Clarky

Desperately sad article suggests its dementia and he is in full time care ... at just 61 years of age https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ac-dc-founder-malcolm-young-dementia-report-says-020352584.html#n2TcumT

Magnetic pickups turn your DB into a sideways-on fretless (as long as you have steel strings - they don't work with nylon or gut strings obv!) Means zero feedback but you lose a lot of the DB vibe and it ends up more like a fretless P bass. The best mag pickup I have tried is the Krivo which sounds more woody than others in my view and is closest to an acoustic sound. A decent piezo pickup, a good preamp with HPF and a phase switch, and keeping your bass away from things that will cause it to vibrate (eg, monitors, loud cabs pointing at it, a wobbly wooden floor etc) should allow you to be free of feedback. Stingray Pete has gone the magnetic pickup route and seems quite happy - maybe ask him about his experiences, as he is not long on a DB (though doubtless a sh*tload better than me!!!)

So is he no longer associated with Cordes Lambert? And out of interest are the new Pirastro strings guts?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/204959-db-luthiers-thread/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/204959-db-luthiers-thread/[/url] May help?

Wasn't a bit of early 80's post-punk new romantic then? "Marilyn Dreams" by B-Movie (remember them? Great song 'Remembrance Day', at least I thought so at the time) [attachment=172328:$_57.JPG]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1411412521' post='2559325'] Afraid you're mistaken... you're playing jazz, you just didn't realise. [/quote] Its more complex than that, I play a double bass and - with no frets - I often play somewhere between the notes. I often hear appreciation from the audience ("WTF was that?" " That guy is to bass what Heisenberg is to principles" "Brownian motion in action", "Get off" etc; not sure about the last one)

I am original. I have invented my own scales based on random notes

Thanks gents. I have ordered some of the cherry juice concentrate. Sounds very tasty anyway as I like cherries! Will let you know hoe I get on

Hey invicta59, Fatback and Geoff many thanks for your messages. The pain has almost disappeared now. I am not too downhearted about this (worse things happen at sea) but it's just something I need to think about and manage

[quote name='gypsyjazzer' timestamp='1411058294' post='2556092'] Hi Clarky I did have gout--on and off-- for many years--saw the doc.--put on a 'gout' tablet--- did the trick--not had gout now for a no. of years---off tablet. Luckily the gout was in my right foot and not in the hands. For those of you who have never had gout it is like having constant tooth-ache wherever the gout is. --- Hope it soon clears up Clarky. [/quote]Thanks GJ! Good to hear yours is under control

Hey Jake, is this the same diet you have been advocating (no processed foods, sugar in very low quantities, red wine as a treat! etc) for sustained weight loss or did you start with a different one?

yep, but one is injectable and grotesquely expensive (Krystexxa) and the others are cheap generic tablets (eg allopurinol) that have undesirable side effects (kidney issues, anaemia etc) and thus are not used unless the disease progresses. If you can control the episodes (which are by definition infrequent) by anti-inflammatory drugs its preferable to using these more toxic alternatives

Its very likely that gout has a genetic component - there's a much younger guy in my team at work who has gout and so did his father (same joints too). All the stuff about red wine and meat being risk factors was recently discredited in a research study that suggested that yeast-enriched foods/drinks (eg, beer) are in fact much more likely to cause flare-ups. Which is good as I like a glass of red wine! The usual gubbins about losing weight, lower blood pressure etc obviously apply when it comes to lowering risk of further flare-ups (as they do in many diseases) but essentially beyond the aforementioned all you can do is be quick to react with anti-inflammatory drugs if you feel onset of an attack (not only reduce pain but over long term these reduce the inflammatory damage that occurs progressibvely in the affected joint).

I have had recurring aches and pains in my left hand since breaking several bones in it around 3 years ago (falling down stairs at 6am on way to work, before you ask) but this has been manageable for my playing electric and double bass. Then last week I developed sharp pains in one finger joint and a couple of days ago in my left forefinger knuckle - meaning I could barely bend this finger without very sharp pain. Worried sick this would end my instrument-playing days I went to a consultant who has advised that I have gout in my left hand. I am now on high dose anti-inflammatory drugs and the pains have almost entirely disappeared. This is a flipping nuisance as its likely to strike again and does mean from now on I will poised with anti-inflammatory drugs and be using ultra-low tension DB strings. I already have Velvet Blues on my 3/4 bass which are <60 pounds of pressure per string (much less than Spiro Weichs for example) and will see how they go. Humbug!

Excellent news Nige!

yowza. Now that's porn

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1410742367' post='2552681'] my priorities are not the same as the rest of the band [/quote] Seems to me that this is the key quote in your OP. It is always sad when things start drifting apart but it sounds like you already know what needs to be done and - if you let it linger - the decision may well be taken away from you ... which would be even more upsetting