I Have Neighbors

Good news is that they didn't call the cops, the bad news is I cried [and am somehow willing to admit that to the internet]. I mean that was like the third time I cried this year, which is really good compared to my depressed period, but it still sucked.

I mean I plug in less than once a month, and I still get yelled at, and I am way too emotionally invested in bass as it is [I'm gonna stop typing now].   

Breaking Rules

I realized I haven't plugged in Igor since he came home from the tech, and that was only because I wanted to make sure the tech did his job. I decided that was total crap since the amp covers up the sound of the rattling the stripped screws cause anyway.

Using the knobs didn't change the sound much, I'd say it made the sound 'more'. It was busier, but I wouldn't say better. [I still wonder why I bought the damn thing]. There seemed to be two options, the busier sound and the other sounded like Igor unplugged. Which one is better?  

Light Bulb!

I googled chords for the umpteenth time and I'm finally seeing the fruits of my frustration! This random site [that I didn't even bother to bookmark] laid out C, E, G with a picture of a keyboard. I tried it out on the piano and it actually sounded really good.

It took me awhile to translate the chord to Lula, and it didn't sound as good, but I'm blaming that on Lula's old strings.     

I See The Draw

I've been playing around with the tiniest strings on Lula, they hurt, but man do they sound different. The thickest strings remind me of piano strings, but these last too just sound exotic. They really make me think of a sitar, and I can see why so many guitarist seem to be attached to them. [sitars]

I actually met a guy at uni who's day job [pun alert] is a studio musician; and he just bought himself a sitar. Those suckers take 20 minutes to tune! [I'd go absolutely mad if I had to do that; O, and he had yet to learn if the damn thing can stay in tune! I hope he as a more reliable tuner then mine.]

Wrap It Up

Beyond the more strings and odd spacing, guitar strings have one major difference: Two of the strings aren't wrapped. Bass strings are all the same, only differing in gauge [or size]. While all bass strings are wrapped in metal [or wound, like Flat would, Round wound  et al] only the four largest string on a guitar are like that.

Now I've only ever noticed Lula strings [so this is being said out of damn near pure ignorance] but the tiniest two strings are just wire; what is the core of the other strings.    

How Do They Do It?

I been thinking about guitarist I like, there aren't that many of them [guitarist that I like], but I think that because I know so many guitarists whom aren't musicians. One trait stands out among the guitarists I like, they sound like more then one person. I've only seen three musicians do this with guitar [Alex Lifeson, and a couple of awesome studio players whom names I can't recall] but I tried something I vowed I'd never do with bassists, purposely copy them.

Alex Lifeson

I figured out you have to be stellar at muting [I think] to mute some string[s], while letting others ring on, and start playing others.  

A New Level of Snark

I suggest that the powers that be should rename the snark tuner to simply Jerkwad. I tune Lula just about every other time I handle her, the last few nights this routine has been sidelined, when the tuner would pick up nothing. [That would be absolutely nothing.]

I broke my self imposed rule [of not picking up a bass until I got these screws] and tested the tuner on New Guy. The stinking tuner worked fine! Placing it back on Lula the tuner didn't have an issue! [Besides the big E string, which is always--just blah!]      

What will I do for free shipping?

I love BSO.com but it doesn't have the [plain old] guitar strings, so I'm going back to my old standby Amazon. One thing that Amazon has that BSO just doesn't is free shipping [if you spend $25].

Yeah this is what I'm talking about.

Well Amazon has mid-range gauge strings from a decent company for about $5, and I pretty much needed the $11 the gel shoulder pad. That left me with $9 I just had to spend. Thank god that's just the price of the Steppenwolf greatest hits album!

...actually it was .22 cents short. So I went of the hunting for a cheap ass fret board poster, what do I find is a fret board stamp. The really neat is that it has four fret [in other words] if I turn it on it's side it becomes a bass guitar stamp!

     

New Spazing

I was too tired to pick up an instrument one night, and as I fell asleep something odd happened, my pinky and ring finger on my right hand shook. It was unlike any tremors I've had before, the spazs [yes that is a made up word] I get in my legs are in short bursts and stay under the skin [yes these are hard to explain] but this shook my fingers; like I wouldn't be able to play, or hold a pencil with this going on.

I'm still not sure what happened, or if playing that night would of helped/made it worst, but I was fine the rest of the school week writing in class, and it hasn't happened since. [Never mind it happened again, last night, on a smaller scale. I guess once every five days aren't bad.] 

