MindTheGap
661 posts
Sep 12, 2015
11:04 PM
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Hi. I got up this morning...with the purpose of writing a first post setting out the stall of this forum, but you've beaten me to it. Thank you for getting stuck in - noted that Ian made the first post!
Looks like everyone gets it. Learners chatting about learning harmonica.
I'll just say a big thank you to Adam for setting this up, and stress that everyone is still welcome and indeed actively encouraged to post on the main forum. The purpose of this forum is not to divide, but to accommodate the huge range of experience on MBH.
Let's see how we go.
...DaveR thanks for posting your music. And Mirco I have to say that's the model of constructive criticism we want here: encouraging and with specific advice. Nice one.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Sep 13, 2015 12:24 AM
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SuperBee
2801 posts
Sep 15, 2015
12:41 AM
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Hi Guy...not sure if i should be posting here..i'm not exactly a beginner but i'm certainly a developing player...and i certainly don't want to hold myself out as a teacher...i know a little about harp repair and adjustment, though there are other members here so much more knowledgeable in that field that i even wonder if i should offer advice...anyway...if i cross the line let me know...i'll try to keep a lid on it anyway
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jason campbell
47 posts
Sep 15, 2015
5:35 AM
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Hi, I guess I
m in Superbee's position also, I'm not sure where I fit. I picked up my first harp and started trying to play 15+ years ago. But I mostly played to CDs here and there, not practicing regularly. I really only got serious about it in the last year when I got Annie Raines DVDs and found Adam's videos. So while I have been playing a while, I think I'm a beginner as far as experience goes. This summer I started trying to go to blues jams, with some success. I think it's generally over my head, but I'm out there to have fun as much as anything else.
Once I get a decent video of me playing I'll post and maybe you can help me sort out where I fall in the beginner/intermediate categories.
thanks
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Truth2012
3 posts
Sep 15, 2015
1:18 PM
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Hi
I started playing February this year(2015) learning from Jon Gindicks book "blues harmonica for the musically hopeless", and what a great book. Also looking up Adam's vids, Ronnie shellist, etc on YouTube.
I've got to say the harmonica is highly addictive!!
I'm in Devon, England, so if anyone nearby knows of any good blues bands locally that I could check out I would appreciate it.
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ME.HarpDoc
11 posts
Sep 16, 2015
2:26 PM
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Hi. I'm new to forum and to harmonica. I started about 18 months ago when I accompanied my wife to a yoga retreat and took a course called "HarmonicaYoga", by David Harp, which taught the use of the harmonica to improve yoga breathing, and vice versa. I had never played a musical instrument (I'm 67) and became immersed in playing.
I followed YouTube sessions by Lee Sankey, this forum, Ron Shellist videos and recently started lessons on Skype with Michael Rubin. (I'm on pause with that because I'm trying to do too much too fast).
I played at my first blues jam last Sunday and it was quite a rush! The players were kind and encouraging and I had someone video with my iPhone. That alone was a great lesson. It let me know how I responded to the band (reasonably well, according to them), what I gravitated do in fills and solo (too many chords, too few single notes), and how to play amplified with the band.
I live in central Maine where we have some great blues experiences, e.g. In June we had the North Atlantic Blues Festival where I was able to see Ron Piazza, Denis Gruenling and James Cotton.
I'm looking forward to questions and answers on this beginners forum. Thanks Adam (and Narcoran?)
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MindTheGap
664 posts
Sep 17, 2015
3:54 AM
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SuperBee - you are very welcome to post here, and in whatever capacity you think is helpful to beginners. Adam is keen that traffic doesn't reduce on the main forum, and I'm sure you're not going to abandon that.
Hi also to Jason, Truth and ME.HarpDoc. It's worth saying again - and to others reading this - that you can post on either forum. If you have specific questions (e.g. the one about the correct reed plate screws!) then you might be best served putting that on the main forum. Although in that case SuperBee would be able to answer you here too! On the other hand if you want to chat about your learning experiences, that's probably more appropriate here.
Myself, I'm in my fourth year of learning, I have lessons with Todd Parrott (high recommended btw), I play regularly in a group, gig occasionally and even get paid for that. But it's a hobby and the centre of gravity on the main forum is more towards a much greater level of experience and skill. So in any real world sense I'm happy to self-classify as 'novice and developing'. Hope that helps.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Sep 17, 2015 4:29 AM
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nacoran
8702 posts
Sep 17, 2015
7:36 PM
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Hi! I just thought I'd check in and see how all of you are doing over here. It looks like we've got some old hands here, but some new members too. I thought I'd let you know a couple of things that are sort of strange forum stuff.
