MY YEAR IN GEAR

“I’ve made two significant purchases this year. The first was a new wiring loom for a partscaster Strat. This particular guitar was originally put together by Martyn Booth back in 1992. Over the years I’ve replaced the pickups but never got around to replacing the wiring, which had worn out over time. It now has CTS 250k pots, Orange Drop caps, an Oak Grigsby five-way switch and Switchcraft jack socket and is reborn as one of my favourite instruments. The other purchase was a Fender Mustang Micro headphone amp that I bought because I live in a flat and don’t often get the chance to play through an amp at volume there. It’s a handy little device with a good array of modelled amps, the ‘60’s British’ being the first choice for clean tones, and I’m toggling between the ‘65 Deluxe + Greenbox OD’ and ‘70s British’ for crunch. The onboard effects are a handy asset, too.”