Damn... broke my arm.

ICBM

Bridgehouse said:

Rubbish. You can still play bass with that.

You know, you weren't far wrong .

Tonight I went to band practice, and played bass! OK I cheated slightly... thanks to @JezWynd, I am now the proud owner of a Satellite 24"-scale bass. One of those 1970s Woolworth's Specials . (Full write-up in the Bass section!)

Basically, because it's so short I barely have to move my arm - I have had to adapt some of my playing to more across-the-strings than my usual habit of sliding up to higher notes, and I still can't play a low F on the bottom string properly - I have to use my thumb - but considering it's only two days over a month since I broke it and just less than four weeks since the operation, I'm really very happy.

I purposely didn't tell the band I was planning to do it in case I had a last-minute change of mind after a trial run at home this afternoon, but in the event I shouldn't have worried - I was able to play almost all the usual parts, and my arm only started to get a bit tired after over an hour.

Guitar is likely to be a much longer process, chord shapes are still really hard - but for now, that will do.

Boromedic

Glad you're on the mend mate, keep on keeping on and all that. You'll be reet in no time.

Rocker

Impressive stuff @ICBM. Good to hear that you are back on yer bike so soon....

ICBM

Saw the consultant today and was signed off as fit to drive, work (with care) and play bass! - he was impressed by me measuring my progress by what notes I can play on the low E string .

I had a look at my X-rays as well, and to my surprise I haven't got a metal plate on the ulna - the operation description had said 'coronoid fixation' which from online photos I've seen is usually done with a small plate and a couple of screws, but mine was done with an internal suture, which you can just see as two faint dark lines running up from the bottom of the bone - there's a loop of cord through there and over the top of the broken bit apparently. The really dramatic bit is the 'radial head arthroplasty', which is what looks like a trumpet mouthpiece...



This was with the staples still in the skin from the last visit, it's a bit clearer than the one they took this morning, those have gone now and it's just a quite well-healed scar on the outside.

Not bad at all considering it's less than six weeks since the surgery.

octatonic

Yeah that doesn't look anything like a butt plug.

Glad you are the mend.
It is boring, eh?

ICBM

octatonic said:

It is boring, eh?

To my great surprise, no! The time has gone by pretty fast - frustration is the main thing, not being able to do some of the things I want to. I've been trying to do as much as possible, even if I have to adapt - I went back to work in a limited capacity three or four weeks ago, and I've been doing jobs around the house and garden - even if one of them was making tea for a team of workers I had to pay to come and do the hedges...

A lot of things do seem to take twice as long, and getting around by bus can be a bit tedious - well over an hour to do what would be a 15-20 min drive to one place I work - but actually I've been so impressed by how easy it is to get to Glasgow on the train that I might still do it occasionally anyway now, if there isn't a lot of big work to do. Not being able to carry my tools and amps is the only problem, but they have basic tools at the shop so I can do some jobs there.

I've also been able to catch up on a lot of old DVDs and downloads I've been meaning to for ages, although really that was only at the start when I was genuinely unable to move my arm much. Not having it in a cast was a huge advantage - almost as soon as it was operated on I was just down to a binding and a sling, and that went within two weeks and just left me with a bandage and the sling for outdoors to take the weight off it when walking - and I haven't needed that for over a week now.

I'm incredibly impressed by the skill and care of the doctors, as well as the technology available now - twenty or thirty years ago I think it would have been very different, and I'd probably still be in a cast. The only real problem I've got - apart from still being unable to do some arm and hand movements, and some pain - is drastic loss of strength in my left arm. It's worrying how quickly you lose the muscle if you're not using it. It will come back with time though.

Phil_aka_Pip

More best wishes for complete recovery

Moe_Zambeek

ICBM said:

Saw the consultant today and was signed off as fit to drive, work (with care) and play bass! - he was impressed by me measuring my progress by what notes I can play on the low E string .

I had a look at my X-rays as well, and to my surprise I haven't got a metal plate on the ulna - the operation description had said 'coronoid fixation' which from online photos I've seen is usually done with a small plate and a couple of screws, but mine was done with an internal suture, which you can just see as two faint dark lines running up from the bottom of the bone - there's a loop of cord through there and over the top of the broken bit apparently. The really dramatic bit is the 'radial head arthroplasty', which is what looks like a trumpet mouthpiece...



This was with the staples still in the skin from the last visit, it's a bit clearer than the one they took this morning, those have gone now and it's just a quite well-healed scar on the outside.

Not bad at all considering it's less than six weeks since the surgery.

Is the ‘radial head’ / mouthpiece metal? Will you forever set off the airport metal detectors?

JezWynd

Good to hear you're on the mend. 

ICBM

Moe_Zambeek said:

Is the ‘radial head’ / mouthpiece metal? Will you forever set off the airport metal detectors?

Yes - great fun to be had at gigs in Glasgow too .

Phil_aka_Pip

Aren't these things made of grade 316 stainless? If so, they wouldn't be magnetic, although that doesn't mean a different type of detector wouldn't trigger.

StanleyAccrington

Maybe a tad late.....but I'm glad that your surgery went well and hope that your recovery continues.

ICBM

StanleyAccrington said:

Maybe a tad late.....but I'm glad that your surgery went well and hope that your recovery continues.

Thanks!

I was back at the hospital today for a check - they think it's all going well, or at least as well as can be expected at this time after the operation, given the damage I did. I won't need any more work on it, but it will probably take a year or so to fully recover as much as it's going to - which may hopefully be complete in terms of movement.

I also asked to see the X-rays from the beginning and took a couple of pics, so I've added the one from the hospital before they fixed the dislocation and operated on it, back on page 2 in the right order. Be warned, it's quite scary...

Moe_Zambeek

Wow, that X-ray looks unpleasant!

JezWynd

Praise to the medics for getting it back in shape. Good to hear you're on the mend.

Bridgehouse

Does this mean the short scale bass days are numbered then?

ICBM

Bridgehouse said:

Does this mean the short scale bass days are numbered then?

Don’t know! I actually like the Mustang, and the band think it sounds as good as the Rick...

At least I should have the option soon though - I can play the Rick sitting down now, just not quite standing up.

Bridgehouse

ICBM said:

Bridgehouse said:

Does this mean the short scale bass days are numbered then?

Don’t know! I actually like the Mustang, and the band think it sounds as good as the Rick...

At least I should have the option soon though - I can play the Rick sitting down now, just not quite standing up.

Are you finding the mustang punchy enough in a band context?

ICBM

Bridgehouse said:

Are you finding the mustang punchy enough in a band context?

Yes, definitely. It actually sounds quite like the Rick bridge pickup - I now totally understand why a lot of the well-known Rick players in the early 70s had them too. It doesn’t have the beefy piano-like P-Bass sound, but I don’t think that’s due to the pickup alone.

Bridgehouse

ICBM said:

Bridgehouse said:

Are you finding the mustang punchy enough in a band context?

Yes, definitely. It actually sounds quite like the Rick bridge pickup - I now totally understand why a lot of the well-known Rick players in the early 70s had them too. It doesn’t have the beefy piano-like P-Bass sound, but I don’t think that’s due to the pickup alone.

The more I play P basses the more I think it’s a combination of pickup type, position, scale length and bridge position. You already know I love that piano like tone, but I do like a good variety of bass tones - whenever I’ve heard mustangs I’ve thought they sounded punchy and snappy with just a little less sustain.