RhysP

[quote name='Martin E' timestamp='1428687645' post='2743843'] My understanding these days is that the NHS won't get involved until the problem reaches a rather more advanced stage. I don't think early intervention is an option due to cost presumably. [/quote] This is the impression I got when I mentioned the small lumps that had appeared on my right hand to my GP a few years ago. He just said "they don't do anything with them these days". Luckily mine haven't increased at all since then. Seems crazy to me that they would let something get to a point where something as drastic as amputation might be required when they could address it sooner, but there you go, that's the NHS in the 21st Century for you unfortunately.

Totally GAS free. For the first time in my life I have the money to buy any bass I could want but I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to do so. If I'd had that money 25 years ago I'd be neck deep in basses by now.

[quote name='Martin E' timestamp='1428672542' post='2743649'] I've developed it in both hands but my left fretting hand is the worst. I can no longer put my hands flat on the floor as my ring fingers are contracting inwards. I'm putting off having anything done about it as long as possible as I'm in my sixties now and guess I wouldn't regain much dexterity or strength after an operation. Really annoyed that something like this will ultimately stop me playing after all these years. [/quote] You'll gain a lot more dexterity back if you get it sorted out sooner rather than later. If you're at the stage where your fingers are being pulled inwards then you really should get it sorted, or you could end up with amputation as your only option.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1428660224' post='2743458'] There's not as much freedom being stuck to that loop but everyone else can go wild within the constraints of that pattern, and there's something satisfying about being the foundation of the track that everyone else is following. [/quote] I used to love doing stuff like that - I'm more than happy to just play a single note pulse or a very simple repeating pattern & just listen to what everyone else is doing over the top of it. A lot of the stuff my old band did was like that & it could be incredibly hypnotic when it worked well.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1428667314' post='2743568'] My brother got diagnosed about a month ago. He has trouble with his foot as well. Not sure if it's all connected . He talks in spasms , ( often leaving out the most important part in any conversation ), so I am a little confused . [/quote] When I went in for my Duyputrens op they also checked my feet pretty thoroughly, even though I wasn't having any trouble with them. Apparently it can cause foot problems as well.

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1428663735' post='2743507'] My nan had this on the left hand pinkie, and I have noticed that my left hand pinkie has recently started to hurt when I press down hard on the fingerboard (most notable on upright). I had thought it was the start of arthritis, but maybe it's this? [/quote] I never had any finger pain with it, maybe it is arthritis in your case?

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1428624936' post='2743288'] My understanding of jamming coincides with Blue's observation. Some friends would get into a room with no pre-planned song list; someone randomly starts playing a pattern, a riff or some chords and everyone else follows along. Over time the 'song' mutates, winds down, re-starts, wanders off and comes back. There may be a pause while someone puts the kettle on or - perhaps - constructs a Camberwell Carrot. Then you start playing again. Repeat until everyone's bored or the neighbours call the council. It [s]can[/s] used to go on for ages - the longest I ever jammed was about ten hours including comfort breaks. You'd come back from having a piss and they'd have moved the jam on a notch. Or not [/quote] This is what I would class as jamming too. What are commonly referred to as "Jam Nights" in my experience are anything but that, as most people playing have a pretty good idea what they will be playing, especially the "house band", who will generally play the same stuff week in week out.

[quote name='grumpyguts' timestamp='1428618041' post='2743233'] Thanks for the input everyone. The way I am looking at it is this... Getting out there and playing with others has to be a step forward, I may feel differently after a few sessions but it has to be done. [/quote] Jamming is a right of passage - you have to do it just so you can say "I'm never ever doing that again" if nothing else. It depends what sort of music you play too - if you play, like I did, psychedelic space rock stuff then it can be fun. If you're just playing 12 bar walking bass lines for guitarists to solo over all night though it is a living hell, and this unfortunately is usually what it turns into. It's ALWAYS guitarists that suggest jamming....

