As we rush headlong into the Christmas holiday I'm now hanging out in the fall out shelter studio reminiscing on all the guitars we've reviewed this year. This week we look back at all the under £400 guitars and I choose my 'budget' guitar of the year. 🤔🎸👌

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The thing about Epiphone price gouging is that many of us resist paying the ridiculous prices and eventually they drop like a stone and we can swoop in and pick up a bargain... like this 63 Firebird at a massive £500 discount! 😝 Ok it was still expensive but that's GAS for you... got to keep it l...

With Christmas fast approaching we take a look and listen to one of a huge range of EastCoast 'guitar starter kits' aimed at equipping beginners with everything they need to start their guitar journey with proper capable gear 🎸Wow I wish I'd had one of these when I was 12! 😛👍

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Finally it's time to tackle the long promised 'budget Telecaster shootout' and the problem of what to play to demonstrate six guitars is a real challenge. Our runnin' down a dream medley didn't really work but ironically it got a bloody copyright strike anyway! 🤦‍♂️

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Epiphone's questionable pricing strategy on some of its higher spec models seems to have backfired with prices now dropping and up to 40% discounts not uncommon. Now at just £799 this Shinichi Ubukata ES 355 was a steal so we bought it! 😁🎸👍

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A 'budget' range that caught our magpie eyes recently is G4M's in-house (we think) brand Hartwood. It's an impressive looking line-up of retro original and super cool guitars for under £300. Originality on a budget can't be up to much can it?... join us and let's find out! 😎🎸

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Do you ever get that thing after buying a piece of gear you've been gassing after, that rather than feeling satisfied you immediately start looking at something else you suddenly need? 🤤... Well I know I have and it's bloody well happened to me again! 🤷‍♂️😊🎸

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You know that thing when you strongly resist buying a piece of gear you don't really need, only to find maybe a day, a week, or a few months later you buy it anyway! 🤷‍♂️ No matter how hard we try to beat the GAS it will always win in the end so don't fight it brothers! 😁🎸👍

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Following last weeks review of the new Epiphone Les Paul P90 several people asked the question... 'this one or the Revstar'?? 🤔 Well as we're lucky enough to own both who could pass up the opportunity for a comparison and to throw an old SG in to mix it up a bit! 😁🎸👌

Epiphone '55 Les Paul Review...

Much excitement this week when a much lusted after P90 loaded Epiphone Les Paul was announced with a very reasonable price tag! 😲 It's got Joe Bonamassa's signature on it and we think he had a say in the price ... at under $900 this one is definitely for the kids! 😎🎸🤘

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Another cheap 'T-Style' goes under the microscope this week as we take a close up look and listen to Fender's Squier Sonic Telecaster. Can you get a 'real' Telecaster for £149 that doesn't fall apart and sound a bit rubbish? 🧐 Come and join us as we get stuck in and find out! 😁🎸👌

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It's finally time to bite the bullet and compare my mega collection of 'proper' £2k single cuts and decide which ones will stay and which ones will be listed for sale on reverb. After playing all these again this week it just got a lot harder... ☹️🎸🤔

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In part 3 of our troubled 'Troublecaster' upgrade we try to concentrate and not screw things up with power tools and we test out a theory for hiding scratch-plate / pick-guard holes. It's a messy business this guitar modding and we can't help but wonder who is really in control?? 🤨👽 🎸

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Following last week's fight with our Squier Troublecaster we're back for round two of the upgrade battle. On paper this should be such an easy job... grab some new pots and pickups from the man-drawer, pop them in and plug and play. It doesn't quite work out like that... 🤬

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This week I hit upon the brilliant idea of upgrading the Squier Paranormal Troublemaker for free using only parts found in my man drawer. What could go wrong?... a couple of things as it happens so buckle up as there is more swearing than usual this week and this is only part one! 😬

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Join us as we open some new parcels with the butter knife of joy and talk utter nonsense in another Guitaristas unboxing episode! 🎁 😁 First we have another cheap T style, followed by a highly rated drive pedal which we take down to the fall out shelter for a jam with several guitars!

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On paper this is a great idea… a mash up of a Tele and a Les Paul to create perhaps the perfect jack of all trades? But that’s also the problem for me - I love it but it’s too fussy. It fought me hard and while i wasn’t looking for trouble a copyright strike kept me up late re-cutting this one......

Epiphone have at long last released an artiste signature that's squarely aimed at the Gen Z kids and has a price tag to match. But the new Yungblud SG Junior is right up this Old Gen X Boomer Punk's alley too so let's plug it in and get that fleabag loop going! 🖤🖤🖤

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A surprise video this week as I’m supposed to be ‘on holiday’ but some things turned up and a quick unboxing video turned into a 'hard case strength test' and a 'power soak deaf test'. The impromptu end jam sounds a bit like I could have done with a holiday though… 😳

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Following last weeks 'guitar shop fail' there remained unfinished business and a build up of GAS that could only be dealt with by returning to the source of the problem. Romford. A nice cup of tea and proper look at the '72 Les Paul Custom seem to have fixed things... 🎸😜

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Way out of my comfort zone this week as I decide to burn up the A127 to Romford and test out some cameras and guitar gear. This film is definitely more about the journey than the destination, so settle down with a cuppa and watch until the end for it to make sense. 😊🎸

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Unlike the UK general election, the result of last weeks Heritage vote was a close run thing so we get stuck in and review them both together, side by side in sound and vision. What do we think of them and is the new import range a good idea?... Join us and find out! 🎸

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A change of scheduled programming this week as a new 'highly affordable' range of Heritage guitars appeared on our radar. Join us for a first look and chat about why we keep buying this stuff rather than accepting all the free gifts we're offered on an almost daily basis.

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This week I put my prejudices aside and give this divisive brand another chance. This 2005 PRS SE Soapbar II looks like my kind of jam so maybe this is what I've been missing? Let's take a close-up look and listen and see if this one gets my mojo working! 😁🎸

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