Trying the Calibers

Have you ever wondered if gun calibers and guitar gauges are the same? Well as far as I can tell, they are! [Fun Fact I can't check gauges punch drunk.] The smallest the caliber would go is .11 and that just [kinda] fit into the smallest of Lula's nut slots [her nut is fitted!]. I couldn't really tell the size with the strings in, but I got a slight idea.

The largest of Lula's slots will probably fit .67 and I have yet to check the basses.   

How I'm Keeping Up

I warned ya'll about the short postings because I started Uni, but I've decided to tell the world how I'm keeping up this blog. [I won't lie] Keeping up with the work load has been hard, I have about an hour of me time a day, ten minutes a day I give to some stringed instrument.

I have a bass log I keep on paper, I make sure I jot down whatever I just did on [bass] guitar. Thursday nights are my Friday night, so that's when I type out as any posts as I can handle. I've make just shy of a weeks worth of posts a night [if I'm able to get on the internet each night].

So that's how I do it....[riveting isn't it?]

Lula is

I was playing down Lula's neck the other night when I came to realize something: Lula is cheap. There's a fret right under the nut, the strings have patches of black, and the last five frets are impossible to get to because of body style. I realize the strings have to be a huge part of the problem, but some of the dead spots I just have to blame on poor construction.

I've always heard to play on a cheaper instrument because money can't buy you talent, so don't waste your money. I got Igor as a better instrument because I knew I could get $100 if I gave up, but I wonder if he's spoiled me sometimes.  

This is about space.

Did you know that guitars and basses have different string spacing? [Yes I knew this before hand, I just recently had it thrown in my face.] On basses the string are evenly spaced, including the space between the string and the edge of the fretboard; on guitars it isn't.

This is the reason my fingers keep slipping off the edge of the fretboard. [I'm also blaming it for the reason my fingers suddenly seem fat, and keeps touching random strings].     

The Mad Dame Needs to go Shopping

Lula's strings are at lease 12 years old, she needs new ones no questions asked. This means shopping, which I'm not so excited about since I'm super busy with school and I have no clue about plain guitar strings [besides that one story I've heard about guitar strings going dead after an hour of playing...].

I did find out through my guitar friend [by a miracle] that nobody cares about the length of guitar strings, so that means I just have to figure about gauge. 

And on a slightly related note I'm thinking about getting a removable shoulder pad for my school bag for my basses. I can get one from BSO.com but I'd kinda like to get the strings and the pad shipped in one bundle...

It wasn't all my fault!

The glitter, and the stripping, and apparently I wasn't [totally] being a She-halk! The screws [that I mangled] were cheap stainless steel. According to my resident handyman they're crazy easy to break! Sadly I have no other news on getting new screws, but I know a step forward when I see one.    

Look it circles 'round!

In case you haven't noticed, I've been confused by chords [really, really confused]. Well I just hit the goldmine of why you should study different types of instrument:

This little gem was in a basic beginner's guitar information site. For those of you who don't recall what my main issue was [I don't think I was ever clear on that] I couldn't for the life of me, tell in which way the other notes were lay out around that base [that was a pun] note. I guess the 'bass' bit was supposed to make it obvious.   

Scaly Bits

I only know the barest of minimums for playing guitar, so I decided to look into that one thing I kinda know about: Chords. My understanding standing of them is that when you strum it, it sounds pretty [and when you pluck/pick the string one after another it sounds nice too].

One defendant plus to the overwhelmingly popularity of guitar, is the plethora of internet resources. This website will keep me busy for ages, and it's [currently] free! http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/index.php       

Hello Mr. Hendrix

Allow me to explain for the umpteenth time why I never took up guitar: I was gifted a guitar, which I never requested. I thought the strings felt like cheese wire [read they hurt my fingers] and I discovered I held the guitar southpaw.

Upon picking up Lula again, I found the strings don't hurt now, and that I'm still holding the damn thing upside down. [Umm, maybe naming that guitar after my grandmother wasn't the brightest idea.] I tried to play her properly [okay that phrase seems so wrong and anti-feminist] but I found the tiniest strings were painful and the neck seemed huge in my left hand. I was kinda worried about being able to play chords backwards, but then I remembered another southpaw:

Hello Mr. Hendrix!

Naming My Instruments.

