when comparing the book extracts with CRAVE Guitars’ articles.

That, I am afraid, is all you’re going to get for now. My motive is to provide a teaser with no obvious giveaways to spoil anything. I can only hope this modest modicum of extracts has marginally piqued your curiosity.

“The unpleasant astringent miasma permeated the empty concert hall at The Lost Inn; sweat, stale beer and a mix of other best-left unidentifiable fluids, saturated every pore” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

The Good News about ‘The Distortion Diaries’

Being positive, the general premise has hardly changed at all. The synopsis hasn’t changed in the slightest. The protagonists have been fleshed out. Also, the first edit proved that the first draft was pretty much on point, a fact that genuinely surprised me.

Another positive is the strength of the character development and the interrelationships between the main characters. Being hopelessly deluded, there is also a decent ending, a problem faced by far too many novels (and films). All too often, everything is very neatly tied up rendering the resolution unbelievable. Also, far too many stories/plots have a weak ending because decent conclusions are not easy to concoct. No cheap tricks here. When it comes to real life, a person’s experience starts and ends long before and after the period over which the story has been told. The Distortion Diaries covers a defined short period of time in the much longer lives of these 8+ defective characters, so don’t expect perfection. You’ll have to work for satisfaction and fulfilment, but not too hard.

Again, being vain and conceited, I was very surprised that it actually seems to work as a whole and I actually enjoyed reading it while also working on it. I hope that’s a good sign.

“I want to get better at life and then maybe life will get better for me” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

I also have far more material than the story warrants. This provides a great opportunity to ‘overdo’ it and then to execute a brutal edit to leave the strongest core possible. Only then, I hope, will the final cut be robust enough to stand up to scrutiny.

Another positive is that it doesn’t seem to be overly derivative. Yes, there are universal truths about the human condition that have been covered in infinite variety over centuries (and therefore unavoidable here), so it cannot possibly be classified as original or unique. However, I believe it is a fairly fresh approach that doesn’t stick to every storytelling rule that has been complied with before.

While there is little scope for a sequel (or prequel), there are opportunities for a couple of spin‑off stories with which my feeble grey matter has been toying. These ideas are not about Terry but other strange and very different fables. I won’t contemplate putting finger to keyboard on any of those until this one had been done to death. The curse of a fickle creative mind. A lot will depend on how ‘successful’ The Distortion Diaries is, when it has finally been concluded.

“The second best thing that can happen to a man is a good woman. The best that can happen to a man, however, is a bad woman. The worst thing that can happen to a man is no woman” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

The Not So Good News about ‘The Distortion Diaries’

Principally, the project has taken far too long to bring to fruition, which has been a constant frustration over the months. The gestation period has become tiresome, as it isn’t my ‘day job’. This isn’t because of lack of enthusiasm or interest; it has been a purely practical failing on my part to prioritise it sufficiently in the face of other unavoidable responsibilities.

I have now accepted that it is a slow process and have become less anxious about progress. It will take its own time and it will probably be better for it. I cannot afford the mental stress of pressuring myself to do it quicker. Better late than never, as ‘they’ say.

Then there are the practical hurdles. An independent editor would no doubt improve the end product. However, I do not want anyone else to change anything. I do not want it to be perfectly polished. I actually want it to be rough around the edges. I don’t want it to be like every other highly processed piece of prose. I want my own mistakes to be present in it; the many apparent flaws are an integral part of its charm, just as a genuine journal would be. These are imperfect people and they should be seen distorted through Terry’s defective lens. I want it to come across as if Terry had actually lived to tell his tale his way. I do not know of a single genuine diary or journal that has been crawled over by editors and proof readers to eradicate inconsistencies and errors. It is a bit like museum grade vintage guitars, something can be ‘too good’ to enjoy.

Another hurdle is self‑publication. I have absolutely no idea how to go about it. I have limited funds, so I cannot pay for someone to do it on my behalf. I also do not want to go through the ordeal of pleading to agents for attention with the associated high risk of rejection – my fragile ego couldn’t cope being subject to the critical whims of others not invested in the project. Neither do I want the end product to be managed beyond my ability to influence the outcome. As a bit of a control freak (Ed: No kidding!), I don’t appreciate being beholden to anyone else. Such interference is simply unacceptable to me. I really do not give a damn about what agents, publishers and editors think. They can make their parasitical living off someone else. I only care what I think and what genuine readers might think, warts ‘n’ all.

