After extended testing, I have found that the IRIN IN80 was properly functional, the guitar I am using appears to be one of the type that you have to keep the guitar turned up very high, but it did run continuously without auto-shut off. Actually, it ran and ran... literally over 8.5 hours, (at this point it was flashing for a half hour or so indicating low battery), it probably would have ran even longer, but I thought this was a sufficient run-down test, and frankly, 8.5 hours of guitar playing in 2 days is a bit of a chore, and make your loved ones feel abandoned. The really good news is a 1:23 charge time! I look at rechargable devices from a point of view of battery duty-cycle, how long it runs, vs how long it takes to recharge. In this case, it is nearly 7 to 1. So theoretically if you had 2 wireless devices, you could play continuously forever. I don't really have a means of testing range on the device without setting my rig up outside, so the best I can tell you that it remained linked throughout our apartment with no troubles, often through several walls, etc.

My IRIN IN80 wireless transmitter appears to have a defective sensor circuit, when I initially charged it, it operated normally, when the batteries got low, I recharged the transmitter and receiver, and since then the transmitter has turned off every 30 minutes exactly regardless of usage. It does not flash beforehand so it is going into auto-shut off, in this condition, it is worthless for performance, although still useful for practice. So what happens now? If I have to send this back, and wait for a replacement, judging from the initial shipping time, about a month without guitar? So far, the review of this product is not going well, so let's see how it goes when things go wrong.

So, after years of using the same pick, literally, the. same. one., I have discovered that I was quietly happy, enjoying a really good pick that I have not seen since. I had not thought about picks for years, it has great grip, and great string traction. Then fate brought me a Fender medium pick (found at my feet), so I checked it out, thinking it was meant to be, it did one thing, though, it pointed out to me just how great my now antique orange colored pick was. The plastic-y texture was not only difficult to grip, but it practically slipped off the strings... no traction! Recently I ran across the PickPlus, a pick manufacturer, that makes picks with an extended, grippy tab, in 3 sizes. I ordered one, to check them out. The material isn't the same as the orange pick, but it does have a texture that has much more traction than standard picks, and it has intentional traction surfacing in the grip area, AND the string traction! It translates from my hand to the instrument in a way I have not really felt before. I found myself paying attention to the strumming or picking in ways I had not before. I know it sounds like I am some way related to the site, (I'm not), but it's well worth a look. I was surprised, to be honest.

Combining hobbies. I have several hobbies to keep myself busy, once in a while, I can find a way to combine them. Consider my latest project, a painting of Mick Fleetwood hugging Peter Green's Gibson guitar "Greenie". The second I saw it, I HAD to paint it.

If you could magically acquire the ability of any guitarist—past or present—whose ability would you take? I'm thinking we might find some awesome guitarists we're not familiar with to check out. Even if they're famous, they may not play in a genre we don't listen to. I'm leaning toward Stevie Ray Vaughn.