Searching for keywords

[mikelyons]

Hi Guys,
I'm having a problem searching for a post/thread. I type in all the words I can remember, so the search engine goes off and searches and then tells me it didn't use three out of four words because they are very common. What use is that. I can't search on a phrase because there's a rude word (edited) in the middle and replaced by asterisks. The word that's left is probably more common on this site than any of the others. Can I make it search for the specific words I want without it deciding it knows better?

[dyl]

it didn't use three out of four words because they are very common. What use is that.
More use than actually using the words as you'd be swamped with threads cos they all contain these common words! ;)

It might help us if you tell us what you're searching for - via pm of course! ;(

[DaveR]

I'm going to jump in on this because this is (for want of a better phrase) my professional area, working as I do for a company writing and supplying catalogue software to libraries, and being very familiar with search strategies.

Most search engines have a number of words (called stopwords) that you cannot by default search on - for example, words like "the" and "an", boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) and common words that if included as part of the search would - as Dyl suggested - return thousands of results.

However, most systems also have a mechanism of overriding these stopwords - for example by enclosing the search term in quotes so that the search term is treated purely as text in its own right. If something like that could be enabled, then "advanced" searchers could take advantage of that functionality, while "casual" searchers would see unchanged functionality from the present setup.

Just my tuppence worth! :tongue:

[mikelyons]

So did I dave. I tried using + and " but the words four, right and I'd were omitted from the search which also included the word notes - which was searched on!

Is there no option of an 'exact match' phrase search?

The thread concerned was about a piece called something like the four sacred truths (yes I did try and no I didn't find it) it was from a previous areas or nationals and I can't remember who wrote it but it was funny!
The thread was something like "four sacred truths, I'd settle for four right ****** notes"

[DaveR]

I think the piece was Four Noble Truths, by Philip Sparke. That might help you find it!

[Will the Sec]

So did I dave. I tried using + and " but the words four, right and I'd were omitted from the search which also included the word notes - which was searched on!

Is there no option of an 'exact match' phrase search?

The thread concerned was about a piece called something like the four sacred truths (yes I did try and no I didn't find it) it was from a previous areas or nationals and I can't remember who wrote it but it was funny!
The thread was something like "four sacred truths, I'd settle for four right ****** notes"

You won't find that, Mike, it was part of my old signature.

"Four Noble Truths???? RIght now I'd settle for four $^$&%*$*($& right notes!"

[Di]

You won't find that, Mike, it was part of my old signature.

"Four Noble Truths???? I settle for four $^$&%*$*($& right notes!"

Ha! Thanks Will. I've just spent the last 15 minutes search all threads for noble truths. :rolleyes: Good job I came back to the forum to check new posts. :tongue:

[mikelyons]

Thanks everyone, that was what I was looking for, however, it does not solve the problem of a lack of phrase searching. Anything on this folks? The world and his wife's website seem to be able to manage this, is it possible on tMP?

[dyl]

Thanks everyone, that was what I was looking for, however, it does not solve the problem of a lack of phrase searching. Anything on this folks? The world and his wife's website seem to be able to manage this, is it possible on tMP?
Well, you were looking for 'sacred truths' - it might help if you actually use the correct phrase? ;)

Besides, if it was a signature phrase, the search option wouldn't find it anyway as it only searches posts and thread titles.

[Di]

Well, you were looking for 'sacred truths' - it might help if you actually use the correct phrase? ;)

Besides, if it was a signature phrase, the search option wouldn't find it anyway as it only searches posts and thread titles.

But what we still have is the problem of the search omitting words which are too short (3 characters or less) or words it thinks are too common.

[TheMusicMan]

There are currently no words excluded from the searches - as far as I can set in vB Admin Panel.

The current minimum word length is 4.

Do we need to amend these settings?

[Di]

I've tried searching for several three letter words and always get the message:


The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search : cat Then there are the common words such as

The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search : this

The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search : that

and for the sake of argument,The following words are either very common, too long, or too short and were not included in your search : other ;)

[andreab]

Thanks everyone, that was what I was looking for, however, it does not solve the problem of a lack of phrase searching. Anything on this folks? The world and his wife's website seem to be able to manage this, is it possible on tMP?

So is there a way of searching for a whole phrase? For example, I'm trying to find information on where to get tenor horn valve felts, but if I type in the phrase I seem to get every post that has any of these words in it!

