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On road cases for frames: Craig Collett of Col Audio (who hosted theTronto workshops) has already spoken to his road case supplier and they'vemeasured frames (standard Streetly as opposed to the slightly longer DK/MRframes) and came up with several combinations (I believe 1,2,4 & 6).These can be supplied very quickly. Those of you who attended the workshopshere already know the quality of this manufacturer's construction. Thecase he made for my MkII FX Console is the best I've ever seen. Period.And believe me, I've seen them all. In order to protect the finish, helined the foam with velvet, for Christ's sake! They are computer designedto supply extra support for stress/weight points. I cannot recommend themhighly enough. The price is very competitive, too AND in Canadian dollars!I'm sure the tape frame cases will be just as outstanding. Contact Craigat craigcollett@...for more info. Also: had anyone on the list seen/purchased one of thetape frame cases Markus told us about recently? Especially for the Europeancontingent on the list, this could be a way to go.
Baritone Sax: When we recorded Phil Poppa for the new soprano sax, hisbari was sitting over in the corner and we never did anything about it.I can't believe I was that stupid. However, I'm in the middle of organizinganother round of recording (bass flute and flute choir--both done ala IanMcDonald) and I'll get Phil into the studio at the same time. Bari willwork very well (as shown by the bass clarinet already done) and I can seea lot of uses for it. Imagine the standard 'cello on steriods. This willgive you some idea of what the bari will sound like. We also have accessto a bass sax to do the bottom notes. Those of you who have never heardthis beast (it's 5 feet tall and you need a building permit when you putthe reed on) are in for a real treat.
The idea floating around about a cycling 400: GREAT idea, but everyonemust remember one thing: it will cost A LOT of money (and time) to attemptsomething like this. I believe that Streetly would be interested in andcapable of making a cycling 'tron, but they would first need your commitmentwith FIRM orders (and probably a 50% deposit) before they could even beginsomething this involved. How many people would be willing to do this? That'sthe key as to whether it could happen or not. It took Martin having towrite what I thought was a pretty despairing posting to get people talkingabout the Russian Choir (which is brilliant IMHO). They need your feedbackto know whether what they're doing is valued/valuable. So, if there reallyis SOLID interest in a particular improvement (read: financially viable),I'm sure it will become reality.
Lastly: Talk is cheap. Frank (and Martin) are right about the cost ofthings. You can easily blow a grand on a guitar and amp, a new computer;hell, I blew $1200 on some software recently. $500 for a frame with 3 newsounds is not a lot to pay when you consider what you're getting. It seemsto me that you cannot have enough mellotron voices. I look at the libraryas it now stands and realize that I could use another 6 voices right now--andI have 36 on my instrument! Even though I'm involved with the project,I think that the new library is terrific and that it's again growing afterall these years blows me away--'trons are alive and well! Frankly, thequality of the majority of the original library is pretty substandard andthe new voices show that the mellotron has NEVER really sounded as goodas it should. Besides my efforts, there are several other ongoing recordingprojects and it won't be long before there will be a choice between morethan double the string voices, for instance. We all must support theseimprovements, though, or they will come to a grinding halt. It's sillyfor everyone to go to the trouble to produce new recordings if we all sayhow great they are but no one buys them.
Also, it puzzles me mightily that anyone would want the MkII flute whenIan's is available. Why? Because the Beatles used it on 'Strawberry Fields'?Do you think Paul would have chosen that particular voice if Ian's hadbeen an option at the time? Because MkII flute was always part of the "standardtape set"? Who cares? Personally, I would immediately dump the 3 violinsif a better one came along. I don't worry that people might say, "Gee,it really doesn't sound anything like I remember." In my Devotion reuniongig last year, we HAD to do 'The Court of the Crimson King' or our loyalfans would probably have lynched us, and I admit that I used the 3 violinsbut only until the crescendo after the flute solo, at which point I broughtin the string section voice and finally finished with orchestra for thevamp at the end. At our first rehearsal, the band stopped playing and thesinger pithily commented, "What the fuck have you done to that thing?!That is TOTALLY awesome!" Why? Because it did sound FUCKING AMAZING. Ishowed Ian what I'd done at the Tronto workshop and in his quiet voicehe said, "Gee, I wish we'd had that." I'll leave it to you all to imaginewhat the Adrian Belew guitar voice did to the band and audience in 'SchizoidMan'...
I guess what I'm trying to say is: order some of these new voices. Theyreally are not that expensive. Don't be stuck in the museum when mellotronsare once again out there and evolving. If you want a cycling 400, tellStreetly and DEMAND to place an order. If enough people do that, thereWILL be a cycling 400. They can do it.
And with that, he descended from his soapbox and disappeared into thenight...
Cheers!
Rick (SFX 10030)
MAinPsych@... wrote:
Hi,everyone.Itseems that your ordered copies of the book are now starting to arrive. I would certainly appreciate any and all constructive feedback (aside fromthe few glaring publisher errors already noted). It's obviously unknownif they'll be a subsequent printing, but in the event that there is, thisfeedback would certainly assist in any revision.
Thanks,and I hope you all enjoy the book!
My2 cents on the cycling 400: I do love the idea, particularly since my acquiringa MkII has yet to become a reality (the one I checked out in L.A. earlierthis week, #240, was not in good shape at all - and the guy still wantsat least $14K for it). Martin, if Streetly is going to build a limited# of T550's (what's the word on that anyway), then why not a limited editionmanually cycling Novatron 400 (a next generation of trons, the 700, or706 if 6 sounds, 712 if 12 sounds, etc.) or (since we're indulging ourwish lists) a manually cycling dual manual Novatron Mark VII (the new MkII)? I'll be more than glad to put the prototype through its paces.
Ilove the Russian Choir - it made me drag my yushanka out of the closet. Some time ago I mentioned that Baritone Sax might be a consideration fora new sound (or would that sound too much like a foghorn?). How aboutthe solo female voice that almost became a reality a couple of years ago. Different vocal/vowel sounds? Mike Dickson's gastrointestinal rumblings(see Baritone Sax) with the air-raid siren on the lower G?
AlthoughI said I was going to do this during the TRONto workshop last September(but haven't yet), I'd like to check with a local firm that makes roadcases to get see about getting a price on a vertical ATA-style case (likethe one Streetly had at the last 2 workshops) that would hold, say, 6 racks. How many of you would be interested in something like this? Martin,where did you guys get your cases? BTW, Martin does raise a goodpoint about the price of tapes/racks. Relatively speaking, guitaristsout there, how much do we spend on accessories per year? I boughtboth a guitar and bass POD for my studio, which list for $350. apiece,among many other accessories, and didn't blink too much at that; or thecost of a year's worth of strings. Of course, I'd like everythingcheaper, but c'est la vie. Hell, I'd like to find a pristinecondition MkII for $500 -- and people in hell want ice water too!!!
Lookingforward to your feedback,
FrankSamagaio
M400#908
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