GRollins

I have both Scottish and English ancestry. It's the Scottish part that I'll own up to in public. I and my wife went to Scotland back in '95 to look at my two(!) ancestral castles, both still inhabited. While we were there, we drove the length and breadth of Scotland, or at least as much as we could manage in the time we had available. For all the fact that we were all speaking English, there were times when it was...interesting, shall we say, trying parse the native speech. Add to that the fact that the vernacular was different and it was a continual learning experience. We stopped at a small distillery that popped up in the crook of a back road. We parked and went looking to see if there was a visitor's center or something and practically ran into a fellow coming out of one of the whitewashed buildings, clearly an employee. He gave me a sharp head nod and said, "Roight." I gave him a head toss in return, but it took that extra second or two to figure out that he had said, "Right," in much the way that someone here would say, "S'up." By the time I had that insight, he had gone on about his business, so it was too late to "Roight" back at him. Hopefully my nod was sufficient to establish my bona fides. Hell, for all I know, even head nods come in dialects! He probably went off in a corner with a mate and told him about the guy who was clearly an American who made the most ridiculous head motion at him. I might have to plead guilty. For what it's worth, my wife says she thinks it was Aberlour, but I'm not convinced. Now that it's in my mind, I'm going to have to try to figure out which distillery it was, but never mind... "England and America are two countries separated by a common language," quoth George Bernard Shaw. I believe that goes double for Scotland. Grey

I try to play guitar and bass lightly, say, 90-95% of the time. It's rare that I "dig in." In the event that I want to play faster notes, I've found that having my muscles tensed works against me. It's either speed or power--not both at the same time. Yes, there are classical pianists who can do both and I suppose that if I worked at it I could manage. but for the tones I hear in my head, it doesn't get me where I want to go. I'm just not a "windmill," Pete Townsend sort of guy. Interestingly, I tend to play the piano voices on my keys harder than I do guitar. Yes, I know it's an apples to oranges comparison, but I do tend to hit piano voices harder. Synth tones...back to light, since there's no point in beating on a key that doesn't respond differently. Grey

1) Yes, electric instruments are easier to play than acoustic ones--the string tension is lower. Acoustic instruments need higher string tension in order to make the top of the instrument vibrate more since there's no amplification. Note that if you want higher string tension on an electric instrument you can go with heavier gauge strings. This is particularly useful if you intend to play slide guitar, for instance, but most players opt for lighter gauge strings/lower tension. 2) Speaking from the other side of the fence, I've never noticed tension problems going from strings to keys. I can't recall noticing any guitar players that I've played with who had overdeveloped arms. For that matter, I don't recall seeing that Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, et. al. had overdeveloped arms, either. If someone has asymmetrical arms, I'd start looking at what they do for a living (meaning their non-musical occupation) or perhaps a technique problem when playing. There's no need to have visibly overdeveloped arms for guitar or bass. Grey

1) Yes, electric instruments are easier to play than acoustic ones--the string tension is lower. Acoustic instruments need higher string tension in order to make the top of the instrument vibrate more since there's no amplification. Note that if you want higher string tension on an electric instrument you can go with heavier gauge strings. This is particularly useful if you intend to play slide guitar, for instance, but most players opt for lighter gauge strings/lower tension. 2) Speaking from the other side of the fence, I've never noticed tension problems going from strings to keys. I can't recall noticing any guitar players that I've played with who had overdeveloped arms. For that matter, I don't recall seeing that Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, et. al. had overdeveloped arms, either. If someone has asymmetrical arms, I'd start looking at what they do for a living (meaning their non-musical occupation) or perhaps a technique problem when playing. There's no need to have visibly overdeveloped arms for guitar or bass. Grey

Clearly I'm going to have to rob a bank in order to pay for all my violations... Grey

It's all I can do to find space for my A-100. My keyboard/synth space is pretty packed. I looked into a fire-damaged C (it wasn't technically fire-damaged, it was the water from the fire hoses that did it in) a couple of years ago, but it was going to take a lot of work to redo the wood and I backed away. Yes, I suppose I could have built it back into a road case or something, but by that point I already had the A and given that I'm more a string guy, I figured that it would be a lot of work for little return. I don't need two Hammonds. I don't even play the one I have enough to make it feel loved. Of course, no more time than I get to spend on music, none of my instruments are properly loved. Grey

I got mine for $300, so you win on price, but mine's in really good condition and has the pedals and bench and all that stuff, plus a lamp as part of the deal. I feel like I did okay--especially vs. $1500. On the negative side, I have about 3000 man-hours (plus 50 gallons of Formula 409 and a truckload of paper towels) invested in scraping off the sludge left by being in the home of a heavy smoker and it's still not as clean as I'd like. Jeez, I'd hate to see what my mother's lungs looked like before she quit smoking (then succumbed to cancer anyway). Grey

My A-100 is worth $1200-1500? Yikes! I paid a lot less than that. I'm feeling pretty smug at the moment, with the caveat that the chorus dingus is making a mechanical tick-tick-tick noise that I should probably take a look at. I need 48 hour days. Grey