[needmorevodka]

So is there a way of searching for a whole phrase? For example, I'm trying to find information on where to get tenor horn valve felts, but if I type in the phrase I seem to get every post that has any of these words in it!

I also found this a problem when searching for something about valve oil recently. Both words are pretty common and "oil" is too short so wasn't even included in the search. Didn't dare start another thread though for fear of getting slapped for starting another thread about valve oil! LOL ;)

Using the "Search titles only" option helped but it still ended up taking me hours to find what I wanted. A whole phrase option would have enabled me to do a more specific search, but as it stands adding more words just gives me even more posts to trawl.

[andreab]

I also found this a problem when searching for something about valve oil recently. Both words are pretty common and "oil" is too short so wasn't even included in the search. Didn't dare start another thread though for fear of getting slapped for starting another thread about valve oil! LOL ;)

Using the "Search titles only" option helped but it still ended up taking me hours to find what I wanted. A whole phrase option would have enabled me to do a more specific search, but as it stands adding more words just gives me even more posts to trawl.

Yes I agree with all that! There's probably another thread on this topic and it might have the answer but I can't find an effective way of searching for it!

[needmorevodka]

Is anything going to be done about the problem mentioned a month ago on the previous page? Or indeed, can anything be done about this problem? Please advise. It is very frustrating and starting new threads is such a hazardous business.

[andreab]

Hi Needmorevodka

This is one of those annoying replies that says 'I don't know the answer to your question', but I thought you might appreciate knowing that someone else cares! It would be at least a step forward to know if nothing can be done about it then we can just stop trying!

Andrea

[andreab]

Am I posting in the wrong place to find an answer to this? i.e. is it possible to do a search on an exact phrase, rather than all threads being listed that contain any of the individual words in the phrase?

(I also need a tumbleweed smiley)

[needmorevodka]

Am I posting in the wrong place to find an answer to this? i.e. is it possible to do a search on an exact phrase, rather than all threads being listed that contain any of the individual words in the phrase?

(I also need a tumbleweed smiley)

I don't know Andrea, I just re-read the whole thread and it seems like you're posting in the right place. Mikelyons asked this queston right here a year ago (quoted below) so we must be in the right thread. Dyl's response (also quoted below) was unhelpful and didn't acknowledge the question.

We could perhaps risk it and start another thread, but I fear we would be jumped on with alacrity, told this has already been discussed here, "refer to rule 2(a)", the thread would swiftly be locked and we would still be none the wiser.

It sure is a tricky one.


Thanks everyone, that was what I was looking for, however, it does not solve the problem of a lack of phrase searching. Anything on this folks? The world and his wife's website seem to be able to manage this, is it possible on tMP?


Well, you were looking for 'sacred truths' - it might help if you actually use the correct phrase? ;)

Besides, if it was a signature phrase, the search option wouldn't find it anyway as it only searches posts and thread titles.

[TheMusicMan]

Is anything going to be done about the problem mentioned a month ago on the previous page? Or indeed, can anything be done about this problem? Please advise. It is very frustrating and starting new threads is such a hazardous business.Hey Bex, I am not 100% convinced I like the tone in your request here sorry, it's almost as if you are demanding that this be done!

Please remember that tMP is free... well... to you and all the members it is... to me it actually costs an arm and a leg!!

Now, in answer to your abrupt demand: presently using the software on tMP I am not aware of a method of 'phrase searching' though I have asked about this on the support forums of the application and so will advise as and when I hear something back.

[needmorevodka]

Hey Bex, I am not 100% convinced I like the tone in your request here sorry, it's almost as if you are demanding that this be done!

Please remember that tMP is free... well... to you and all the members it is... to me it actually costs an arm and a leg!!

Now, in answer to your abrupt demand: presently using the software on tMP I am not aware of a method of 'phrase searching' though I have asked about this on the support forums of the application and so will advise as and when I hear something back.

Thank you for replying John, it is much appreciated.

My "abrupt demand" was in fact a question, as demonstrated by the use of question marks. The use of bold type for the word "can" was merely intended to put emphasis on the word as it would sound if I said it aloud. If I was asking face to face I might have said something along the lines of "Will that be done? Or indeed can that even be done?" (With the emphasis on "can", which I didn't put in bold this time for fear of offending you again.) Of course, the latter question might have been better phrased as, "Is 'exact phrase searching' something that is even possible/within the capabilities of the forum software that you are using or are we asking about functionality that doesn't exist?", but at the time it didn't occur to me that such an innocent and inoffensive question would be so badly misconstrued as an "abrupt demand".