If one of your posts disappears, don't worry, it should reappear. We have a wonky spam filter that sometimes flags things and puts them in a folder of misfit comments. We check it every day though and restore messages that aren't spam. (It never catches real spam anyway but there is no way to turn it off). If a post somehow was so offensive or dangerous that we had to delete or edit it we would also send you an email. That almost... well, I can't even remember the last time that happened. Occasionally we'll lock a thread if people are causing problems. If you are having a problem with another forum member, keep your cool and contact us. Don't get drawn into a silly fight; people can edit their posts and then you end up looking like the instigator. Again, it should be pretty rare. We've got a pretty good bunch around here.
If you ever have problem accessing the site, email us at membership@modernbluesharmonica.com. Our server hosts sometimes block ranges of IP addresses that generate a lot of spam. Unfortunately that means there are special steps we have to take to get people access sometimes, mostly from Eastern Europe, Russia and China. If you think you are going to one of those places, write down the email first, because you won't be able to look it up if you can't access the site!
If you ever do see real spam, shoot us an email (same email address) and we'll get it deleted pretty quickly. If you are having problems posting a video or sound file or pic, check out the forum how to page. If you are still stuck, or just want to practice we have a page on the main forum:
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/559637.htm
If you post there you can usually get help on issues like that. I make sure I check that thread right away if I see someone has commented on it. There are lots of people who are old hand at helping you out with HTML. (I've got the advantage as an admin I can actually go in and access your post on another level to try to help).
The captcha (that funny little code you need to type to post) can be tough sometimes. If you are having a hard time with it, on a PC with a mouse with a scroll wheel you can hold down the control key and scroll your mouse wheel and it will enlarge it (and everything else on your screen). If you have been on the screen too long (typing a comment or reading comments) it times out on the server and even if you type it in correctly it will still reject it. It takes fifteen minutes after you open a window for that to happen. If you miss it most of the time you can hit the back arrow in your browser and it will take you back with your comment intact to try again. Sometimes it doesn't though, (if it says something about resubmitting the form you'll have to type your post over). For that reason some people compose their longer posts in a word processor and then cut and paste them. (I just do a copy on them before I submit the captcha).
Any other little bugs or technical issues let me know. I answer the membership emails and manage new membership and the spam folder every day so there is a pretty quick turnaround for most things. If you have a question about anything to do with any of Adam's lessons for sale or buying his album, contact him directly. (I'll forward it to him if you send it to the membership email, but he'll get it faster if you send it to him first, and I can't help with any of that anyway.)
Enjoy the site,
Nate
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Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
First Post- May 8, 2009
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Harmlessonica
156 posts
Oct 20, 2015
4:19 PM
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Hey folks!
I used to be a pretty regular poster here at the beginning of the year not long after starting to learn to play, then life got pretty hectic and I've been offline and hardly even practicing much harmonica over the last few months...
I've just started to get back into it again, and now I see the new beginners forum here after quite some deliberation.
Quite an exciting move, I'm keen to see how it develops. I'm sure I will learn much and in turn I'll do my best to contribute when I can.
Keep up the good work everyone!
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Forum Search Direct Link
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MindTheGap
724 posts
Oct 20, 2015
11:11 PM
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Welcome back Harmlessonica. As you can see, we are at the start of things here. So please contribute prolifically and hopefully we'll get the ball rolling!
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2chops
429 posts
Oct 21, 2015
6:51 PM
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I'm glad to see this forum finally started. I first picked up playing harp in 1977. Played sporadically up till 5 1/5 years ago. Been enthusiastically steady since.
I often hesitate to post much in the regular forum due to the intimidation factor. Probably in my mind mostly. So I mostly take it all in and apply it to my practice, playing and stagecraft. I look forward to checking in here often too.
Have fun y'all.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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TinMan
1 post
Oct 23, 2015
7:48 AM
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Hi y'all, I am new here. Not new to the harmonica.. been messing with mostly diatonics for 25 years, but have started to get serious the last couple years. I've learned a ton from Adam and Jason's videos.. so thanks guys! I can play most stuff by ear, but want to learn more theory so I can better improvise. Blues is what first inspired me to pick up a harp.. but also like to experiment with rock, jazz, classical.
Cheers!
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MarkN
5 posts
Oct 24, 2015
5:15 PM
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Hello to all my new Harp mates. I picked up my first harmonica about 1991 when I was in the Navy and desperately wanted to join our ships cover band. I have picked up and put down the Harp, off and on, since I got out of the military in 1992. It has only been in this last year that I set out to dedicate myself to really tackle the hidden secrets of what it can do. I am studying with Carlos Del Junco and that keeps me motivated to keep up regular practice and continue learning new techniques. I live in the town of Port Hope in Ontario, Canada. I look forward to all future discussions with you all and if there are any other Canucks living in Ontario that frequent the forums, perhaps we can someday meetup and do some wailing.
