Jez
Right then — I'm Jez, and I've spent the best part of 25 years chasing the same thing: a cranked British valve amp on the edge of breakup. Cut my teeth in smoky blues clubs around the North West, then spent a decade on the bench fixing other people's amps, which taught me more about tone than any pedal ever did. I'm a sucker for an EL34 power section and a bit of natural sag. I'll always tell you straight whether an amp's worth the money or whether you're paying for a badge.
16 published articles · most recent July 29, 2026
Right then — I'm Jez, and I've spent the best part of 25 years chasing the same thing: a cranked British valve amp on the edge of breakup.
I cut my teeth in smoky blues clubs around the North West, then spent a decade on the bench fixing other people's amps — which taught me more about tone than any pedal ever did. I'm a sucker for an EL34 power section and a bit of natural sag.
I'll always tell you straight whether an amp's worth the money, or whether you're just paying for the badge on the front.
Articles by Jez
Dreadnought vs OM vs parlour: acoustic body shapes explainedA dreadnought isn't just louder, it's a different instrument to an OM or parlour. Here's what actually changes in tone, feel and playability.
Putting delay and reverb before or after your amp's breakupWhere you place delay and reverb around a cranked valve amp changes everything about ambient tone. Here's how I set mine up, and why.- How to stack two overdrive pedals for better toneStacking overdrive pedals isn't just doubling up — it's about how each stage shapes the next. Jez explains the approach that actually works.
How potentiometer taper affects your guitar's volume and tone controlsAudio vs linear taper pots: why your volume knob might jump from dead to full in two turns, and what swapping them actually does to your guitar's feel and tone.- How to use fuzz as a lead tone: dialling in sustain without losing definitionFuzz pedals aren't just for rhythm mayhem. Jez explains how to shape a fuzz lead tone that sings without turning to mush.
- How your amp's clean channel affects your overdrive pedal toneYour overdrive pedal doesn't work in isolation — the amp behind it shapes everything. Jez explains what the clean channel actually does to your dirt tone.
- How to use a speaker cabinet IR to make your DI tone sound like a real ampImpulse responses turn a flat DI signal into something that breathes like a real cabinet. Jez explains what IRs actually do, how to load them, and why most people get them wrong.
- Why your electric guitar goes out of tune when you bend stringsBends going sharp and not returning to pitch? Jez explains the real causes — nut slots, string trees, saddle friction — and how to sort them.
- Guitar pickup magnets explained: alnico vs ceramic and what they do to your toneAlnico or ceramic — the magnet inside your pickup shapes your tone more than most players realise. Jez breaks down what the science actually means for real playing.
- Guitar pickup wiring: what series, parallel and coil-split actually do to your toneSeries, parallel, coil-split — three wiring options on the same pickup, three completely different sounds. Jez breaks down what's actually happening inside the circuit.
- How volume knob technique changes the way your amp behavesRolling your guitar's volume knob isn't just about getting quieter. It's one of the most powerful tone controls on your whole rig — here's why.
- How to intonate an electric guitar: a practical guideSaddle positions sorted, tuner in hand. Jez walks you through electric guitar intonation — what it is, why it drifts, and how to fix it yourself.
- Pickup height adjustment: how it affects tone, output and string balanceAdjusting pickup height is one of the cheapest tone tweaks you can make — and one of the most overlooked. Jez explains how to do it properly.
- How your picking attack shapes amp tone (and why technique is your best tone control)The way you strike the string does more for your tone than most gear swaps. Jez explains how picking dynamics interact with valve amps.
Your First Tube Amp: What to Look ForWattage, channels, attenuators and pedal-friendliness — a plain-English guide to buying your first valve amp without overspending or over-volume-ing.
Tube vs Solid-State vs Modelling Amps: Which Should You Buy?The three families of guitar amp explained in plain English — how they sound, what they cost to run, and which one is right for you.