If I am guilty of "demanding" anything at all (which I do not believe that I am), it is only that the question be acknowledged in some way as having been asked, even if it is just to advise that "exact match" or "phrase searching" or whatever, is not within the capabilities of this software, as it has been a year since the question was asked.

Yes, I am fully aware that tMP is free to members and I am sure we are all grateful. But I'm afraid I don't understand the relevance of that in this matter. Are you saying that only if we were paying members could we expect yourself or an administrator to reply to a question with even just an "I don't know if that's possible with this software"? If this is the case then I would be happy to pay for the privilege of not being ignored, paying for civility being quite the modern way these days.

Anyway, many thanks again for responding to my "abrupt demand" with such promptness, and thank you also for looking into the software query.

Kind regards, Rebecca

[Anno Draconis]

Yes, I am fully aware that tMP is free to members and I am sure we are all grateful. But I'm afraid I don't understand the relevance of that in this matter. Are you saying that only if we were paying members could we expect yourself or an administrator to reply to a question with even just an "I don't know if that's possible with this software"? If this is the case then I would be happy to pay for the privilege of not being ignored, paying for civility being quite the modern way these days.

Steady on. I think what John means is that he runs tMP in his spare time as a hobby and pays most of the (large, and increasing) server costs out of his own pocket. The Mods all give up their free time, for no reward, to help run the site and to keep tMP the friendly, well-organised, efficient site it is. So if they haven't had time to respond to a query that only seems to be of concern to 3 users out of 4384, maybe you could cut them a little slack?

I've noted recently that there seems to be an increase in people who seem to think that they have a right to demand things of the tMP team, despite the fact that they get free use of the forums and the team run the site in their spare time; funnily enough these people are almost never supporters. The same thing seems to apply to 4BR - lots of people who don't pay for or contribute to the site demanding this or that or sticking the boot into Iwan Fox.

If you feel that strongly that you are somehow getting a "poor" or "uncivil" service, you're free to start your own fully featured site at any time. Sorry, don't mean to be snappy, but I get a bit peeved when people complain about stuff they're getting for free. 'Nuff said.

[KMJ Recordings]

Erm....why don't you just search the site with Google? (with which you can search for phrases)

[TheMusicMan]

Thanks for your reply Bex, and you too Andy - much appreciated.

Becky - I too am only human, and like we all are, I am often guilty of misreading a post... it's always difficult interpreting the written word in forums relative to the spoken word face-to-face. If this time I misinterpreted the comments you wrote then I apologise, but I do feel that given the combination of chosen grammar and tone, together with the sarcasm used and aimed at our excellent mods, your words are easily perceived in this manner.

No harm done, and at the end of the day I am trying to ascertain what can be done about the matter in hand i.e. phrased searches. It seems there is a possible solution, but one that I need to consider carefully before we decide to implement as there is an impact to using it. I'll seek further advice on the matter and advise in time.

The reason I pointed out that tMP actually costs me money was due to what I considered the tone and nature of your comments, and nothing to do with receiving a reply to questions or concerns raised. Though I sometimes wish it was, tMP isn't my 'job', and though I do devote a lot of time to it (significantly less time than our mods do though), we each still have to work and earn a living to pay the bills... tMP bills included... :). I considered your post, sure... maybe mistakenly, as a demand for something that I provide willingly and freely, and it was for this reason I posted this detail. I only wish I had more time and could then read and reply personally to all of the threads and posts made on tMP, alas not. Of course, as a team we do try to read all of them, and I actually missed this recent one, sorry.

Anyway, I do hope this clears up the matter and we're all friends again... :)

Andy - we very much appreciate your comments, thanks. You are absolutely right, and I thank you for it, in pointing out the excellent work of the mod team as it really is down to their commitment, devotion and enthusiasm for tMP that we are able to keep the site running in the manner we have accomplished. I may pay the bills, but that's the easy (though expensive) part, the tMP mods are the reason tMP is still here, without them it wouldn't be. Period.

There you go, hope that clears up this item. Shout if there's anything I can do for you.

John

[mikelyons]

Can I echo Andy's sentiments, please? I have nothing but gratitude and admiration for John and the mods for the unpaid work they do to the benefit of us all. Even though I started this thrad about 12 minths ago, I have not pressed the point because I know that the team will have done everything they can to provide us with this functionality and, if it were there, we would have it.

