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The Archive
A service from 'The Serious Writers Guild' at MAKEHITS.COM Written by Dec Cluskey with a little bit opf help from his friends.
This Email first mailed to all Members of 'The Serious Writers Guild' and
subscribers to 'One Minute With Dec' on
26.01.03
"Personally I think these books are like GOLD DUST!
I've only read like 3 releases and already I feel like it's changed my attitude,
my perceptions and my ways of thinking. Not just with my music, but with every
day life! It's like magic!"
[Graeme Smith - 'Serious Writers Guild' member]
"My Emails are written in good humour, and should be read with a smile"
Quite a lot to get through this week so we had better press on....I gotta dash cos' I'm a guest at Grosvenor house in London tonight at a benefit ball.....Lots of reaction to my mention last week that we should all have a 'cost per hour' in our minds, in other words an idea of what our value is worth...I suppose you could call it your 'value in the market place'. I personally have been charging £69 per hour when someone wants the use of my 'brains'. This nice Email has changed my thinking:
£75 per hour - that's outrageous", I thought. But I tried it .... and got more and better clients !
I currently charge £147.00 per hour.
Dec....£69 per hour - for someone with YOUR knowledge and experience ??? You are GIVING it away mate. Put it up to at least DOUBLE that. You'll still be offering an economic value-for-money service. And when what you are offering is unique, you don't need to worry about what the competition is charging, because there ain't any !
[Trevor Dennington]"
Another book issued:
I have the honour of being included in a lot of books..and quite a few biographies and autobiographies...one of the most infamous being the one on 'The Krays', the notorious crooks who were 'put away' for a long time in the UK. I knew the guys, Charlie in particular, and really felt that there was no harm in them - so long as you weren't involved in their business. They were at almost every Show Business gathering in their heyday. I found it odd that Charlie should be imprisoned at such a late stage in his life. Many say that he was 'stitched up' by the police, who carried out a classic 'sting' on him re. supply of drugs. But that is another story.
A book has now been released about another 'character' in our business, James Corrigan. A lovely lovable rogue who was a great pal in my early career and remained a friend. He single handed started the whole craze for the huge, theatre style clubs that became such a force through the Sixties and Seventies and suddenly died overnight [in popularity] in the Eighties.
He asked my band to lay the foundation stone [it's still there today] and built it and opened it as promised in 16 weeks...quite an achievement. Check out this remarkable book:
I had a hoot when I read this from a guy:
"(I've been in the studio since 05h15 to finish off a project before the Electricity Board cut us off at 09h!)" I thought that he had financial problems...and that 'work' dedication deserved some commendation! Not so...the Electric People were carrying out repairs in his neighbourhood and had to shut down the system!
So many guys are smashed broke?
It was reported on the news that the UK earnings per capita [per head] were now higher than Germany - which makes the UK the highest earners in Europe...if that is so why do I get so many emails, letters that so many guys are smashed broke?
The incomes are high but the level of taxation has now reached 'joke' proportions. It is now running at 89% in real terms. In other words, for every £1 you get from your employer 89p of that is given to the Government in the form of some tax or charge. Income tax being one of the smallest parts of that. With the proposed new 'tax', or license levy, being introduced for live venues, rehearsal rooms, Church Halls, pubs it will mean yet another increase...then the increase in University fees? As we always say: "you couldn't make it up".
More Speaker Secrets revealed:
I received the latest 'article' from my good friend Ian Warrener [check out his company 'Nightfire'...what a success story...the best in loudspeaker design]
To try and simplify this in order to explain is difficult because there are a large number of conflicting factors to consider, but as an example of the huge difference that can exist between drivers I can take 2 divers, lets say, two 15 inch drivers. The parameters of driver 'A' may mean it suits a closed box (sealed), while the parameters of driver 'B' mean it suits a bass reflex box (i.e. ported: see glossary of terms at end). This does not mean that they 'wont work' in different types of boxes, but to get the most from each particular driver it is imperative to match the driver parameters to the box design.
