FinnDave

Good stuff, really going to have to catch you guys sometime.

Personally, I don't dig in and play hard to get more volume, but because of the feel. I had flatwounds on the P but found I always picked up the J instead. Since changing the P to flats, I have not played the J at all. I can play with a plectrum but it feels so dead, no feeling, no expression at all. I am happy to accept this as a fault on my part, but like Popeye, I yam wot I yam. Will be buying surgical spirit, liquid plaster and cyano to the gig kit tomorrow.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1405857458' post='2505802'] As for general use, I think consistant practice should be hard enough to keep the calluses good. [/quote] Had perfectly good calluses for years, but they got a bit filed down by the strings on friday night.

I can see a few more essential items being added to the gig bag...liquid plaster, surgical spirit, fast fret....but I find it very hard to play with any feeling with a pick. And yes, I do tend to dig in hard live, it's the only way I can get the speed up for some of our songs...and I defy anyone not to dig in on White Rabbit when it returns to the main riff after the second chorus, or to take it easy on the play out of Move Over!

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1405853907' post='2505751'] Get a big fan and point it at yourself so you don't get hot and sweaty. [/quote] I'd rather have a couple of small petite fans than one large one, though they don't always cool me down

I'll try the rest option first, nothing I need to do until Thursday's rehearsal and no gigs until august 1st. If I need to resort to the superglue, which is better the watery stuff or the gel?

Any good ideas for re hardening the finger tips of my right (plucking) hand? We played a gig on Friday and it was so hot and sweaty that my fingertips were swelling and softening like they do in the bath. Played another gig last night and my fingers felt a little sore at the start, by the end of the second set they were getting damn painful! First finger is still too sensitive to type. I have never experienced this before in getting on for 40 years of playing so have no idea how to repair the damage. Our guitarist suggested super glue, I'm not convinced. Any tips on tips??

Last night's gig was in Abingdon in sweltering heat. I expected th audience to stay outside by the river, but a surprising number were inside dancing energetically. Standlake tonight, outdoors...and just heard the first rumble of thunder.

Playing at Chinnor Bike Dayz last Saturday. Proper rock cred in this pic, drummer depressed as long term relationship just finished very suddenly, singer seriously jetlagged after quick trip to US to sing at Summerfest, guitarist had to move house the day before the gig as the floor fell in on the one he was in, harp player just being his wonderful eccentric self and me doing something very strange with my bass! [attachment=166264:1-10492317_468127139997621_515003428416621827_n.jpg]

Thanks, it went down well at Chinnor Bike Dayz today as well.

Janis's bands always had good bass, here is our attempt at Move Over: https://soundcloud.com/the-wirebirds-jenny-haan/move-over

I had my moulds done at ACS in Banbury as it is only 30-40 mins up the road and they could do it with a few days notice, whereas other places only do them once a month or so.

I've banged on about our new vocalist before, but finally we have some studio recordings to show just how good she is. This is Jenny leading us through a reworking of Janis Joplin's [url="https://soundcloud.com/the-wirebirds-jenny-haan/move-over"]'Move Over'[/url]. We're quite pleased with it! Recommend decent speakers or headphones to get the full effect.

Getting the moulds done involved making an appointment and sitting still for a few minutes while they were done. Not much you can do wrong, really.

I had a set of the generic xmas tree shaped plugs and hated using them at gigs, but felt I should as I was getting a lot of ringing in the ears after each gig. I had a pair of ACS Pro17s made a few months ago and would not like to play a gig or rehears without them now. They don't just stop the ringing, they also make it much easier to hear the rest of the band.

I have Super Twin no. 001 and have been gigging with it since last September. Very happy with it, driving it with Ashdown ABM500, good full clear sound playing blues/rock in pubs.

Played as a three piece tonight, first time we've stripped the band down to the minimum. No rehearsal and several new songs but the flexibility of the 3 piece was a real revelation.

Played our last gig with Jenny before she departs for a headline slot at Summerfest in Milwaukee. Went very well, she was on top form and the band played very well. Had some complaints (from one guy) that we finished early, but with 2 1/2 hours on stage including a couple of encores we felt they'd had their money's worth. Couple of 3 & 4 piece gigs next week, then a break until our lady returns.

Played a charity gig without Jenny in Witney last night. Apart from some difficulties getting the gear in and set up, it went well. Not sure whether the guitarist called one song then played a different one or whether I just heard it wrong, but as both were 'all start together' songs it took me two bars to realize that I was playing 'Help Me' in G minor while the guitarist was playing 'Just your Fool' in G major. Could have been worse, we'd changed Help Me from F to G only the day before. Faringdon, on the western edge of Oxfordshire, this evening, back at an old favourite of ours, The Swan, for the last gig with Jenny for about 6 weeks as she is off to Summerfest in the States.

Our gig on Friday was weird. Played at a biker pub we have been to a couple of times before, maximum number in the audience was five! The place was deserted long before we finished. It was rather embarrassing to have a singer of Jenny Haan's stature singing to an empty room! But we still got paid and enjoyed playing, just no gig buzz afterwards. Jenny will be singing with Babe Ruth at Summerfest in Milwaukee later this month, so we have an fairly empty calender until she gets back. At least she's have an enthusiastic audience there!

[quote name='kurosawa' timestamp='1401446252' post='2463661'] No one's trying to convince you, except to convince you that no one's trying to convince you. However it does seem you're trying to squelch the line of inquiry, Can't fathom why. Been playing since 1967. Got my first Fender 2 years later, a '63 P in LPB. [/quote] Not trying to squelch anything, simply stating my personal opinion, and it may that 'I remain unconvinced' has lost some of its meaning while crossing the Atlantic. To me it is simply a politer way of say 'I do not think this is true'.

I wouldn't mind taking you up on that, if I find myself in your part of the country I'll be in touch. And I am quite prepared to accept that 'The difference is very noticeable before you even plug them in.' but I find it harder to see how that affects the tone when relying solely on pickups and amplification for the sound.

When our guitarist plays lead breaks, I just get a bit busier to fill behind him.

I remain unconvinced. Applying arguments applicable to acoustic instruments when discussing instruments whose sound is produced by purely electronic amplifiction (as opposed to micing up an acoustic instrument) is a red herring. This is, of course, my personal opinion, based on 40 years of playing (almost exclusively Fender or Fender copy) electric basses. I know plenty of other experienced musicians who hold the same opinion, but in the end, if we are happy with the sound we get, what does it matter? Good wood often looks nice, and that influences our playing as well.

I used Trace gear happily back in the early 80s, but yesterday we were second on as part of a local festival and was expected to used a TE head and cab which had sounded so weak during the first set, I was glad I had bought my own rig...which was then in use by the next lot on as well.