You can now use google to search the site for keywords, so it's not such a problem. Besides, I can't remember the last time I wanted to do that - well, obviously, 12 months ago - but it was on a whim and I've never needed to do it since.

I'd probably be a bit irritated if I needed to do it again, but I know that when the functionality becomes available, John and the team will provide it.

Thanks Guys. (and Gals)

[WoodenFlugel]

Thanks for the positive comments guys - as John has already said we do appreciate kind words and even occasional constructive criticism! :)

As for using tMP's search facility goes, if you think less literally and more laterally with your keywords the search works well.

For example:

Search "Valve Oil" - the search ignores the word "Oil" (as it's less than 4 letters) so searches the whole site for "Valve". As you can imagine on a brass site that returns an awful lot of threads - 500 in fact.

Search for a brand - say "Blue Juice" and the results return just 31 threads which you can quickly scan through. You can also use the advanced search which allows you to search specific forum areas of tMP - say "Rehearsal Room".

I use the search facility all the time to look for duplicate threads etc and have to say with a few well-chosen words you can find exactly what you are looking for pretty quickly 99% of the time.

[needmorevodka]

If you feel that strongly that you are somehow getting a "poor" or "uncivil" service, you're free to start your own fully featured site at any time. Sorry, don't mean to be snappy, but I get a bit peeved when people complain about stuff they're getting for free. 'Nuff said.

Andy, it seems that you haven't read my post above. I am NOT COMPLAINING about something I am getting for free, nor am I DEMANDING anything. The issue was that nobody responded in any way whatsoever. It was being completely ignored that prompted me to re-ask the question, unfortunately in a way which upset John. I don't care if the feature in question is possible, or is not possible, or if nobody knew whether it is possible or not - frankly, just somebody saying "no idea" would have sufficed, at least I would have known that someone (anyone) had seen the question. Maybe then somebody might have helpfully advised about google sooner, rather than being sarcastic about it like KMJ Recordings as quoted below. I was brought up to believing ignoring people isn't polite, particularly when they are experiencing difficulties.


Erm....why don't you just search the site with Google? (with which you can search for phrases)

Well why didn't somebody just say that then? I didn't know you could do that. Rather than saying "Erm......" as if I'm some sort of idiot, you could have been much more helpful by imparting that piece of advice when the question was asked, if not a year ago then more recently when it was asked a month ago.



Anyway, I do hope this clears up the matter and we're all friends again... :)

Of course, we were never not, at least as far as I'm concerned :)
Thank you for your post John. I apologise if my grammar caused you to misunderstand my point, I always was a bit rubbish at school. WoodenFlugel already knows my feelings regarding the running of this site as we discussed it concerning another issue. My opinion hasn't changed at all. (For the benefit of those without access to that discussion, my comments were positive) And, as has become apparent in some of these replies, there were other people, not just mods, who had the knowledge to have helped us but didn't, and who are now cross with me for being frustrated and upsetting everybody.

By the way though, I do feel intimidated to start new threads when I can't find what I'm looking for (if this is what you mean by my "sarcasm"). As we can see here, many people obviously do know good methods of searching, and some people are not always too pleasant to idiots such as myself who don't. I've witnessed a number of brusque responses, often towards new members, and feel wary of starting new threads for that reason. However, that is a different issue.


You can now use google to search the site for keywords, so it's not such a problem. Besides, I can't remember the last time I wanted to do that - well, obviously, 12 months ago - but it was on a whim and I've never needed to do it since.

I'd probably be a bit irritated if I needed to do it again, but I know that when the functionality becomes available, John and the team will provide it.

Again, it would have been extremely helpful if you had posted this before now, but thanks anyway :) I search often and it's really useful to now know a more efficient way. Yes, I know that John and the team would provide functionality if/when possible. But I didn't know whether the question had been seen or read - that's when happens when nobody says a word and that's where a "yes/no/don't know" would have helped.


Thanks for the positive comments guys - as John has already said we do appreciate kind words and even occasional constructive criticism! :)

As for using tMP's search facility goes, if you think less literally and more laterally with your keywords the search works well.

For example:

Search "Valve Oil" - the search ignores the word "Oil" (as it's less than 4 letters) so searches the whole site for "Valve". As you can imagine on a brass site that returns an awful lot of threads - 500 in fact.

Search for a brand - say "Blue Juice" and the results return just 31 threads which you can quickly scan through. You can also use the advanced search which allows you to search specific forum areas of tMP - say "Rehearsal Room".

