leftybassman392

You guys wouldn't believe how much popcorn I've gotten through while following this thread. I was there - 'Can't Buy Me Love' on my big sister's Dansette (or at least it was up to the moment it threw it's drive belt and ground to a halt ); Kennedy assasination; Cuban missile crisis (the first time in my life I can remember actually listening to the news on our brand new tele-the-size-of-a-sideboard); French Indo-China (Vietnam to you sonny) - I can remember it all like it was yesterday. When all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. I believe in yesterday.

Work Song. Great for guitarists and horn players - boring as hell for the bass player!

[quote name='Fozza' timestamp='1440146719' post='2848576'] Is there life on Mars? [/quote] It's life Jim, but not as we know it. Not as we know it. Not as we know it. It's life Jim, but not as we know it. Not as we know it, Jim.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm 64? What's my age again? Who am I? Who are you? Where do we go from here?

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1439733506' post='2845279'] Occasionally raised eyebrows at cricket as I batted righty but bowled leftie. [/quote] Cross dominance is actually very common in cricket: Just in the current England Ashes squad:- Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adam Lyth and Alastair Cook all bat Lefthanded and bowl right Right arm. Plenty of historical Left-arm/Righthanders and Right-arm Lefthanders too.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1439545576' post='2843696'] ...there maybe people out there who've given up playing because they couldn't master it the 'unnatural way' of doing it [/quote] Not much doubt about that I'd say. I was for many years a member of the RGT, and on one occasion had a pretty heated 'debate' with a colleague through the pages of our professional journal - his position was 'everything's new when you start so may as well just go right handed', and I couldn't get him to see that there might be a different way of looking at it. I viewed it as a lazy and inconsiderate attitude (which as you might expect didn't go down well...). Maybe it did some good to have it aired and perhaps some tutors might be more likely to give it it's due consideration as a result; one lives in hope.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1439542430' post='2843650'] Lefthanded pianos confuse me and I see little point as there shouldn't be a dominant hand in playing piano, either lefthand or right could be playing the complex part. [/quote] See above. No, really.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1439540261' post='2843620'] You don't get left handed violins. You do get left handed guitars. That confuses me. [/quote] You seem to have commented before I added the, um, additional material to the post. If having read it you are still confused, get back to me and I'll point you towards some relevant material. I would add though that many aspects of the everyday experience of lefties is a complete mystery to most righties. You have to be prepared to step outside your comfort zone to have any hope of getting some sort of grasp on the phenomenon. As a start, you may want to try something simple and everyday, but do it lefthanded instead of righthanded. Here's a few suggestions: Using a corkscrew; Sharpening a pencil; Adjusting the rotary controls on your amp; Using a screwdriver; Using a pair of scissors... None of these are difficult tasks - that's not the point.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1439536267' post='2843580'] I find the idea of "left handed" instruments a bit odd. You don't get left handed flutes, clarinets, cellos, pianos, etc (well, you get the odd one here and there as a novelty but they're exceedingly rare). Not knocking left handers but genuinely not sure why basses and guitars are an exception. [/quote] Que? ETA: Classical instruments have been made pretty much the same way for hundreds of years. Makers of modern instruments have realised that (sometimes despite their best efforts) there are left-dominant people out there who want to play music on instruments built around their needs, i.e. there's a market for them. There's no great mystery - we've always been out there; it's just that in the past makers haven't felt inclined to take it seriously - some (I'm looking at you PRS ) still don't (yes I know they gave it a go thanks for mentioning it...): 'This is what we make - take it or leave it' has always been the general attitude, putting the onus on the would-be student to deal with it or get another hobby. Since there's no acoustic difference in a lefthanded instrument, it's down to a combination of market forces and a historical distrust of lefties that goes back pretty much to the dawn of civilisation. (I can provide extensive evidence to support this last point for the benefit of anybody suffering from insomnia... ) Oh, and while I'm here I rather suspect that owners of lefthanded pianos and such don't see them as novelties. Just sayin'...

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1439489220' post='2843356'] Story has it that he could also play with strings 'upside down' so to speak. [/quote] That's how I remember it. He was once given an acoustic (12-string IIRC) during an interview by some journos who were either trying to catch him out or make him play a 'proper' guitar. There'll be something on youTube no doubt.

