So, I scored a $200 Amazon gift card from my job for doing some good work.
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Yeah, it happens from time to time, that I do good work. ANYWAY! Since moving to a room inside the house (instead of the garage) I’ve been lamenting that I can’t play through my amp as much and I’m pretty much just using it for headphones. So I picked up one of these:
Neat little device! It’s a full pre-amp that can be used as a headphone amp, as a standard pedal, and has a DI out for going straight into my DAI. I’m digging it so far.
Israeli NBO arrived today.
The latest attempt at an electronic practice sax / EWI.
I’ve owned 3 others that all were hopeless in playing or learning while traveling or just wanting to be quiet.
This one - actual sax mechanics and pads. Feels like an alto size wise. Feel is off the charts good. No difference.
You get a Respiro that has a bunch of wind controller synths but I also have the SWAM sax suite which is about as good as you can get with fake sax plug-in sounds. Since it’s essentially a midi controller with a breath controller, I can use it for basically any midi anything. I’ve got a bunch of software fine tuning but…damn it’s the bomb. Go Israeli tech industry!!!
Actually I listed my lawsuit Jazz Bass for sale today. It’s about the same value as a ToneX. We’ll see. I may also sell the Pod X3 Pro because it’s really useless for me, as I also have a Pod X3 bean, which is much more convenient for occasionnal use than a 3U rack.
If I wanted to own a preamp pedal at this point it would absolutely be the ToneX. As far as I can tell, it has obsoleted all other preamps under $1k. In certain ways I would want it more than a Quad Cortex.
I’m thinking about what all this tech will do to new music down the road.
I think about the old school bassist with his rig and his sound and then the future musician with 100000000000 options at his fingers (or feet in this case) and where the tech will shape the music of the future in 20-30 years when kids grow up and become musicians. Or if they will even be able to keep up with the tech or it will be in such a constant state of flux and “improvement” faster than ever and what that will mean.
Then I realize I’ll be deaf, senile or dead by then and won’t care.
This happened for synths about 23 years ago (Propellerhead released Reason around then) and things are universally and undeniably better now, so we’ll see
Things will get overly complex. then a band will come along and get back to basics and simplify, kind of like the Ramones in the 70s or Nirvana in the 90s. It will self correct
Not saying it needs to, I like crazy melodic stuff, but as a pattern, it does. Pop music will get over the top, and someone like Billie Eilish will come along and bring it back down. Whether it needs to or not, it happens that way
We’re not the young generation, but for my use what I see with the ToneX is that it works for bass and guitar, and will allow me to shape the exact few tones that I want. I don’t need 150 memory slots but what I like is that the endless possibilities allow to create the sounds that we have in our heads, hopefully. All in a compact and convenient format that works for bass and guitar, and without spending 4000€ in an used Matchless and/or SVT.
ToneX is IMO much easier to configure (the software is great) compared with multi-fx units like the Zoom or Helix. You don’t have to think about a full signal chain but just the final tone. I just save 3 tones that I like and use those on the 3 switches. The bank feature is nice if you swap between bass and guitar often or if you want more options.
Dunno why people fear “new” tech. The Kemper profiler launched in 2012 and multi-fx units go back to 1988. Hell, even the very popular Line6 POD was released in 2010 1998. Its just great to see that this profiler tech is much more affordable now.
If anything, you can decide on a tone that you really like and still buy the real deal. Amps and pedals are still very tempting for me and I see my gear collection as a hobby. The only problem I have is lack of space
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