MOTM

At 09:07 PM 04/13/2000 EDT, jwbarlow@... wrote:
>In a message dated 4/13/2000 7:45:45 AM, daveb@... writes:
>>Jurgen,
>
>>did you mount your joystick on a vertical panel in the main cabonet, or
>>in an auxillary box?
>
>I'd be interested as well. I'd think a panel mounted joystick wouldn't be as 
>useful as one in a box. I know some on this list have panel mounted
joysticks 
>(from another company) and I wonder how they like them. 

I'd be one of those people :^).  Yeah, I currently have the dual joystick
controller mounted immediately below the actual modules in a regular SKB
case (the modules are too deep for one of the mixer cases - it's more
convenient to use a modular in the SKB mixer case; obviously the inability
to do so didn't stop me from making this purchase, but I'm still very
grateful that Paul designed MOTM to fit the mixer case), and have used that
setup for both recording and performances.  It's actually less inconvenient
than I feared it might be, and is actually sometimes advantageous in that
the close proximity to the modules makes repatching the controller easy
(although I don't really find myself repatching the joystick in the middle
of a musical segment) and makes it convenient to move my hands between the
joystick and knobs (which is much likelier to happen during a single
piece).  Also, there's no reason it can't be mounted in a separate box
(although an extension cord for the power connector would be required), I'm
just too lazy to have done so yet.  Which would make sense to do, since I
don't generally use a keyboard with it, so there's room under my hands for it.

Incidentally, I'm pretty certain that manufacturer's dual-joystick
controllers *are* now available separately (previously you could only get
one with a full-system order), although they don't have many of the
features that some people have been asking for (they're not spring-loaded,
which I don't miss; there's no attenuation, but the outputs are usually
plugged into module inputs with associated attenuator knobs; the outputs
are only positive voltages and non-reversible, but there are external ways
around those shortcomings, too - it *does* come with two gate buttons,
which are very useful).  As long as you don't mind the crypto-celtic bright
blue graphics :^).  I *do* find the *dual* joystick to be a key feature - I
got two hands, so why not (since both the designer and I are very much into
Spacerock, there was a bit of discussion over whether he should make a
model to accommodate users that have, say, four tentacles or five
pseudopods or ...)?  If you *are* using a keyboard, I can see that it would
make more sense to have two separate joysticks, one at each end of the
keyboard.

>Thanks Ivan for the pics of the Catstick (what? they couldn't find room
for a 
>drink holder on that one?) and EML joysticks -- both look very powerful. Any 
>idea what these did/do cost?

I'll add my thanks, also.  They looked very cool, and I'll agree that an
"official" MOTM joystick controller should include a drink holder (just the
right size for a bottle of Three Stooges beer, of course, which I've seen
here in California but haven't yet tried) ...

	-Doug
	 ceres@...