The GAS confessional - all who suffer are welcome. :)

[footman]

I'm having a field monitor delivered today for my macro photography, I said to my wife that it's the last item I need to complete the set up.
She replied that I said that last week and the week before and......

 

[Fuji Dave]

X-T4 in Silver arrived today

 

[AZ6]

X-T4 in Silver arrived today

I've actually been looking at the Fuji website today. I do not need another camera. I have sufficient, and need to consider space.

But by Christ do they look good....

 

[Fuji Dave]

I've actually been looking at the Fuji website today. I do not need another camera. I have sufficient, and need to consider space.

But by Christ do they look good....

I did`nt need another camera, but as it was the T4 I thought why not as I`m bored here.

 

[hunnymonster]

A Peak Design Slide strap... I think straps are very personal things like bags - it's a pain in the hole to find one that I like... And that's long enough (being 6'5" doesn't help much in that respect)

 

[Raymond Lin]

I have zero GAS for new camera gears lately because there is no opportunity to photograph what I usually do. So bought a new old Fender Strat instead.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I have zero GAS for new camera gears lately because there is no opportunity to photograph what I usually do. So bought a Fender Strat instead.

It's very worn looking and the saddles are all rusty - I hope it was cheap.

 

[Raymond Lin]

It's very worn looking and the saddles are all rusty - I hope it was cheap.

Tell me about it, they even lost the back cover!

 

[ancient_mariner]

Is that a custom shop relic? Hopefully she plays nicely

I've been a strat player from '90 when I bought my MIJ F strat until just a couple of years ago, when suddenly a Les Paul made complete sense and it's almost all I use live for non-slide now. At home I have a strat laying around in the livingroom to pick up & noodle, but when I go out the Tokai comes with me.

I did see a G&L ASAT Tribute last week for good money that really tempted me, but I play so little it's impossible to justify.

 

[Bebop]

I have zero GAS for new camera gears lately because there is no opportunity to photograph what I usually do. So bought a Fender Strat instead.

Snap

.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Snap

ap... View attachment 281580 View attachment 281581

Ha, J20 too?

 

[Kaltenberg Mike]

A pair of Magreel ice-fishing gloves with removable caps on the thumbs, index and middle fingers. I was out shooting in the blue hour in the mountains on Friday and was ticked off having to remove my gloves repeatedly. At €10.99 a whole lot cheaper than essentially the same product for the photography prosumer, some of which go for €75 or so.

 

[ancient_mariner]

AND a Lazy J as well (can't grumble - I've no space for more amps).

 

[Raymond Lin]

Is that a custom shop relic? Hopefully she plays nicely

I've been a strat player from '90 when I bought my MIJ F strat until just a couple of years ago, when suddenly a Les Paul made complete sense and it's almost all I use live for non-slide now. At home I have a strat laying around in the livingroom to pick up & noodle, but when I go out the Tokai comes with me.

I did see a G&L ASAT Tribute last week for good money that really tempted me, but I play so little it's impossible to justify.

Narh.....I did think about it but I didn't want to spend that much, this is everything i want from a CS but the sticker. Nitro lacquer, RW board, vintage tuners, custom shop 69 pickups, satin neck, relic, checking etc. It's a 2008 MIM Roadworn series. It weights under 7lbs.

 

[Bebop]

Ha, J20 too?

Yes! Not mine actually, I stick to bass and acoustic - belongs to the OH - you must have the same taste in sound... that elusive sound.... not to mention playability etc.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Narh.....I did think about it but I didn't want to spend that much, this is everything i want from a CS but the sticker. Nitro lacquer, RW board, vintage tuners, custom shop 69 pickups, rekic, checking etc. It's a 2008 MIM Roadworn series. It weights under 7lbs.

Nice. I have a featherwieght MIM here (the one in the livingroom) that's like that: veneer RW board, BG pickups, Wilkinson tuners, Steel block trem, but the wear is all from use (was in bits when I got it, and it's not pretty under the guard). Pretty sure it's a squier with the little circular squier logo that went on the top of the headstock sanded off, but it plays fine. I really need to get the old MIJ refretted as it's almost unplayable, but it's a maple neck, and that is expensive/involves butchery.

