What has happened to Ben / Denim & Leather/Twilight Odyssey ?

[dave_mc]

It's true, but we still see little of the gratuitous bitching and rudeness that often crops up on other forums.

Those discussions about politics/religion/social issues do get pretty heated, but I think they (generally) remain true debates rather than trading insults.  

+1

though jonathan said it actually wasn't the politics/religion type threads, and i can't think of any off-hand where there was rudeness (or maybe i've just forgotten or missed them). EDIT: ah right i might have remembered one now. the bicycle one? :lol:

fwiw there have been a bunch of threads where i haven't posted anything so as not to "rock the boat"- maybe it's not me who's being referred to as the "longer standing members", but as someone with a political persuasion closer to nfe than a lot on this board, I haven't seen anything he's posted which was particularly offensive or argumentative- certainly no more so (and probably a fair bit less than) things posted by other people with a political persuasion further away from NFE. I've seen plenty of things posted not-by-nfe, by people-who've-been-here-long-enough-to-know-better, where I thought "I can't believe they posted that."

Not trying to start a fight or anything, just trying to add a little balance in case it seems like people are ganging up on nfe.

FWIW I barely know what djent is either and i haven't left. then again i rarely post in the pickup section since ben handed me my ass on a plate once (with good cause, to be fair :lol: ).

EDIT: also +1 to mark's post on the previous page.

[MDV]

If 'Djent' is a genre then metal as a whole is 'Chug', blues is 'Plink', jazz is 'Ding' and hair metal is 'widdlywiddlywiddlywiddlywiddlywiddlywiddly'

Does that make it any clearer? onomatopoic genre thingymajig that by and large wants to be Mesuggah and Sikth when it grows up.

[Elliot]

I have no idea what djent is either - is it that metal thing where the player makes a low bend on the bottom strings every 4th beat?

(btw this is a serious question)

[HTH AMPS]

I personally like the variation we get on this forum, the fact I can come to one place and discuss everything from blues and jazz to classic rock, punk and extreme metal is something you'll struggle to find elsewhere.  Then there is the political debates which, while sometimes tiresome as they drag on, are mostly well natured affairs and informative.  

I would however like to see some BKP products aimed at the rock market though, there does seem to have been a glut of humbuckers aimed at the br00talz market lately.

Something that fills the Wide Range humbucker market would be cool and maybe something that does the big open PAF sound with a higher output would be cool (like the 15k type of affair I've been using from another pickup mfr for some time now).  The Abraxas is very close on that score, but its also a little dark (nothing that the amp's EQ can't fix though).  

[MDV]

I have no idea what djent is either - is it that metal thing where the player makes a low bend on the bottom strings every 4th beat?

(btw this is a serious question)

No, its a verbal mimicing of the sound of an open string or note hit hard (or relatively thin string hit softer) with a medium gain tone EQd to accentuate pick attack thats quickly muted. The pick attack and sound of the string going very slightly sharp, then being stopped gives a "Gent" sound. Somehow, this commonplace way of hitting strings thats been around for probably centuries (and by rights Gypsie Folk has far more claim to it as a technique) became a meaningless sub-genre.

meshuggah are often heralded as its progenitors, periphery its popularisers, and none of them seem to want anything to do with the term. Sevenstring.org is its natural habitat (where you can be banned for not gushing with sycophantic incoherent lust about anything periphery do...actually you can be banned on SS.org for practically anything, but thats beside the point)

[Miracle Man]

Sevenstring.org is its natural habitat (where you can be banned for not gushing with sycophantic incoherent lust about anything periphery do...actually you can be banned on SS.org for practically anything, but thats beside the point)

Post of the day in my book!  :lol:

[Tellboy]

Also notice that Hunter hasn't posted for a few weeks - hope he hasn't gone the same way as Ben as I found his reviews of pickups /gear to be spot on and they were usually backed up by excellent clips. His type of posts were/are the main reason I came to this forum (bought several bits of gear after reading his posts ..Tascam DR1, Xotic EP Boost etc). Unfortunately the forum has tended to drift away in other directions which don't really interest me in the same way.

Always found Ben's posts to be interesting even if I didn't agree with some of them.

[shobet]

I just tend to not read the more verbose posts, mostly I'm simply not interested. I treat it like the TV, if I don't like what I'm seeing I simply change channels. Same goes for the threads I'm not interested in.

[Telerocker]

I just tend to not read the more verbose posts, mostly I'm simply not interested. I treat it like the TV, if I don't like what I'm seeing I simply change channels. Same goes for the threads I'm not interested in.

So do I.

