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Hey TG-ers,

If you're anything like me then besides being interested in great instruments you find yourself purchasing and trying a raft of other pieces of equipment and supporting paraphernalia that helps you make music, record it ... etc, etc. This thread is a bunch of rambling on things I've tried recently that I'm finding useful and/or just like. I thought we could compare notes. You may have found something that's the perfect solution to a problem I'm having (which I may not even be aware of yet ). So let's share experiences.

As a lot of you know, I love trying out new picks. This is for Hydro, my partner in the search for the perfect pick . I'm currently mostly using 2 types:

- a TUSQ graphtech 1.0 - it's the same material that's used on a range of guitar saddles (including Taylor and Larrivee), a synthetic bone. It's got a nice rigidity to it, but it's still flexible and it sounds good.
- DAVA - these are a strange hybrid pick - there's a range of them, but mine are a rubber/gel and nylon mix (I think). I like them because the gel gives it a nice thickness and grip-iness and the tip is pointy and good for precision too. It is also more (or less) flexible depending on where you grip it. I'm liking it so far. They're more expensive that the normal pick, but... well if you're like me and like the journey of discovery then it might be worth a try for you too.

Tech support - I'm using my iPad more and more for my music activities as I've described in a previous thread. As a consequence I've often got cables going in all directions coming out of the thing depending on what I'm doing; charging, cable from my bass or electric (via a Apogee Jam interface ) into the 30 pin socket (to connect with GarageBand), headphones. In fact, a few months ago I got tangled while trying to recording my bass and my poor iPad got pulled off my desk and hit the deck in a very sad way and ... the glass was beyond shattered... (it's all fixed now). Solution - when I'm plugged into my iPad I now have it on a stand that sits on my computer desk or the coffee table - it's a morphie powerstand. It's not cheap, but neither is iPad replacement. :huh: Mine was a present. It's heavy, allows me to charge it via the stand and it elevates the iPad and allows you to change the angle so I'm no longer hunched over trying to read music. You can't charge your iPad and your the Jam at the same time as they both use the 30 pin socket, but you can have headphones and the Jane/electric instrument cables attached and have the iPad elevated and secure. So thus far my set up is more stable and I hope to avoid future crashes. I've found it really useful.

Mics - I'm currently using an Apogee MiC USB mic for capturing my acoustic guitar (and ukes) and vocals. I like that it goes straight into my iMac and then the signalis captured byGarageBand and/or iMovie. I probably need to get a more sophisticated setup so I can record vocals and instrument at the same time and separately, but... well let's face it I'm not recording an album here so simple and cheap is good for me for now. (BTW - I was using a Blue - Snowball when I had the sound issues while recording "Can't help falling in Love" - I suspect I'll abandon using it now.)

Electronic tuner - I normally tune my guitars and ukuleles with the tuner on my iPhone, Cleartune. It's great, but it's biggest downside is that it hears all sounds in the room. Ever tried to tune an ukulele with four little kids all talking very enthusiastically and a bunch of adults on Christmas Day in a small room?... Or I front of the tele with explosions and loud voices?... I recently got me a tuner that sits on the guitar head stock, like Neil uses. It's so tiny you can hardly see it ( it's in my latest video) and it's not effected by noise in the room because it uses the vibrations in the neck of the guitar. It's a Planet Waves - NS Mini HeadStock Tuner. It's very cool, easy to use and above all very discrete.

I'm in search of a new Mac-friendly video editing program. iMovie is too restrictive (or I'm too ignorant of it's features and how to access them). I find that two windows is the limit and I'd like to have three or four videos parts on the screen at the same time (or more eventually ). Has anyone used Final Cut? Do any Mac users have any better suggestions?

OK they are my most recent finds. Hopefully you don't feel like I've just wasted 10 minutes of your life and you may have even have found a piece of this useful.

What piece of tech, accessory, software...have you found recently that you now can't be without?

Bring it on.

M

Not a waste of time at all, Michelle. It got me looking into what I can do for my PC. Unfortunately, Garageband, which you mentioned, won't work on PC, but Mixcraft 6 will, and there's a free trial. Unfortunately, it says it requires 2GB of Ram, and my machine has only 1 Gig, so I gotta find another way.

Picks? It's occurred to me only recently that not all pick makers are equal; and, I've gone 40+ years without knowing that!!

I've got one, made by Herco, Flex 50. I cannot for the life of me keep the dumb thing in my fingers when I'm gettin' down and dirty (okay, when I'm trying to get down and dirty). It even has raised edges, that I can only assume are there for the purpose of grip, but they apparently weren't thinking of me when they made it.