It took me months to name Igor because I was hesitant to name an inanimate object, once I got over that, his name became clear very quickly. I'm still waiting for New Guy's name. My first reaction to him was that he was a middle schooler [I decided to be nice and just call him New Guy for the time being, that time continuing now]. I honestly think New Guy's real name will come out when I'm done modding him, even if that name will just be Guy.

My student guitar is clearly a girl. She's that femme voice, bright sunburst finish, tiny like a giant ukulele [yup, it's just like that]. Maybe it's because she's technically my oldest guitar, but her name just popped in my head: Lucy. My first thought was 'O crap!' Firstly for the fact that I had a very dear friend in high school with that name [Hi Lucy!] and as much as I love her, having a guitar with the same name is kinda creepy. Secondly because B.B. King's guitar is named Lucille. I try to respect musicians, and I refuse to knowingly copy one.

So I shall call Lula, after my great great grandmother. Lula was an Appalachian mother of sixteen, I can trace my love of music back to my grandfather, and I'd like to think it goes back to her.         

I'm Hearing Things!

I was manhandling Igor [holding and manhandling now mean noodling, because I rarely do anything else, and believe me I'd make a big deal about that] for ten minutes before bed on a school night when I played down the neck and I hear it.

 I heard the difference of sound, not the metallic sound of playing a fret, but the deeper sound just from playing lower! Just when I think I'm stuck in my ways, I find out I just need more time.      

To be Published on the 9th

Today marks one year since I saw Rush for the first time. That show blow my mind in several ways, but three thoughts have stuck with me.

1. I was never going to be that good.
2. It was okay to love this.
3. I wanted to be better. 

I knew the only way that was going to get anything done was if I incorporated words. This stupid blog popped into my head on the ride home [and as you can see I haven't given up yet.] Since I decided to not put the date on this blog, this is what I'm calling the one year mark. I think I'll pat myself on the back, in a year I've published over 200 post, and have nearly 3,000 views.

Screw It

I gathered up my multitude of stripped screws, and handed them over the resident handyman so see if I can get replacement. This includes the one for New Guy's string tree, and another tiny screw to secure Igor's truss rod cover. These screws are for minor things, but maybe I [really] should have less hobo looking instruments.    

In a Little Blue Case.

On an epic journey [that was in no way dramatized] for something school related, I found my old student guitar; I got it for my 5th birthday, to complement the drum set I got for my 4th birthday. Upon moving it I was startled to hear the strings zing against the frets. My mom had pulled out her old acoustic guitar when I first got Igor, left neglected and with the string on it, the neck had snapped.

  She was dinged up but still functional. I thought I broke the A string at one point but the string had just slipped off the tuner. The clip-on helped me tune her, even if I had to look up what the last two string are [and the tuner wouldn't pick up the lowest E, shockingly]. Madam has another servant!      

Umm, this blog is about bass right?

It feels like currently this blog is more about the antics of my snark tuner then my bass. [This post will reinforce this point.] One night I was tuning Igor when suddenly the clip-on wouldn't pick up the open A and D strings [along with the open E, which is normal].

Having an almost brand new battery, I looked at my own playing technique and noticed that I was plucking above the pick ups. Bringing my plucking hand down to the big space between the volume pick up and the other two, the clip-on registered the middle strings. I don't know why this is happening [but I really want to find out why].  

More Math

Last night was another night that I went without manhandle a bass. I did think about how many possible positions a bassist can be in. [I'm punch drunk, and not planning on proof reading this before posting. Oh, also I'm talking about one finger on a fret and the other hand on the proper string.] Supposing that both hands were on the proper string, as in one hand knows what the other is doing, there's 76 possible positions on New Guy [4 string and 19 frets] and 96 positions on Igor [whom has 24 frets]. That's made up of just 12 notes.

I had a hard time believing that there are 8 places on the neck to find any note with Igor, so I testing it. I was most skeptic with the notes that appear as open strings. I played all the way down the neck and was totally shocked that the lowest fret could be honestly played, and it stopped just above the desired note. Even others notes applied to these rules I figured out. [It's nice not having math let you down.]      

As I lay me down to sleep

I was exhausted after my first week of school, so I greedily watched an extra half hour of television and hit the sack. I was so tired that I didn't have the energy to ignore the spasms in my legs, that is my CP. I can only feel these spasms as I fall asleep or when I'm really weak. If I feel them from the former it's just mildly annoying, if it's from the later, I find it terrifying.

That night the spasms felt familiar, just like the bass waves I find so comforting. It was somewhat of an epiphany, to realize that by taking up bass, I am by proxy, taking back something I can never have control of.

