Saturday, April 17, 2010

GUITAR RELATED INJURY (a Medical Review)



Guitar Related Injury (a Medical Review)

Many guitar players run into serious problems when they discover that they have picked up an injury from doing what they love, injuries will generally repair over time but this can mean an extended period of not playing guitar. Many guitarists have found it necessary to take a few weeks off guitar playing or in some more extreme cases several months or years. Some people think that they are immune from getting various arm, wrist and tendon related injuries because they have been playing for years with no problems - this tends not to be the case when guitarists start to concentrate their efforts on playing long periods of time on guitar for example 5 to 9 hours to increase speed or ability in heavy legato and bending.

Avoiding Injury

Guitar players should always warm up their hands and arms with slower guitar pieces or exercises before diving straight into the more advanced, fast and complicated material, this will give the muscles a period of time to stretch and get used to the motions of playing. Playing guitar is a bit like playing a sport - if caution is not exercised in warming up muscles before taking part in a given activity then serious injury can occur. It is unwise to avoid warming up due to laziness as skipping several minutes warm-up can mean several months of guitar inactivity due to straining.

Guitar straps should always be at a comfortable level usually this is based above the waist area on the chest, playing guitar at a decent height means arms are not subjected to stretching epic lengths to access lower frets - less effort is required to be put in by the arm and therefore injury is less unlikely to happen.

Another great way to avoid injuries is to exercise regularly. There is almost always some static tension in your arms and back when you play guitar, and a great way to minimize the risk of getting hurt is to do some moderate work out a few times each week. You don't have to do a lot, but some regular exercise makes you less vulnerable to tension related injuries.

Injuries Associated With Guitar Playing

The key worry for many Guitar players is acquiring RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury - this is similar to a burning sensation that can irritate the wrist or tendons in the hand, this is generally cause by not warming up in conjunction with playing guitar at a bad angle due to low strap height or not sitting the guitar properly on the knee.

Another injury guitar players are susceptible to is Tendonitis - this is very similar to RSI but is more localised in the Tendons or blood passages to the hand, generally caused by hard bending this causes irritation near where the fingers meet the hand.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is another injury many guitar players have acquired over the years, again it is a type of strain but it is usually located around the wrist area, where the central blood passage begins to separate out to the five fingers of the hand, such strains are again caused by playing the guitar too low or at an uncomfortable level.

Treatment for Guitar Related Injuries

The best advice is always to seek the help of a medical professional who specialises in strains or arm injuries, failing this option being available members of GMC have also found helpful the use of:

1. Muscle Gel or Deep Heat - use of these two products generally relaxes muscles and places less strain on the arms, relieving tension on the injury and therefore helping it to heal faster.

2. Vitamin Tablets and Cod Liver Oil help provide the right vitamins etc to soothe the joints, more specifically for tendon and muscle injury Glucosamine + Chondroitin are good for building blocks of connective muscle tissue around the joints, tendons and ligaments.

3. Rest! There is no better way to heal an injury than by stopping the use of physical activity by the arm or hand with the problem. Rest stops straining and starts the rebuilding of damaged tissues and as such is probably the single most necessary factor for ending a period of injury.


Friday, April 16, 2010

SEYMOUR DUNCAN STOMP BOX SFX-04 TWIN TUBE MAYHEM


Boost your guitar sound's with this booster, well, pretty fantastic when I tried with my LTD Viper w/ EMG 81-85, LTD Eclipse Custom with single SD AHB-2, Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, got Stacked with different noise...wow, fucking amazing yo...this preamp so real cool...totally awesome


APPLICATION
High-quality guitar preamp with built in boost. Uses a pair of premium, mil-spec, subminiature, USA-made Phillips-Sylvania 62051 pentode tubes. Great for old school metal, new metal, thrash, death and doom.

DESCRIPTION
The high plate voltage and 100% vacuum tube signal path allow the tubes to operate at their fullest potential and provide maximum dynamic range. Additional gain is achieved with a high voltage, low noise, discrete Class A input stage. The solid state input stage increases the resistance of the pedal to microphonics. The result is maximum dynamic range, the most gain, and the heaviest tone your expect from a great tube preamp voiced for metal. Also features user-selectable 4dB or 8dB boost for pre-setting rhythm and lead levels. True bypass. Heavy duty steel chassis.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN BLACKOUTS METAL AHB-2 HUMBUCKER



Wanna put some metal and deep hard sound in your guitar? And wanna avoid some hassle from unrecognized guitar sounds? Check this post, SD - AHB-2 it's good selection for your guitar...try it some and check it out

APPLICATION
Updated, redesigned, and re-launched version of LiveWires Metal humbucker with new preamp, new voicing, and ability to switch between output levels. Perfect for all styles of metal, punk, garage, thrash, drop tunings, and heavy rock.