So, I've found some other (non-grip) picks are my solution. Still, I can't seem to figure out if I want one that's very flexible ( shake head no no) or one that's firm (??)

Mics. Well, I'm still using the one on my camera, and that's another story - can't seem to get it to where face and guitar are both in frame - not that I really care about my face showing, but you know Ness is a big fuss about that .

But, back to the cam mic, well, I still have the audio issues. I have to sit back so far away from it.

Well, that's it from me. If you got any suggestions, I'm all ears... er... I mean eyes

~terry

BTW: SUBSCRIBED

OMG Terry! I almost erased that just yesterday. I was about to and got distracted...

Damn! I put it up at the time because my handful of TG videos showed me looking soooooooooo serious and I was trying to loosen up. And to give people a giggle. Gosh I've gotten so grey in such a short number of years. Well I hope it gives you a giggle too.

Shel

michelew wrote:

OMG Terry! I almost erased that just yesterday. I was about to and got distracted...

Damn! I put it up at the time because my handful of TG videos showed me looking soooooooooo serious and I was trying to loosen up. And to give people a giggle. Gosh I've gotten so grey in such a short number of years. Well I hope it gives you a giggle too.

Shel

Shel, I'm glad you didn't take it down, I'd have missed a really good time. You know you're not the only one who suffers from stage fright; it has me over a barrel!

Put up some more, we need good times

~terry

tacticaltal wrote:

BTW: SUBSCRIBED

Oh thats good. :laugh:

I'm so glad that go put up. And don't worry about getting gray over the years, I've grown more skin!

Scott

We'll I'm glad I was able to give you a giggle Scott (note to self remember to take jester hat OFF and to erase that silly expressions video as soon as no one's watching ). Oh the things I DO to get a laugh. B)

tacticaltal wrote:

Not a waste of time at all, Michelle. It got me looking into what I can do for my PC. Unfortunately, Garageband, which you mentioned, won't work on PC, but Mixcraft 6 will, and there's a free trial. Unfortunately, it says it requires 2GB of Ram, and my machine has only 1 Gig, so I gotta find another way.

Picks? It's occurred to me only recently that not all pick makers are equal; and, I've gone 40+ years without knowing that!!

I've got one, made by Herco, Flex 50. I cannot for the life of me keep the dumb thing in my fingers when I'm gettin' down and dirty (okay, when I'm trying to get down and dirty). It even has raised edges, that I can only assume are there for the purpose of grip, but they apparently weren't thinking of me when they made it.

So, I've found some other (non-grip) picks are my solution. Still, I can't seem to figure out if I want one that's very flexible ( shake head no no) or one that's firm (??)

Mics. Well, I'm still using the one on my camera, and that's another story - can't seem to get it to where face and guitar are both in frame - not that I really care about my face showing, but you know Ness is a big fuss about that .

But, back to the cam mic, well, I still have the audio issues. I have to sit back so far away from it.

Well, that's it from me. If you got any suggestions, I'm all ears... er... I mean eyes

~terry

Ahhhh Terry - about a year and a half ago ... well if you want to see just how carried away you.. one... OK... I can get in the search for the 'perfect' pick, have a look at this thread. Have a kettle and tea making supplies handy, if you decide to read it all you could be there for a while. Actually you might just want to skip to the end of the novella and find out how the story ends (Hydro has some great info/advice).

http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/7-a ... -pick.html

I can't find the original thread that started this madness - but, we had a memorial for my favourite pick (the pathetic worn looking one with the duct tape jacket at the edge of the initial photos) when it died and I had to find another that I liked just as much. Luckily I've learned I can use a range of picks. But, I do like to try new ones.

Just buy a range of different picks (singles if you can), different thicknesses and materials, and you'll soon find the ones you prefer. You may find that a pick, is a pick, is a pick and you really don't care. I prefer thicker and/or more rigid ones because I can't stand the clicking sound you get from thin ones and I feel like I can control them more. I also like the extra thickness because it's easier to grip (which is why I used to put duct tape on them). The DAVA ones I mentioned above are brilliant for assisting with grip.

You might want to look at Neil's advice about how to hold a pick too (as in not between the tips of your thumb and first finger, but across the edge of your first finger for greater stability). This was one of the hardest things I had to relearn when I first joined TG. Here it is http://www.totallyguitars.com/howto/1/3 ... ing-a-pick

The MiC mic I'm using does mostly seem to be for Macs. Sorry I can't help you with PCs, but there is a discussion group here on TG that was set up to talk about recording setups. I assume that lots of the group members would have used PCs. You'll find groups here - http://www.totallyguitars.com/index.php ... Itemid=218 Try this one http://www.totallyguitars.com/allcommun ... chies.html

Good luck.

