Hi All... Been busy lately, swapped out a few sets of pick-ups on my Axes. Tanglewood 335 copy... swapped the Kent Armstrong PAF's for Gibson Custom Buckers (from a Gibson Les paul Re Issue 1959 - The best humbuckers I've ever heard... Epiphone 1961 SG Special copy ..swapped the stock P90's with Gibson P90's from a Les Paul Standard 1950's re issue - Absolutely sweet as a nut. Yamaha RBX350 PJ bass - (Old workhorse) used on Superfunk77 and nearly all my recent songs, swapped out for Tonerider Vintage P and J pickups, sounding more balanced now, not a Wow result, but definitely better than the stock pups, I ordered some Fender 1963 re issue PBass pups from the States, but they sold out before they could ship them.... Jaco replica Jazz bass - Swapped the stock vintage pickups out for Fender SCN mod shop - these have no love at all on the web, but Boy they sound FANTASTIC, grab a set if they come up, they go for next to nowt. (These were standard issue on the Fender Elite Jazz basses) All the above swap improved the sound and feel of the guitar such that I want to play them all, all of the time, it's not just about sound, it's about feel, response, and hoe good one feels about playing...these upgrades nailed all of this, for so little money. Would be great to hear anyone else's similar experiences...

I'm occasionally asked about how do I get "That Sound" on my acoustic guitars... The answer isn't always straightforward, I always advise to play with long finger nails on the picking hand, this effectively gives you a plectrum on the end of each finger, and as a result a clear, crisp note is heard, however some songs benefit from different approaches, I sometimes stroke the strings with my nails and this gives a lovely sound as used by Missy Higgins on "Forgive Me" (below)...sounds like she recorded it in the bathroom where the huge bust up took place... Paris Alexander (a talented musician and a member of CPM website) also uses this technique to good effect. I use thin Martin plectrums for strumming as the bending adds something to the sound of the strum, (I never used to use thin plectrums but found they open up the track in the mix better) New strings always help, I was put on to Thomastik by Adam from the UK Songwriters forum, and they seem to perform well, although I can recommend Heritage Series Strings by Newtone. (Exceptionally clear tone and very easy to play) Hope this helps, let me know what you swear by... Rich

I love Sourdough bread, it has so much flavour and is a miracle to bake as it doesn't need any yeast. If you want to know how to make it....let me know...