Hi
Long time Queen fan here (about 16 years)
One thing that buggers me is the fact that I don't know why does John puts his right hand in his mouth while playing. You can see him do this in several videos.
Anyone have a theory for this?
no its isnt, john hardly ever licked his finger later on in the 80's because he didnt mind the more flat sound. The pure reason for licking your fingers is to alter the sound of the bass.
ok I stand corrected, Ive played with bass players who have had the same habit and that is how it has been explained to me, why do u think metal players tape their fingers? it aint altering their sound it preserves skin! John used a precision mostly in the 70s so the tone control I guess would alter the brightness rather than wetting the pick ups? be nice to know for sure though? where did u read about the sound alteration due to this im intrigued? Ive only been a guitarist for 25 years and never heard of this explanation for licking fingers.
I play a bit of bass - I don't see how licking your fingers will affect your sound. Which part of the string you play on will (nearer the neck or nearer the bridge), but I wasnt aware that finger licking did.