Re: Gasalcoholics anonymous? whoever said this was a help group?
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2025 11:15 am
it'll work out eventually. part of my problem is that i tend to throw myself whole-hog into whatever i'm working on and thus get fried and have to switch to something else. after a month working on the Hopf guitar and a week of fucking with the SDS and rack, with a nice little respiratory illness thrown in, my brain is just tired out.
i have four main threads going on right now:
--using the boards/looping
--guitar project stuff (includes acquisitions)
--getting the rack together
--synth stuff
much of this is totally constrained by my economics. i just paid off most of my Pay in 4 and Affirm stuff to make room for future stuff, but only really have disposable income in the second half of the month after the rent is sorted by the first check. Thankfully the boards are largely settled so i don't need to fret about that. but i can only do a bit at a time unless it goes on credit, which is mostly tapped out, or Affirm/Pay in 4. i'm liking Affirm more these days because 1.) they only charge you once a month and 2.) more expensive stuff will fit there.
my near-term plans are:
1. sometime next week if i have the energy i'll go to Atomic up in Maryland where they have a used Epiphone Uptown Kat ES like the one i dug when i tested it at Sam Ash. if i like it and i decide i can do without my AC15 i'll trade it and some other stuff to make it affordable. i should also have store credit in their system from when i sold the Rickenbacker. if i don't want the guitar i'll probably sell them the AC15 and take the other stuff home. if i decide to keep the AC15 this is moot and the "guitar with Firebird pickups" i want will push back. i'm seeing Alabaster DePlume Tuesday night in DC and could tack that onto the itinerary.
2. the rack stuff will go a bit at a time. first i have to get an 8u rack, which fortunately aren't that dear used. then i look for another SP15/PE15 parametric which is about $250. the PE15 is just the SP15 with an external power supply; their functionalities appear identical. PE15s are cheaper. last will be selecting a Lexicon unit, which will be either a MPX1 or an MPX100 depending on whether i can stomach the additional couple of hundred dollars. i don't see any of this being done for awhile. after all, the rack was essentially irrelevant until i started messing with keys and the SDS, and synths are a lower priority than guitars because, well, i'm a guitar player. not that i won't use the rack with guitars--rack units appear on several of the Early Loops--but that's kind of gilding the lily given the complexity of the boards. however, there are so many reverb options between the SPX900 and MidiVerb II and the prospective Lexicon unit that some of them will inevitably make it into my catalog of artificial looping environments. that SPX900 reverb on the SDS test is beautiful, and i haven't even cracked the parameters of anything yet. it has a seventy page manual which frightens me.
3. for the synth stuff the next thing is a Keystep controller, which you can apparently use to play the SDS like a regular synth. after that i have no idea what the fuck to do, but the Moog Grandmother and Minilogue appeal. i also need to send myself to MIDI and CV school so i can comprehend what to do with this stuff which is waaaaaaay outside my areas of expertise.
4. when i've freed up some wiggle room with Affirm, like in a month or 2, i can order the Eastwood Wandré and see if i like it enough to keep. i signed up for their mail list and have a 10% off code. like i said, if i'm not happy with it or think it sucks back it goes.
5. meanwhile looping will go on as normal, though i haven't been playing a lot lately because i've been busy working on the SDS/mixer/rack and getting that working properly and finishing the Hopf project guitar.
so my next task is to play several different guitars through the AC15 and see if i need to keep it or not. at least i don't have anything on my Wanted FX list but the AC Ricorda and the Behringer rerub of the Grampian 636 spring reverb, neither of which are a big priority.
i wouldn't be at all surprised if the rack and synth stuff wasn't totally implemented by the end of the year. i'm kind of terrified of the learning curve, and i'm someone who likes learning new things.
i have four main threads going on right now:
--using the boards/looping
--guitar project stuff (includes acquisitions)
--getting the rack together
--synth stuff
much of this is totally constrained by my economics. i just paid off most of my Pay in 4 and Affirm stuff to make room for future stuff, but only really have disposable income in the second half of the month after the rent is sorted by the first check. Thankfully the boards are largely settled so i don't need to fret about that. but i can only do a bit at a time unless it goes on credit, which is mostly tapped out, or Affirm/Pay in 4. i'm liking Affirm more these days because 1.) they only charge you once a month and 2.) more expensive stuff will fit there.
my near-term plans are:
1. sometime next week if i have the energy i'll go to Atomic up in Maryland where they have a used Epiphone Uptown Kat ES like the one i dug when i tested it at Sam Ash. if i like it and i decide i can do without my AC15 i'll trade it and some other stuff to make it affordable. i should also have store credit in their system from when i sold the Rickenbacker. if i don't want the guitar i'll probably sell them the AC15 and take the other stuff home. if i decide to keep the AC15 this is moot and the "guitar with Firebird pickups" i want will push back. i'm seeing Alabaster DePlume Tuesday night in DC and could tack that onto the itinerary.
2. the rack stuff will go a bit at a time. first i have to get an 8u rack, which fortunately aren't that dear used. then i look for another SP15/PE15 parametric which is about $250. the PE15 is just the SP15 with an external power supply; their functionalities appear identical. PE15s are cheaper. last will be selecting a Lexicon unit, which will be either a MPX1 or an MPX100 depending on whether i can stomach the additional couple of hundred dollars. i don't see any of this being done for awhile. after all, the rack was essentially irrelevant until i started messing with keys and the SDS, and synths are a lower priority than guitars because, well, i'm a guitar player. not that i won't use the rack with guitars--rack units appear on several of the Early Loops--but that's kind of gilding the lily given the complexity of the boards. however, there are so many reverb options between the SPX900 and MidiVerb II and the prospective Lexicon unit that some of them will inevitably make it into my catalog of artificial looping environments. that SPX900 reverb on the SDS test is beautiful, and i haven't even cracked the parameters of anything yet. it has a seventy page manual which frightens me.
3. for the synth stuff the next thing is a Keystep controller, which you can apparently use to play the SDS like a regular synth. after that i have no idea what the fuck to do, but the Moog Grandmother and Minilogue appeal. i also need to send myself to MIDI and CV school so i can comprehend what to do with this stuff which is waaaaaaay outside my areas of expertise.
4. when i've freed up some wiggle room with Affirm, like in a month or 2, i can order the Eastwood Wandré and see if i like it enough to keep. i signed up for their mail list and have a 10% off code. like i said, if i'm not happy with it or think it sucks back it goes.
5. meanwhile looping will go on as normal, though i haven't been playing a lot lately because i've been busy working on the SDS/mixer/rack and getting that working properly and finishing the Hopf project guitar.
so my next task is to play several different guitars through the AC15 and see if i need to keep it or not. at least i don't have anything on my Wanted FX list but the AC Ricorda and the Behringer rerub of the Grampian 636 spring reverb, neither of which are a big priority.
i wouldn't be at all surprised if the rack and synth stuff wasn't totally implemented by the end of the year. i'm kind of terrified of the learning curve, and i'm someone who likes learning new things.