So, even if I get over the hurdle of writing, editing, agents and publishing, then there are the formidable challenges of printing, marketing, distribution, sales and promotion. Everything about the whole process is set against this being any sort of success, regardless of any literary merit. Even if it is a worthy story, it could fail at any of these key points.

The Distortion Diaries is a personal folly and commercial success is not a prerequisite for a satisfactory outcome. If only one or two people read it and get some ephemeral pleasure from it, I shall be content. My aspirations in this regard are very modest and humble. A bit like my ambitions for CRAVE Guitars as an undertaking.

As previously mentioned, I did toy with the idea of serialising The Distortion Diaries on the CRAVE Guitars’ web site. However, it wouldn’t really work and it would blur the lines between the two discrete ‘projects’. The novel’s material is also not appropriate for a vintage guitar showcase. So, that is not gonna happen. Decided.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had my heart broken. It really doesn’t sound like it’s something I’d want to try out” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

Final Thoughts about ‘The Distortion Diaries’

You may have gathered that I remain excited about this particularly narcissistic venture. The fact that the enthusiasm has endured since December 2023 without waning in the slightest suggests that there is something worth pursuing. I remain concerned about two things. The first I have mentioned many times, which is making sufficient time and space to complete the writing process. Put simply, the more time I spend on article writing, the less time there is for The Distortion Diaries. The second, as mentioned above, is the complications of getting the final product out there for people to judge. In these technological days, it really should be simpler.

One thing I am absolutely certain about is that this is not a literary masterpiece. It will not be ‘a great British novel’. Neither will it be a monotonous churning out of tedious, derivative drivel (Ed: Are you sure about that?). It was never intended to be an exemplar of literary excellence and that has not changed. However, it is a heartfelt and genuine attempt to be a bit different and to produce something that may be of moderate interest to others. While it breaks many rules, it isn’t revolutionary. It is what it is, an earnest first attempt.

I have mentioned before, and need to reiterate now, that this dedicated ‘labour of love’ (NB. an idiom that has been used to describe various forms of artistic expressions. Its first appearance in English was in the King James Bible, published in 1611, although it may have originated in pre‑medieval times), is NOT autobiographical. It is, though, impossible not to draw, and to isolate the final product, from one’s own life experiences.

Another thing about writing this month’s article was, once again, to test the waters, to challenge my own notions and to reinforce my beliefs about whether this is something I want to dedicate a serious amount of time to. The act of writing about it is, in itself, a reality check and I am pleased to say that it has passed scrutiny without serious mishap (so far). I am still reticent and uncertain about how to turn a good intention into a great reality.

One might wonder why I want to publish a fiction novel in the first place. That’s a difficult question to answer. None of the oft‑used reasons – and there may be dozens of them – resonate with me, such as a desire for storytelling, personal growth, confidence building, compulsion, social impact, sharing, competitiveness, proving something, self‑learning, self‑aggrandisement, income, attention seeking, legacy, etc. Quite simply, it is something that I would like to do. Simples.

Bottom line. Will it ever see the light of day? I hope so, ceteris paribus, but probably not. This article is intended to commit myself to completing the process to the best of my ability or I will look like a complete dumbass for boasting about it and then not delivering. Wish me luck.

If, perchance, it was ever made into a film, the location could conceivably be relocated to somewhere, say, in New England (comprising, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont).

“The confusing interplay of human emotions and motives – when you think about it – is magnificently messy and chaotic, not at all organised or logical, it is an unreality existing in an artificially real world. There is no universal harmony in life’s experience” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’

Given the subject matter this month, we have to delve into the creative aspects of Terry and his bandmates aspirations. During that fateful year of 2012, The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair (TITA) was working hard on live performance and recording ideas for the first of many albums that they intend to define their career. Entirely a fictional construct, this month’s distorted accolade goes to…

The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair – TITA Om Fyah (2012): The ill‑fated debut studio album from The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair has never been released on TITA Records, although the material exists and the artwork completed (see below). Comprising eight tracks over 72 minutes, the atmospheric aural adventures of unrealised potential evoke a mantra of melancholy and a more than a trace of transcendence. The epic ‘everything lasts for never’ (track 5, running time 6:41) is a firm band and fan favourite. File under HMSPGSALFGGSR music.

