Life Updates - 2026

I’m still here! It’s been an incredibly rough year for me - we lost two beloved pets in 2025, racked up some big medical bills (among a few other unexpected big cost items on the house) that spilled over into 2026, and I’ve been swamped with a huge project for work (that the first phase of) is finally coming to a close here in September. I’ve already been struggling to find time to even play guitar, research & make videos, so add the extra stress and grief… it’s put a big damper on my hobbies.

Of course, I still have a list of things I’d still like to have but I think it’s time I narrowed the collection down a little bit and started to spend more time appreciating some of the unique things I already own. I sold off a big chunk of guitars and amplifiers earlier this year and haven’t really been buying much - just the Brunetti and the Ibanez RG752AHM for all of 2026, the first year I have ever sold more guitars/amps than I bought (crazy, I know) since 2016. I’ll likely have a few more sold by the end of the year too.

So yes, I’m slowing down for a little while here while I build back up some savings. Do not worry though, I’m still going to be picking up new stuff and writing about it. I still have a huge list of videos that I want to do, lots of circuits to cover, but admittedly I’ve had a tendency to hyper-fixate on criticism lately, which has killed my drive to work on the videos, at least while I’m still getting “back on my feet,” so to speak. I also planned to build a clone amp this year from scratch and start dabbling with mods and circuit tests - I think that’s going to have to wait until 2027 too.

I’ve also started another hobby collecting WW1-era militaria and firearms. I’ve always been fascinated by history and I consider that time period one of the most important in shaping the world as it is today, and I guess I never quite realized that I could hold/own many of the artifacts I used to stare at behind glass in museums. I certainly didn’t need another collecting-type hobby, but it’s been a lot of fun learning and I like it for the same reason I like collecting guitars - nothing quite like holding the real thing in your hands and thinking about the past.

In other news, my wife and I also reacted to our pet loss by fostering a whole litter of rescue cats, of which we kept two, and that’s been fairly time consuming as well. Our first cat, who is 16 years old this month, has also been experiencing some medical issues so that’s been the focus lately. Just for fun, here are pictures of all of the cats:

Kali - Queen of the house, will greet you at the door, loves pets and rock music, not scared of anything. She’s been with us since the old house and probably preferred being a single cat. She was born without a tail and looks like a tiny bear when she walks around, and will sit on her butt like a person.

Kira - Bonded with Benji, loved to play with reflections, climb our legs, and had a very memorable bark-like meow. Passed away very young (1.5y) in Dec 2025.

Caoimhe - Not afraid but doesn’t like to be touched, except in her bed when she’s in the right mood. Loves to play after watching the other cats play, but only by herself. Does not care about treats.

Eloise - Part of the foster, was a bit shy but loves to play, prefers to snuggle with the lights off. Softest fur I’ve ever felt. Found her a nice home where she lives with Finn

Charlotte - Part of the foster, we kept her too, despite being extra tiny she dominates play time to the point where she will be exhausted and panting before anyone else gets a turn. Hisses at her toys when she gets too tired to chase them. Main character energy all around. Loudest purr-er and quite adamant that I join her for an afternoon nap and loves Benji. My wife thinks she looks like a rat, which is becoming more and more true as her fur gets darker in color.

Sophia - Our second cat, scared of everything being introduced to people very late, had a little of kittens. We spent a lot of time earning her trust and she loved to be pet in the morning while she ate breakfast. Passed away very young (2.5y) Feb 2025.

Benji - Bonded with Kira, loves the rain, is gigantic & muscular but very gentle, Sophia taught him to hide from the doorbell. Loves other cats and despite his size is great at making new cats comfortable.

Olivia - Part of the foster but we kept her, spends a lot of time in my lap, wants to eat a lizard someday. Might be distantly related to Caoimhe as they came from the same colony.

Finnegan - Part of the foster, lives in a new home now with Eloise. Growls at his toys especially if you try to take them away, loved to be in a big cuddle puddle with Olivia and Eloise.

Genevieve - Initially took her as a short-term foster, but she loves to snuggle my wife so we kept her too. Loves to wrestle with Charlotte and Benji, but for some reason is terrified of Olivia. Rolls around constantly like a ferret and has no qualms about stepping on your neck while you sleep.