 

[ancient_mariner]

that elusive sound....

When you start building amps to try to find that sound, as well as swapping out not just speakers, but positioning different sized bits of foam inside the cab and annealing valves in liquid nitrogen (seriously) THAT'S when you know you're looking for that elusive sound.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Yes! Not mine actually, I stick to bass and acoustic - belongs to the OH - you must have the same taste in sound... that elusive sound.... not to mention playability etc.

We must do, they are very good together.

Nice. I have a featherwieght MIM here (the one in the livingroom) that's like that: veneer RW board, BG pickups, Wilkinson tuners, Steel block trem, but the wear is all from use (was in bits when I got it, and it's not pretty under the guard). Pretty sure it's a squier with the little circular squier logo that went on the top of the headstock sanded off, but it plays fine. I really need to get the old MIJ refretted as it's almost unplayable, but it's a maple neck, and that is expensive/involves butchery.

This has a real RW board, later years they swapped to Pau Ferro but the early ones like mine is RW. The guitar itself is Custom Shop designed but made in Mexico. It's quite expensive for a MIM guitar actually, current Vintera models are about £600, something like mine goes for about £800+ on eBay, they were around £1k new before they were discontinued in 2018.

 

[Bebop]

When you start building amps to try to find that sound, as well as swapping out not just speakers, but positioning different sized bits of foam inside the cab and annealing valves in liquid nitrogen (seriously) THAT'S when you know you're looking for that elusive sound.

You have a bad case

My son has taken up playing bass and I was shocked at the difference our fingers made to the sound, despite exactly the same guitar and amp setup. I had read it made a difference but I was utterly amazed. His sound was far more muddy.

Sorry this is slightly off the GAS photography topic.

 

[ManxTom]

My other passion in long distance rifle shooting, ie 1200m or more. It's a shame you can't get custom built cameras like you can rifles..!!




This was built for me and set me back around £4000, and another £1500 for the scope. Nothing good comes cheap..

 

[ancient_mariner]

You have a bad case

My son has taken up playing bass and I was shocked at the difference our fingers made to the sound, despite exactly the same guitar and amp setup. I had read it made a difference but I was utterly amazed. His sound was far more muddy.

Sorry this is slightly off the GAS photography topic.

I was moderate - used to be involved on 18watt.com, and the debates over tonal qualities of different caps and resistors were amazing, however they would often produce recordings where it was possible to hear the difference (i.e. Zoso caps - expensive - sounded muddy at first, but after 24 hours 'burn in' were excellent).

Bass involves a lot of finger technique, and where the strings are plucked makes an enormous difference to the sound. I have a P type with a musicman style pickup at the bridge, and if I pluck at the neck it's soft & woolly, but near the bridge makes it growl and sound wonderful. That's different with a J type, which is more even or the fretless which is pretty smooth everywhere.

As for GAS - it's all about the tools of creativity.

 

[Raymond Lin]

My other passion in long distance rifle shooting, ie 1200m or more. It's a shame you can't get custom built cameras like you can rifles..!!


View attachment 281586

This was built for me and set me back around £4000, and another £1500 for the scope. Nothing good comes cheap..

I think every hobby starts out around a couple of hundred pounds then can get to £5k very fast. A boutique tube amp is about £2k, and a high end guitar is £2k+ too, and we haven't talk about pedals or recording equipment. You can easily drop £10k on a few guitars, amps, pedals.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I think every hobby starts out around a couple of hundred pounds then can get to £5k very fast. A boutique tube amp is about £2k, and a high end guitar is £2k+ too, and we haven't talk about pedals or recording equipment. You can easily drop £10k on a few guitars, amps, pedals.