If only I had the talent, motivation, drive, skills and time to concoct this album for real, I would do it without hesitation. I wouldn’t change the band name, album title or track list one iota (NB. No, not the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet). It would be great – I have to believe that. For now, progressing the novel is the main focus. One day, maybe the music behind it will be realised. I have a futile fantasy that someone will pick up the book and make it into a film and this album would become the original soundtrack to the movie. Now, precisely where is that fateful Crossroads that blues guitarist Robert Johnson famously made a deal with the devil? In the meantime, while I still have a soul, I can dream.

BELIEVE IN MUSIC!

“The earworm rented out the vacant lot in my brain’s auditory processing, easier to put on repeat than shuffle” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

Tailpiece

Once again, I have regressed into writing about writing, for which I apologise post hoc. While I am genuinely enthusiastic by this egocentric recklessness, I can readily understand why it might be too far off the well‑trod vintage guitar topic to be of interest for CRAVE Guitars’ readers. Further obsequious apologies. Even I need a break from vintage guitars once in a while.

As Terry remarks in, ‘The Distortion Diaries’, “I am only superficial on the surface after all”.

For now, I seem to have run out of ideas for next month’s article but I’m sure I’ll come up with something to distract me from reality for a few minutes. In the meantime, a final word or thirty from ‘The Distortion Diaries’ sagacious hero…

“Engaging with Women of the opposite Sex is a bit like engaging an enemy in strategic warfare. It seems I don’t have even a modest grasp of basic battlefield tactics” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)

For once, CRAVE Guitars’ regular ‘Quote of the Month’ (see below) is extremely relevant to the ambitious subject matter of the main article. I do hope you’ve enjoyed this minor detour in the course of unreal life and that you will come back and ‘see’ me again sometime soon.

Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. The CRAVEman, signing off. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “The finish line may be in sight but is it within reach?”

© 2025 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.

 

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30 Nov 2024

November 2024 – A Virtual Decade of CRAVE Guitars

by | posted in: Event, History, Introduction, News, Observations, Opinion | 0

Prelude

BONJOUR, BOUNTIFUL BRETHREN. It is good to have you here with me this late November 2024. As previously mentioned, I am hoping to concentrate on writing, ‘The Distortion Diaries’ (see last article) by creating a bit of time and space, which has meant changing my approach to monthly articles for a (hopefully) short period. So this is another (hopefully) short article, essentially as a placeholder until things get back to ‘normal’ (hopefully). One has to remain hopeful. So far, it hasn’t gone to plan, so I must endeavour harder, for longer than intended. This article is mercifully short (for me) as a result.

This month, though, we have a Tin Anniversary to commemorate. NB. Tin is a silver‑coloured metal and chemical element belonging to the carbon family, with the symbol Sn (from the Latin, stannum) and atomic number 50. A 10th anniversary is designated ‘tin’ because the metal represents durability, strength, flexibility and resistance to corrosion and wear. So, there you go. Tin for Ten it is.

So, exactly what is it that is 10 years (3,653 days) old? CRAVE Guitars online presence, that’s what. Before November 2014, CRAVE (Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric) Guitars had already been a formal, non‑profit entity for seven years (since the late summer of 2007). During those early seven years, it couldn’t easily be shared with anyone. All that changed a decade ago when CRAVE Guitars rapidly became visible to anyone who wanted to find out about it.

“Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event” – Oscar Wilde (1854‑1900)

Happy 10th Online Anniversary CRAVE Guitars

It seems a timely moment for celebration. Yup, in November 2014, the web site and the multiple social media channels (some used more than others) have been rattling around in cyberspace (NB. A word coined in the novel, ‘Neuromancer’ (1984) by author William Gibson) for a decade now. And so it was, that the very first short blog article, titled perhaps unsurprisingly, ‘Welcome to CRAVE Guitars’ was posted on 30 November 2014.

Crave Guitars Blog #1 November 2014

Over the years, the web site has expanded and improved, although it hasn’t reached the potential that it undoubtedly has. There is also potential that I would still like it to achieve, all other things being considered. No rush.

Social media grew significantly until ‘The Hiatus’. It used to take up a great deal of every day but this has had to be scaled back considerably over recent years. It’s still there but not in the volume of posts that used to appear. Another step taken to mark the anniversary is that, in addition to the likes of X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., CRAVE Guitars is now also on Bluesky Social at:
@crave‑guitars.bsky.social.