[Look there's no orange in this, it's all brutally honest.]            

I Kinda Remember

I'm crunched for time with school back in swing, so I try to be somewhat focused when I pick up a bass for fifteen minutes before bed. Last night [which wasn't really last night since there are delays between writing, and actually posting a blog entry] after a fast tune, I tried to play to play House of the Raising Sun from memory.

It's been months since I last looked at the sheet music, but the song itself gets played about once a week so I can hum the tune. I can kinda remember the tune, it's something like E E, A A, B C, D E. [I memorized this way before I learned that a number sign on a line means a sharp note, which I think applies here.] Starting out on open strings, it sounded great until I tried the open D string. That sounded sour even though I know that string was in tune. I tried the riff again with the D on the A string and that sounded much better.     

Poor Guy

New Guy needs more love. When I first got him, he was going to be the bass I was going to gut. These plans got totally derailed when Igor shut down because I refuse to have two bass out of commission at the same time.

Well I want to give New Guy some dignity. Remember how I took off his string tree and totally stripped the screw head in the process? [It should, I've done it plenty of time.] Well I've decided fixing that will be the first order of business.

[Yes this is a "I'm planning..." post, and yes I know how they normally turn out.] 

Damn Clip On

Igor wasn't too out of tune when he came back from the tech; not that the clip on would tell me. [That came out dramatic.] Yet again the clip on wouldn't pick up the open E string. I tried to play the 12th fret [also a natural E] but glancing from my finger on the 12th fret to the tuner on the headstock had me freaked out [I was paranoid that I wasn't keeping the pressure on the right fret].

This is all I want to see!

Awhile back I complained on TB about the Clip-on's issues. I wasn't alone and someone said to just use the 5th fret. [the same note as the open string below it] I could see both my finger and the headstock with that, and it was also just within my fickle tuner's range.  

It is Finished!

Igor is home, and working great! Okay so far I've just plugged him and noodled away, no tuning or anything, but man do I love his roar. I remember When I started this blog and all I said I wanted from my tone is something that would scare small children.

Igor's got that. He reminds me how New Guy's pick up sucks, New Guy needs a new one... Just wanted to say: MAHAHAHAH I'm back in business! The Madam is back! [I should of put that in orange.]

[P.s. I started school again so super short posts like this will be the norm. If a manage to post at all.] 

I Remember You!

With Igor gone, I'm forced to turn my attention to the New Guy. In all honestly, I've been neglecting him. I decided to finally put his fancy leather strap on. I got the strap ages ago, so I lost the instructions, which I could of used.

The Levy strap doesn't have a sliding buckle [is that the right name for it?] you just weave this piece through the right hole of that piece and you got it. [Yeah, it was as easy as I stated, as in: not really.] The strap has two holes for the bottom strap knob. The first was too high, and the other was a tad too low, right out of the box. After far too long spent thinking [thanks to being punch drunk, yet again] I realized I could lower the leather string with the knob holes and use the too high why.

Spolier

With the strap at the proper length, I turned the my attention to the strap locks. [Thank god I kept the instructions!] With a little fussing I got it all together, until I gave the strap a a tug to test the lock. The sucker came right off. I tried again with the same result. A distant memory, possibly a dream came whisking back, of a stripped screw, frustration, and trying to put the old strap knob back on. I gave up then, I have no idea what my next move is.       

The Last Noodle

Look organized noodles!

After washing my hands, I went on to noodle [but slightly more focused noodle then normal]. I tried a variation of this octave thing I've done. This time I started G string this time [Side note, I now totally understand why I keep mistaking the E and G strings]. and to F, E ect. Starting with the Open G made the whole thing sound wrong. I think it was too high a note, I really need to dig up some sheet music basics.....  

A Small Treat

I got the call that Igor's part is in, so for his last night I decided to give him the treat of washing my hands before manhandling him. They [they being most members of TB] say you should clean your hands before playing your bass, if you want to prolong the life of your strings, care about fingerprints, and being one of those people who actually take care of your bass. I never did this because I wanted to break in the rotos as fast as possible, and since that didn't work so I don't seen the point in breaking the the habit.

 

I had just had my hands in the olive old [don't ask] and since I didn't want to kill my new P-wounds before I could hear them plugged in. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I was worried that without my natural oils my fingertips would end up raw, but I honestly couldn't tell the difference.     

