The Journey Instruments ‘collabsable’ guitar arrives…and we’re impressed!
RELIEVED to get out the cold and onto the 5.30am train at Euston. An old train with USB charging or power sockets…not really a problem as I’m straight off to sleep!
We pull into Glasgow central at midday as scheduled, walk to to Queen Street for the Milngavie train, pick up the car and some shopping then homeward bound.
The ‘collapsible’ electric guitar from Journey Instruments has arrived and we’re immediately impressed with both the build, functionality and – most importantly – the sound. It’s a compromise for sure…but not a bad one, especially given the price.
I have a load of products to get finished and other prep for tomorrow’s ‘table sale’ at the village hall and am still at it when Beth arrives for dinner.
We have a grand evening then I run Betty home and get back for an early night.
I didn’t win…but delighted that my pal Trevor did 🙂
THE alarm goes off at 6am and we get showered and sandwiches made up for today’s trip to London for the blues awards.
We’re parked up in Milngavie by 7.30am and on the train into Glasgow, then onto London.
There’s a few hours to kill and we drop in to see Steve at DeWolfe Music and go for a coffee. Always grand to catch up with Steve and he always manages to motivate me to get into the studio and produce some music for them.
After a quick wander around what’s left of Denmark Street we make out way to Shepherds Bush, stop at Nando’s for a quick bite then onto Bush Hall for the awards.
We hang out with our pal Trevor (who wins the acoustic blues artist category….I had no expectations of winning so extremely pleased he picks up the title) and his wife Emma, Nikki and Sandy from Jubjubes and various other folks we haven’t seen for ages.
The event is done by 11pm and we make our way back to Kings Cross where we hang out until our 5.30am train back to Glasgow.
Some of the new items I’ve made for Saturday’s table sale….
ANOTHER day of finishing – and testing some new – West Highland Way Gifts’ products for Saturday’s ‘table sale’ at the village hall.
After lunch I get Margaret to run me to the village to pick up a prescription then I walk back home.
Before dinner we take a walk along to see Betty for a wee while then I make some mushroom pasta…a new recipe I found online to use up some mushrooms, cream and other stuff kickin’ about in the fridge.
Once we’ve eaten I finish off a few more products then take some photos to make up a slideshow video to promote my presence at the table sale and post it around some socials.
AFTER editing and posting a video clip from last night’s Wildcats’ livestream I make another edit for TikTok then head out to the office.
I’m still on a production mission to get a load of West Highland Way Gifts‘ stock ready for Saturday’s ‘table sale’ at the village hall. Epoxy inlaid chopping boards, leather keyring inga. variety of styles and colours, a new ‘shopping trolley token’ keyring and a load of new earring ideas.
I spend the whole day on it…then we head to The Clachan in Drymen for dinner courtesy of my pal David B who gave us a voucher to thank me for helping record some demos. great meal.
Back home we watch a film – Murder Mystery – on Netflix then off to bed.
UP EARLY to get some sourdough in the over…and say cheerio to Matty as he hits the road back to Inverness.
First up for me this morning is a Zoom guitar session with one of my regular students. Then there’s some more live video from the recent Memorial Hall show to edit to spin into tonight’s livestream.
I’m still working on a range of West Highland Way Gifts’ products for Saturday’s ‘table sale’ at the village hall.
There’s some merch top be dropped of at Buchanan Castle estate. I don’t have much time but need a walk so get Margaret to drive me there…then I drop off the stuff and walk home.
Back home there’s time to prep for tonight’s livestream into my Wildcats’ group on Facebook…then another Zoom guitar lesson.
First bike ride of the year…nice pedal up the lochside to the Cashel Forest Easter event…
THE kids have us up at 6am…and a few moments after the temperature alarm goes off to tell me the smoker needs some attention.
I’d expected to be woken a few times in the night but I seem to have done a fairly good job at stabilising the temperature in the pit.
There’s an Easter event up at Cashel Forest and Margaret takes the kids up…I hang out at home until the pork butt is ready, take it out the smoker and put in faux cambro to stay warm then cycle up to Cashel. My first bike ride of the year.
My brakes are deffo pretty dodgy and the bike needs a good service, but I enjoy the ride nonetheless.
We’re home in good time for Catriona and Will arriving and we enjoy an afternoon in the garden eating pulled pork sliders and chatting.
After they head off I fall asleep on the couch for nearly three hours!
Matty’s staying tonight as well and we have some more pulled pork then watch our pal Bill’s live-stream from Florida.
ON A mission today to get as much West Highland Way Gifts’ stock in production as possible for the ‘table sale’ at the village hall next Saturday.
I have a busy week coming up and we’re in London Thursday into Friday so I need to try and plan ahead.
everyone’s coming for an Easter afternoon tomorrow (Sunday) and I’m doing pulled pork. The pork butt gets prepared and my Memphis dust rub applied. And I get some pizza dough out the freezer for tonight.
Matty arrives mid-morning, closely followed by Catriona and the kids. Matty’s staying the weekend…and we’ve got the kids staying over tonight so Catriona and Will can have a night out.
In between setting up various production runs non the office I manage to get some video edited and some earlier stuff posted around my socials.