CRAVE Guitars Bluesky Social 2024

Over the years, the number of CRAVE Vintage Guitars on the website has steadily increased (to 65 so far). Since the original launch of the website, the other parts of the site, CRAVE Basses (just 4 of them so far), CRAVE Amps (just 5 so far) and CRAVE Effects (68 so far) have also been added for a veritable vibe of vintage variety.

CRAVE Effects Browse All

There have been approximately 85 blog articles (a.k.a. ‘Musings’) over the 10‑year period, covering all sorts of topics. The early ones were just a few sentences long and the content has consistently grown in length and complexity over the last decade. The shortest article? ‘Hiatus’ (September 2020) at just 5 lines. The longest? The 14-part ‘Story of Modern Music in 1,500+ Facts’ (between March 2019 and May 2020). My favourite? Probably, ‘Dub Reggae Revelation’ (August 2023). My least favourite? Apart from the embarrassing first ‘Welcome to CRAVE Guitars’ (November 2014), the nadir was probably the melancholic aforementioned, ‘Hiatus’.

One thing that I don’t really understand is why visitors to the website have fallen off a cliff this year, after almost a decade of year‑on‑year increasing numbers. The only thing I can think of is that there has been nothing in the way of new vintage guitar gear recently. In addition, recent articles haven’t been focused on vintage guitars per se as much as they have been in the past – there is only so much one can wax lyrical (NB. a phrase from, ‘Jean-Christophe in Paris’ (1911) by Romain Rolland) about these wonderful artefacts.

CRAVE Guitars Website Stats

“It’s always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you’re going” – Anthony Burgess (1917‑1993)

A moment of reflection

Has it all been worth it? Big question and one to which I really don’t have an answer. As a not‑for‑profit, non‑commercial entity, CRAVE Guitars exists but it doesn’t actually DO anything. So why bother? Who the heck knows? I don’t. Does it have any value? Well, the vintage guitars definitely do and will only increase in value over the long‑term. Are they worth a lot? Not really, that isn’t the point. I go for unlikely, alternative vintage gear, the sort that serious collectors are likely to overlook. The ‘collection’ as a whole isn’t worth a great deal compared to a highly‑regarded classic like a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, a 1952 Fender Telecaster or a 1962 Fender Stratocaster. Perhaps if I sold every bit of vintage gear I’ve got, I could get one really ‘good’ vintage guitar. However, that wouldn’t satisfy my cravings (sic!) for vintage guitar diversity. Such is life. We all make economic decisions and we all abide by the consequences. Is the CRAVE Guitars brand worth anything in isolation. Sadly, no.

“Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words” – Plautus (Roman playwright, c254‑184BCE)

Would I be prepared to sell off CRAVE Guitars? Well, I guess everyone has their price, although I have no intention of selling my baby at this time. Having said that, what will happen to CRAVE Guitars when I inevitably hit the mortal exit button? My son will inherit the enterprise in total but, as he has little interest in the venture, it will probably be wound up and sold off wholesale, possibly at auction. Shame.

What would make the biggest difference to both CRAVE Guitars and its online presence over the next ten years? Well, finally getting around to converting the dark, damp cellar of the house into a dry, warm home for the ‘collection’ would be incredible. The technical complexity, practicality, feasibility and cost are all prohibitive, so it ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Sadly. That’s why the ‘collection’ has largely stalled since Covid, due to finite funds, space and time as well as other competing priorities.

“I’m not going to be caught around here for any fool celebration. To hell with birthdays!” – Norman Rockwell (1894‑1978)

Final thoughts on a virtual tinny decade

I couldn’t let the personal landmark go without some form of recognition but, equally, I don’t want to over‑stress the importance of the fact.

For info, the first ever web site was published on 6 August 1991 by British physicist sir Tim Berners‑Lee (1955‑), a.k.a. TimBL, based at CERN in Switzerland. Now, CRAVE Guitars is like just one grain of sand in a desert. The number of web sites has grown exponentially since 2000. In 2014, when CRAVE Guitars first appeared on the hinterwebby thingummy, there were less than 1 billion web sites globally. According to Statista, there are now over 1.9 billion web sites globally. Approximately 4 million new websites are created annually (as of 2024). No wonder it is so hard to get noticed and so easy to get overlooked these days. The enormity of that broader context makes CRAVE Guitars an infinitesimally insignificant online entity. Sigh.