Ah this one again. Ok then... Lifelong leftie here. (Strictly speaking it's 'left-dominant'; very few people are completely left- or right-handed - plenty of websites you can search for the details - including this one! ). Always done it (along with everything else) that way as it just felt more natural (which means my left-dominance is quite strong). While I'm here, if anybody pipes up with the old '[b][i]when you think about it, rightie is a better way for lefties to play[/i][/b]' argument, it's wrong I'm afraid. I could go to some length to explain why but I've done it too many times already on this and other forums; suffice it to say that if were true, then by the same logic playing leftie would also be a better way for right-dominant players to play. Good luck telling the 20,000 or so right-dominant members of BC that they're doing it wrong.

Absolutely nothing! Sad but true. I hardly play these days so what would be the point beyond indulgence? I've always believed that any guitar I buy has to earn it's keep, and with that prospect all but gone I can't even imagine what I could want that I haven't had already. Closest I can get is another black MIJ '72 RI Telecaster like the one I sold a couple of years ago. Not flamboyant or extravagant, but a great working instrument that just got on with the job. The Rob Williams Custom Tele that I had made a few years ago is a fabulous instrument (and as good a guitar as I've ever owned) but in truth it's a trophy guitar - I wouldn't take it within a mile of an open mic night or a local pub gig, whereas the black '72 would go absolutely anywhere. Sorry to put a damper on things. Don't mind me... carry on.

Another shout for [i][b]In The Court of the Crimson King[/b][/i] here. I bought it when it first came out, and it was in a different class to anything else I'd heard at the time. Actually now that I think about it I bought Hot Rats at the same time: that was pretty good as well.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1438859029' post='2838059'] [url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Just%20Stuff/GIF%20files/AbbeyRoadmoving_zps1de8ff88.gif.html"][/url] [/quote] Every once in a while I wish they'd stuck with the reputation button... Have one on me anyway.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1438858615' post='2838050'] Wikipaedia begs to differ ... [/quote] That's ok; we all make mistakes from time to time.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1438858020' post='2838035'] Paul was dead anyway. [/quote] Not yet he wasn't!

I was 14 when this came out. The signs had been there in 'Rubber Soul' TBH, but this album was unlike anything I'd ever heard. 'Cataclysmic' is not too strong a word for me. It remains one of my favourite albums of all time, and is by common consent one of the defining events in rock music history. Keef '[i]oh by the way we've got an album coming out soon[/i]' Richards is talking complete and utter bollox.

I've had this experience too. Only in my case it was more extreme: because I owned the P.A. everybody else in the band seemed to expect that I would just do it all myself so they could stand around and discuss important issues of the day. This went on for a while with me getting increasingly frustrated by having to do all the donkey work, and then set it up and get everything working so we all sounded good, and then playing a 2-hour gig, and then striking it all afterwards. One day I announced that thenceforth I'd be taking an extra 10% of the gig fee for doing this work. After that things got much better. Moral: the threat of financial sanction can be a powerful motivator.

I'll be booking this into the Sky planner when it comes along. Would it be a good idea for bands who make it to the audition to do some sort of blog?

Played in a band once where the drummer could never play the intro to 'Jailhouse Rock'. screwed it up every single time. The poor lad used to get so wound up about it that in the end the rest of us took pity on him and took it out of the set. Happy days!

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1438267050' post='2833067'] Thanks everyone for your "input" [/quote]

In terms of getting sound out of the speakers it should work, especially if you can set it to run in mono. I don't know the mixer, but they usually have a ganged volume control on stereo channels so you can't set volume for each side independently (although you *could* get some sort of control with the pan pot). If you have an A/B box it will likely make your life a little bit easier if you use it. (If you're running the desk as well as playing you shouldn't want to make things harder for yourself than they need to be.)

I did a bit of digging around on youTube about the winner (Gary Lutton), and found this home vid he made. The video quality is a bit poor TBH, but it does show how intricate and delicate his playing is - fantastic use of harmonics! [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgv8bxKFrPs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgv8bxKFrPs[/url] Longer term he'll have to provide more variety I think, but right now it sounds pretty good IMHO.