Rudi

Accoustic ? not sure. They are better custom made ideally . Electric: Ive played 2 Jackson Soloists. I missed out on buying the 1st, but bought the 2nd PDQ. They were both exceptional to handle.

I cant play well pissed, but I know someone who can. Ive known musicians be falling over drunk, who have then got up and played competently. I think this has a lot to do with consolidation of practice.

Maybe Stu Copelands job on `Walking on ther Moon'. Its also one of the few songs that has a drum solo instead of an instrumental break. ...and that one (dunno what its called) that comprises of nothing but a bass drum tapping out a pedestrian pulse (no rhythm) much favoured by boy racers.

To my everlasting regret, the overall majority of guitarists, while perfectly sane & reasonable in all other respects are, on the subject of guitars and guitarists, messed up beyond all salvation. This takes place in sequence. First of all they... 1/ Develop a passion for music 2/ Have a desire to play music 3/ Decide to learn guitar 4/ Meet teacher or guitarist `mate' and get started (rot sets in !) 5/ Are taught, & in the process become a clone of the universal guitar method zombies. 6/ As UGM zombies, they seem to have no recollection of the initial spark of excitement and creativity that generated 1, 2 and 3. Instead they mindlessly wade the stagnant waters of guitar conformity. This is, however, extremely demanding work. Some fall by the wayside, defeated by the effort, others strive for more & more speed. Some achieve zombie perfection, believing with a passion that they have no right to step on to a stage until they have mastered the most difficult piece that their guitar deity has passed down from on high. Most never step onto a stage. Those that do, more often than not become jam session regulars; gravitating to UGM zombie gathering places. These are not places of culture, they are fiercely competitive arenas dedicated to the establishment of a pecking order. At these shindigs, If you are not as fast as the previous bloke then you are not worthy of being listened to ! I feel sorry for all of them, particularly the ones that don't give up. If I were a young man about to embark upon a musical career, I think the guitar is the last instrument I would choose to study. I think its a terrible waste. Im not aware of this happening with any other instrument. Anybody ?

Thanks Dave. Yeah, some. As long as I keep reading your explanation! You tell `em Dave. Some people huh! :

been seeing this on the header for ages. Still no clue

Its sad but true that people will say anything to justify keeping or gaining a bit of money. In these odd times it takes a special kind of talent to make a fair profit from digital data. I know someone who has `recieved' hundreds of thousands of MP3s consisting of current and `classic albums' spanning decades. He can never possibly listen to it all. He has given up his CD collection. He paid several hhundred £s for a MP3 player with a huge (80g?) hard drive. I wonder whether he has really saved much money at all? Even if he has, the damage to artists is potentially very very serious. Not much of a trade-off there.

I do not condone stealing, howsoever termed. Certainly, there have been times when I have used un-paid-for software, but if its been something I want to use, then Ive bought it. I have also paid for software that has turned out to be useless junk, and discovered it too late. The same goes for recorded music. To my way of thinking, this makes us about even. I dont condone hurting the struggling musician who is trying to make a living from his/her skills by ripping them off. I do not see such people as `the music industry'. They may be `becoming the music industry' or actually be the music industry of the future. The music industry I have known for the last 40 years has NO INTEREST IN MUSIC. They only are interested in profit. The music industry I know will not help anybody discover anything other than the bland pap they push onto a public starved of anything remotely uplifting or cultural, or with any potential for longevity. If this music industry is killed, then the sooner it happens, the better. The media control music industry has done more to disenfranchise ordinary people than any thief. They should get a proper job.

I think I know when Im listening to a loop. I assume thats what you mean by samplers in this context?

Not so far, but I have vowed never to buy another PC, so I guess its only a matter of time. Maybe time to look at some Mac mags?

I think I still have an old sampler. Technosound Turbo for the Amiga. I never got a decent sample recorded. I may have used one in a tune, then bought some pro samples.

I started with a piece of paper, a mouth organ and a tape recorder. I no longer have the tape recorder.

