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Rabs

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Posts posted by Rabs

  1. 29 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

    45 years of concerts and I worked in Engine Rooms. My hearing is shot. I guess I can save what I got.

    Well exactly.. Looked what happened to Brian Johnson. Forced to quit AC/DC despite the fact they had a tour coming. He was told if he went back out on stage he would probably go deaf. No one wants that.

    The only reason he came back was because someone invented some new in ear technology to stop these issues. 

  2. 25 minutes ago, ksdaddy said:

    I have difficulty with conversations. It bugs me when someone is halfway across the room and their voice drops down because they’re getting to the juicy part. For some reason, people think if they can hear their OWN voice, then you can hear it too.  And despite my asking them to speak up or repeat, they keep on doing it at our next conversation. My ears haven’t healed, guy. It’s t-shirt time: “I’m old! Speak up!”

    As to your post, I’m sorry to hear of your tinnitus. I’ve heard that can be maddening. The only time I use ear protection is if I’m out shooting, particularly a handgun. Nothing happens immediately but a half hour later comes the earache. 
     

    Today I’m working on a pine cabinet for an old 8 track player and I broke out the B&D finish sander. Good LORD that thing was loud. It was like it was making me lose my balance. I popped on my shooting earmuffs and all was good. 

    Cheers. But actually this is not a new thing. I have had it since I was about 25. It absolutely happened cos of the gigs and the jamming sessions.. I think I can even name the two bands who must have caused most of it 🙂  ..  But it never hurt until about 2016 when I was going to a lot of open mic nights. At some point I realised that it wasnt just uncomfortable but was actually physically hurting. Then I didnt go to gigs for a few years cos of A, my friend who I went to most the gigs I have ever been too with passed away then B, Covid..

    Then that last one I went to a few years ago, Jeff Beck I realised that I wasnt enjoying it cos I coulndt hear it properly with the plugs I had. And yeah it does suck but, it is of my own doing and in general even though its always there I can ignore it mostly. Going to bed is the worst but you learn to sort of tune it out.

    Also building guitars and working with routers and the like didnt help. I think thats what pushed me over the line from just annoying sound to pain actually..

    So yeah..  If you have hearing left.. Do protect what you got. I know it can be so bad for some people they are just in constant pain and I am glad at least I am not one of those.

  3. Got these new ear protectors today... They seem really good and have interchangeable filters for different situations which is cool.

    The last few gigs I went too I didnt enjoy as much because I have tinnitus and need protection or it hurts. So I thought it was about time to get a new (and hopefully better) pair. Cos I havent been to a gig for a while now and I think this is probably the reason. The last ones I had wernt exactly cheap but while they did the job of protecting my ears ok the sound wasnt great it was a bit muffled.

    So do you guys use protection?   You should if you dont. I hate my tinnitus and wish I had done something sooner.

    These cost £46 so, not that expensive and well worth it if they do the job better

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    • Like 3
  4. I had been working with my niece on her music exam. She had to come up with an idea on some guitar music and I helped write it and then I did a recorded version for her to learn (so it had to also be quite basic). She wanted something that could be like a theme for a horror show or something like that and she wanted it to start of slow then get fast. Thats all I had to work with. In the beginning when I started recording it I hated everything I did and really started to question if I could even do it at all any more. But after some editing it actually turned out reasonable. I enjoyed the task anyway.

    Thing is for me these days I need a reason to do stuff like this. I do enjoy it but when doing it by myself, just to do it.  Well  I feel its a lot of work for something that in the end very few if anyone will ever hear so I dont really see the point any more.. Which is sorta sad but hey.. It is what it is.

    • Like 2
    • Upvote 1
  5. Well if you have a tablet its much the same thing (depending on what type you have). But a lot of them run off android so you can use a tablet too.

    Nothing wrong with not having a smart phone really. I have one but dont use it in the way most people do. I have hardly any apps. I use it as a phone, a camera and a music playing device mainly.  I have so many people moaning at me about not being on whatsapp its annoying.

  6. 19 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said:

    A dear friend just stopped by and gave me a piece of equipment that I am completely unfamiliar with. He found a very lightly used Arturia Beatstep sequencer at a local resale shop, and bought it for me, ($10 is what he paid).  He knew I have a bunch of MIDI compatible devices (DX-100, DD-5, Alesis keyboard, etc.), and thought I could use it.  Honestly, I'm not sure how to make it work without connecting it to my PC. Ideally, I would like to use it with just my synth/keyboard and my keyboard amp as a sequencer, and possibly with my MIDI drum machines, as a pressure sensitive controller. (My Alesis SR-16 has tiny pressure sensitive pads, and the Beatstep might be a more user friendly controller via MIDI, since the "pads" are larger.) 

    Apparently, the authors of the user manual for the Beatstep assume those who purchase this device have a deeper understanding of it's functionality/connectivity than I do. I defiantly have all of the required cabling, but I am at a loss as to how I can integrate it into my existing rig as a sequencer.

    Any help would be appreciated, since I have yet to find any web based info to assist me.

     

     

    How about this?

     

  7. I have actually been looking at stuff like this..  I think you need some midi software to run it.

     

    Its actually amazing what these devices can do.. I recently saw this one and was completely blown away by not only what it can do but the way the software is presented on the little screen with each effect having its own different visual interface..  Really cool. And this video was made 7 years ago.

     

    • Thanks 2
  8. Yes... Sorry to hear that Duane..  Also been there. My father died in 2018 followed a few months later by one of my oldest and closest friends.