Here's an oddity: Sweetwater now says that the MSRP for the 2600 is $1048.50, up from $699, which in turn was up from $599. Visualize me with a raised eyebrow. So not only do we have the variable date thing to watch (Note: MusicTech said the 2600 was shipping ca. 11/6/20 and apparently some people got theirs), but the price is skyrocketing. Can we hit $2000? $3000? Are we waiting for Behringer to match Korg's reissue price? Sweetwater, meanwhile, is touting how much their price is below MSRP. Hmmm.... Grey

But the question remains: When will the Behringer 2600(s) be available? Now they've gone and stacked two more versions on the original...and none of them are available, at least here in the US. Note that the guy in Gov. Ag's post says he bought his with his own money. Given his accent, I'm thinking he's in Europe and that goes along with my impression that the 2600s are, or at least were, available even if only for a limited time. I'm not clear about the differences between the gray, blue, and "regular" Behringer 2600s. I suppose I'll have to wait for some helpful soul to post a video on YouTube comparing all three so I can compare the sound. I have a vague recollection of reading up on this at one point and there being a difference in either the oscillators or filters or both, but what that means in terms of actual sounds that reach my ears, I do not know. I played with a keyboardist for a while back in the '70s who had a 2600 and grew to like the one he had, but it's been so long that I don't remember what version it was. He was the only keyboard player I ever knew who had one, so that was my only experience with a real 2600. Though I love the idea of a 2600, I don't know that I will plunk down the cash to buy three separate versions of the same thing...not to mention having to find space for all three. (Which means I'll probably buy one version new, then pick up used copies of the other two later on...space be damned.) Grey

I've never understood what constitutes "prog." I grew up calling Yes and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer "classical rock." Jethro Tull was regarded as rock or hard rock, those being separate categories at the time. Then came "classic rock" radio and suddenly I started hearing the term prog, which I had never heard before, though apparently it had been in use in other parts of the country for a while. My supposition is that classical rock and classic rock were too similar and the term prog won out. So...what's prog? I still don't know to this day. Suddenly Genesis was prog, which I guess I can kinda understand. And Kansas...okay, yeah, I can follow that, I guess. But Jethro Tull ended up in the prog bin, too, and that I've never understood. However, it has been decreed by the gods that Tull is prog and who am I to argue? But why isn't Santana prog? It helps unravel some mysteries, though, because suddenly a lot of the bands that I loved were in the same category. Maybe there's a common thread after all: Me. Just look at what Grey likes and toss it in the prog bin. (Actually, I'm on record as saying that prog is the classification they use when a band doesn't clearly fit into any other bin.) I've always wanted to tuck Iron Butterfly into prog. If prog is defined as "a song that takes up an entire side of an album," then I'll point to In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. If it's odd scales, then a lot of IB songs used Arabic scales or possibly minor Gypsy in spots--very experimental. Your mention of inversions of chords called to mind the rolling inversions of Dm that open In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. I always thought that was a clever way to tuck a lot of notes into a tidy bundle without sounding boring. Grey

So...what are you supposed to do? Buy the "regular" Behringer 2600 and a Blue and a Gray? I'm going to run out of rack space. Grey

I'm half-way through the first interview and I'm having trouble reconciling Mortensen's light-hearted and humorous persona with that scowly picture they chose for YouTube. What a contrast... A great deal of what Mortensen's saying is over my head, but the parts I can follow are quite interesting. I think if I go through a second time and keep hitting pause about every second or third sentence to let what he's saying sink in that I'll get more out of it, but that's going to take a lot of time. Grey

It is not my intention to try to change anyone's mind about the music they like. As I said above, music's a broad umbrella. There's room for a lot of different folks. All I can tell people is what I like and attempt to articulate why; that can be hard--it took me years to figure out why I gravitated to certain kinds of music and not to others. It's rare that other peoples', "Man, I can't believe you don't like [fill in the blank]. You really need to listen to them," works out for me. To this day, I remember a fellow getting in my face about Supertramp. He had me so doubting my own taste that I even went out and bought an album or two. But...Supertramp just doesn't work for me. Why, I do not know. They just don't. Accordingly, I try not to force my tastes on others. I like some bands that wouldn't seem to fit my tastes, like early Grand Funk Railroad. After I thought about it, I realized that it wasn't Mark Farner's guitar playing (though I still maintain that he had an excellent voice), it was Mel Schacher's bass playing that caught my ear. Once I found the key, it demystified a lot of things that I hadn't understood before. Gimme someone who's pushing things and I'll give it a try. Rush is a counterexample, unfortunately. I like the instrumental part of their music, but simply cannot abide Geddy Lee's singing. Rats. Strike them off the list even though, on paper, they would seem to be an ideal fit for my tastes. So...there are other forces at work besides just musicianship. Please don't do prog unless it reaches you inside. Don't let me do a "Supertramp" on you. Find something that makes sense to you and follow it for as long as it makes you happy...and no further. Then find something else and follow that. Grey

