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Post by bobcarter on Feb 26, 2018 22:10:36 GMT
Ha...excellent thank you Keith. What a great guide. I'm clearly in the presence of greatness! Looks like DIY is the way to go. Still surprised I can't find anyone who majes an off the shelf capo meant for strings 1-3 though!
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Post by bobcarter on Feb 26, 2018 18:24:15 GMT
Thanks Phil. Might resort to that. Did you chop the whole thing or just the rubber part?
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Post by bobcarter on Feb 26, 2018 17:26:25 GMT
Looking for your wisdom on partial capos. Have been attempting to work up a passable version of this (I know...possibly a little ambitious...):
...using the excellent tutorial here:
It requires a partial capo on strings 1-3.
So far my solution has been to order the world's cheapest capo (79p including free postage from China - beat that!) and chop it up. This worked better than you might think, actually, but isn't perfect as it messes up the capo tension and is prone to buzzing.
I don't want to spend a fortune as it's just for one tune but also as far as I can see all the purpose-built 3-string capos are intended to cover strings 2-4 or 3-5. The only thing I can find is the Spider capo (as in the tutorial video) but that gets mixed opinions and is also a bit more than I wanted to spend at about £28.
Any advice greatly appreciated!
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Post by bobcarter on Feb 26, 2018 17:08:36 GMT
Agree with the above that taking medical advice on discussion forums is probably never a good idea! But I've had something similar since June 2017 which is only now getting better after physio since September. Mine almost certainly caused by bad playing posture/tension plus computer work.
For me right shoulder became very tight - lying flat on back with arms out my right arm would be up at 45 degrees and would hurt abominably if pushed lower. Have gradually fixed it by lots of stretching against door frames, using stretchy bands to build up strength, etc. Also changing to having guitar on left leg classical style helped a lot to stop me gripping guitar body with right arm. Now it's better (though not perfect yet) I'm used to that position so won't go back.
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Post by bobcarter on Feb 26, 2018 17:01:07 GMT
Have a Polytune as my only tuner and love it. Had about 18 months so far no problems still on same battery. Live I cheat by using an old preamp pedal with the volume set to zero as my mute!
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Post by bobcarter on Sept 22, 2017 7:33:52 GMT
Hi Rob. Yes, I've had one for a couple of months (bought from Oasis in Ringwood) and like it very much.
I'm primarily a steel string player but like many of us wanted a nylon for variety. I had a cheap Ibanez before but wanted to upgrade.
I'd definitely recommend trying one. Things to note are:
- I've seen on a number of shop sites that there seems to be an error in the product description. Most importantly, the pickup is not a Fishman Rare Earth Blend - at least mine's not and as that's partly magnetic I don't think they work on nylon strings anyway. The pickup is a Fishman Sonicore undersaddle but sounds very nice with the Ink+ preamp especially if you cut the mids.
- It's not all solid. The sides are laminate. Not that that matters really at this price.(update - maybe I'm wrong about that, I see JHS' own text says solid sides - other descriptions I've read have referred to solid back only)
- It comes with a great hard case.
- I like the 12th fret join and cutaway.
- I'm no nylon string expert but both the unplugged and plugged sounds are very usable.
- The neck width is perfect. Wider than the Ibanez I had before but narrower than a standard classical.
- I did have to take it back once to get the action lowered, which (maybe combined with needing a string change - now fitted with high tension strings) was causing the intonation on the G string to be badly out above the 5th fret. It's fine now.
Hope that helps!
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Post by bobcarter on Sept 20, 2017 20:27:12 GMT
I've had a Vintage Roger Williams for a couple of months now and like it. Good value and I like the combination of cutaway and 12th feet join. Don't believe the text you find on some descriptions though. It's not all solid - I think the sides are laminate - and more importantly the pickup is not a Fishman Rare Earth Blend (as far as I know that wouldn't even work on a nylon string), it's a Sonicore undersaddle pickup. But sounds good.
You could also try the Yamaha Silent SLG200N nylon. About the same price as the Vintage.
