Yesterday, 12/8, was the 1 year anniversary of the shooting of Dimebag Darrell. Any fans of his music or great musicians, please take a minute to toast his life with a Blacktooth double (Crown Royal with a dash of Coca-Cola)!


R.I.P. Dime.... Watch it go!

Hey, BG I have a question. Did you take the inspriration for your user name from the German band Blind Guardian?

Yup. Have you heard any of their music?

I'm right there with ya. Some friends and I will be toasting to him tonight.

Getcha' Pull

I'm toasting too. One for the men that fell at Pearl Harbor, one for John Lennon and one for Dimebag. Who's driving me home?

Didn't know that they had any videos. They are an acquired taste. I guess you could say that they are in the "Power Metal" category but definitely one of the more talented bands because they add folk elements to their music. They are very inspired by Tolkien.

If you were to check out any more of their music, the best album to start with is the "Imaginations from the other side" record. That is my personal favorite and you get alot of it. Check out; "Imaginations from the other side" and "A past and future secret" .

Imaginations is about reading books and how it takes you to those places; Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia. (very metal, i know)

Past and Future Secret is about King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone. This song is very influenced and has a medieval feel to it.

Who do you think is better Blind Guardian or Mariah Carey?

I loved DB

Hey BG, thanks for the information, maybe I'll check Blind Guardian out a bit more, but while I can certainly appreciate Metal (ala Pantera, DamagePlan, and Blind Guardian), it's not really my cup of tea.

Here's something I stumbled upon tonight that's really representative of the kind of music I like the most. It's from a Scottish band called Hobotalk. If you go to the MP3 blog ortf and listen to the song posted there from Hobotalk called "On the Edge of Nowhere," you'll hear the kind of stuff that I love to find because it inspires me to be a better songwriter.

The Hobotalk.....is all their stuff pretty much like the 2 songs I found here?

Question for you musicians. I recently purchased an Ibanez ICB 200 Bass. The E string seems to play sharp at almost any fret position. Do you know what could be causing this? No other string seems to be having this problem. I keep getting the E string vibration sound instead of the smooth sound, unless I pluck the string behind both pickups. I do not know if it is a defective Bass or not?

I don't know that model. Does it have any micro-tuning capability? (And I'm trying not to ask if the E itself might be a little sharp, because that's too much like asking 'Is it plugged in?')

Sorry, let me clarify. It is not making a smooth sound. It is making the sound when you do not place your fingers close enough to the fret. I am getting a vibration from the fret itself.

Nation, it's difficult to tell for sure from your description exactly what's going on, but I think I hear you describing fret buzz. As Regzilla says it could be a problem with the saddle or the nut -- or it could also be the bridge itself. (It's a little strange that the note is "sharp" at every fret -- this would usually indicate that your E string is just out of tune with the rest of the strings. Like AML-Barbarian, I'll assume you know how to tune your instrument properly.) Anyway, the good news is that this problem can probably be fixed by getting a good set-up done on the instrument.

If I were you, I'd take the bass back to the store (assuming you bought it from a store and the store is reputable) where I bought it and ask them to have it set-up. If you bought it within the past 90 days, I'd ask them to pay for it too. (A good set-up probably will cost anywhere from around $40 to $75.)

If you bought it from an individual, then take it to a reputable guitar store (or to a luthier) and pay for the set-up yourself. If you take it to a guitar shop, I strongly recommend you go to a store where they do the work themselves onsite and you can actually talk face-to-face with the tech who will do the work. It's always best to be able to talk with the tech who will do the work so you can describe and show him/her the problem you're experiencing. Also, if the problem is something more serious, they will be able to advise you on what needs to be done (and whether it's worth the money to fix).

Good luck!