THE PREAMP IS IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freakishly close to two months since this ordeal began [or five months if you count all that times I tried to fix him] his preamp is in and Igor is back at the shop! The dude said that Igor should ready to come home in a few days. [Let's say Murphy Law get's tied up in this and it will be a week, AKA the day I go back to school.]

The dude also said the part came from Asia, which explains why it took over six weeks to arrive.  

Things I Learn

I shouldn't of picked up Igor, but I did. I didn't even bother to tune him, but I did noodle around [do I do anything else?]. But I did do something different, I tried to play down an octave. Starting the first fret's natural F then I went to the open E string and so on. [Why did I go in this order? I was flaming punch drunk].

 Besides my dyslexia kicking in on top of going backward down the alphabet, it sounded pretty good. I really wanted to see how this notes looked on a music sheet, but again I was too punch drunk and lazy.  

I'm on a kick

[Older Post Alert]

A Janis Joplin and The Animals kick to be exact. I never realized how bluesy their music is, and for groovy blues you need awesome basslines. For the utter lack of making my own bass waves, I've been able to pick up basslines from songs more often then not. I've come to realize that I can't help but smile when I hear a walking bassline. It's kinda ironic since they mostly happen in blues music, but it's awesome! 

Extra Purpose

My dog loves sleeping on my bed, and I hate having dog dirt in my sheets. [I'm coming around to how this is related to bass, wait for it.] For ages the only solution was closing my bedroom door, but since my basses get all wanky without air conditioning I was at a bit of an impasse. [Okay, so technically I could of left my AC on all summer, but I don't play the electric bill and I would of felt guilty.]

Not my actual dog.

Until one day I picked up a bass midday, instead of putting it away I just left it on my bed. [Allow me to explain some history.] When I first got Igor he spent the night in his shipping box, after manhandling him one day I leaned him against the sofa, only to have my younger dog run by and knock him over [umm, yeah, I totally caught him before he hit the floor...] and as a result that dog is terrified of my basses. So when my bass is on my bed, my dog stays off it!     

Don't Bite Your Thumb

When I started playing my plucking hand technique was just to rest my thumb on whatever was available. [i.e. On the string above whatever I was playing or the pick up if I was playing the E string.] On one of my many posts on TB about proper wrist position someone brought up the floating thumb technique.

Instead of having your plucking wrist at an angle, you just make an loose A in sign language, flip it over, [see picture] and your wrist is straight! This is also great for muting because the thumb can rest on all the strings above what you are playing. The only downside to this is that it will take the polish off the thumb that rest against the string[s].   

I am on the Tracks!

With the clip on now powered up, I'm in business. I did some old stuff, went searching for C and got it  right 50% of the time, I chipped my nail polish, I also found another book [with white pages] to keep as a log. So these blog posts might actually pick up until I get back to school.

I also got down on myself for not learning a single song this summer, and being too lazy to go find the sheet music that I know is somewhere in my room. 

Sigh

Would you believe I would post about getting new batteries, before I actually put them in? [If you answered no to that, go, now, and read more of this blog.] The batteries work! and I even got it [I got a multi-pack] in the right way the first time!!

The little bugger just jumped to life, and it finally picked the E string! [So long as I play the open string or anything below the 5th fret.] And I am off to TB to see if this is normal.

Cold fingers

The joys of going to a new school include getting a check up and the doctor requiring that you get a blood test. [This is related to bass, wait for it!] Low iron runs in the family, and I'm kinda scared that I have it. I have several reasons to believe I do, [beyond the family history] I tried to give blood once, but couldn't because my iron was too low. I'm also always told I have cold hands and feel, which I've heard is a sign of anemia.

I've never thought I was cold, but I do know the pain after playing bass without warming up. I've heard of [women] bass players having to use heating packs to warm their fingers. I know I should do this if this test says I need it [hell I should probably just do it since I think I might need it] but the thought of having to adapt to yet another thing is frustrating.      

Dull Pain

I Grabbed New Guy today. I've been reluctant to do so because Igor is home, and I found playing right handed for more then twenty minutes a day [Something I do absentmindedly every time I pick up a bass, yea for blind love!] I end up with a barometer [measures humidity] for a left hand, for the next three days.

I managed to not noodle for long, but you know what else causes me dull pain? The tuner on my amp. First you need to have your bass plugged in for it to work [plus you need at least a working preamp]. Second, the list of notes are tiny. I [who has no problem reading] have to squint to see, half the time I honestly just guess. Once I see where the A and G is. I get it close enough. More often then not I'll just flat out forget to check the green light, since I'm just glad to get the right not.

