Subject: Level 42 Digest, #186 ===================== * LEVEL 42 DIGEST * ===================== Digest 186 Wednesday, 08/31/94 77 subscribers Today's messages: thumb/tape/getting boring Re: Level 42 Digest, #185 ------------------------------ From: chris @ omi.co.uk (Chris Marshall) Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 12:10:12 BST Subject: thumb/tape/getting boring I heard Mark say in an interview once that he just uses black electrical tape wrapped around his thumb to stop blistering. No I haven't still got the interview. Some bass players don't need to do that, so what? My fingers hurt from just a couple of hours of fingerstyle playing, let alone a couple of hours slapping, not that I can slap. Just imagine that night after night after night for god knows how long. Can we lay this subject to rest now? [EJH: Yes, please!] --Chris There are rivets up here on this eagle \ Chris Marshall There are box cars down there on your snake \ Online Media And we are twins of spirit \ chris @ omi.co.uk No matter which route home we take (Joni Mitchell) \ ------------------------------ From: Jyrki Petsalo Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 21:27:18 +0300 (EETDST) Subject: Re: Level 42 Digest, #185 > Mark's thumb is wrapped with black electrical tape. Bassists use that to > supress blister swelling from all that slappin'. In Helsinki Live -91 he threw "the thing" to the audience. I was standing in the first row (3 meters from M.King!) and was quite close to the guy who caught it. It looked like hard plastic, but I didn't get to actually feel it. > We do??!! After slapping for many years, neither I nor any musician friends, > professional or amature, have seen or done that. The callus built up from Me neither... and Mark uses very light tension strings (like myself) so it's not even quite possible. I think it's more like a sound thing, though every bassist I've asked say it's absolutely no use - it prevents flexibility, and Alembic sounds great anyways. Dunno though, I use Alembic and don't sound as good as Mark King... :) I'd be glad to know the real reason though. -JP