I’m still on a mission re the packable guitar and find another curve ball…a collapsible electric guitar from Journey Instruments. it’s the cheapest and most practical option yet. I order one.
Once the kids are asleep we have pizza outside then go back indoors and chat. Around midnight I get the smoker fired up and temperature settled so I can get the pork on. Likely to take 12-14 hours so the morning is too late…and I don’t particularly wanna get up at 2/3am to start faffing about. Hopefully the temperature’ll stay fairly stable overnight and I won’t be woken every so often to go out and tend the smoker!
The wildcard…and I love it! The Yamaha ‘silent’ guitar plays and sounds great…
ONCE the routine stuff’s out the way I make up a meal plan and shopping list for the coming week…then we head into Glasgow.
As well as the weekly shop, we’re on a mission to explore the possibilities for a flying with a second guitar.Either a folding guitar or something that has a neck that can be bolted/unbolted and stowed in a suitcase.
First stop is Jimmy Egypt’s on Great Western Road. He has a wood-bodied Journey guitar that has a detachable neck and fits in a complaint cabin bag. I like it, but Margaret’s not convinced. Also, I’d prefer something that can go in a suitcase (we’ll already have a National guitar checked as normal) and our hand/cabin baggage allowance is spoken for.
Next up is Fender acoustasonic tele. The ‘cheaper’ player edition. It’s fantastic and pretty lightweight. Downside is the bolting and unbolting the neck to get it to fit in a. checked bag.
Next stop is GuitarGuitar, mainly to see how the £100 EastCoast telecaster sounds through an acoustic amp. It has a P90 pickup in the neck position and although not the best guitar in the world its sound is passable. Like the acoustasonic it would need the neck bolted/unbolted but the main deterrent is that it weighs a ton.
Finally I try the ‘wildcard’ – a Yamaha silent guitar. It’s a bit of an oddity but as soon as I hold, play and hear it I’m smitten. It’s nothing short of brilliant. Cheaper than the acoustasonic player by a few hundred quid too. But…although the body frame comes off, the main part of the instrument is 98cm long which is pushing it a bit size-wise for a checked suitcase, even fitted diagonally.
It’s down to an acoustasonic (player edition) tele or the Yamaha silent. We’re still deliberating,
In short, the Yamaha is a bit of a one trick pony, may cause a ‘size’ issue but is cheaper – the acoustasonic is more versatile, more expensive and has the inconvenience (and maybe has;e) of having to bolt/unbolt the neck.
Of course the easiest option would be to put two Nationals (signature model and a resolectric jnr.) in their Reunion Blues continental voyager bags (which are good enough to be checked in their own right) in a flight bag for golf clubs, The combined weight is less than 23kilos. However, everywhere I look, ‘the rules’ state that any oversize ski/golf etc bags must only contain the relevant sports equipment and no personal effects our accessories. I can’t see any reason why…and we’ve not been able to get an answer…
And before anyone asks, neither ourselves nor any promoters/bookers can afford (or are willing to pay for) us to take any more than two checked bags!
A batch of small and large custom paperweight stands for Manson Glass
MY THURSDAY morning guitar student is away this week so I head straight to the office and finish off a big batch of paperweight stands for Will (Manson Glass). I’m quite proud of my design and production 🙂
I’m on a mission to find a way of flying with second guitar and have all sorts of ideas. One of my ideas is to add a piezo bridge to my telecaster and replace the neck bots with something that will stand the wear and tear of multiple neck removals.
I call Jimmy Egypt but he’s in the midst of building a new workshop and can’t take anything on for the time being. I email Glasgow’s Guitar Workshop..then start looking at other options.
The ‘collapsible’ Journey guitars might be an option – the carbon fibre model is good in all ways except looks. Can’t quite see myself on a festival stage playing one, even if it is only for a few ‘non-bottleneck’ tunes in standard tuning, The wood one may be an option – seems Jimmy Egypt has a second-hand one in the shop…so I might drop by and see what it’s like.
Other options are the incredible value (£100) EastCoast telecasters which feature a P90 pickup in the neck position. Like all teles, the neck can be bolted/unbolted so this might be a good ‘tryout’ that won’t cost much, especially if I fuck it up.
Similarly, the Fender’s Acoustisonic might be an option..the ‘player’ edition is 2/3 of the price of the ‘American’ model and I’ve been hankering after one for a while. The bolting/unbolting of the neck might be an issue tho’…mmmmm…
There’s a table sale next week at the village hall and I’ve booked a table to try and generate some local interest in West Highland Way Gifts’ stuff – mostly custom gifts and also a range of earrings and stuff. I pull together some ideas of what I might make to take along…
We have an early dinner then head to hall for a talk from the Ben Lomond ranger service and the National Trust for Scotland. It’s interesting and nice to see folks albeit a poorly attended event.
Back home we watch the Lewis Capaldi film on Netflix then off to bed.
WE have a seriously long lie – I find it bizarre that nearly seven weeks without any alcohol and I’m still knackered in the morning!
There’s a load of fridge magnets’ finishing and packaging to get done for the village shop order so I get busy with that…and it takes moist of the day.
When I finally done I deliver the order and go for a walk up the lochside.
Margaret’s on dinner tonight…and Betty’s joining. us. While she’s busy in the kitchen I start work on a bunch of paperweight stands for Will.
