Dad3353

No worries reading that, as it's a closely-guarded Telegraph secret that they'll share with me only for a small contribution or inscription on a mail-shot list. No, I'll just have to remain ignorant, I'm afraid. At least I'm not worried by it; should I be..?

To be fair, it should perhaps be stated that an adequate PA is needed for these to do the job, most notably a monitor mixer with enough channels for all EIM uses to choose what they hear. That's not always in the budget of 'Dog'n'Duck' players. Not to say EIM is not a Good Idea, but it's not simply a matter of buying a set and selling one's rig.

Time for an anecdote..? I've posted this before, but this seems as pertinent a spot as any for a repeat. Sitting comfortably..? OK, then... I moved to France in '75, and was taken on by a touring variety band, playing drums (obviously; I'm a drummer...). As the name implies, a variety band has a varied repertoire, with several sequences for, at the time, the local village fête/dance, in the village hall or a big marquee. A lot of French 'musette' (waltzes, pasodobles, javas, tangos and more...), some French 'Top 10' hits, and the necessary 'rock' segues for the young'uns. In there was a Stones sequence, with the ever-popular 'Satisfaction'. My first rehearsals with the full band were 'interesting', as I had little experience of the more typically French stuff (and some of it is not as evident as one might think...), but I thought I'd be OK with the Brit-Pop stuff. Off we go, then, rehearing 'Satisfaction'. We didn't get far before the band leader (BL...) stopped us all and asked what I was playing (in rather more 'fruity' terms than that...). 'Satisfaction..!' I replied. 'That's not what the Stones play' he barked (but in French, obviously...) 'Play what's on the disk..!' Hmm... We go on to other numbers; I decide I need to listen again to this, as I had never really studied it. It was just a tune on the radio from 'back then', to me. No interwebs, back then, so I bought the single from the record shop (you remember record shops..?) and listened to it, especially the drumming. Try it yourselves, if you want to understand the rest of the tale. Next rehearsal, then, and time for the Rock'n'roll segue, with Satisfaction. Count in, start drumming. We didn't get far before the BL stopped us all and asked what I was playing... 'Satisfaction..!' I replied, 'as on the disk..!' Incredulous, the BL had to listen to the disk himself. Once finished, we carried on with the segue, but the BL wanted me to play my version, rather than the 'hands'n'feet' 'chunk chunk chunk' that Mr Watts plays from start to finish. It swings like a cement mixer (the 'light relief' from the 'cha cha cha' on occasion is the tambourine offered by the singer...); the drums continue relentlessly with all the subtlety of a guillotine execution. Fine, maybe, on the popular hit song of the day, but absolutely useless for inciting kids to dance rock'n'roll..! I was henceforth free to 'embellish' similar numbers, 'Jumping Jack Flash' and others, with suitable 'pêches' on the cymbals, or accented beats. Moral of the story..? Mr Watts is, indeed a fine drummer, but a lot of the early stuff was, and is, below simplistic, and wouldn't pass muster these days, played by anyone, except for the Stones mystic. I doubt he would claim that particular song to be his finest , and would hope he'd do something quite different if it was to be done again. OK, you may stretch your legs now, and put the kettle on. Thanks for listening.

Sorry, and without meaning to sound harsh, I'd say 'Struggle away'. I've been struggling myself all afternoon with a recalcitrant 'virtual' model train loco that won't colour correctly, and haven't had time to do only Modding. Patience, Padawan; Patience. Peace.

See here ...

Hmm... Maybe. It's a long-winded exposé of what little effect tiny doses have, when played back through You-tube. The principles are pretty much OK, but the demonstration didn't convince my ears that it was worth messing about with 2.63 db here or there. Not the best subject matter for illustrating the propos, either, in my view. I do agree with the opening comments regarding 'referencing', though. Disclaimer : I have cloth ears.

What is this 'typo' of which you squeek..?

Had me worried for a minute, there.

Is that a typo..?

Hmm... I don't know about onions (well, I have grown 'em, and they're a staple, but I'm not an expert on 'em...). I do do 3D printing on occasion, however, and would be willing to give it a try, under certain conditions. The first (and non-negotiable...) is the tariff : the stuff I do, when I do it, costs one broad smile, no more, no less. I do this for fun, and it costs less than peanuts. Once that's been established and accepted, I'd need an accurate template (a scaled tracing, maybe a photo with a ruler beside as well..?) and a very clear idea as to what's expected. If you're happy with all of that, we could pass onto PM and sort something out. If you want. S'up to you. No pressure. Any help..? Meanwhile... Keep well, stay safe. Douglas

All the time, practising or not. It's an 'age' thing, I'm told (but started early, at about four or five, for me; I can't remember ...).

Mmm... Tea..!

An excellent initiative; much appreciated as a gesture, and all too rare in these modern times, so thanks for the thought. Disclaimer: I've not read in detail the whole treatise (a long diagonal read is all, for now...), but on the basis of that, I think I'd recommend downloading the Summary first (a much lighter download, and a very much lighter read..!). The full book is worthy, but wordy, and will require a sustained effort to read in its entirety. Well written, grammatically, but dense (partly by the nature of the subject...) and without a literary 'hook' to advance the narrative. This is not a reproach; it's par for the course in studies of the sort, but it's not light, bed-time reading, and has little 'page-turner' appeal. Interesting, then, as long as one is not expecting a Bond novel; disappointment awaits if that's the case. I'll not spoil the suspense concerning the Conclusion; each will reach their own. The tome shows that quite some quality time has been dedicated to the subject, and kudos is due for that alone. Well done, all concerned, and thanks again for sharing. Now, back to looking at shiny things...

Tell me about it..! ...

I made the 'mistake' of getting the very best from the outset, inspired at the time by the Joe Morello 'Seven Sound Set'. With my Camco kit, I bought Païste 602 Sound-Edge hats, crash and ride. What I didn't know at the time (but do now ...) was that they are not as resistant as other, lesser, cymbals. For the light, folk/pop I played in the UK before moving to France, they were ideal. Once in the context of a non-mic'ed French variety band, they couldn't take the punishment. They were replaced by Païste 2002's; I now play mostly Sabian AXX (a much more modern-sounding repertoire...), but bought a pair of re-issue 602 hats for recording. I've learned my lesson; I don't 'play out' with those. The 2002's are fine for 'live' work. A pair of original 602 hats, in good condition, are now like hen's teeth. The re-issues are, however, splendid (but still not cheap..!). Who'd be a drummer, eh..?

There's no substitute, unlike basses, where modern techniques have made excellent 'budget' models available. Good cymbals are not cheap at all, and inexpensive ones really hurt the ears, once spoiled for the good'uns..!

The necks on my guitars and basses are stable enough to not change when changing strings. There's something to be said for having enough good wood in the neck's construction to hold the set-up, once done. Just sayin'.

And the winner is... @lurksalot ..! Here, then, is your Winner's Certificate (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ... xx.pdf ... which looks like this (but bigger, of course..!)...

I think you're thinking of the ...

Time to change houses, then.

Very wise of you. ...