I've never spent that kind of money TBH. The most expensive guitar I ever bought was either a JJ goldtop (£650 new at a show) or a Heritage H150CM bought used from the US. The strat was £215 in 1989. My AC30 was bought used for £275 in 1977 and that's probably the closest I've ever had to a £1000+ equivalent amp. Main amp these days is a Pignose G40V (like a bassman in a tiny cab with a 10" speaker) with an eminence Ragin Cajun speaker and slightly non-stock valves (12AT7 in V1 IIRC). I do like pedals (really need to flog some) but happy to use budget Chinese stuff that mostly sounds good - having the right speaker makes an enormous difference to how good or bad an overdrive sounds.

It's been fun trying guitars, but I'm down to 10 or so electrics, 3 acoustics and 3 basses these days. It took 20 years to realise that there are great guitars at all price points, and when I play electric slide it's with a First Act Lola that I paid £35 for.

 

[ManxTom]

I think every hobby starts out around a couple of hundred pounds then can get to £5k very fast. A boutique tube amp is about £2k, and a high end guitar is £2k+ too, and we haven't talk about pedals or recording equipment. You can easily drop £10k on a few guitars, amps, pedals.

Indeed.. my first shotgun cost me all of £150.00. Move it on 50+ years and I have two that I could sell for £20k each, another two that would probably, on a good day, fetch £7-9k each. I have a friend who is a gunsmith and makes beautifully crafted English shotguns. The starting, entry level price.... £25,000..!! Order a Purdey or a Ho;lland & Holland and you'll wait a year for it to be made and you'll have paid over £90,000..

Perhaps we're all better off with cap guns, Kodak Brownies and a 1960's Epiphone..!! LOL

 

[Raymond Lin]

I've never spent that kind of money TBH. The most expensive guitar I ever bought was either a JJ goldtop (£650 new at a show) or a Heritage H150CM bought used from the US. The strat was £215 in 1989. My AC30 was bought used for £275 in 1977 and that's probably the closest I've ever had to a £1000+ equivalent amp. Main amp these days is a Pignose G40V (like a bassman in a tiny cab with a 10" speaker) with an eminence Ragin Cajun speaker and slightly non-stock valves (12AT7 in V1 IIRC). I do like pedals (really need to flog some) but happy to use budget Chinese stuff that mostly sounds good - having the right speaker makes an enormous difference to how good or bad an overdrive sounds.

It's been fun trying guitars, but I'm down to 10 or so electrics, 3 acoustics and 3 basses these days. It took 20 years to realise that there are great guitars at all price points, and when I play electric slide it's with a First Act Lola that I paid £35 for.

You can get good sound on any level, like cameras, you can get good photos with any camera. What I realise is that the better I am at something, the less gear I need. I fool myself thinking I need all this stuff, it makes me a better guitar player (it does not) but I buy it anyway....with cameras I am much more confident in my abilities and I can work with what I've got. One time my 24-70 died and I had to make do with a 16-35/2.8, 50mm and 85mm as my other lenses in the focal length that I mostly shot I. So I put on the 16-35 and worked with that, it's a bit like a guitarist who breaks a string mid-song and need to work around finishing by hitting the same note on a different part of the neck.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Indeed.. my first shotgun cost me all of £150.00. Move it on 50+ years and I have two that I could sell for £20k each, another two that would probably, on a good day, fetch £7-9k each. I have a friend who is a gunsmith and makes beautifully crafted English shotguns. The starting, entry level price.... £25,000..!! Order a Purdey or a Ho;lland & Holland and you'll wait a year for it to be made and you'll have paid over £90,000..

Perhaps we're all better off with cap guns, Kodak Brownies and a 1960's Epiphone..!! LOL

A 1960's Epiphone would be quite valuable these days lol

 

[Bebop]

That is big money @ManxTom! Makes photography seem far less of a financial commitment.

Very true what you say @Raymond Lin. The better you get, the less some things matter, but it can be easier to play a more expensive instrument e.g better action, holds it's tuning etc. Also there is the 'fun' factor and the pleasure of playing a beautiful instrument. My first bass was £40 and had a horrendous action and weight balance. I ended up swapping it for an Olympus XA2 - a sign of what was to come

@ancient_mariner I have 2 basses left now - a Warwick Jazz and a Musicman Sterling. Both sound massively different depending on where you pluck. Much prefer the sound of the Sterling, but it's a heavy beast and unless I'm gig fit, it can make my back ache.

