Reply To: Musician with CIDP

Yeah! So great to hear from you today! Had the biopsy and EMG this afternoon. Docs are trying to get a definitive (beyond a shadow of a doubt) diagnosis so we can get on with treatment… you know how insurance requirements are. Was bummed when Dr L told me the EMG was normal. I cannot understand why so many tests can be normal and then others be so drastically abnormal. Have to wait 2-3 weeks for biopsy results but that might be the answer. Gotta tell ya, the pix of your axes really lifted my spirits! And all your electrics – yahoo! Strat looks great… they all do. I have a digital camera and can take pictures but haven’t got a clue how to get them from the camera into the ‘puter and then post them! Will ask my daughter to do it for me and so I can send you pix of my guitars. I still kick myself for selling the Gib 335. It’s one of those shoulda’s: “shoulda kept it!” My only electric now is the combo Patriot. Has a surprisingly nice sound either way. I also have a very nice Yamaha acoustic. For some reason, I fell in love with the sound of it and on many occasions have chosen to use it over the others during several recording sessions. I believe it’s the 375 model…. oh my sad memory. It is the cherry sunburst with the big body. Far as I know they stopped making that model some time back… I’m probably way off on that model number but you probably remember the cherry sunburst… very stunning look and well done… I’ve always thought it was their very best finish. I got a custom action job, gold Grovers, and switch off between Marquis lights and Silk n Steel. Every now and then I love the sound of the silk n steel strings. About your fingers and hands… learned an old trick from an elderly classical guitarist I met at a studio session at Pantheon Studios in Scottsdale/Paradise Valley, AZ, 1978. He was so smooth and nimble inspite of those old hands and I had to ask what his secret was…. raw almonds. He told me to eat 2 or 3 everyday, preferably in the morning before breakfast. Gotta tell ya, it seemed to work great. As bad as things are with my hands now, I believe it would be even worse if I hadn’t kept up with my almonds. There is a distinct difference between my pain level in the hands compared to other parts of my body. He told me there was some chemical in the almond that was beneficial to the muscles and ligaments in particular. He told me his grandfather taught him about the almonds. He was a true Spanish classical player. Maybe you could try the almonds and help your fingers. Can’t hurt! Be sure to use raw almonds. I usually find fairly large bags of them at the health food store for less than $4. Gib SG will probably be a lot lighter than the 335. I remember playing a 330 once and it was a tab lighter than the 335. The wood Gibson used was the best and tended to be heavy. Almost all of the semi-solid arch-tops were heavy. I originally lived back east. My grandparents were all from Canada. Maternal from Quebec and paternal from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I live in AZ now… but wish every single day that I was back there in the north country. I miss the clean air, small population, pine trees, ocean, etc. I enjoyed my stays in the big cities… did the big city thing musically but feel like I belong back home now… quiet, peaceful life. I don’t check my email as often as I should but here’s my email address: Pelletierc1@AOL.com. I agree in regard to the piano! Synthesizers were soooo fun back awhile. I kept 2 or 3 in my equipment van and got some of the craziest sounds. Interesting but good. Had all sorts of things – remember syn drums? We did one song that required the sound of a ricochet gunshot… used the 8″ syn drum and sounded so real it scared the tech the first time we used it…. neglected to tell him, slightly on purpose. He was not a happy camper but got over it and agreed it worked great. Will be away for 3-5 days traveling to several different docs. Having a surgical procedure in April and need clearance from certain specialists. Hope you stay well and try the almonds… remember raw only – no salt! Will check in when I get back. Keep pickin’! c/