I Have Power!

[The clip on tuner] has power! I finally got the battery.

I don't have much of a story to tell, but I have to shout out a 'thank you' to the guy at the mall. The first stop I stopped at the guy told me flat out where I could get them cheaper. I had to stand in line for ages, but it was worth it for one third of the price.

 [THANK YOU RANDOM DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!]

Farewell, and Thank You

Superchick is officially bowing out. 

 A Christian answer to the secular Girl Power bands, come five years too late; Superchic[k] was the first 'girl band' that my guy friends unashamedly loved too. Most of my [musical fan] firsts came because of this band:

• First time recognizing a band member off stage, and in totally different clothes.
• First time I entered a Mosh Pit.
• First time I got to the barrier.
• First time I grabbed a record from the stocking cart. [AKA the second best feeling in the world, second only to bass waves.]
• First [and only] time I've ever yelled something intelligible at a band.
• First [and only] a band member has replied to me in a crowd.

I've never been suicidal so I won't say they saved my life, but they helped a lot during the hard times.  During the worst of it I'd listen to their song Suddenly, knowing that one day I'd be on the other side of this horrible place. It took me eighteen months, but I got there. If God hadn't worked through these people, I don't know how I would of learned to cope. 

I think it's silly thanking people who get paid to do what they love, but that's what I'm doing. Thank you Max Hsu and gang.

--a fan.

  

A Bunch of Nothing

The title sums up my week. I went to the mall looking for the watch kiosk [to get a battery for the clip on tuner] it wasn't there so I bought a lace vest instead. Igor's part [it's the preamp] was suppose to come in last week, but it isn't in yet.  

Why the Stress?

I don't get the panic behind handling the truss rod. Upon finding the needed allen wrench [Look I waited until the second sentence to link!] I couldn't remember which way to turn the wrench [for the result I wanted] so in my ever trustworthy state of punch drunkenness, I decided to just twist it one, remember which way and see if I got the result I wanted.

Since I only really trust my dyslexia to mess me up, I try to pick up on fixed points that don't move. [i.e. The wall with nothing on it vs the wall with crap on it.] Actually it would be smarter to notice thickest string vs thinnest string [since you can't mistake that, unlike say notes...]

Anyway I twist, got it wrong, righted it and no harm done.

General Update

Preparing for uni and other life stuff has been getting in the way of bass playing. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, it's just how life rolls.

[Here is a list of reasons why I haven't picked up Igor]: Since cleaning my room there's been a bag of clothes to donate and a storage box full of tube socks [don't ask]. This makes it a hassle to grab him and drag him to a place where I can sit and play. The pressure wounds are a kind of uninspiring mellow [although the seem to get snappier the more I play] I'm much more aware of the sound of the bass with these strings and with both tuners out [the Clipper's battery is dead and the amp's tuner need working electronics on the part of the bass to work] having an out of tune bass is making my skin crawl.

Also the only silver sharpie in the house is out of ink. [Meaning I have nothing to write in my binder with.] 

Damn Rattle

Igor's new strings are bringing out his hobo. Pressure wounds are know for their lack of string noise [also know as the only reason I like the rotos] and as a result I can hear every loose part. I've actually been working on killing the wanky strap lock rattle [by wrapping a rubber band around the screw].

I swear, every time I hear rattle beyond the strap lock I think it's Igor's pissed off tuner; but if that was true the string would never hold its tuning, which is still does well. Now the biggest culprit is the truss rod cover [as dashing as I believe it looks] my screwdriver skills have left it on with one screw acting as a hinge. I'm going to get new screws [one day] so it will look nicer then if I fixed the problem with tape.      

This One is for a Cartoon

I spent my birthday weekend on a road trip, the result was me without a bass and the stereo cranked way up to compensate. I was wearing Chucks as I always do for important events, and I found that if I put my foot up against the car door I could feel the vibrations through the hollow toe of my shoe. 

One of the best characters of the best cartoon of my youth [Avatar the Last Airbender] is Toph Beifong. Short and with a kick ass attitude, I took to her right off the bat. Without a doubt her coolest attribute is that without her disability [blindness] she wouldn't have her awesome super power. Toph can feel things, where stuff is, other people's heartbeats ect.

You always hear about people who lose a sense gain in their other senses, but sense of touch always seems to be overlooked. The more I play bass, the more I relate.