Shel

michelew wrote:

tacticaltal wrote:

Not a waste of time at all, Michelle. It got me looking into what I can do for my PC. Unfortunately, Garageband, which you mentioned, won't work on PC, but Mixcraft 6 will, and there's a free trial. Unfortunately, it says it requires 2GB of Ram, and my machine has only 1 Gig, so I gotta find another way.

Picks? It's occurred to me only recently that not all pick makers are equal; and, I've gone 40+ years without knowing that!!

I've got one, made by Herco, Flex 50. I cannot for the life of me keep the dumb thing in my fingers when I'm gettin' down and dirty (okay, when I'm trying to get down and dirty). It even has raised edges, that I can only assume are there for the purpose of grip, but they apparently weren't thinking of me when they made it.

So, I've found some other (non-grip) picks are my solution. Still, I can't seem to figure out if I want one that's very flexible ( shake head no no) or one that's firm (??)

Mics. Well, I'm still using the one on my camera, and that's another story - can't seem to get it to where face and guitar are both in frame - not that I really care about my face showing, but you know Ness is a big fuss about that .

But, back to the cam mic, well, I still have the audio issues. I have to sit back so far away from it.

Well, that's it from me. If you got any suggestions, I'm all ears... er... I mean eyes

~terry

Ahhhh Terry - about a year and a half ago ... well if you want to see just how carried away you.. one... OK... I can get in the search for the 'perfect' pick, have a look at this thread. Have a kettle and tea making supplies handy, if you decide to read it all you could be there for a while. Actually you might just want to skip to the end of the novella and find out how the story ends (Hydro has some great info/advice).

http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/7-a ... -pick.html

I can't find the original thread that started this madness - but, we had a memorial for my favourite pick (the pathetic worn looking one with the duct tape jacket at the edge of the initial photos) when it died and I had to find another that I liked just as much. Luckily I've learned I can use a range of picks. But, I do like to try new ones.

Just buy a range of different picks (singles if you can), different thicknesses and materials, and you'll soon find the ones you prefer. You may find that a pick, is a pick, is a pick and you really don't care. I prefer thicker and/or more rigid ones because I can't stand the clicking sound you get from thin ones and I feel like I can control them more. I also like the extra thickness because it's easier to grip (which is why I used to put duct tape on them). The DAVA ones I mentioned above are brilliant for assisting with grip.

You might want to look at Neil's advice about how to hold a pick too (as in not between the tips of your thumb and first finger, but across the edge of your first finger for greater stability). This was one of the hardest things I had to relearn when I first joined TG. Here it is http://www.totallyguitars.com/howto/1/3 ... ing-a-pick

The MiC mic I'm using does mostly seem to be for Macs. Sorry I can't help you with PCs, but there is a discussion group here on TG that was set up to talk about recording setups. I assume that lots of the group members would have used PCs. You'll find groups here - http://www.totallyguitars.com/index.php ... Itemid=218 Try this one http://www.totallyguitars.com/allcommun ... chies.html

Good luck.

Shel

Why, I didn't know how fascinating a topic these pieces of plast..., well... different types of materials could be - 9 pages!!

But let me say that you display an image of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that I can only hope to achieve one day. It certainly is beautiful, the order with which you displayed your beauties, Priceless!! :woohoo:

Yes, I'm MAD too!!

Well, let's see, oh yes, and thank you for catching the proper pronoun at the beginning, I truly was afraid that my day would be ruined when I seen "you" :unsure:

But on the topic, you mentioned that you had received an emotional attachment to one of your pics, and I do recall that happening to me once, not too many years ago. I have no idea what type it was, but it was red (oh my, I started to type "IN COLOR" after the "red", as if there's different ways to use the word RED in my context) and I had stolen it from my granddaughter, who had previously taken it from a jar of picks at the music store where we bought her her first guitar. That was my first, and only pick, I believe, for which I had such strong feelings. Sadly, it has been nowhere in sight forever.

Well, anyhow, thank you for the information on the Group threads. I think I've seen them before, but now I have a renewed interest in them.

There was something else I was going to say here, but I have forgotten, and the family is screaming "hunger" at me, so I'd best get off to that duty. My fingers have been threatened with cannibalistic actions if I don't move soon!

See ya

~terry

Oh I resemble that! Yes guilty as charged. It's all true. That obsession has ceased (OK majorly eased) ... thankfully Off to play something.