What do I hope for the future of CRAVE Guitars? Nothing, actually – my ambitions are, out of necessity, very modest and humble. If, in some infinitesimally insignificant, way I have changed the world for the better and/or I have left an infinitesimally insignificant indentation on this isolated lonely world of ours that will be remembered positively in time, then I will be infinitesimally but significantly content.

Will there still be a CRAVE Guitars in another 10 years’ time? Who knows? If I have anything to do with it, yes there will, but who knows what fate and destiny hold in store for us all. I trust that there will be more vintage gear to enjoy over the next decade. So… ceteris paribus, here’s to the next 10 years or so.

“A good time to celebrate is any time you can” – Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904‑1991)

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’

This month’s selection kinda fits with the reminiscent nature of the above and needs some preliminary exposition. I tried to think of a studio album that meant a lot to me at the time and which has influenced my own guitar playing. The year was 1976 and the UK saw a rare baking, long hot summer. I took an extended solo road trip and attended my first three open air music festivals (Knebworth, Reading and Hyde Park) during that summer. I was a teenager at the time and it was also memorable for many reasons, some that I don’t think I should divulge here.

I occasionally reminisce selectively (of course) about that life‑affirming blissful ‘Summer of ‘76’ through appropriately rose‑tinted lenses. Coincidentally, it was also the year that I found out about the mysteries of girls of the opposite sex. After that crucial but brief coming‑of‑age journey (think of the evocative films, ‘American Graffiti’ (1972), ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ (1982), ‘Stand By Me’ (1986) and ‘Dazed and Confused’ (1993)), before life became an unavoidable and unbearable progression of obligation, heavy burden of responsibility and other requisite restraints. I have never been able to shatter the shackles of adulthood and recapture that youthful sense of vitality, vigour, liberty and élan. What album on Earth could possibly live up to all that? For me, it was…

Steve Hillage – L (1976). ‘L’ was the sophomore solo studio album by Steve Hillage, who came to the fore as guitarist with the psychedelic/progressive rock band, Gong. The LP, produced by Todd Rundgren in New York, was released in September 1976 on the Virgin record label. It comprises just 6 tracks covering 44 minutes. While other Steve Hillage albums may be closer to his Canterbury Scene roots, ‘L’ was elevated into something greater in my mind, probably because of the combination of time and place in my heady, youthful experiences. I recognise that it won’t be to everyone’s taste but that is not the point. For me it exhibited both earthbound joyful exuberance and infinite cosmological splendour. I guess you had to be there to understand.

Steve Hillage – L (1976)

The first time I saw Steve Hillage live was at the above mentioned Hyde Park free festival on 18 September 1976, attended by over 150,000 people. Queen headlined that particular event. Todd Rundgren’s Utopia and Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at Knebworth on 21 August that same year, with The Rolling Stones headlining. Reading Festival between 27‑29 August saw Gong, 801 and Colosseum II amongst others. Since then, I have seen Steve Hillage and Gong live at Brighton and, as System 7 at the Glastonbury Festival. The most recent Steve Hillage concert I went to was in 2022, so he has held a place in my music appreciation for nearly 50 years! Yikes! While I don’t have ‘guitar heroes’, Steve Hillage was influential for me and I still believe that he is a much underrated songwriter, musician and guitarist.

“A lot of good love can happen in ten years” – Jim Carrey (1962‑)

Tailpiece

Well… that’s basically it for another month. Short and (maybe) sweet. There is rarely an opportunity to celebrate something positive and this month was an occasion to do just that. Without me bringing it up it, it would surely have passed into history completely unnoticed. So, Happy 10th Birthday to CRAVE Guitars’ presence on the ‘information superhighway’ (NB. A term coined by American Senator Al Gore Jr in 1978). Do you remember when the Internet was called the ‘World Wide Web’ (a term coined by Sir Tim Berners Lee in 1989)?

As a final moment of contemplation, what were you doing 10 years ago today? What momentous moments have you experienced over the last 10 years? Spend just a moment to contemplate the positives. Endure the bad and celebrate the good.

Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Dystopia is as guaranteed as utopia is unobtainable”

© 2024 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.

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