[Johnny Mac]

It's a great shame Ben has gone. He was one of the main posters here answering questions and giving advise when this forum got going in 2005. Back then we didn't have these huge drawn out debates about current affairs ect but like many have said you don't have to get involved. Things change all the time though and here is no exception. I can think of a lot of big posters from the past that are no longer seen here. I hope Ben is ok though and wish him well. I met him twice and thought he was a great bloke.
I don't think other musical styles are overlooked here. It is what you make it. The pick up range covers all musical styles and the modern metal range are doing well, which is good for business. You have to keep your finger on the pulse and not get complacent in an ever changing market. If you don't, well look what happened to the British Motorcycle industry.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I would however like to see some BKP products aimed at the rock market though, there does seem to have been a glut of humbuckers aimed at the br00talz market lately.

Something that fills the Wide Range humbucker market would be cool and maybe something that does the big open PAF sound with a higher output would be cool (like the 15k type of affair I've been using from another pickup mfr for some time now).  The Abraxas is very close on that score, but its also a little dark (nothing that the amp's EQ can't fix though).  

I am looking forward to Tims answers to the Q&A which should be up soon
i asked if there was more of a potential market for the 9 string humbuckers that he is working on and having to have parts specially made as opposed to demand for things such as mini hum buckers and wide range  hum buckers.

I know that 2012 will bring a few variants that aren't all brootalz
there is the Jaguar pickups that have been promised
The blackhawk isn't apparently all about brootalz and djent it seems - will be good to see what that is about.

I would like to see a couple of pickup variants that offer the weaker end of the spectrum
Because i like 1960s era Rolling stones and I find the mini hum buckers sound good for that sound , I wondered if there was a way to make that happen in a full size hum-bucker , or even something with a slight Gretsch like tone - whether you want rockabilly twang, AC/DC crunch or ZZ Top raunchiness

I would like to see Firebird and mini HBs  in time too

[gordiji]

don't forget the intergenerational thing also.old farts to whippersnappers with a broad range of tastes and personalities.
if you don't like what someone says, big deal.a forum is to air views, even wrong or useless ones.
i'm happy to have shared in all the information posted here.certainly have appreciated your input jonathan 'feline', as
one of the true experts here.

[Johnny Mac]

I was speaking with Ben earlier around this and he has just got tired of the place and all of the childish stuff thats been going on more than anything.

I do also feel that there has been a bit too much  antagonistic behaviour on the forum of late - certainly compared to previous years.

As well as incidents of newbies joining up and posting 100 posts a day and starting a new topic with every other post and annoying the rest of the membership till they get fed up and leave/get asked to leave, there has been a little friction amongst more long standing members, which seems unnecessary.
 
It's not usually in the guitars, pickups or musical sections of the forum, but rather in the off tops areas, and (strangely for the internet) not in the usual hotspots : religion or politics, but rather in response to other social issues and attitudes towards honesty/dishonesty and respect.

There have been accusations of trolling or taking a viewpoint /stance on something , almost as if just for the chance to be diametrically opposed to another view put forward, and hence have a chance for debate or friction.

Maybe that is what Ben got tired of - especially as a mod.

Maybe more time playing guitar and less time in front of a PC would be a remedy.

I agree entirely with everything you said there.

I personally don't find myself on here much at all lately. I find myself going to much calmer places when on the internet nowadays.

On reflection, I think this is why I'm not in here as much as I used to be. I've got so used to it being the way it is now, I've not given it a thought as why it should be this way.

[dave_mc]

I am looking forward to Tims answers to the Q&A which should be up soon
i asked if there was more of a potential market for the 9 string humbuckers that he is working on and having to have parts specially made as opposed to demand for things such as mini hum buckers and wide range  hum buckers.

assuming that's sarcasm, i lulled

I haven't even got as far as trying a 7 string yet, let alone an 8 :lol:

also, when i think about it, maybe there hasn't been as much stuff of interest for me over teh past while either. Nothing to do with teh members or anything like that, but there used to be at least a couple of new threads every day which interested me enough to post in them. Now there are frequently days where i don't post anything (maybe that's a good thing :lol: )- I'm still around but I just don't see anything which interests me enough to post.

Also I'd still say this forum is one of the calmer places online... people actually act like real people here rather than an internet caricature/superhero.

Have you guys who are complaining been to HC? :lol: that place is so crazy even i barely post there (which is a shame as that's where a lot of teh stuff goes down, inside knowledge, news about new products etc.).

[Sifu Ben]

That's a shame, I was just going to send him a PM too :(
Try martial arts forums if you want to see real confrontation :D