Dad3353

Good evening, Kevin, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

... and a snare drum... and kick pedal... and a hi-hat clutch ... and a defibrillator...

He was on the list at the very first Festival, Godshill, Isle of Wight, in '68. Spectacular, at the time; I have fonder memories of Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and more; well over half a century ago now..!

Why..?

These new picks are an 'opportunity' to learn again how to play guitar, so I'm starting from scratch. Today I did Page Fifteen of Bert Weedon's 'Play in a Day' method, the first playing exercise in the book. Open strings only, down strokes, then up and down, then moving between strings, with a sort of arpeggio thing to finish, across the strings. Tomorrow I'll do the same again then turn the page, the next day again, and so on, with an extra page a day. It's all written on staves, so I may get a bit of reading practise at the same time, which can't hurt. I'm not so sure about the 'Play in a Day' part, unless one gets up very early and skips meals, but the first lesson has gone off quite well, and I didn't drop the plectrum..!

Buying from individuals inside the EU is the answer, as VAT and duty do not apply to such sales. BC has many such members, and there are other sources, too, such as Ebay, LeBonCoin and many more.

Yes, import duty and VAT are applied to every item bought, whether from a shop or a private sale. The Seller has to declare the value in the forms filled in for the dispatch.

I'm a drummer, and always have a spare kit on hand, just in case a drum head splits, or a shell gets crushed. I double up on cymbals, too, as they are so liable to break if hit hard. It makes finding space on stage a bit tricky, of course, but I've peace of mind, so... ...

? ? ? Why do you need a fretted..? A fretless can cover that, Shirley..?

Lousy bowing technique ^^.

For me, it started when 'Freak Out' was released. It started, but never stopped. Great Stuff.

Good evening, Gunther, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. We have topics for photos and nature; have a scout around...

634 5789 - Ry Cooder

The trial pack of four different Black Mountain thumb picks arrived this morning; that's fast (from Canada to France...). Well packed in a stout envelope, with wooden dowels where the thumb goes, to prevent them being crushed in the post, a nice thought. The paper inside states that it would be normal to have about fifty hours of picking to start to feel 'at home', with these or any other picks. I chose one from the pack and did a couple of ten-minute stints; only forty-nine and a half hours to go..! First impression..? Positive. I've never been able to get on with plectrums, as my fingers don't grip very well (yes, I drop drum-sticks, too...). I looked up a string-skipping exercise on t'web, then played a few of my chord-melody sequences, and it started to feel quite comfortable. I can switch and/or mix my finger-picking/claw techniques, but will have to adapt the thumb strokes, as they are now using the pick. I could swivel the pick away to use 'thumb-brushing''; I'll get on to these refinements later. Altogether pleased, for the moment. I'll try the others in the pack, although as I'm not a veteran pick user, and am not overly fussy in general, I suspect that I'll find 'em all much of a muchness. Are they worth their price..? Too soon to pronounce definitively, but so far I've no regrets. If it enables me to use a plectrum where before I couldn't, it'll be a winner for me.

I have a different pwd for every site, but all with the same construction, so all I have to remember is the construction. Obviously I can't say exactly what mine is, but Great Basschat Minds will surely be able to come up with something..? Some sites (bar stewards...) forced a pwd change, and removed the possibility to re-use a previous one, so some 'innovation' was required. It has worked for me for the last several decades, so I must be doing something right.

Good evening, JSBass, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

A lot of these phonic artifacts can be greatly reduced, or eliminated, by the simple expedient of having the mic at a greater distance. The downside is, naturally, capturing more of the 'room'. A 'dead' room will help with that; try recording the voice with the mic behind your head, 'looking' over your shoulder. With a heavy blanket suspended in front of you, there'll be less sibilance and pops. It's possible to have a 'normal' second mic, and mix the two, if phasing can be mastered, too. Just a thought.

So there are other folk with auto-text..?

Fixed.

I could sell you some; I've a cupboard full of the useless things..!

With longer locks, this could be me, except that he's outside, and upright.

... and breathe...

Just a tad reductionist here, methinks. There is much skill in getting 'budget' gear to sound as one wishes, and hunting down extravagant stuff is not, in itself, a guarantee of musicality. Your remark is basically the extreme ends of a bell curve; most is in the middle. (... and yes, my rugby shirts are inexpensive, but Dior didn't have any in the range, so ...)

Ah, yes; I hate it when that happens, and it happens to me a lot. I go for that Big Bend and my finger slips under the adjacent string. Sometimes one can hear the expletives captured by the guitar pick-ups, if they're uttered loudly enough. I once needed a skin graft.