 

[AZ6]

This was built for me and set me back around £4000, and another £1500 for the scope. Nothing good comes cheap..

1200m is insane! I've only ever fired on a 100/200m range. Was given a nice Krupp rifle to shoot with. Felt very well balanced, seemed to suit me very well (better than a left handed rifle I was also given to try, seeing as I'm a southpaw). Asked how much such a rifle would cost to buy (as I was considering the possibility of moving to Norway, and taking up shooting as an activity), and was told it would be around 30,000 Norwegian Kroner (about £3000 at the time, so about £5,700 in today's money). Without the scope.

Indeed.. my first shotgun cost me all of £150.00. Move it on 50+ years and I have two that I could sell for £20k each, another two that would probably, on a good day, fetch £7-9k each. I have a friend who is a gunsmith and makes beautifully crafted English shotguns. The starting, entry level price.... £25,000..!! Order a Purdey or a Ho;lland & Holland and you'll wait a year for it to be made and you'll have paid over £90,000..

I don't get that. It's a shotgun. You can get one for a monkey, down the old Dog and Duck. And they'll kindly shorten it for you...

 

[Raymond Lin]

That is big money @ManxTom! Makes photography seem far less of a financial commitment.

Very true what you say @Raymond Lin. The better you get, the less some things matter, but it can be easier to play a more expensive instrument e.g better action, holds it's tuning etc. Also there is the 'fun' factor and the pleasure of playing a beautiful instrument. My first bass was £40 and had a horrendous action and weight balance. I ended up swapping it for an Olympus XA2 - a sign of what was to come

@ancient_mariner I have 2 basses left now - a Warwick Jazz and a Musicman Sterling. Both sound massively different depending on where you pluck. Much prefer the sound of the Sterling, but it's a heavy beast and unless I'm gig fit, it can make my back ache.

I am the poster boy for excess gear, I have a personality to get the best gear I can afford for pretty much anything. I like getting something that lasts and something that holds value (within reason). I don’t mind spending a little if I know in the long run will be cheaper to own. With cameras I buy the top end lenses because it saves me upgrading up and lose money. With guitars…I am a little embarrassed to say that my first guitar was a Taylor T5and my first full electric was a PRS Custom 24 (not SE, but full fat USA, with a 10-top). I started learning late so I was earning, with not much outgoing and I was able to afford them. In terms of investment, I bought them both at sale, the Taylor actually sells for 10% than I paid and the PRS I “only” paid £1300 and it was new.



My first tube amp was a Bogner Atma. Overall I have not actually lost any money in my gear if I sell them all tomorrow, in fact I would expect a 20% profit, my Gibson is worth double what I paid if going by Reverb used gear value. I was amazed.



That’s the thing with better guitars is so true, when I was 15 I remember borrowing an acoustic off a friend, it wasn’t good. My Palir’s action is so low, I don’t know how it doesn’t buzz anywhere! It’s about 1.2mm on the Low E on the 12th fret! I love it. Intonation is spot on, it sustains great even unplugged and holds in tune as well.

 

[ManxTom]

1200m is insane! I've only ever fired on a 100/200m range. Was given a nice Krupp rifle to shoot with. Felt very well balanced, seemed to suit me very well (better than a left handed rifle I was also given to try, seeing as I'm a southpaw). Asked how much such a rifle would cost to buy (as I was considering the possibility of moving to Norway, and taking up shooting as an activity), and was told it would be around 30,000 Norwegian Kroner (about £3000 at the time, so about £5,700 in today's money). Without the scope.



I don't get that. It's a shotgun. You can get one for a monkey, down the old Dog and Duck. And they'll kindly shorten it for you...

