Re: synths...

[Michael P. Metlay <psuvax1!mpmst1@cisunx.cs.psu.edu>]

....damian....a lot of your advice is quite sound....however i should
point out to those on love_hounds who do not, unlike you or me, eat
and sleep electronics....that the fairlight CMI is not a viable option
for music production unless one spends at least $30,000, like Kate
did....and even then there's stuff it can't do....samplers for under
$3000 are inherently quite limited in their capabilities unless mated
to computers with the right software ....the FZ1 is included on this
list....just because it has room for onboard software and a cute
little graphic display doesn't mean there's any software actually out
there yet....besides, samplers are remarkably non-cost effective as
they use a great deal less memory than synths and invariably deliver
less than max bang per buck....fortunately the person who originally
posted the request for information has already made an excellent and
value-stable purchase with which she's quite pleased....she and i have
been corresponding for some time now....i chose to reply to her
directly, since i believe that rec.music.  synth is the proper place
for these topics, not .gaffa....by the way, Kate is, for all her
songwriting and singing talent, still little more than an amateur when
it comes to using the fairlight....

      [	I don't think anyone has ever claimed that Kate herself is a
	technical wiz with the Fairlight.  On the other hand, the
	members of Tangerine Dream, for instance, have answered when
	asked who they think is doing the most interesting things with
	synthesizers today, "Kate Bush".  -- |>oug ]

if you want to hear what it can do in the hands of a pro, check out
"Zoolook" by Jean-Michel Jarre....play it loud, and with headphones,
if possible....and while you're at it, check out anything by Tangerine
Dream from before 1977....it doesn't have fairlight on it, but the
liner notes are the most recent place in music history to be
considered "hip" to use all lower case letters (and using the ellipsis
this often gives the impression that you're dictating your letter
under the influence of sodium pentothal|->)....don't mind me....i'll
go away now....i promise....

-- 
Mike Metlay	nuclear physicist, electronic musician, Xpander Users' Group
METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET		founder, MegaTraveller coauthor, indie comic
metlay@vms.cis.pittsburgh.edu		collector, Illuminati/Erisian. Fnord!
PO Box 81175, Pittsburgh, PA 15217-0675   DISCLAIMER: These MY opinions bro'.