I use the search facility all the time to look for duplicate threads etc and have to say with a few well-chosen words you can find exactly what you are looking for pretty quickly 99% of the time.

Thanks WoodenFlugel, and I hear what you're saying. Sometimes though, you just can't avoid having to search for really common words. Taking "Valve Oil" as an example (just pretending for a sec that "Oil" was valid for searching), the search would find all posts containing "valve" and all posts containing "Oil", which would obviously generate more results than if it only found posts with the whole phrase "valve oil" together.

For the search I mentioned in my first post in this thread, I wasn't searching for a specific brand name which I could easily have typed in. If I remember rightly I think I was trying to find out which valve oils are thin as my Schilke sop has pretty tight valves. It was tricky as the more words I added the more results I got (not including "Oil" obviously, I knew it didn't search for that). This may also be true for Andrea whose search was to do with valves.

Anyway, thank you all for your replies, I'm grateful to learn from those more experienced than myself that Google can do the job. It's just a shame that it took my perceived causing of argy-bargy to drag you all out to slap me, to eventually get to a useful and helpful solution :)

Kind regards, Rebecca

[KMJ Recordings]

...you could have been much more helpful by imparting that piece of advice when the question was asked, if not a year ago then more recently when it was asked a month ago.

Believe it or not I have better things to do with my time than read everything that's posted in every thread on here :hammer.

[needmorevodka]

Believe it or not I have better things to do with my time than read everything that's posted in every thread on here :hammer.

So do I. But I still don't understand why you feel the need to say "Erm..." and use the tone you used (since it appears to be "tone" that has caused the problem, I don't see why everybody else's should be immune while misconstruing mine is a free-for-all). Your response can surely only serve to discourage people in need of help from asking questions for fear of being patronised and considered stupid. Is that really a good atmosphere to foster? :hammer

[KMJ Recordings]

If you'd even met me, you'd know that's how I speak...but you haven't.

It highlights the point of tone in posts rather well, don't you think?

I answered your post the first time I read it - hence the no response to the "why didn't you answer it last time"....the "erm" bit is me thinking out loud in a forum sense....how you chose to interpret it exactly that - an interpretation.

Funnily enough I tend to go out of my way in places such as this to be helpful - and as well as the wonderful work the backroom staff do I give my time to write on technical matters and the rest of my contribution for free. It's also the second forum in as many days whereby I've answered a question to be greeted by such a response.

Perhaps it's time to hang up my boots and do what everyone in my position and just not bother.

[needmorevodka]

If you'd even met me, you'd know that's how I speak...but you haven't.

It highlights the point of tone in posts rather well, don't you think?

I answered your post the first time I read it - hence the no response to the "why didn't you answer it last time"....the "erm" bit is me thinking out loud in a forum sense....how you chose to interpret it exactly that - an interpretation.

Funnily enough I tend to go out of my way in places such as this to be helpful - and as well as the wonderful work the backroom staff do I give my time to write on technical matters and the rest of my contribution for free. It's also the second forum in as many days whereby I've answered a question to be greeted by such a response.

Perhaps it's time to hang up my boots and do what everyone in my position and just not bother.

Nooo please don't hang up your boots!! We all appreciate your expertise and input. I know that you are helpful, but I did feel belittled by your post. Asking me why I didn't use google seemed to imply I should have already known it was possible to do that.

Yes, this does highlight the point of tone in posts. My tone was misunderstood in the same way as you say I have misunderstood yours. Most people haven't met me either, and if they had they would know how I speak and that I didn't mean to cause offense... but they haven't.

[KMJ Recordings]

We'd better metaphysically shake on it then ;)

[needmorevodka]

Sounds like an excellent idea :tup (Not quite a handshake smilie but it's close :) )

[mikelyons]

Becks, can I just point out that some of us here have 'grown up' (or down:)) with tmp and although we are still enthusiastic, we don't all spend 24/7 on the site. Like Keith, I answered your post as soon as I saw it and as for googling the pages I only learned of that through Keith myself in his post earlier.

I fully understand your frustration at feeling you have been ignored (it's a condition of your age :p) but please try to be patient in future. I'm a grouchy old bear as most on here will attest, but I've never refused to help anyone who needed it provided I was able and I'm absolutely certain that most other people on here feel the same. You just have to be patient. :)

PS How many animated smileys am I allowed these days?

