leftybassman392

I recently found an old CD of a music project I undertook with a couple of friends some years ago (mid/late '90's if memory serves). It was instigated and guided by a friend of mine (John) who had recently lost his wife (the love of his life) to breast cancer. He wanted to document his thoughts & feelings surrounding the death and it's aftermath. After I found it I thought long & hard about whether to make it public at all, but decided that on balance it would be better to publish than not for reasons that I hope will become clear as you listen to it. A couple of technical points that are relevant:[list] [*]The production is extremely haphazard by modern standards (starts & endings not tight, people playing across each other, mostly live takes and almost no editing, etc. - you'll hear it as you listen). This was deliberate on John's part: he wanted it to have a very 'live', warts-n-all feel, as if it was just a few mates sitting around playing together - John never thought of himself as a musician (although I've always thought he was a better fingerstyle guitar player than he gave himself credit for), and was very specific about not wanting any massaging. Had it been my choice I wouldn't have let it go like this in a million years - but it wasn't (which I guess is part of the reason I decided to post it). [*]Recording system was very basic - Spirit Studio analogue desk, single Adat LX20, minimal outboard (Lexicon Alex for reverb, little Joemeek optical compressor) and AT4033 mic for vocals/harmonica and John's guitar + AT pencil mic for guitar fills, everything else D.I.'d straight into the desk. [*]Personnel: John M. - vocals, fingerstyle guitar and harmonica; Steve G. - keyboards; Andy K. - various guitars, bass, recording & mixing. [/list] The reason for posting is not to impress anyone with our musical prowess - in truth some of the playing is a bit patchy - but to shed some light on how one man struggling to deal with the loss of his wife was enabled to see light at the end of the tunnel by expressing his thoughts and feelings through music with the help and encouragement of a couple of friends Shortly after completing this project he emigrated to Spain and spent some years painting what he found there. I did hear a rumour that he came back to the UK in due course, but sadly I lost contact with him. One of the nicest men I ever met, and I wish him well in whatever he's doing now. Anyhow, here's the music. Feel free to comment but please bear in mind what I've said above before judging it too harshly. [url="https://soundcloud.com/andy392/sets/camping-with-the-dog"]https://soundcloud.c...ng-with-the-dog[/url] Edit: the Sound cloud feed sounds a bit distorted on my laptop - don't know how that happened. The recording was basic, but it wasn't distorted! If anyone knows why this happened can they PM me so I can put it right? TIA.

[quote name='Panamonte' timestamp='1399896727' post='2448699'] I picked up one of these last year - G&L Tribute ASAT Deluxe - just a shade under £400 from Thomann. If it's versatility you're after, this has certainly got it. The pickups are coil tapped so you can get a full range of humbucker and single coil sounds. I find it a real pleasure to play. And it's really pretty [url="http://s1187.photobucket.com/user/panamonte/media/GLTS-ASTDCT-TRNSBLK-12001.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] Now that looks like a lot of guitar for the money!

Almost forgot - I had a MIJ '57 RI (made in '93 IIRC) for a number of years - tobacco SB, single ply scratchplate complete with authentic warping(!), Maple neck, cheesewire frets, etc. From a distance it really looked the part, but it had stock pups and a basswood body (and the neck had been artificially 'aged' with a bit of dark lacquer); so not really that authentic. Decent enough sound as I recall but nothing special. Unusually for me and guitars, I never got round to gigging it - which is a bit of a commentary in itself I guess. The '72 RI black Tele, on the other hand...

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a set of Old Glories by David White many years ago. I have a '90 Am Std. (owned from new) and had already tried out several pups on it (including Lace Sensors in various combinations). These came up on eBay I think - mid/late '90's as I recall (although I couldn't swear to that bit - might have been through the 'Guitarist' classifieds ). The fact that I've never felt the need to replace them from that day to this tells you everything you need to know about how I feel about them. Pretty rare these days I think, but if you can get your hands on a set I'd recommend buying them before somebody else does! Come to think of it I haven't actually played that guitar for a few years now - time to blow the dust off I think... remind myself how good it sounds through my little Cornford combo.

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1399230076' post='2442278'] Here's my pride and joy. Martin parlour guitar with original hard case from circa 1870. [size=4]I never could have believed that such a direct and warm tone could come from one so small. They'll bury me with this one.[/size] The bridge has been changed, as have the tuners. Still, she is nearly 150 years old! [attachment=161963:ljhf 022.jpg] [/quote] That's just gorgeous. I spent a long time hankering after a parlour guitar and came perilously close to buying one despite having no obvious use for it. Couldn't justify it these days as anything but a complete indulgence. Thanks for sharing.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1399213420' post='2442117'] Just unplugging all the interconnect and speaker cable connections on you hifi and then plugging them back in again a couple of times every once in a while is usually enough to remove any build up of oxidization and subtly improve the sound. [/quote] Yes I was aware of that already, but the switch cleaner just helps the process along. After a while it just became a routine. Without commenting either way on audible effects, improving the electrical connection can't do any harm.

