Wiardgroup

Hi All,
     I think those patchcord thingies make a difference somehow.  In strict=
 electrical terms , they are nearly exactly the same as switches or (with a =
few restrictions) CMOS gates. I have really nice gear that interconnects by =
 both of the two aforementioned  methods but I'm realizing that I favor the =
spaghetti method over any of the `neater'  methods. This observation has bee=
n hammered home by the Nord Modular . The only way to program timbres on it =
is by the use of virtual patch cords on a computer screen. This gets me thin=
king…. Why would those sober orderly swedes employ an interface that quickly=
 makes an absolute rats nest of the screen in an environment in which MANY o=
ther options are available. Why is this archaic scheme surviving?
 
Disclaimer: If this discussion degenerates into the mirthless miasma of the=
 tired old banana vs 1/8" vs 3.55mm vs ¼" dogma-spew…….then I'm telling your=
 moms – this time I mean it, you guys! I'll rat you all out to your parents.=
!  
For the purpose of this post, all patchcords are created equal. 

I'm asking why , as a class, they persist.

Here's my $.014 worth:
By all rights I should hate them. I teach an electronic music class at in a=
 university studio that is blessed with patchable ARPs, a Moog  and  a Buchl=
a . The Univ. devotes the budget to scrupulously maintain (and protect) thes=
e treasures. But despite this devotion EVERY single one of them has a few do=
dgy jacks at any given time. The patchcords themselves require constant main=
tenance. A newbie trying to make sense of those panels is utterly barred fro=
m the `Eureka' experience if his/her correct patch schemes fail because the =
jack is loose. The spaghetti has discouraged too many of my students and set=
 them running for the dubious comforts of  hierarchical page LCD's in the di=
gital synth rack . I can hardly blame them. The Nord modular was a godsend f=
or this reason alone. It is now the first synth they learn in my class and e=
ven the most software-addicted greenhorns among them make the jump to the 26=
00 without major casualties. Before the Nord, the student feedback forms ran=
 dangerously close to convincing the Dean to sell off the patchcord synths. =
(oh  - stop it, you guys…. We're talkin' education here! It would too be bad=
! Sheesh!… beside I've got dibs anyway)
All this trouble because of the @!%$& wires.
They're a menace. I should hate them.

But I go home to my little rats-nest studio and wade back into a pit that l=
ooks like of those snake-barrels into which it's recently become fashionable=
 to insert minor celebrities on TV .
…. And I'm happy, in fact I  usually end up selling my other synths and jus=
t getting more of the damn spaghetti magnets.
Why????
If I'm honest I can't rule out nostalgia completely. I'm old and lived a wo=
rld in which owning a patchcord panel was a lofty status symbol, out of the =
reach of most people my age (at the time)
But my adherence to patchcords is more than that. When I teach and need to =
demonstrate a sound spontaneously – Without thinking, I reach for the 2600. =
It's fast and, despite appearances, DIRECT. I'll argue that the pressure to =
get it right –QUICK, in front of two dozen smartass college kids  is equival=
ent to studio or stage pressure. 
I think patchcords make a form of intuitive sense for interconnecting  comp=
lex systems that has yet to be surpassed. No method that I've seen balances =
simplicity with flexibility as well as the spaghetti does. It DOESN'T look s=
imple but looks are deceiving. Patchcords offer the user flexibility to expe=
riment that other methods tend to proscribe. The other side of this coin is =
that it gives one  enough rope to hand oneself . But it also allows for happ=
y accidents. (I'm convinced that Filter FM was the results of a fumbled Moog=
 patch). Moreover it allows the user to move beyond the designer's intention=
s and that is really fertile ground. In the past decade (thanks to the web) =
I have met many synthesists whom I call `gentleman farmers' that is, they ow=
n patchcord modular rigs (some HUGE ones, in fact)  but the music they make =
is pretty much for their own ears only. This used to puzzle and confound me.=
 I used to exhort (good naturedly-I hope) these folks  to PUBLISH! Get them =
wild sounds out thar, pardners!
   But , thanks to the patient forbearance of a few of them, I have come to=
 realize that for some, the output is NOT the point….
The process is!
I theorize that, in some way,  patchcord interface promotes a   process sor=
t of like doodling, or (cue ominous music) automatic writing… In any case I =
think that a  last-century leftover hardware compromise has  inadvertently l=
eft a channel open to the right brain and the method itself appeals to folks=
' creativity INDEPENDENT of the created object. 
The patchcords are the journey and the music is a destination.
Some enjoy both, but for many, the journey by itself  is quite enough fun.

-dm 

PS: for those who demand Wiard content: Quoth Grant Richter:
`Don't ask me where the banana jacks are…tell me where the STACKABLE 1/8" p=
lugs are!'
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa…… 
(ok, ok.. now I have to go tell on myself to my mom)