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Hi y'all.

 

I'm not sure where to post this, but Mrs. Notes is looking for a Buchla Thunder Tactile MIDI controller. I am on the list on eBay and Reverb. Any ideas where else to look?

 

Thanks,

Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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We have two, and one is going back for service. It's refusing to boot. I checked the battery, ribbon cable connections, etc.

 

Mrs. Notes has put decades into this device, so we'd hate to lose it.

 

The rep at Buchla says he might be able to fix it. However, some of the chips are no longer being made, so I figure if we could scare up another, we'd have spare parts if nothing else. Otherwise, it's built like a tank, and in the 30+ years we've had them, they have only failed 3 times.

 

I know that Sensei Morph has a Thunder overlay for their device, but it's iPad sized and not really the same.

 

When we bought it, 30+ years ago, we weren't thinking it becoming obsolete.

 

There used to be a Thunder mailing list, but when Yahoo! nuked the e-groups, it disappeared.

 

So finding another working Thunder would be insurance that the skills she learned in the past 30 years won't be lost soon.

 

Notes â«

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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That's going to be hard to find. There was a listing on reverb for $4,500+$150 shipping from Russia, but it had already been sold. You may end up having to cope with the overlay...

 

It's unfortunate that modern instruments, computers, etc. have a shelf life with much built-in uncertainty. I can still get strings for my 1966 Telecaster :)

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That's going to be hard to find. There was a listing on reverb for $4,500+$150 shipping from Russia, but it had already been sold. You may end up having to cope with the overlay...

 

It's unfortunate that modern instruments, computers, etc. have a shelf life with much built-in uncertainty. I can still get strings for my 1966 Telecaster :)

 

I can get reeds, pads, springs, and repairs for my 1925 King Alto sax too.

 

My 1970, ES330 is still current too.

 

My wind controller is out of production. I bought 5 of them and a lot of spare parts, hopefully enough to last me until I reach my coda. Same for the VL70m modules.

 

Unfortunately, the Thunder was our learning experience about new MIDI instruments. They are built like tanks, and rarely break. The last time we had to have one serviced was 2004. But they go obsolete.

 

It's a shame the skills Mrs. Notes learned on that instrument will become obsolete before she does. I'm now in the process of having her record her parts on our sequences. That way when and if she can't get another, I can unmute the track, and rerecord it for stage use.

 

Notes â«

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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I have a Morph, but it doesn't have the stage appeal of a Thunder, and after all it is show business.

 

We're keeping it as a safety net.

 

We've sent the Thunder that isn't booting up back to Buchla, and hopefully, it can be fixed.

 

There is a lesson here about learning to play alternative MIDI controllers. If they don't have familiar fingerings like piano, sax or whatever, you might be spending a lot of time learning something that will no longer be useful.

 

Before Yahoo! dropped its mailing list e-groups, I belonged to a Thunder mailing list. It was never very active. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a replacement. I would suspect someone was tired of their instrument.

 

So we'll keep on looking, I have flags up at eBay and Reverb, and perhaps one day, one will appear.

 

If not, I'll those parts recorded and Mrs. Notes will just have to play her guitar on those tunes.

 

Notes â«

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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