[KMJ Recordings]

In the interests of completeness, I guess I should point out about site specific searching using Google, should anyone happen to pass through here again....for instance, the phrase that Becks wanted to look for could be found by searching using the following string in a Google engine:

"tenor horn valve felts" site:http://www.themouthpiece.com

You just change the bit in the quotation marks to change the phrase....you can use + and - logic as well to either include or exclude words...such that

+tenor +horn +valve +felts site:http://www.themouthpiece.com

gives you a different result as it includes all posts that includes all four words in any order.

[needmorevodka]

Becks, can I just point out that some of us here have 'grown up' (or down) with tmp and although we are still enthusiastic, we don't all spend 24/7 on the site. Like Keith, I answered your post as soon as I saw it and as for googling the pages I only learned of that through Keith myself in his post earlier.

I fully understand your frustration at feeling you have been ignored (it's a condition of your age) but please try to be patient in future. I'm a grouchy old bear as most on here will attest, but I've never refused to help anyone who needed it provided I was able and I'm absolutely certain that most other people on here feel the same. You just have to be patient.

PS How many animated smileys am I allowed these days?

Hi Mike, thank you for your response, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time.

I would like to point out however, that I left it for a month before re-asking the question and if I am guilty of any offence it is only that of 'bumping' the thread to prevent it from vanishing. On reading my post again just now I notice that I said "it is frustrating" (ie. spending hours searching is frustrating), and that starting a new thread is hazardous (for the reasons I mentioned a few posts above). I'm sure that many would agree that a month is a fairly reasonable length of time, given that I was only trying to find out whether something was possible or not (for all I knew I might have simply been doing something wrong) and does not demonstrate any extreme impatience on my part.

What I do find interesting in all of this is that it has highlighted perfectly my point about the worry of starting new threads after trying and failing to establish if it is a duplicate or not (or indeed, committing any other misdemeanour). People/posts are generally dealt with very swiftly for committing any offence (and this a credit to the mods for their vigilance and efficiency, not a criticism). Other posts can go unnoticed and unread, evidently. That has been well demonstrated here: it appears that nobody read this thread, right up until the point where John perceived mistakenly that I had behaved impertinently and publicly accused me of making an "abrupt demand". Next thing, everybody is suddenly reading it, adopting John's perception also, with some responding in a defensive (even "peeved") manner (not you Mike :)). I've had all night to think (and feel upset and hurt) about this, and I still find it odd that nobody read the thread until it seemed like I deserved to be attacked. Maybe it's the nose for trouble that some people possess? Or maybe just a co-incidence.

Anyway, thank you Mike for acknowledging my age. Is 33 young? Doesn't feel it and I have far too many grey hairs :biggrin:

Many thanks to you too Keith, the advice you gave above is excellent. I'm sure that, to many people it is "teaching granny to suck eggs" but to me it is invaluable. I'm very grateful :D

PS I think it's 5 smilies Mike, I'm over the limit so I've taken yours out in the quote, hope that's ok.

[Jan H]

PS How many animated smileys am I allowed these days?
I think it's five, but I'm not sure...

where are the days when we used to celebrate our 1000th posts etc. with posts full of smileys... :oops:

(I know it's off-topic, but I was just answering Mike's question ;) )

[PeterBale]

As to the question of starting a thread on a subject which has already been covered, I wouldn't worry too much about that. At the worst one of us - or another tMPer - will point the way to the thread in question, and the new one may be closed to save undue duplication.

Definitely no recriminations etc, just trying to kep things tidy.

[The Wherryman]

In the interests of completeness, I guess I should point out about site specific searching using Google, should anyone happen to pass through here again....for instance, the phrase that Becks wanted to look for could be found by searching using the following string in a Google engine:

"tenor horn valve felts" site:http://www.themouthpiece.com

You just change the bit in the quotation marks to change the phrase....you can use + and - logic as well to either include or exclude words...such that

+tenor +horn +valve +felts site:http://www.themouthpiece.com

gives you a different result as it includes all posts that includes all four words in any order.


Can I just say a huge "THANK YOU" to Keith for this very simple but oh so useful information. :clap: I've been using Google for years but didn't know of this facility (duh!). I've just tried it to search the tMP site for "oil" (which is not accepted, apparently, by the tMP search engine) and got 658 hits. It would appear that there is no need to change the tMP search engine, with all the effort and complications that would entail - just use Google.

My grandmother never could suck eggs!!!:p

[KMJ Recordings]

Can I just say a huge "THANK YOU" to Keith for this very simple but oh so useful information.

You're welcome ;)