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Good afternoon Mr Brooks!

Sounds like a good update, I might give a v4 another go. I had a v3 and liked it, but didn't like the octave tracking jump thing (I play a lot of octaves with synth bass), so I sold it to get a C4. A few years later I got a FI V4 but had hours of hassles trying to get it to connect to my Laptop but no luck, could've been my Laptop and the many competing drivers and midi things on it, the midi connector, or the FI, not sure - but my patience wore out so I gave up in the end and sold it (I do think this is a bit of an overlooked thing and hence a lot of the popularity of the MXR, people just want something that works easily, no faff). However, if I can do program order editing and a decent level of parameter editing directly on the pedal then I'm not too fussed about Laptop connection (just as long as I can also turn on/off the slow/fast tracking via the pedal). Bonus for me is my Keyboard doesn't have a proper synth (just samples) so I'm keen on getting a small midi triggered synth unit (had been looking at things like the Behringer JT Mini). Is the FI v4 always monophonic - or can it do polyphonic when controlled via midi?

Nice post. I studied Electronic Music Technology for three years in the early 80's largely as the result of Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, and dare I say it, Georgio Moroder (as well as the BBC Radiophonic Workshop)! For me, while at the time the technological achievement was huge, it was clear that by the early 90's pretty much any idiot with a synth could do what those guys had done. Does that lessen anything? I think it's like this.... There are probably 4-year olds who can play it now, but man, so what. In it's moment it was glorious, every 14-year old kid on the planet wanted to be able to play it. I listen to Kraftwerk today and love the fact that you can hear the hiss as they turned on a machine, various clicks and thumps and other random noises, the odd cough or grumble. My acoustics lecturer told me once that the test of a good orchestral recording was whether you could hear the pages being turned, i have always felt that. As is so often the case, it's the errors/weaknesses/nuances that make the art - the 5/4 bar in Rain, the mic stand falling over in Long Distance Love, Bonzo's squeaky pedal - OK they're extreme examples but the reality is that when music is made by humans in real time you can tell. AI can probably do that, but it probably won't because the people who'd use AI to make music would not see music that way.

I'm looking at a refret on my '63 Jazz. Any recommendations? I'm located YO62 but can travel a reasonable distance. Cheers

But right now AI can't produce something that is as new and different as your three examples were when they first started producing music. Sure your "fat uncle Dave can ask chat gpt to crap out an acid techno banger or a Kraftwerk-style song in under 12 seconds" but it will just be a facsimile of what has already been done. It won't have any of the innovation that the originals had when they were first released. Of course there are plenty of "artists" whose musical output could be described as a facsimile of the real innovators. They are the ones who should be worried about AI. Those who keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible and acceptable are safe for a long time yet.

insane in the brain - cypress hill

Nice, i do like a print mag over a pdf so i'll pick this up (that's if all my local newsagents haven't all shut up shop....) btw Is this monthly/BI/Quarterly ? i checked the subs on the webpage but it only shows years sub prices & nothing about the amount of issues per year? GL

Interested. Can't be at Birmingham so will wait for the first couple of issues to hit the stands.

Maggot Brain - Funkadelic

Kraftwerk are an interesting example to bring into this, they were innovating and creating original works *despite* the fact that what they were doing was technically (and financially) very difficult, and out of most people's reach. Rarity, innovation and skill and craft are all fundamental to works of art we perceive to be special and meaningful. As a couple of more contemporary examples, Aphex Twin was (is?) an innovator, and his process and tools were shrouded in mystery. Similarly, Photek pushed samplers beyond what people thought they were capable of, and his tools and techniques were also mysterious at the time, and on top of that, his records were not easy to get hold of, especially in the early days. In all 3 cases, innovation, craft and skill and rarity played a huge role in what made people value those artists and their works. Meanwhile, if my fat uncle Dave can ask chat gpt to crap out an acid techno banger or a Kraftwerk-style song in under 12 seconds, all of that craft, skill and rarity goes down the toilet. If you played an Aphex Twin tune and an AI generated ambient acid techno track to a 15 year old, they would probably assume both were AI generated and move on. The lines between 'digital' and AI are becoming very blurry. In the art/graphics world, people can often no longer tell the difference between 3D modelled / Blender-made artworks and AI generated images. And people attach zero value to anything AI generated, which in turn means they are increasingly attaching zero value to anything digital at all. Digital tools might be convenient and clever, but if the output of those tools has no perceived value, then people will stop paying to use those tools. (Which is partly why AI companies are starting to be in such deep financial trouble right now).

Stand still sir while I open your cavity with a plectrum.

I think the biggest reason they've fallen behind is that John was the main woodworker, and losing him has probably impacted their capacity by at least 50%, possibly more.

Love it! Great job, Peter and team!

Wishing you all the very best with this venture 👍

GarageBand is free and surprisingly capable, so start with that and see how you go. If and when you run up against its limitations you can consider upgrading to Logic or look at other options.

I used DR strings on Laklands, Wals and Stingrays, for more than 15 years, and I loved them. Faced with the same problem I'd cut my losses. I have D'addario NYXL's on my Sadowsky Jazz right now. I'd recommend those as well.

Give them some time. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to Fat Beams when I put a set on my Jazz bass, but I ended up liking them a lot.