    My condolences to your and your family. Take care of yourself.

  9. 11 minutes ago, RBSinTo said:

    Rabs,

    We will likely never know. But isn't it enough to know that they do?

    RBSinTo

    Well it depends I guess..  If they do it by exploiting people and using illegally cut wood then yeah, that would be an issue. Im not saying they do that but it is mad just how cheap they can do it for.

  10. The thing is all the shops are doing it now, making their own brands from cheap asian guitars and what they make these days are much better than ever before...  Like this one for £179..  

    I dont know how they do it for that price either

    And this one £135

     

  11. Just now, motorcitychick said:

    I though for sure there would be someone that would have the inside scoop on this guitar.  

    Well mostly this is just a fan forum..  We have a couple of Gibson people about but even then, they cant tell us anything that is not already public knowledge. They are just about mainly to keep things clean on here but do post stuff and answer questions sometimes if they can.

    • Upvote 1
  12. The thing I dont get about this (well I do from a certain point of view) is why not just make Epiphone pickups better and make the whole line better without having to charge so much.... 

    Its a bit weird. But I get they are trying to move Epi up in the market..  It will just be a shame if they totally abandon the lower end...  Not that long ago I picked up a brand new Epi Wilshire for my niece for like £350...  Its solid mahogany neck and body, set neck, nice finish and plays really nice too.. It could do with some better pickups but thats it.. Its a fine guitar...  I get the feeling decent Epi's at a decent price like that will be a thing of the past soon. I know these are meant to be customs and I am not even bashing them really.. I just dont really like the direct Gibson or Epiphone are moving in...  Its all about the premium market and normalising these sorts of prices for the lower end brand.. (like Gibson trying to normalise 50k for a guitar).

  13. On 3/23/2024 at 4:59 PM, Rabs said:

    Well thanks for that. But sadly its not just that, its also the fact that my hands are pretty screwed up. I have to be pretty careful these days and give them time to rest. Like I did some fencing for my mum the other week. About three hours working with my hands and I paid for it the following few days after.

    Then theres also what to make. I have looked at all sorts of things over the years. Recently I had the idea of making really nice wood cabinets for speakers. Like build an equivalent cab and just like fit someone's amp into it, that sort of thing. BUT these days with the mini CNC machines you can buy, almost any idea you can think of and theres already people set up and doing it. And then you have to work out if its worth the time to do that and be able to sell it for a reasonable profit. There arent many things you can build out of wood that can do that.

    So some might say well build them anyway. But I did that once before and then if I cant sell them you just end up with a load of guitars that no one wants and just sit in a cupboard.

    I do still want to finish the last few guitars I started building for personal reasons but its not a business.

    Its a weird world we live in at the moment.

    You see...  This is the sort of thing I am talking about.. Its a shop brand (PMT) and actually I have one quite close to me. Not that im looking for a new guitar.. But how they even make things like this at that price is just crazy. I couldnt come close. Not that im comparing what I did to cheap end guitars, just more about how crowded the market is and more importantly. It wasnt that long ago that you would never buy a cheap guitar cos you knew it wasnt worth it as they were just often unplayable. That has changed. The cheap end guitars of today are generally pretty decent. Especially when you consider the price. Oh and dont get too excited, its not actually rosewood, that would be beyond crazy.

     

    • Sad 1
  14. 49 minutes ago, merciful-evans said:

    Glad to hear that anyway. The Lite guitar is still of interest to us for sure.

    I just checked out Guitar Village used guitars and they have a Less+ and asking the original retail price that a new one cost in 2015 (£1,500). 

    Thats pretty good.. But really after my 336s, I cant even be looking at buying one 🙂  Yeah, hopefully I will get my own, better one finished.

  15. 5 hours ago, Murph said:

    You're a gifted wood worker, Rabs. Make something else.

    Perhaps this is an opportunity.

     

    Well thanks for that. But sadly its not just that, its also the fact that my hands are pretty screwed up. I have to be pretty careful these days and give them time to rest. Like I did some fencing for my mum the other week. About three hours working with my hands and I paid for it the following few days after.

    Then theres also what to make. I have looked at all sorts of things over the years. Recently I had the idea of making really nice wood cabinets for speakers. Like build an equivalent cab and just like fit someone's amp into it, that sort of thing. BUT these days with the mini CNC machines you can buy, almost any idea you can think of and theres already people set up and doing it. And then you have to work out if its worth the time to do that and be able to sell it for a reasonable profit. There arent many things you can build out of wood that can do that.

    So some might say well build them anyway. But I did that once before and then if I cant sell them you just end up with a load of guitars that no one wants and just sit in a cupboard.

    I do still want to finish the last few guitars I started building for personal reasons but its not a business.

    Its a weird world we live in at the moment.

    • Like 1
  16. And this is why I think Gibson and Fender do what they do.. The market is way over crowded. Its why I havent gone back in to making them. With the likes of Harley Benton and many other cheap makes these days, I cant compete.. There also seems to be more luthiers than ever before and while I always liked my guitars, I cant really pretend I can offer anything really different. Maybe some different wood selections and some variations on body design and hardware but thats about it. Where as Gibson and Fender almost sit alone in the historic and high end. So thats where they live these days and actually I cant say I blame them. It is a shame though. It didnt seem that long ago where I was buying new Gibsons for like £750 (like my goldtop studio and the LP DC Special Faded, even the Gary Moore BFG I had was like £850).. I doubt we will ever see those days again.

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