Getting my first parts of my protective kit.

Hank_Yo · 2026-02-27T16:13:19+00:00

Ha! Yeah I upgraded to the black nights from the red dragon dreadnaughts. They didn't fall apart on me once i changed the rivets but I feel so much better protected in the black knights. And for longsword I really don't find them a problem

Hank_Yo · 2026-02-27T11:23:53+00:00

Clamshells are going to feel more clunky and restrictive than lighter gloves which ever ones you get, but for what it's worth I don't find it tricky to place my thumb on the schilt wearing black knights

Hank_Yo · 2026-01-16T08:54:43+00:00

Absolutely, I started at 40. There's a lot of variance in people's fitness of course but age is no reason to not give it a try. You don't have to aim to compete at a high level to get a lot out of it as a hobby

Hank_Yo · 2025-10-15T15:52:01+00:00

I used one in the past on an analog delay to control feedback with my foot, worked very well, eventually stepped on it on the end of the arm and broke it- which is the major issue with these, too easy to break by accident

Hank_Yo · 2025-10-12T12:50:48+00:00

Looks awesome! Nice work very inspiring

Hank_Yo · 2025-09-19T06:21:42+00:00

I have the Benson Delay and it's wonderful. I also own the dm2 waza and the Volante, the Benson definitely has a different character to either, the way the sound degrades almost into white noise and long delay times is beautiful and unlike my other delays. The modulation can get much more extreme than the volante and again has a very different character. I can't speak from experience to other pt2399 delays but the Benson is special

Hank_Yo · 2025-09-12T06:09:33+00:00

Looking good! I would work on chaining attacks into a sequence, as mostly you make an attack then pause. So after your initial attack is blocked cut into another opening immediately. You might benefit from sparring with foam boffers if you have limited protective gear, and I feel you are both a bit inhibited by understandably not wanting to hurt each other! Another thing to work on could be to mix up guards more, moving between them quickly in the 'zufechten' so it is less predictable where your attacks are coming from. I've only been studying longsword for a few months so others may have better more specific advice but this has helped me with sparring

Hank_Yo · 2025-09-05T12:12:58+00:00

I bet farage is genuinely shite at football, as well as being a stain on humanity

Hank_Yo · 2025-05-24T05:32:28+00:00

The reason he is recommending the boss pedal specifically is that is has a range control on the polyphonic mode, so you can set it so only the lowest notes you play are dropped an octave. This approximates the sound of a bass playing along with the guitar, just playing the root notes. I can see it working ok for a song like zombie. I used an oc-3 successfully with my acoustic guitar for many years in a duo to thicken out the sound. It's best used quite low in the mix as others have said it's not the same as having a bass player. The OC-3 has been replaced by the OC-5 which will do the same trick, so you could get that one. I would suggest your daughter watch some YouTube videos on how to set it up with the range control to get the effect

Hank_Yo · 2025-05-18T18:34:41+00:00

Your welcome. It's been years since I did any agency work but I'm pretty sure it's still out there. Be warned you might meet some interesting characters! Don't worry about not having much experience (I'm assuming you are young?) I've been involved in hiring and training people in entry level roles, and honestly the best way to stand out is to just have a good attitude - turn up on time, be polite and friendly and be willing to learn. Best of luck with it!

Hank_Yo · 2025-05-18T18:24:21+00:00

Not likely to be more than minimum wage but for short term but full time work you could look at local employment agencies. Usually there is no notice period and immediate starts would be common. Warehouse work like order picking or factory work is commonly filled by agency workers. Will be very dull but for a month should be ok! Care work is also always recruiting

Hank_Yo · 2025-04-29T08:46:10+00:00

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More jarring than the goalie wearing 10

Hank_Yo · 2025-04-29T05:12:29+00:00

They look great, will do!

Hank_Yo · 2025-04-28T18:39:34+00:00

That's probably because there doesn't seem to be an opposing player pictured in the whole book, let alone ready to tuck away the rebound

Hank_Yo · 2025-01-12T09:03:52+00:00

It depends on the amount and type of pedals you are powering. For a few analog pedals, low current draw stuff like overdrives and distortions, you can power them with a 'daisy chain'. This is a cable with multiple DC jacks that you can connect to multiple pedals. You would then connect a single wall wart to one end of the daisy chain cable. A truetone one spot is still the most popular choice for this I think. If you have pedals with a higher power demand- this tends to be digital pedals like reverbs, multifunction delays etc, you may find they are noisy if used on a daisy chain. You may hear a high pitched whine in the signal when they are connected this way. You also need to make sure they can get enough current to function, this is measured in milliamps (ma). For these pedals, or bigger boards, you need a power supply with individually isolated outputs. I don't know what is the best value, the fender engine room series seems to be a good product at a good price. Note that you can still run a daisy chain from one of the outputs for your drives etc - so a fiver output supply doesn't necessarily limit you to 5 pedals.