One of the things I've learned over time is that people tend to take their local environment and extrapolate it to include the rest of the world. I'm glad to hear that you live in an area that's more broad-minded. Trust me...'round these parts, 'pocket' means whole, half, or quarter notes. Eighth notes on bass are viewed with extreme suspicion. Sixteenth notes are a clear indication that you're in league with the devil. If they catch you even thinking sixteenth (and somehow, they know...I suspect telepathy), you're out the door. Eighth-thoughts will get you one of those stern "don't get uppity" lectures, after which you're on probation--better keep your head down for, like, a week. Better still, a month. Be humble. Say 'sir' a lot when spoken to. Eyes to the floor. If things are better where you are, rejoice. Don't take it for granted. If I mention Yes, ELP, Tull, or the word 'prog,' all conversation stops and I get cold stares. I don't get to play with anyone. And if I've somehow remembered to keep my damn fool mouth shut long enough to get in the door, those words will get me shown right back out should I forget myself and utter them out loud. Yea, verily, 7/8 time signature is the work of the very devil himself. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. Grey

I was born in '57. Love prog. Yes, Jethro Tull, and ELP are top of my list (along with Zeppelin...and I've seen it argued that Zeppelin's Kashmir and No Quarter, amongst others, are prog...discuss...). Whatever I do, I've always been drawn to the segment that pushes the limits of what's possible. Endless 1-4-5 progressions on bass are fatal to my mind. (Don't forget, I started as a bass player.) Don't tell me, "Stay in the pocket, BOY!" Those are just code words for 'you're a second class citizen, don't play anything faster than a quarter note. Ever.' Fuck that. Give me something to chew on, something that challenges me, something that makes me grow as a musician. Prog and fusion jazz fit the bill. Anyone who wants to sit in an easy chair and play the same stuff they've always played is welcome to do so--music is a broad umbrella and there's room for that, too--but that's not for me. I'm short on time--mirabile dictu, the gods have granted me a couple of hours to work on a piece that's been dogging me for over a year now and I need to get some bass and percussion going--but I promise to give the interview a listen later today. Grey

Here it's just listed as "coming soon." Grey

For cryin' out loud, at least spell it right...it's 'Interwebz,' not 'Interwebs!' Grey

I thought I had seen where people in Europe had them already (via Thomann?), but maybe I was wrong. Behringer had a picture months ago of palettes of them ready to go out the door. Where did those end up? Surely they didn't all go to reviewers... I did the pre-order thing with the Model D and got my unit a little over two months later. It wasn't too horrible. However, there were others who had ordered four or five months ahead of me--I believe they got their units maybe a week or so ahead of me, so they had a proportionately longer wait. The thing that amused me to no end was how the projected delivery dates kept shifting back and forth. If they'd kept moving back, I would have understood that. If they'd advanced a little (and stayed there) that would have been okay, too. But instead, they did this do-see-do...back and forth and back and forth. Sometimes nearer. Sometimes further away. Then again. And again. Pop some popcorn and enjoy the show. I have no idea how popular the 2600 will be relative to the Model D, but if there's anything like the same demand it could be a while before all the orders are filled. Grey

Update: I was sitting here in the corner at my PC and it occurred to me that it's been two weeks and I was curious if the 2600 showed as being available. Answer: Not yet. I find it interesting that they seem to be available elsewhere, but not here in the US. Given the fragmented, piecemeal rollout for the Model D maybe Behringer regards this as being more orderly. I don't know. I've got 299 other irons in the fire so I'm not even sure I'll order one when they start shipping, and I definitely have no intention of pre-ordering one. This is all just background data for me at this time. No point in considering purchasing one until they're delivering. Others may feel more motivated. Grey

Yeah, I noticed the same thing. That's why I suggested The Full Monty. Unconventional, light-hearted, funny, and a feel good ending. Here's another: Blazing Saddles Difficult to make then. Impossible to make now or at any time in the foreseeable future. Still one of the funniest movies ever made and with a monster dose of satire in the mix. "This is the hand I shoot with!" Grey

The Full Monty Grey

Being able to solder gives you the ability to cheaply repair your own cables rather than buy new ones--another cost-saving measure. Given the poor quality soldering jobs I've seen on some cables, it can also lead to more reliable cables in the future. I don't like working on cars, houses, etc., but I'm able to do it and it has saved me a considerable sum of money over the years, which I've put to good use buying things like...gear. Grey

It takes a decent high end stereo system to hear differences between audio cables. Studio situations...highly variable...some systems might be good enough to hear a difference, others (read: most) not. Live sound rigs...forget it...go for reliability. Those who say "there's no difference" when using a live rig as their basis for comparison are correct--for their application--but that doesn't mean there aren't differences. It's just not going to be audible in a room with three hundred people dancing, hard, reflective walls, a stressed PA system (equivalent to a mid-fi stereo system, at best), etc. Yeah, go with durable & reliable for live. I solder my own. Much, much cheaper than buying the same thing that someone else put together. Soldering isn't rocket science and you can save a butt-load of money. Grey

ANNOYING (adjective) Definition: Someone who can do something I can't do and make it look really frickin' easy...as in any two year-old should be able to do it. Grey