Its somehow really hard to feel any sympathy.

new to me anyway! -precis October 2003 New Scientist- Giant record co. BMG have been embarrassed & disappointed at the failure of the MediaMax anti-copy system from SunnComm in Phoenix Arizona. Princeton University computer scientist Alex Halderman found a `hole' in the latest system, which is designed to limit the number of copies made to a PC or MP3 player. The MediaMax anti-copy system has been promoted as having "an incredible level of security". Halderman bought a CD with MediaMax protection and found a simple get-around. Just hold down the shift key while the CD loads. SunnComm initially threatened legal action against Halderman but has since relented.

That sounds like the frets may have lost symetry. As if there is a `worn' depression that regains its sound when you slur it up/down. I sometimes wondered about that. This is what worries me about individual fret dressing: -being able to `make them all the same'. It may be that I worry too much, partial refrets and individual fret dressing are pretty common so they must work. As far as the set-up goes though. I dont think you should have much trouble if the frets are sorted.

Odd, I would plump for Moonlight Sonata too! or maybe its not so odd, being such a beautiful piece. I cant think of a nicer example of LVB either.

I think I understand the principle Steve but.. alumimium? To be honest, I always fancied trying to do this on a flat bed grinder, abrading every fret with every stroke. Not sure if this has ever been done though.

Didier, Intonation refers to tuning or `accurate tuning'. I too am a little puzzled though as unless John is going to replace or reposition the bridge and/or nut, I'm not sure how to advise. Are you looking to set-up following the fret repair? To check intonation? Or just to set the action/tension? What sort of guitar are you working on John. Steel stung accoustic? With arch-top bridge? attached with pegs behind the arch? If it is an electric with Floyd Rose bridge, you are in for some fun. What ever your answer, I suspect you would do better to get a trusted repairman to do this. If you are keen to have a go yourself, I will try and advise to the best of my meagre ability!

Unless you are getting fret buzz I would think twice about stoning/filing your frets. A few marks are not much of a problem otherwise. I have never tried this (despite one fret buzz in one place) as I am scared to death of it ! I do have some info on this though. Step one is to blend the worn `groove' back. This is done with a flat mill file, followed by 220, 320 and 400 grit emery paper or stones. Step two is to re-shape the fret. That is filing the sides to restore the rounded profile. For this use a tiny triangular file. If you are worried about accidently damaging the fret wood/inlay, then grind one triangle ridge smooth first. Some (perhaps many) guitars are shipped new with flat frets (the rounding is not complete). Flat frets are more hardwaring but less performance friendly. Rounded frets should allow better intonation and easier bending due to reduced friction. All frets should ideally be round profiled. If your grooves are too deep; more than 30% of the full hieght, you might concider a partial re-fret. Get as many professional opinions as possible and go with the one you trust. If you want more detail then say so. I am reading from a `Repair Guide' which has a lot to say about re-fretting. If you like I can try to photograph the text and send it as an e-attachment.

Best of luck on that piano quest Bong. I did buy a cheap upright when I was about 17. I bought a tuning spanner and attempted to tune it (with no tuition or tuning forks or anything). I couldnt figure out why it kept going out of tune again! I tought myself boogie woogie (in C) and about a half dozen tunes. Mostly I liked to do those Chico Marx finger tricks. I think you are right, in that its a different experience having a real piano. Not better, just different, and very nice too.

Theres a sucker born every minute ! :'(

hold on! ..Im nearly finished wiv it.

I borrowed a friends piano many years ago so my wife could learn to play. 3 of us had to push it up a couple of planks onto a flat bed truck. That is how I originally injured my back. It's been weak ever since and been responsible for many months of enforced bed rest. After a couple of years my mate kept avoiding me when we wanted to return the piano. We actually had a falling out with me threatening to junk the thing. And... you guessed it ! The missus never learned to play one note on the poxy thing. Steves transition from guitar to piano is well known to me. Apparently, the glass of beer kept falling off the guitar...

Do you think Id forget about my mates! Free studio time is the least I could do. As long as nobody starts up with that boy band kak!

Thanks Steve. Ive just had a butchers and there is lots of lovely gear there apart from the zoom model you saw. No reviews but good for a price check! I still fancy the Boss BR1180 though. If money was no object Id buy a ROLAND VS2400. But thats not true, Id go to a studio and pay an engineer to do it all for me.