I do remember once getting a tip (buggered if I can remember where I got it from though so apologies for that), which has served me pretty well over the years when dealing with plugs and cables. Every once in a while it's a good idea to physically unplug permanent cables, spray a bit of WD40 or Switch Cleaner onto a cotton rag, wipe the plugs with it and reinsert them. Used to do about once a year with my studio setup. I found it worked well with my guitar leads too. Can't speak for it's efficacy with mains leads though...

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1399148963' post='2441601'] OBBM does these. Each one comes free with a bag of Tetley [/quote] What if we don't like Tetley? On a slightly more serious note, what is the current state of play on interconnects and speaker cables? I recall that OFC was once considered the DB's for your HiFi gear...

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1398284884' post='2432583'] Quick numbers analysis - our monthly newsletter had a direct link to a 'funky lefty' bass. In the interests of fairness I deliberately didn't give it a big feature picture but gave a direct link in the text (along with a lot of other basses). Th click rate of the lefty link was 1.6%, the other most similar link in the same paragraph was for a 'fretless 5' (not exactly a high traffic/demand item) and this delivered just over 5 times as much response. <snipped> [/quote] Like a lot of Lefty players I've had to get used to sourcing my gear via tried and tested channels, and can't remember the last time I looked in an 'ordinary' High Street shop (no offence intended BTW). I suspect it's a bit of a 'chicken and egg' situation (and I have no solution to offer), but what you say doesn't really surprise me TBH (although a bit more background on these numbers might be handy - I'm not actually convinced that they're telling you what they appear to). Whenever I had a Lefty student wanting a new instrument I would routinely offer to source one for them. Just made life easier for both of us. On one level I do actually sympathise with the OP - I've certainly gone through the same rage myself; but these days I simply go with what I know works for me. Life's too short to get overly exercised because people won't make what you want to buy.

Picking up on Charic's point... It's because your picking hand is the the one mainly responsible for producing the sound (and hence whatever subtleties the sound may contain). The fretting hand is for the most part carrying out a series of more or less mechanical actions. In practice of course it isn't quite as simple as that - certainly not the way a lot of modern players approach the instrument - but in the history of stringed instruments it's always been the dominant hand that's been responsible for sound production whilst the weak hand's only 'job' (so to speak) is to be in the right place at the right time. When so many modern players of stringed instruments have such an active fretting hand it can be easy to forget this, but the widdly fretboard techniques so many of us like to deploy in our playing are in historical terms a [b][i]very [/i][/b]recent phenomenon in an instrument group whose origins go back well over 2,000 years.

When we take over the world, can I be secretary of state for music? If appointed, my first action will be to line every right-handed person in the world up against the nearest wall and zap them with this...... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgbcYnmR6Y"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgbcYnmR6Y[/url] Why everybody? Because it occurs to me that some payback is due, that's why!. They'd see things our way and we'd feel better. Win-win! Mwahahahahahah!!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1397653065' post='2426068'] Although I think you'll find that "left hand dexterity" is an oxymoron. [/quote] From the Latin: [i][u][b]Dexter -> Right[/b][/u][/i]. Leads to words like dextrous, dexterity and ambidextrous (which translates most accurately as 'on the right both sides'). Lots of positive connotations that should be fairly obvious. [u][i][b]Sinister -> Left.[/b][/i][/u] Negative connotations should need no further explanation either I would hope! One last thought: the term 'cack-handed' comes from the Islamic notion of the unclean hand, and in the days before the invention of toilet paper it meant [i][b]exactly [/b][/i]what you'd think it ought to mean.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1397652172' post='2426056'] Huh? Apart from as custom orders or rareties, almost all pianos are not right handed, they are just pianos, which is why you don't order a right handed piano, there is no option. [/quote] Well actually.... I would normally want to quibble even with that, but perhaps another day. I'm off out for a drive in my funky little two-seater now. It's a tough job (especially on a sunny day like today), but it has to be done.