Thanks for reading.

New Amp: 2009 Brunetti XL REVO II Limited Edition Purple

I’ve been slowly becoming more and more interested in the various Brunetti line of amps. These are a little less known here in the US, and I’m not sure how popular they are in Europe either - I was actually in Italy this summer and stopped by a couple of music stores and never saw any Brunetti products (or amp heads in general, actually).

This amp is nearly identical to my XL Revo II, but comes in a very cool purple headshell that lacks the 1U rack space that the standard model includes. The most obvious difference at first glance is the pair of 6550/KT88 power tubes, bringing this amp to roughly 70 watts. That’s a little louder in theory compared to my 50w XL Revo, but this amp also gains a 15w mode on the front panel. Otherwise, the controls front and back are identical - as are the features, and likely the circuit itself (besides accommodating the different power tubes).

It’s a 3-channel amp, with a very nice clean channel with a bright control (rather than a switch, making it very versatile). The “Boost” channel does a great 800-style crunch but can get a little bit gainier and bassier than a 2203 circuit. The real kick comes from the XLEAD channel, which gets nice and saturated. The voicing of the XLEAD channel is a bit different from Boost as well, adding a bit more bass and treble with the additional gain. That gives the impression of it being “scooped” but it really isn’t, and can be dialed very similarly to the boost channel if desired. It’s smooth and mean sounding, and stands out very nicely in the mix to my ear - great sounding amp all around. If I had to pick a comparison, it feels more Soldano-like to me than something like a Fireball, which has a similar amount of gain but voiced differently.

Awesome amp to add to the collection here, and these really deserve more attention. I’m not as familiar with the current product lineup (Pleximan, Mercury) but there is a Mille! preamp available brand new right now. The Mille was Brunetti’s original preamp design and is essentially the preamp circuit from the original XL. While I haven’t played one myself, I’d hazard a guess that it probably sounds incredible paired with a good power amp, and for $1k new I think it’s a huge value.

Of course, I’m still looking for an original XL myself, and go ahead and add the tube-mix Pirata 141 (which allows for a mixing between two sets of power tubes) to the wanted list as well. I’d love to hear a different take on this than the Egnater Renegade, which I just couldn’t get along with. I love the power tube switch on my Kasha Rockmod but that’s not a mix, it simply switches from one pair to another pair.

More pictures here

New Guitar: 2017 Ibanez RG752AHM Nebula Green Burst

I’ve really been enjoying my Ibanez RG752LWFX with the fixed bridge, but I really wanted to get my hands on one with an Edge. I’m a big fan of maple fretboards and binding - a pretty rare combination - so I settled on looking for this now discontinued model.

While I would’ve preferred the “Royal Plum Burst” color, I couldn’t pass this up for the price when it showed up on Reverb. It was priced aggressively already, and also had a set of BKP Nailbombs installed, plus the original pickups included! The neck has great birds-eye patterning on the fretboard face, and the rear has very noticeable flame to it, and the rear of the body is natural (clear) finish showing off the wood grain, which is a unique look.

I’ve never had BKP Nailbombs before, but I have had the BKP Rebel Yell in one of my Kramers and found that to be a superb pickup. These are supposed to be more aggressive metal-oriented pickups, which is exactly what I’m trying to get out of a 7-string guitar like this. They are high output but extremely clear, with defined treble without being overly bright, perfect for what I wanted.

One other unexpected bonus, technically it did not include the original pickups. The original neck pickup is there - a Dimarzio PAF7 - but also came with a Dimarzio Crunch Lab 7, which is the same pickup I chose to put in the bridge position of my other Ibanez RG752LWFX. I found the Crunch Lab to be a big upgrade over the PAF7 for my setup, so it’s nice to know that if I decide I don’t like the BKP Nailbombs (unlikely) I have a really strong backup option. Alternatively, I could sell the Nailbombs and put the Dimarzios in and come out even more in the green on this purchase.

I actually purchased this guitar all the way back in January and I’m only just getting around to taking pictures and putting it on the site - to say it’s been a busy year is an understatement. Overall I’m very pleased with this one.

More pictures here