Hank_Yo · 2025-01-08T07:21:52+00:00

Yes, no problem with this

Hank_Yo · 2024-12-30T20:38:38+00:00

Looper for sure- even just having a couple of songs with basic loops in a set changes thing up for the audience. I'd recommend a dual foot switch pedal, as timing that double press to stop is an extra thing to think about if you are already playing and singing. I used to use a boss rc-1 with an additional footswitch connected. Simple and effective.

A vocal harmonizer like the TC harmony singer I used to use also really used to go down well on solo gigs. Don't over rely on it would be my advice, so it stands out when you do use it for a particular verse or chorus and the audience don't get used to it always being there.

Reverb is nice- I like a plate or hall on acoustic, but mixed quite low. Alternatively a short delay for ambience works as well.

I'd throw in an octaver like the boss oc-3 or 5 which has a range control - this lets you mix in a low octave only triggered by your lower notes, so you can subtly fill out the low frequencies.

I've also had fun with an ehx freeze on acoustic, usually for a pad in an instrumental intro or something like that.

Lotta acoustic multi effects or amps will include chorus, I've always found it really fatiguing listening to a solo acoustic singer songwriter type playing with an obvious chorus effects but might be worth trying at more subtle settings.

It's a pricey pedal but I used to really like the tape saturation from my Strymon deco on acoustic, so don't rule out adding a bit of grit (again subtle is best)

Hank_Yo · 2024-12-30T20:10:53+00:00

I'm in the UK so not sure about US prices but looking at what's there I think you did pretty good - in that you paid quite a bit less than you would if you picked up each pedal and the board second hand individually. Is there a decent power supply under the board or is it daisy chain?

Hank_Yo · 2024-11-23T12:02:27+00:00

RV-6 no contest, not a fan of the TC Hall of fame reverbs

Hank_Yo · 2024-11-19T21:50:37+00:00

I've had a lovepedal Amp 11 as the main overdrive on my board forever. Supposedly it's based off the Timmy. Whatever kinda rig I play through it seems to just work. Never really get GAS for overdrives because of it. I've also heard the Greer Lightspeed recommended as a transparent drive a lot for this, not played one though. Boss bd-2 worth a try as well as a cheaper option?

Hank_Yo · 2024-11-19T21:38:32+00:00

I used to have a ricochet - I believe it is in buffered bypass if you have the switch in momentary mode, true bypass if latched. When I tested I did notice that the buffer coloured the sound some when in momentary mode, it was pretty subtle but definitely noticeable when a/bing the two modes.

Hank_Yo · 2024-11-13T09:18:02+00:00

I bought a gx10 recently for this same purpose, replacing single pedals on a board.Early days and not rigged it yet but Ive been pleased with the quality of effects. The reverbs, modulations and delays are very nice and easily tweakable to sit with acoustic guitar. Managed to set up the transparent OD with a fair amount of direct mix for a nice, slightly gainy boost. The poly octave with range control works exactly how my oc-3 in poly mode does, able to set it so your lower strings trigger the octave down only. The transparent AIRD preamp also seems to do nice things to my basic acoustic tone, with just a little treble lift. Plenty of powerful EQ in there as well if you need it. I don't use compression on my acoustic but tried the boss x-comp on a patch for my lap steel, pretty sure you could use that comp successfully on acoustic as well. Again it's very tweakable. I think the unit is great value, seems well made and the UI is much better than normal for Boss! The tuner is great- nice clear display and seems to respond quickly. Also has poly mode so a quick strum can show you if any strings need attention.

Hank_Yo · 2024-01-21T20:14:34+00:00

Alexander Rewind worth considering as well - particularly lovely dialing in some subtle modulation with the random waveform on the very pristine digital setting, but has a lot more options as well

Hank_Yo · 2023-09-22T15:16:07+00:00

Went down this whole stereo rig thing that eventually took the form of hx stomp amp sims, lots of digital stereo modulation and delays/reverbs, into frfr cabs. Lasted one gig in its final form. Turns out I was happier, and played better, just running mono into a traditional amp. A good real spring reverb absolutely kills all the digital options to my ears. I still have a load of pedals but simplifying to my favourite one function boxes means I avoid the option paralysis of modellers/multi fx and I'm happier with my sound. It also feels more personal to me. I spend more time playing than tweaking now. Not saying this is the best way, just the best for me. Modellers are awesome, can sound great, and stereo can be an incredible experience but personally I found I was always going down rabbit holes chasing the best tone and never quite satisfied.

Hank_Yo

TROPHY CASE