[quote name='mcarp555' timestamp='1397638027' post='2425824'] Pianos are not right-handed. There are instruments in which 'handedness' does not matter; many brass instruments, for example. In my mind, pianos are geared more towards left-hand play - you 'pluck' the bass notes with the left, and 'finger' the melody with the right. But I know this is an illusion. The myth of the left/right handed piano is just that - a myth. [/quote] Much as I dislike disagreeing with a fellow Lefty... [quote] And every stringed instrument you can name is available left-handed. Violins, basses, cellos, etc. (as you say - Google is your friend). [/quote] You forgot to mention Pianos: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cowjrSTHKTw[/media] In this clip the pianist explains clearly why he had his instrument made as it was. Personally, I'm happy to accept the word of a professional concert pianist. If, however, you still think it's a myth then we should probably agree to disagree. As to Woodwind instruments such as Clarinets and Saxophones, well the jury's out for me as I don't know much about them; but it will depend greatly on which hand controls which notes. And if a brass instrument such as a trombone isn't Righthanded as a default then I don't know what would be. Interestingly, some members of the brass family do appear on the face of it to be essentially Lefthanded (French horns and trumpets spring to mind), which has always struck me as a bit odd... All this is a bit beside the mission you seem to be on with this thread though, so apologies for sidetracking it.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1397587102' post='2425475'] Why? Is this like a public service? No it isn't. I don't understand why you believe that this entail the concept of making them for both right and left handers, it is entirely down to the company. As someone who started off playing the piano, it took me a while to get my head around the concept that there was a left handed guitar, or that a guitar intrinsically had a handedness. [u][i][b]Other instruments dont[/b][/i][/u]. I think the first people who came up with a left handed guitar did a large group of people a disservice. [/quote] Actually they do. I've been lurking this thread without getting involved since the beginning. Long-standing members with long memories will know my views on this subject, but I don't bother so much these days since I got tired of doing this: However I feel I ought to correct this poster on a point of detail. Many instruments are right-handed. For example:-[list=1] [*]All keyboard instruments (yes, really) - hint... Google is your friend ; [*]All orchestral stringed instruments. [/list] Additionally, most of the things around us are designed around the needs of the right-handed majority. I won't put up a list here unless somebody forces me to (because it would get very long and very boring very quickly; and because most of them are common knowledge to the left-handed community), but they just are - scissors and handwriting should do for now. I don't have a big issue about it these days - live and let live and all that (and fwiw I agree - with a degree of sadness - that guitar companies are under no obligation to make left-handed instruments if they don't see it as being in their commercial interest); but if we're going to have an intelligent discussion about this, it might be a good idea to make sure we have our facts straight.

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1397078176' post='2420525'] I got the parts to build an eggle berlin pro in the early 90's when the factory was closing down in Coventry and moving to Brum. I got John Diggins to fit the set neck to the body and locate the bridge & tailpiece and i wired it and put the hardware on. I've never gigged with it but used it quite a bit for rehearsals. The neck profile is a bit baseball bat like for my taste but still a great feel to it. Earlier this year I arranged for eggle who are now in Leicester somewhere to collect the guitar and install their new pickups and 9 way pickup selection system. All kinds of humbucker and single coil switching both in and out of phase. Sold the old Kent Armstrongs on ebay. Now the guitar sounds proper. I love the thick slab of ebony on the fretboard. [/quote] To say Eggle have had a chequered history is a bit of an understatement I'd say. I was at a guitar show in Brum last year after a free invite from Rob Williams (I'd let him use my custom setneck Tele on his display stand). While I was there I found the Eggle stand and was able to have a chat with the current owner. He seems to have been successful in another line of business and had bought the company to develop as a sort of hobby. (I know that sounds a bit harsh but that's the impression I got.) All the instruments on his stand were Berlins IIRC - all very high spec custom jobs and all massively expensive (as in £3k+). No Lefties sadly so I couldn't give any of them a spin but they definitely looked the part.

I guess I'd better keep shtum as well then...

@Blablas Blue. No-brainer.

Time to start putting mine up I guess. Starting with my nearest & dearest: [url="http://s1109.photobucket.com/user/muso392/media/DSCN0427_366.jpg.html"][/url] More to follow.

[quote name='DorsetBlue' timestamp='1397038630' post='2419926'] Mmmm, interesting alternative to a Starbass etc and available leftie special order apparently: [url="http://www.peerlessguitars.eu/#/retromatic-bass/4579674922"]http://www.peerlessg...bass/4579674922[/url] [/quote] Ooooooooh!

Bit of an obvious one really, but in my gigging days it was nice not to have to invent excuses to prevent inebriated punters getting their grubby mitts on my livelihood.

[quote name='blablas' timestamp='1396644246' post='2416091'] All my electrics in one picture, the acoustics are living elsewhere in the house. [/quote] Crikey! I thought I was doing pretty well with 5!

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1396601222' post='2415488'] Guys, this thread is now part of the new Lefties subsection under Bass Guitars. Let's all get outta here and start creating newer, tidier threads [/quote]

I haven't heard that for a while and had forgotten what a truly magnificent performance it was. Thanks for sharing Ambient. If I may be so bold, another great piece of cello music - one that has been 'done' by a number of virtuoso bass players but here in it's original form (as played by another of the giants of the instrument): [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU_QR_FTt3E"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU_QR_FTt3E[/url]