DESCRIPTION
Blackouts Metal pickups are voiced for extreme heaviness. They are our highest output electric guitar pickups. Period. They have a screaming voice with amazing mid-range punch and they produce thick, dark chords, and hard-hitting leads. When you play extreme aggressive styles and you have to cut through above the other instruments in your band, Blackouts Metal are the call.

COMPLETE
There’s only one version of Blackouts Metal, but you can dial up two very different output levels (see below). Paired with our SFX-04 Twin Tube Mayhem, Blackouts Metal pickups in high-output mode are so extreme, so brutal, and so vicious, you might want to check with local law enforcement to make sure they’re legal. Not really. But you get the idea.

AVAILABLE MODS
Use Blackouts Metal pickups in any humbucker-routed electric guitar. Includes 25K pots, stereo jack, battery clip, pin jumper (see below), and other mounting hardware.

PLAYERS
Blackouts Metal have a unique dual pin configuration on the underside of the pickup for two modes of output: loud and louder. With the same aggressive tonality in each mode, you now have a choice in output. With the jumper removed, you have a high output bridge humbucker that’s still compatible with a neck pickup or the clean channel on your amp. However, with the jumper in place, you unleash all the raw power, incredible output, and untamed aggression. The pins can also be wired to a mini-switch or push/pull, for an on board boost! Not splitable. Available with black or white covers.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

HEALTHY HANDS (FOR GUITARIST AND BASS PLAYER)



Guitar Players are often responsible for adding harmony and structure to a piece of music. Harmony, in essence as we perceive it in music, is a balance of one or more notes within the given musical environment. As we think of this balance in terms of musicality, we often overlook the need for balance in the physicality of playing. Without this awareness we open ourselves up for the dissonance to overthrow the balance of harmony and cause physical discomforts.

“The best prevention is to stretch the hands and fingers before and after practicing or performing”

The most common physical threat to guitarists is RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury. There are many types of RSI (many commonly referred to as Carpel Tunnel, Tennis Elbow, or even Tendinitis) and the name says it all. Repeating particular scales or chords, especially ones that require some fancy finger-work, cause the muscles to overwork in one direction leaving the opposite muscles weak which in turn creates the imbalance which eventually leads to swelling, achiness, and arthritic pain. RSI is much like spraining a wrist or ankle, but in the case of guitarists the discomfort is usually experienced in either one of the first 3 fingers and or the palm near the thumb. Ignoring the early onset of RSI can cause some long-term difficulties, so it’s best to “nip that sucka in the bud” as soon as you feel it, or better yet start implementing some preventative measures now.

The best prevention is to stretch the hands and fingers before and after practicing or performing. There are several great resources for guitarists in regards to hand stretches but I will suggest one that is crucial. As I mention RSI is caused by over-straining the muscles in one direction, so by adding resistance and working the muscles the other way, we can correct this. So we fret pushing our fingers inward towards the neck so to work the opposite muscle group, place a rubber band over your fingertips and thumb (holding them all straight and touching the fingertips together) simply open and close the hand. The resistance of the rubber-band will help build the muscles that will balance out your fret hand (do this for your picking hand as well).




If you’re already feeling the pain of RSI then take a few days off from practicing, try to keep the fingers out straight and maybe even use an icepack (or a bag of frozen french fries from your freezer). There are many healthy ways to approach the healing process as well. Keep the joints hydrated by drinking lots of water. Supply the muscles, bones, and joints with all the nutrients they need to be strong. As a longtime student of the healing arts and dabbling herbalist I would recommend taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement and Glucosamine which will greatly help you heal fast and stay healthy. There are also many holistic herbs (ie: Devil’s Claw, Black Cohosh, Valerian Root, etc.) that can aide with the swelling and pain. But again, and most importantly be sure to practice proper stretching and exercise.

So practice with care and always play it safe. After all, your music is in your hands!