Yes, and you can go to M&S and get a suit off the peg. It will fit you, ok-ish. Shotguns are all about fit. Having a gun made by Purdey or H&H means it's fitted to your exact requirements. If you have shot a rifle then you'll know how it feels in your shoulder, was the reach to the trigger comfortable? or did you have to stretch? That's what is called 'length of pull', Now consider the 'length of pull' wearing a T-shirt.. then wearing a shirt, sweater and coat.. it changes with what you wear. A custom built gun will be made to find a 'sweet spot' that suits all occasions regardless of what you're wearing. Probably visiting the gunmaker two maybe three times for fitting - just as you would for a bespoke suit. Oh and I'd stay clear of the old Dog and Duck... minimum legal requirement for shotguns are barrels no less than 24"..!!

 

[AZ6]

Yes, and you can go to M&S and get a suit off the peg. It will fit you, ok-ish. Shotguns are all about fit. Having a gun made by Purdey or H&H means it's fitted to your exact requirements. If you have shot a rifle then you'll know how it feels in your shoulder, was the reach to the trigger comfortable? or did you have to stretch? That's what is called 'length of pull', Now consider the 'length of pull' wearing a T-shirt.. then wearing a shirt, sweater and coat.. it changes with what you wear. A custom built gun will be made to find a 'sweet spot' that suits all occasions regardless of what you're wearing. Probably visiting the gunmaker two maybe three times for fitting - just as you would for a bespoke suit. Oh and I'd stay clear of the old Dog and Duck... minimum legal requirement for shotguns are barrels no less than 24"..!!

Yeah but ninety grand??? Many of the Norwegian hunters I met modified their own rifles/had them modified, and there were rifles where the stocks had various extra bits added over time, as the rifle had changed hands. The Krupp seemed to fit me perfectly, whereas the L/H rifle was a bit too long in the stock and the handgrip bit had been made for someone with much larger hands. I think had I moved over there, I'd have made my own stocks (some are just amazing, intricate carved and inlaid details, beautiful wood; you wouldn't want to actually use them for fear of damaging them!). I really liked the way these tools (not weapons) were personalised, and found the relationships that the hunters had with their rifles, fascinating. You value and respect this tool, because it feeds you. A very different attitude towards firearms, than you see in some other places. So I can see the value in such things.

But ninety grand???

Don't worry; I'm not going in the Dog and Duck; the carpet's sticky, the beer is flat and there's blokes in there who've been nursing pints so long they've got mould on them. And you need to wipe your feet on the way out...

 

[Raymond Lin]

There are guitars and amps in 6 figures but they are sold on their brand/heritage/history rather than objectively.

 

[ManxTom]

I totally agree with what you say regarding 'weapons'. They are not, they are, as you rightly say, tools to do a specific job with. A weapon is an object with which you intend to do someone harm with.. but I think it's a lost cause because eve the police, when they come to do their annual security inspection, call my rifles, shotguns and pistols 'weapons'..!!

Stock making, whether for rifles or shotguns, is an art form almost. Any rifle with a good pedigree will have the action 'bedded' into the stock to prevent movement. The art of rifle bedding is wholly from the Dark Side..!! It is such a precise job. You'll be aware of how wind can affect the flight of a bullet (not so much over 100m), for example a bullet shot at 1000m with a 90 degree wind of 1mph will move the point of impact TEN inches..!! Now imagine that you've bedded a rifle action in the stock and it's say 1.5mm out of centre, to the left. Doesn't take much to work out that the rifle will always shoot to the left unless you compensate with your scope.. but someone, less knowledgeable, my never spot the problem and give up the gun as a 'bad gun'..

Stock making.. wouldn't try it.. ever. And the £90k.. well let's just say that every part of that gun will be handmade. Every part. The barrels braised and sweated together, the action/lock work all hand made, the stock born out of the finest Turkish walnut, shaped, polished, buffed all to your personal requirements over many, many hours.

There's every reason that English shotguns are considered to be the finest in the world. The price, and I do admit that they are high, just reflects the craftsmanship that goes into making such fine guns.

