Manual Dexterity

I've been doing a bit of printing recently.
I've also been reading what I've been printing too. Tonight I read and played at the same time and I've cracked the QY100. Not only is it very very versatile but in reality it's dead simple to use too.
The postie left a card which indicates that my chrome tapes will be ready to collect in a couple of days. He also delived my card converter which means I can save QY songs when I get round to writing some, which I've made a start on.
It's all good here in the retro studio.

Full House

So here is the nerve centre of the retro portion of my studio.
I'll be working out the MIDI and audio connections tomorrow. I've mapped it in my head but things always have a habit of not quite working how one expects them to.
I'm thinking I might post a little YouTube video when everything is up and running.
Should be exciting if glowing lights are your thing.

Two Thirds

The Tascam 424 mkiii turned up today.
I haven't had a chance to play yet and I can't record until the typeII cassettes show up.
The postie left me a card too saying the QY will be ready to collect tomorrow.
Friday is going to be fun.

It's In The Cans

Over the next few weeks I'll be wearing these quite a lot.
Once the new gear arrives and I've set the studio up I'm going to get my head down and start writing again.
Tonight saw two new additions to FL Studio. Drumaxx, a new drum machine which will mostly be fed through Gross Beat, a chop and glitch tool. I've needed these for a while to put a second kit behind the principal beat to add depth and texture. I'll also be messing with sampled vocals too.
Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be using the most comprehensive studio I've worked in for almost two decades. With everything at my fingertips I will no longer be frustrated at a lack of kit. It wasn't cheap and I think I've done well on my budget.
Here's to the new studio.

Angle Poised

If one can defy gravity by whatever means then one should proceed.
The RM1x in position and ready.

Analogue Rules

The first rule of analogue tape is to align the record head correctly. I know how to do that.
The second rule of analogue tape is to calendar your blanks before recording. I know how to do that.
The third rule is to own an analogue tape recorder. I can do that too because I was the highest bidder in the eBay auction.
My 80's studio is now complete and by the end of this week I should be doing what I do but in a way I used to do it.
Bring it on. AmpUT just got a shot in the phantom arm.

Stand And Delivered

Up at six, waiting at the car boot by 7:50am, in the car boot at 8:30am.
By 9am I had a guitar stand as you can see. By about 1:30pm I had a book stand too. The kind of thing you find in a kitchen supporting a cookbook. For me it is now supporting my RM1x. The RM is now facing me with access to the I/O ports on top. This gives me a bit more space and it's easier to use the RM.
I'll report if I'm lucky on what the new space is intended for.
More later.

Following Instructions

It has to be said that the RM1x manual has never been plain sailing.
However, the more I read the QY100 manual the more the RM makes sense. The two are very similar beasts. I've just spent the best part of two hours writing a little test track on the RM to see if I could get my head around it finally. I'm pleased to announce that I think I've cracked most of it.
To that end the QY had better hurry up. I can't wait to play.

New Musical Excuse

Over the next few days I'll be reading this manual.
At some point next week I'll be putting what I've learned into practice. I've wanted a QY100 for ages. Next I have my eye on some recording gear.
I'll let you know how that goes.

The Quiet Before The Storm

Thursday night wine with no guilt.
Tomorrow I get a chance to stay in bed a little longer, that is the reward for a day of sober travel. I'm off to London for a party tomorrow night and I'm in my favourite role of designated driver. I like to make sure that everyone is in the right place at the right time so that events run smoothly.
I don't mind not drinking, it's not important, I can have fun sober, indeed I'm happier when everyone gets home safe and sound.
So chin chin for tonight. Tomorrow's just another day.

Lesson 1

Learn from past experience.
I had every intension of putting my RM1x on eBay tonight. I dusted it off and unplugged it from the rig and thought "What am I doing?" In my lifetime the possessions I miss the most are all to do with music or music making. Twice I've owned a Jen SX1000, twice I've sold it. Stupid! From full DJ rigs to silly little drum machines I miss them all.
So I put the RM1x back. I'm not going to make the same mistake again. In fact I have my eye on a QY100 at the moment. That's something I've been after for a long time.
I wonder what the RM and the QY would do if MIDI'd together?
Wonderful things I imagine.

Communication Revolution

There are things that I am changing in my communication world.
Twitter has gone, so too Facebook. I will no longer be wasting my time on any microblogging sites. Of course a few links will remain but they will be the result of blogging here or the occasional picture sent into the ether.
The iPhone is going too although I will keep my iPod touch because there are a few good apps that have become usefull to me.
I've been collecting addresses so that I can write letters to people. You know, those paper things that aren't bills or final demands or junk mail. They're nice things that are a joy to receive.
I'm not turning into a ludite, I'm just reclaiming time so that I can read and write without giving a hoot about what so and so is up to or thinking.
I've made some good friends in the social networking world but I know where to find them and their blogs if I want to.
On the other hand, should anyone want to contact me, well, you know where I am.

Increased Wealth

I calculate my personal wealth by having things to hand as and when I need them.
To date the standard has been the availability of scourer / sponge washing up accessories. Should the old one run its course I need to have a new one at hand. This has been achieved, so where to from here?
Tonight I needed to sharpen a pencil and there to hand was a pencil sharpener. Riches indeed.

On this thread my mental wealth has increased over the last couple of days.
I have felt much better in myself since telling my manager that I am gainfully looking for other employment. It's the polite way of saying "You can shove your job up your f*$#ing a#*e you narrow minded immature brown nosing w#*&er!" After finding out that I was being paid substantially less for doing the same job as a colleague I felt aggrieved. Now I feel relieved. If for any reason my work isn't up to the standard required I have the reasoning that 'You get what you pay for.' to fall back on. Indeed, not trying, although against my nature is pleasantly relaxing. A great relief if nothing.

Am I a better person for stepping back from the breach?
Do you need an answer?

The Thrill Of The New

I'm not superstitious.
Superstition makes no sense but there are things in my life that always make me think and from those thoughts I often arrive at different conclusions from those that might have existed without a prompt.
Watches are things that make me think. I won't let anyone buy or give me a watch. As I say, "My time is my own." The watch I wear daily is cheap, about £30 but I like it because it receives a radio signal from the atomic clock and is always accurate. Today the small band that holds the strap and stops it flapping around broke.
Time for a new watch. Time to change.

This holds true for my life. Work has gone from the thrill of driving to a constant battle with big company procedures. It seems that the larger the company the less in touch with day to day practices those in charge are. The larger the company the harder it is for promises to be kept because no-one knows what's going on or what everyone else is doing or has promised.
When it comes down to it, the people at the end of the chain, people like me, get an extra burden to improve. This would be fine if I could invent a few new hours in the day or was prepared to regularly break the laws of this land for the benefit of the company at considerable risk to my own livelihood. It's also difficult to improve or make extra effort if one finds out that one is working alongside another doing the same job and that one is earning considerably less.
That's the position I'm in. So like my watch, my work life is due for a change.

My time is indeed my own and I'll decide where I spend the working portion.
I can tell you that it's not where I am now.

Stop Now

The first picture is my bedside alarm. A wind up clock that hasn't had a wind in some time.
The second picture is my battery wall clock that stopped last night.
Maybe due to gravity acting on the clock hands this is the optimal time for a clock to stop.
Maybe my clocks are just strange.