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New but determined
2 posts
Nov 24, 2015
8:30 AM
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Extra Super New to playing a harmonica. Retired and kinda getting old, I first seriously noticed just how wonderful a harmonica could sound maybe 30 years ago when filming second unit during a movie called Georgia. It was a stage scene with the actors performing Steven Fosters No More Hard times and there was this guy in the band named Jimmy Z, playing harmonica and I was looking through the lens and thinking WOW, I love that sound. Jump forward to about 7-8 years ago while in my favorite guitar shop, I saw a harmonica in the display case and bought it (Sp20 Marine Band key of G); I promptly went home, tried to play a few tunes on it and got all kinds of confused and tossed it in the drawer. 47 days ago, to be exact, a friend gave me a set of harmonicas (Soulman) for my 71st birthday) and I got so excited and sat down to learn, determined that I was going to take the effort this time.
I watched a lot of UTube videos, and I discovered RockinRons and well I got a few more harmonicas, okay my third order arrived yesterday and the Blues Harmonica for Dummies book order I had placed with the library.
My new harmonica is a Crossover in C and I'm thrilled, for me it's perfect, easy to play and very pleasing to my challenged hearing. I just ordered Jon Gindric's book and CD a few minut s ago, realizing that my practice of several hours a day, every day, wasn't progressing as I'd hoped. I've been primarily practicing single note melodies while mostly playing Shenendoa over and over, trying to perfect my sound while working on bending and vibrato but it's been hit and miss.
Last Edited by New but determined on Nov 24, 2015 6:55 PM
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New but determined
3 posts
Nov 24, 2015
8:37 AM
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Sorry, I type on my iPhone which is my only Internet connection at home and it's really hard for me to edit while typing and scrolling- downright frustrating actually.
Aha, I found the edit button.
Last Edited by New but determined on Nov 24, 2015 9:01 AM
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MindTheGap
787 posts
Nov 24, 2015
9:05 AM
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Wow, good working typing that on a phone! And also, welcome. Yes, the Crossover is great isn't it.
47 days in? Keep us posted!
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Colin
1 post
Nov 25, 2015
4:55 PM
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G’day all, I'm new to the forum and very new to harmonica, I just bought myself my very first harp from MandoHarp here in Australia.
I’ve been playing bass guitar in blues bands for 20 years; but why now pick up the harp you ask? Well unfortunately I’ll be going for shoulder surgery very soon and won’t be able to play my bass for several weeks, and I love playing & listening to blues, so I thought why not give the harmonica a go as something new to learn and set myself a new challenge for the new year.
I am hoping to start taking harp lessons, but I’m really not sure what I should be looking for in a harp teacher and what learning material I should get to start with? obviously purchasing a good harmonica was my first acquisition!
Dane from MandoHarp, recommended getting a copy of Steve Bakers The Harp Handbook. Hopefully this will arrive in the mail soon.
In the meantime I look forward to Adams lesson plan and his beginners guide and everything else that modernbluesharmonica has to offer a newcomer to harmonica like myself.
Cheers Colin
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2chops
445 posts
Nov 26, 2015
12:26 PM
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Hey Colin. Welcome aboard. I'm not familiar with Steve Baker's book. But I've heard others recommend it. Also check out Winslow Yerxa's "Harmonica for Dummies" and or "Blues Harmonica for Dummies" books. In addition to Adam's vids, Jon Gindick, Michael Rubin and Lee Sanky have really good instructional vids too. Oh, Jason Ricci also. Enough to keep you busy for a long time. Gindick's are really aimed at beginners. Good place to start.
Have fun and all the best with the surgery and recovery.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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Glass Harp Full
65 posts
Nov 27, 2015
12:25 PM
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G'day Colin. What part of Australia are you in?
I would also recommend "Harmonica for Dummies" and Jon Gindick's "Country and Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless". He has some videos on YouTube that will give you a taste of what the book covers.
Hope your surgery goes well and al the best with the harmonica playing.
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Colin
2 posts
Nov 29, 2015
7:50 PM
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Thanks 2chops & Glass Harp Full for the resource tips and welcome and for the best wishes for my surgery tomorrow.
Cheers Colin
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Adelaide South Australia
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Glass Harp Full
66 posts
Nov 30, 2015
12:59 AM
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Hi Colin. I live in Adelaide too. I'm originally from Brisabne but have been in Adealide for about ten years. Great city to live in.
Hope the surgery went well.
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SuperBee
3007 posts
Nov 30, 2015
4:19 PM
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This will look weird eventually...I can only guess the spam filter is grabbing my posts from this thread...twice I've tried to greet Colin, and now I'm surprised to see there are 2 south Australians on this thread (aka 'croweaters'; reason unknown to me.) I'm from the more southerly part of Australia, so southerly it's actually south of Australia...I'm rambling in hope of evading the spam trap...
Anyway, greetings from Hobart, Adelaide fellows!