Back to the drivers above: Driver 'A' can be used in a bass reflex box but is likely to need a 'bigger box' with a lower tuning frequency than driver 'B' to make the most of its performance, and to demonstrate this huge difference, these parameters can represent here are 2 actual examples:
Driver A will be the BR12 (as used in our XBR12 cab)
Driver B will be the BM12 (as used in our Minitor 12 cab)
Firstly, the BR12m if used in a closed box should be used in a box of around 50 litres, where as the BM12 would want a closed box of around 16 litres for a flatter response. In a bass reflex box the BR12 likes a box up to around 90 litres tuned to about 40Hz, whereas the BM12 wants a much smaller 22 litres box tuned to around 70Hz for optimum performance. This shows you the huge differences that driver parameters can make on the design of the box used and begins to explain why 'the reality is' there is no such thing as an 'ALL PURPOSE BOX' and by using the box design to complement the drivers parameters you can begin to 'get the most' from that particular driver. This also explains why just because a driver sounds good in one box, it may not sound very different and not so good in another.
Hopefully this begins to unravel another mystery but the sad news is that this is only part of the story! The Thielle small parameters are what are known as 'small signal parameters' that describe the drivers' movements under a small input signal. However, under power, other parameters take over. the 'large signal parameters' These dictate what ACTUALLY happens when the driver is driven at maximum power, and are usually governed by the physical limitations of the driver (i.e. how far/fast the cone can move, etc.) But that's for another day!
Hope this helps - Ian Warrener - click on NIGHTFIRE ""When people talk about driver performance you will often hear 'Thielle Small Parameters'. These figures are provided by driver manufactures in order to help the loudspeaker builder to calculate a suitable type, size and tuning for the speaker box. Without them box building would be very hit and miss as two drivers can require very different boxes and tuning to 'get the most' from them. I have heard it said that there is no such thing as a 'good or bad' parameter, and to a certain extent this is true, but depending on use, you can choose drivers parameters to help in a particular situation and it is these parameters that help to define the performance of the loudspeaker in a particular box.
Good friends are so useful:
I had to finish a track this week .... a dance / classical concerto piece. I wanted serious discussion re. the proposed title. David Kilpatrick was the one who gave me the definitive title: 'Fantasia Romantica' or the alternative: "Concerto Della Romantica"...what do you think? Which one?
I panicked when I opened my classical guitar case and found the 4th string broken...as it happens, Gordon Giltrap was on the phone to me when I opened it [he wanted to know the name of the guitar]. Here is some dynamite advice from David Kilpatrick:
David Kilpatrick [check out David's brilliant article at 'A GUITAR GENIUS SPILLS THE BEANS' ]
Marshall in the news again:
Go to your local good magazine store and check out 'Guitarist Icons' ... a celebration of 40 years of Marshall Amps.
Fabulous pictures, detail, and even guitar tips, playing tips, technique advice and tablature for some of the most famous rock guitar pieces ever. It's even got a picture of my 'award' from Marshall.
They are giving one away [cost £5,875 to make] in a huge competition. Also check out the CD attached...stunning.
And how about this?
One of our mega successful members [much in demand in Germany as a producer] sent me this:
'Where can I get a JMP-1?' of course!
They were totally blown away by the Marshall (and by my playing of course!)
Please ask Jim to send a large crate of JMP-1's to Germany and tell him he's been added to my list of heroes after you. Hope he doesn't mind being second!!!
Best wishes
Ian "
"Don't
spend your hard
earned dollars unnecessarily, but don't think that you can
get
quality service without some
investment."
bob
osgoodby
Regards
Dec
"The most dangerous animal in the jungle is a failed writer-"
john nettles - ''midsommer murders'
============================================
============================================
Gag of the Week [don't know where they get them but they keep rolling in!]:
This fellow comes into a pharmacy and asks for a vial
of Cyanide.
The pharmacist, trying to keep a professional posture, asked what
he wanted
it for.
He answered, "I want to kill my wife."
I'm
sorry Sir," the pharmacist replied, "but I can't sell you any Cyanide."
The
guy reaches into his wallet and produces a photo of his wife.
The
pharmacist blushes and replies, "I am sorry Sir, I didn't realize you
had a
prescription." :-)
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