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Post by bobcarter on Jun 27, 2017 17:05:27 GMT
On no! That's no good at all. Be interesting to hear if IK agree replace it under warranty. They should I think as that sounds like normal use. I must admit it didn't occur to me to try and wrangle a new one under warranty - I just ordered a replacement mic from IK Multimedia. It was about €40 + tax + P&P. Oh well that's good to know they do a replacement anyway and don't make you fork out for a whole new unit!
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Post by bobcarter on Jun 21, 2017 17:55:40 GMT
It would appear predictions of delicacy are all too true. I was demo-ing a song yesterday & the lead from the mic to the unit got snagged on my jeans On no! That's no good at all. Be interesting to hear if IK agree replace it under warranty. They should I think as that sounds like normal use.
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Post by bobcarter on May 25, 2017 12:32:26 GMT
I'm wondering if I can come up with any DIY clip/clothes peg/paperclip type contraption to attach to the soundhole that would create a thinner edge for the mic to clip to on thicker soundboards.
No success yet but if anyone comes up with a hack let me know!
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Post by bobcarter on May 25, 2017 7:14:28 GMT
1. Yes, the calibration does take off a lot of the bottom end and boost the top for me too and I think the reduction in volume is from the change in EQ. The top can get a bit shrill, but the uncalibrated sound was far too boomy for me so losing some bottom end was better. I do need to tame the extra top with some EQ after calibration, though, or use the warm setting.
2. I'm still experimenting with the best way to calibrate. I've tried just a playing a tune to it rather than the six note clusters as that's more representative. What you play to it during calibration does seem to make a difference, which is interesting!
3. Yes, I think the lead is maybe not as well shielded as it could be. I've noticed the occasional pop which I think is interference rather than any problem with the actual lead, though it hasn't been a big issue so far.
Overall still very pleased with it, though slightly disappointed to find the soundboard on one of my guitars was too thick for it to fit.
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Post by bobcarter on May 10, 2017 20:37:44 GMT
So I've had a go with it live now too, and got on very well. A solo 30-minute slot at my local folk club, so no jumping around, and playing very quietly using my little Yamaha THR5A to lift the volume a bit beyond normal unamped level. I blended 50/50 with the Irig and the onboard Baggs Element UST, and for me this is where the main usefulness of the Irig will lie, I think, in being able to add in that bit of air to complement an onboard pickup sound rather than replace it completely. It certainly allowed me to try out some more percussive tunes live that I'd previously avoided because the onboard pick-up alone didn't catch the body sounds properly, and these worked really nicely. As PistolPete says, you get a lot more top end, especially with the "natural" setting, and that can need some taming if it's not to sound a bit harsh. One thing I've noticed is that I have to go easy with "snare"-type string slaps and body hits compared to the way I'm used to playing to prevent them overwhelming everything else, but I don't think that's any fault of the Irig, but more that I'm not used to playing live with a mic and those elements haven't been picked up nearly so much in the past. And again blending the Irig mic with the onboard pick-up helps to keep those bits under control. Having the trailing cable and the DSP attached to your belt is a bit of a pfaff, but not unworkably so, and I did find myself very conscious of the need to be careful with that cable when moving about, but overall a successful first public outing!
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Post by bobcarter on Apr 26, 2017 7:31:36 GMT
Thanks for all the kind words on the review, folks. I'm pleased you've found it useful. I'll report back when I've tried it in a live setting next week!
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Post by bobcarter on Apr 24, 2017 20:11:28 GMT
The GS Mini does come in left handed versions, though you'd probably have to order one. The Minis I've played seem really good for the money.
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Post by bobcarter on Apr 24, 2017 19:09:33 GMT
Good review Bob. To be fair I'm just as worried about the flimsy cable on the DPA 4099 and that's a lot more pricey. I guess this is not something for those of us who play standing up and like wondering around a bit! I wonder around a lot when I play - wonder what the next verse is - wonder if that B string is really just too much out of tune - wonder where I put my capo - wonder if I'll reach that top F that's coming up any moment - wonder if I'll fluff that ridiculous finger stretch in line 3 - wonder if my zip is properly done up etc etc. Keith You're killing me softly, Keith! I do all of those things too! Despite telling myself a thousand times that it's when I think too much is when I'm most likely to stuff it up!
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