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1428616876' post='2743217'] Hi Thanks for the reply. How big an area of tissue did they remove and how deep did they cut? Did the contractures grow quickly? Was in Cardiff last week btw [/quote] The scar on my palm is about an inch long & slightly "S" shaped. They cut pretty deep though - my hand was in a pressure bandage for a good few weeks & it looked a bit of a mess for a while after that. It's been hardly noticeable for years now though, I would have to point the scar out to you for you to notice it. It didn't grow particularly quickly, they didn't even think it was a Duyputrens Contracture at first because I was so young (I was the youngest case of it they'd ever seen, usually effects people in their 50s & older & I was only 24). They thought I had an "Impacted Dermoid" (something stuck under the skin in other words). It was only when they went in to have a look they discovered what it was. Did they ask you how much you drink? Apparently it can be connected to alcoholism. I was drinking a LOT back then so maybe it was made worse by that.

Apparently it's a sign of direct lineage to the Vikings.

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1428616637' post='2743210'] Definately do this, or it will be a 10 minute blues / funk workout in E. [/quote] Only 10 minutes?

I had an operation to remove a Dupuytrens Contracture from my left hand in about 1990. I've since got some smaller lumps on the palms of both hands but they haven't gotten any worse or started to pull my fingers in so I've been lucky so far. I've known a few people that have had the condition over the years & it can go as far as needing the little fingers amputated - I was warned that I would possibly need that done if the operation I had hadn't been a success but luckily it never came to that. They seem to change the treatments for this condition quite often so I don't know what current thinking is. One thing I was told to do after the operation is to stretch the fingers gently away from the palm to counteract the pulling of the palma fascia (it's this layer that contracts & causes the condition, not the tendons). Been doing this ever since; don't know if it's made any difference but the condition hasn't returned to any major degree since, there's certainly no sign of my fingers being pulled in towards the palm again. As far as practicing goes I'd just carry on as you are - I never altered my playing regime when I had it, though I couldn't play at all for two months after the operation.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1428611339' post='2743112'] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#000000]Does it work well if you tune to B, E, A, D, G, C ?[/color][/font] [/quote] Not if you're planning to play normal guitar chords on it, no.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1428525670' post='2742215'] Some household names in there... [/quote] Well, they're known in my household - I've got stuff by every one of the artists mentioned except The Jesus & Mary Chain, who I've heard lots of but don't actually like very much.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1428494320' post='2741749'] Does Jupiter have a surface with sand on it? I think we should be told. [/quote] No it doesn't.

I had a Jetglo '74 4001, and an earlier one (and this was in the late 70s/early 80s, so they were a lot younger then). My "dream" basses quickly became my nightmare basses..... But don't let that put you off.

People gig with 40 year old (and older) basses all the time. Some idea of what it is might help, so people with experience of that bass can comment on potential problems (if any).

When I was gigging we would all be too busy screaming & shouting at each other on the way home to listen to any music.

They probably use exactly the same components as any other Chinese built solid state amps (Ampeg included), they just don't have a "prestigious" name badge on the front.

[quote name='juliusmonk' timestamp='1428256129' post='2739662'] So, good for Fodera if they can get away with it, it is a luxury product positioned as such, but I think for that price they should add diamond inlays or solid gold screws or something.... [/quote] Or at least get rid of that poxy, tacky looking butterfly on the headstock....

Worst amps that I've ever owned were my old Trace Elliott AH250 head that sounded OK but was very unreliable - used to cut out quite a bit when gigging & I didn't used to drive it hard at all. The other was my EBS Gorm combo, again due to reliability issues that, even though the combo was under warranty, both the UK distributor & EBS themselves refused to fix. The whole episode left such a bad taste in my mouth that I would never use EBS gear ever again even if I was given it for nothing.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1428241483' post='2739469'] £15,000 gets you a halfway good orchestral double bass. £50,000 gets you a pro level instrument. Handcarved to your spec.... Do you want a house or a bass? Bass guitars, even Fodera, are cheap by comparison. [/quote] That's because the work that goes into an electric bass (even a Fodera) is nothing like the amount of skill & craftsmanship that goes into a hand carved acoustic instrument like a double bass or a cello.

[quote name='darkandrew' timestamp='1428241523' post='2739470'] .....so bought myself a Spector Euro 5LX from here and took to it instantly. [/quote] The Spector Euro 5LX was easily the best of the five string basses I owned, superb instrument.