Apart from the long range shooting I love, I used to travel to Scotland, Norfolk, Dorset, well really all over the country, deer stalking. I have done a lot of pest control for farmers, rabbits, pigeon etc., and I still enjoy a season on the pheasant. ALL the game shot is consumed either by my wife and I, or goes to pubs etc. We even used to supply a raptor rescue group with fresh meat for their rescued owls, falcons etc.

PS: I have never hunted for trophies.. not my game, not my scene at all.

 

[ManxTom]

AZ6.. here you go. This target was shot at 600 yards... good few years ago now..!! My eyes were better back then..

 

[AZ6]

AZ6.. here you go. This target was shot at 600 yards... good few years ago now..!! My eyes were better back then..

View attachment 281628

Is that 10, 20, 30 and 50cm diameter rings? If so, that is very, very impressive at 600 yards!!! That grouping shows very good consistency. I quickly got to be able to consistently hit the 10 cm circle, and the 5cm inner bull at 100m, but given you're over 5 times the distance, that is much more impressive in my book!

 

[ManxTom]

Is that 10, 20, 30 and 50cm diameter rings? If so, that is very, very impressive at 600 yards!!! That grouping shows very good consistency. I quickly got to be able to consistently hit the 10 cm circle, and the 5cm inner bull at 100m, but given you're over 5 times the distance, that is much more impressive in my book!

The '10' spot is 40mm. Here's some others..

.308 @ 100m. That's a 40mm box and a grouping, edge to edge of +/- 24mm



This one is a bit of a cheat. It was 300m but shot off a bench, so I was nice and steady and it was totally still, no wind. The centre '10' spot is 25mm. That's a 178 grain bullet = around 11 grams. Muzzle velocity = 2,776 fps = kinetic energy of around 1,900 ft lbs (2576 joules).



Minimum requirement for deer stalking is five shots in to 2.5"at 100m, shot prone, kneeling and standing - off sticks.

 

[AZ6]

The '10' spot is 40mm. Here's some others..

Amazing. So that's a 18cm target at almost 550m? Bloody hell.

Minimum requirement for deer stalking is five shots in to 2.5"at 100m, shot prone, kneeling and standing - off sticks.

I can't remember the Norwegian requirement, but I'm sure it was pretty similar. You have to get a minimum number of shots inside the 5cm
diameter inner bull, at 100mm, probs in different positions as you say. I was getting regular inner bulls (sitting), with a rifle that hadn't been set up for me personally. I was pretty proud of that. The other shooters were pretty impressed at a 'novice', and I was invited to join up. Sadly I never got to move to Norway, and living in London, shooting rifles would have been very expensive and difficult to be able to get a license etc, so I never did get to pursue that activity. I did find it amazingly therapeutic and meditative though.

 

[Graham]

I got a Z6 2 weeks ago and I`m just waiting on a Siggy 20/1.4 to arrive

 

[ManxTom]

,,,I did find it amazingly therapeutic and meditative though.

Absolutely. Get on the range and have other 'stuff' in your head and you'll never shoot the groups you want. Your state of mind, posture, breathing all come into play. I can be very 'Zen' like, I have watched outstanding shooters 'get in the zone'. Eyes shut, concentrating before the shot, almost 'seeing' the shot. Of course in a hunting scenario it's totally different. All senses are geared to seeing and hearing and being totally silent and still. Deer are wary creatures with amazing sense of smell and hearing. Let them know you're around and it can be a day wasted. If you still want to shoot, get yourself out to Bisley. There are lots of clubs who operate out of there, you might find something you like..

 

[AZ6]

Absolutely. Get on the range and have other 'stuff' in your head and you'll never shoot the groups you want. Your state of mind, posture, breathing all come into play. I can be very 'Zen' like, I have watched outstanding shooters 'get in the zone'. Eyes shut, concentrating before the shot, almost 'seeing' the shot. Of course in a hunting scenario it's totally different. All senses are geared to seeing and hearing and being totally silent and still. Deer are wary creatures with amazing sense of smell and hearing. Let them know you're around and it can be a day wasted. If you still want to shoot, get yourself out to Bisley. There are lots of clubs who operate out of there, you might find something you like..

.