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SuperBee
3118 posts
Dec 21, 2015
8:11 PM
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Yep, just 21 posts on display...22 if this one gets up...but before I wrote this post, the count said 23. So its true that Nate is not reinstating posts which go to spam capture from this forum...I better drop him a line...
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SuperBee
3119 posts
Dec 21, 2015
8:14 PM
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Ok, that is super weird...it said 23, I counted 21, which made sense...because I was sure I'd posted twice and posts had vanished...but now when I post the post count has corrected itself so I have lost my proof...dammit Janet!
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MindTheGap
898 posts
Dec 22, 2015
12:00 AM
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Superbee - sorry about that. I have to power to unspam, but I've not swept regularly. Actually when I looked the only recent thread with posts marked as spam was the one about putting tape on the cover plate holes. Maybe nate got there first. I'll try to look out more in future, but you have my email if I need a prompt.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Dec 22, 2015 12:01 AM
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SuperBee
3120 posts
Dec 22, 2015
12:59 PM
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Maybe i was dreaming. I do semi regularly fail to post because i get to the end and rethink but i was sure id tried to greet colin and then i was sure i read thd thread had 23 posts at that moment when i counted 21...but then, i was sure id first seen kylie's cant get you out of my head video on telly in a house i moved from 8 years prior to her recording the clip...so i understand that memory is quite an unreliable witness
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Jay Anderson
1 post
Dec 23, 2015
8:16 AM
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Hey all, I've recently joined the forum and thought I should introduce myself. I'm a beginner player based in Essex UK.
I've been playing (use the term loosely) since the summer and seem to be making half decent progress.
Anyway, I look forward to speaking with you all soon.
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2chops
460 posts
Dec 23, 2015
9:16 AM
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Hey Jay. Welcome to our Merry band of fellow travelers. Tons of great info here & in the main forum.
Happy Holidays to you lad.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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Glass Harp Full
76 posts
Dec 23, 2015
3:47 PM
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Welcome to the forum Jay. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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Ian
218 posts
Jan 12, 2016
6:01 PM
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As I seemed to have missed putting my stamp on the introductions section... Here it goes (dig around in the introduction section on channel 1 and you'll find an older version of the same....)
I've been playing for a year now and although like havnt played an instrument for a while before that I do have previous form on the sax and guitar.
I live in the UK, in Cornwall to be precise, where I run a freediving academy. So if you are ever in need of some breathing advice you know where to come! (I also have a book on the subject and am occasionally on the TV).
I actually have found that the harmonica, as far as some of the techniques go (bending etc ) , has come quite easily as a lot of it mirrors what I do within the context of diving (I can explain if you want but it's probably boring).
I play a mix of manjis, deluxe and crossovers and try to amp up whenever my wife's out!
Last Edited by Ian on Jan 12, 2016 6:04 PM
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Crawforde
41 posts
Jan 12, 2016
6:42 PM
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Hi all!
Like some others I am typing on a phone so things go a bit wonky sometimes.
I mostly make noise on chromatic recently, but have been messing around with diatonics lately. They are just easier to carry and maintain, and I love the expression. Just got back into playing last year, had put it down for a while (decades). It's fun to be back.
I have some issues with my tongue and throat so am looking at alternate tunings to minimize bending and just figuring out what I can and can't do.
I don't sound great, or even good, but I'm still having a blast!
Thanks for all the advice and information!
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Killa_Hertz
211 posts
Jan 12, 2016
7:58 PM
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Hi, Im Chris and Im An Addict.
(Sorry wrong introduction)
What's Goin on yall? Been postin for a bit now, been reading for quite a while. Guess I kinda never introduced myself.
My story so far....
Well i guess I'll go with the long
version.
Edit:Long Version Deleted Because It Was Effin' BORING.
The short version.
I'm Chris from Delaware.
Been playing for about 7 months.
And .... that's all i have to say about that.
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"Trust Those Who Seek The Truth...
Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
Just a lil' HaHa HooHoo on the 3/4 - 4/5!
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Jan 15, 2016 9:58 AM
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MindTheGap
991 posts
Jan 15, 2016
12:18 AM
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Welcome one and all.
kHz - I liked the long version. And you've removed the bit about being an addict :) I thought that would chime with a lot of people.
It is oddly addictive, really I think a long way beyond what it should be. I think I'll start a thread.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 15, 2016 12:19 AM
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Killa_Hertz
244 posts
Jan 15, 2016
10:01 AM
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Sometimes after i re read a post i feel like it just ran on and on. Ya kno? I been in a kinda manic mode lately. It comes out faster than i can filter it sometimes.
Idk. Atleast yall got to read it, so you know what time it is over here.
I fixed the beginning for ya. 8^)>
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......." Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?" .......
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Jan 16, 2016 6:31 AM
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