As solvency reappears on the horizon the dialectical side of my nature sent me to Denmark Street. Actually the Vamp2 was a snip at �95 � and I decided last night that I was bored with the tones on my very old Korg gtr processor � which must be 7 years old now. And I am pretty sure that the Webvar3 needs some interwoven gtr lines � I now have 32 amps to chose from.

Having saved so much on the Vamp I splashed out �20 on the Hinton Wall hardback of A Hutchings life published by Helter Skelter � I have a signed copy though. It has got a FC and Tintagel poster for a gig on 23 December 1967 at Middle Earth which I think is the thing Gavin talked about. This isn�t the first time we played � Hutchings refers to three gigs the preceding September 1967 at ME and I am sure that it was one of those where we first gigged. He also mentions R Thompson and RENO � a R Farina song � which is very clear in my memory from that first gig. Hutchings has obviously kept some quite detailed records especially about the early gigs and there is some quite interesting stuff about Joe Boyd in London. Maybe I should save all this for later entries � especially the bit about meeting Joni Mitchell.

I mailed Robin with a first draft on the first half of Bryter Later � roughly the issue seems to be about the tune itself. Is it as bland as it appears or does it position in the series of musical pieces imply some extra layers of meaning? Who knows if I explain this anything like clearly enough � both the question and possible answers.

It�s the classic Fender amp tones that appeal to me most to start with on the Vamp � compressed with a fair amount of reverb � quite sharp and lots of middle. Of the range of amps on offer I have owned two � the early 60s AC30 and the early 80s Roland. Vamp offers an AC30 with and without the brilliant channel � something I always used � plus an AC15. I have always used the Roland for doing jazz on the flute.

There were some classic Fender tones on the Elvis concert last night � Paisley Telecaster and Twin Reverb I think. I have never owned a Marshall � Vamp offer several including the one John Cole used at Cambridge which I think was a Plexi 50 watt head and a sing 4x12. They also offer the classic Bluebreakers combo sound.

R Thompson has been my model ever since I heard him � not every aspect of the style but especially the song accompaniment approach he uses on Time Has Told Me and a couple of tracks on Unhalfbricking. Functionally it works in the mix in the same way that a pedal steel might � those Fender tones suit it well.

The shop where I got the Vamp has an unusual Epiphone that I had never seen before � single pick-up late 60s solid body, a bit like a Fender junior guitar. I tried it � it was nice to play but I wasn�t sure there was enough character in the sound. The price wasn�t too bad (it was sufficiently unusual not to have premium) but I couldn�t help feeling it would have been about 40% cheaper on the Lower East Side.