Delay, more delay (a fairly shit and pointless blog entry)

Yes, I got Tony's ADR30 to play with. I think he under-enthused about it because it really has a superb vintage tone, magical feedback and a very dubby, subtle shifty kinda quality to it. Tried some drums through it and was delighted, felt that voltage control over feedback amount would have been even more amazing. Speaking of voltage control, yet another delay module is coming for review, one I couldn't turn down.

Great to see Tony today, potter in the studio, have lunch.

Well, time seems to have passed. Summer came back. We started putting up shed but it was very slightly windy so gave up again. Other stuff probably happened. I broke a review module and just got a replacement, have another review to complete for Monday but cracked on with it so should be OK. Must retire though, too many other things to do!

Sure I had other stuff to write. But. After Life is coming on well, I think. The chapters I've done so far are standing up well.

Completed the review, fortunately not too difficult to write. It's Saturday now and we might have a go at the shed again, although the weather app says the wind will be almost non-existent tomorrow. I know: any excuse.

Would have liked to be at the thing in London protesting at the insanity that is Brexit. But not enough to venture down the M6.

Sorry, a shit blog this one. I'll go an edit the title to say so.

Diddly

Playing with Tim's Digitakt kinda confirms my feeling that life is too short to try and learn another piece  of  Elektron kit. Powerful though it surely is, everything takes so long to accomplish. Even the new Electribes are fast and slick in comparison - and you know how much I moaned about them!

Re-reading Hitch Hiker's, I'm forced to conclude that the efforts to weave a plot around the original episodic nonsense actually weakens it. This isn't just a 'first is best' type observation either.

Similarly, it seems the only misgiving I now have about the Grandmother technically (I'll never forgive the stupid name, sorry) is that they used Voyager VCOs, not even actual Minimoog ones. IMHO the Voyager (another stupid name synth) is an episode in Moog's history best forgotten. Makes me think of Edgar Froese in a way, who you could only really assess as an artistic force once he was dead and therefore unable to produce any more of the turgid music he'd been spewing out in his dotage. Does not damage his legacy at all BTW, just shows you that people get old. I'm still in awe of what he achieved, as I am Bob Moog, but let's not pretend the later stuff is anything special.

Now if I were reviewing the Grandmother (which happily I'm not), I'd want to try it with AJH Minimoog VCOs going through that filter/VCA. I'd be able to moan about the stupid name, suggest that a Doepfer ribbon might fit across the panel which has the name on it, perhaps I'd admit to liking the colour scheme and the form factor before doing my inevitable 'this is Moog's Music Easel' comparison. Anyway, maybe I'll write about it here when it comes, who knows?

I've been enjoying the sunshine, taking pix and not doing a whole lot except potter in the garden. Oh, the new Klaus Schulze album is like death that's been warmed up then left to grow furry fungus that can hopefully pass off as life. I may well be producing shit and forgettable music these days. But I'm not the only one.

Right, just a bit more sitting down to do then I'll do something...