In Recognition of Service Above and Beyond

As someone who often feels that good customer service is becoming increasingly hard to find, I feel compelled to tell you about an experience I had yesterday that really impressed me.

I had need of replacement speakers after recently finding out that one of the 15" woofers in my Mesa Boogie Road Ready cab was blown. It actually turned into a good excuse for an upgrade. As long as I've owned this cab it's had Peavey Black Widows in it instead of the OEM EVs. Well, I can't quite afford the EVs (and they don't even make those particular speakers anymore) so instead I went looking for a pair of Eminence Delta Pro 15s.

The search led me to a website called US Speaker. I found the parts I needed, placed the order, and splurged on 2-day shipping because I'm an impatient mofo. I was pretty happy.

A few minutes later, the telephone rang.

It was Al at US Speaker. He called all the way from NJ on his dime to let me know that he could get my speakers out the door by end of day (it was already 4pm) and that there was no need to pay for 2-day shipping because standard ground would get them to me by Tuesday anyway.

That phone call saved me a little over $70 on my bill.

I know, I know: "What kind of jerk pays an extra $70 just to get speakers sooner than later?" The answer is, "The kind of jerk who has really been wanting to upgrade for a looong time and who has projects coming up which require a functioning bass rig."

But back to my point: Al at US Speaker is great example of someone who does customer service right. After receiving his call, I was so happy that I wrote to him asking if there was someone there I could talk to about the great service I'd received. His reply, in essence, was that he appreciated the kind words but he pretty much runs the show. So, I thanked him again and I told him he could count on me to tell people about my experience.

And that, gentle reader, is something the bored automatons so prevalent in today's retail megachains will never understand.

By the way, I have a special addendum for all Apple Store employees: "Up yours!"
(Everyone else will have to excuse me but I just heard ANOTHER story about these condescending goofballs and the timing couldn't have been better.)

The Mixer Shootout That Wasn't

So here's the deal: I've made up my mind about a mixer and I don't need to do a shootout. More importantly, you don't need me to do a shootout. The answer to the USB vs. FireWire question is self-evident. FireWire is the way to go. At least that's what everyone I know who knows anything about setting up and using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) tells me. So that brought me to a handful of mixers that have the features and price that I want.

First was the Alesis MultiMix FireWire series (here's the 16-channel version). The upside: CHEAP. The downside: CHEAP. Lots and lots of complaints floating around on the 'Net about everything from glitchy drivers to shoddy construction and lousy mic preamps. You get what you pay for, indeed.

Next up was Mackie's Onyx Series. The upside: It's Mackie. Good reputation, nice mic preamps, solid construction, and so on. The downside: PRICE. These are expensive. 12 channels puts you over $500 with only 4 XLR inputs. Not only that, but if you want to actually take advantage of the FireWire interface you have to buy a separate adapter card which costs about another $400. Screw that. Also screw the fact that, according to several user reviews, the FireWire connection is set up to bypass the onboard EQ, meaning you can't adjust the signal going into your computer. Granted you can make those kinds of adjustments with any decent editing software, but still, why have onboard EQ if you can only use it for live mixing? Seems silly. Especially with that price tag.

What did I go with, you ask? I'm going with this one: Phonic Helix Board 18 FireWire Mk2.


Why? A lot of reasons. First off, you get a lot of features for the money (about $500) like 8 xlr inputs/mic preamps which will be handy when I'm ready to track real drums, 18 total inputs, up to 16 channels flying into your computer simultaneously with nominal latency, onboard effects, the ability to choose whether the FireWire signal is pre/post EQ and fader (take note, Mackie), friendliness with Sonar and so on.

It also happens to come with Steinberg Cubase LE, which is pretty cool. It would be even cooler if I weren't planning to use Sonar but whatever. Free software is a nice touch, though I hear that you have to upgrade Cubase to get the simultaneous 16-channels thing going.

Anyway, you can read the list of features as easily as I can. What it comes down to is that considering my needs, my budget, the reviews of this mixer and the features it has to offer, this one seems to make sense. I'll probably end up pulling the trigger on this and Sonar Producer Edition by week's end.

There you have it.

**Addendum**
UNLESS, of course, someone happens to come along and tell me I'm making a terrible mistake and I should look at some other product, which I invite anyone reading this to do. I fully admit that I am about as new to recording as a person can be and that I could very well have the wrong idea about what constitutes "pro" and "con" here. Phonic is not without its faults, so the research continues.

Thoughts on M-Audio products like the NRV-10?

Are You Open-Minded?

Just a short one today because it's very late and, even though I'm evolving into quite the little insomniac lately, that doesn't necessarily mean I have the presence of mind to type cogent thoughts for more than a few lines.

I just want to throw you a question. Something that's been eating at me.

Regarding open-mindedness: do you describe yourself or consider yourself to be an open-minded person? Most people would probably say that they are. I've only met a handful of people whom I would consider to truly have an open mind. I don't count myself among them.

And yes, we can assume reasonable limitations on exactly what that means. I'm not suggesting being open-minded to the point of permitting someone to, say, shoot a random person in the face just for the experience. What we're really talking about here is the ability--or conscious practice--of constantly challenging one's own beliefs.

Anyway, here's the question: how does your open-mindedness hold up when someone puts a crack in something you may have considered truth, reality, a core belief, etc.? Have you ever felt that? Has anyone ever really knocked a major dent in something you believed? How did you react?

Are you open to the possibility that you are not as open as you think you are?

-Jon

PS - I am going to write about the mixers I'm just still doing my homework on it. Believe me, I won't forget about this assignment. It's making me sweat.

Sorry I Fogged Up Your Window

I think looking in from the outside is something hard-wired rather than circumstantial with me. It just seems to always work out that way. I'm a little cautious and take my time adapting to change. Skepticism is a big part of my view of things so I tend to let bandwagons roll by while I decide if they're worth flagging down later.

Have I missed out on things? Definitely. Have I alienated myself from people? Yes. Do I regret this part of my nature? Sometimes. Has it done me any good? Oh, yeah.

Believe me, it's not that I'm trying to cultivate an air of mystery or anything like that. This isn't me saying that I'm better than anyone else. Actually, this was all sparked by a conversation with my wife this afternoon, not to mention the fact that I've been feeling a little "adrift" lately. This is just the way I am. I don't always like it and I know sometimes other people don't but what are you going to do?

This probably has a lot to do with why so few people read this blog. That's okay, though. This is a non-commercial space and freeform is law. Blogging for dollars is for the other guy. This is me doing my thing, as usual.

"Like it or lump it," as my dad would say.

If you don't ask "What the HELL?!" at least once a day, you're doing something wrong.

I know I said I'd be talking about mixers in the next post, but there's something really important that you need to see:

The Texas Centaur

Turn your speakers up and put your beverage down, ladies and gentlemen. You don't want to miss the MIDI-synth version of Queen's "Who Wants To Live Forever?" Is it just coincidence that the theme music for a real-life renn fair(e) centaur's website would come from a dork cult classic movie like Highlander?

Neigh. Methinks not.

The Involuntary Soloist Goes Forth

Those of you following along will recall that my musical life has undergone a bit of upheaval over the last couple of months. If you haven't been following along, here's the synopsis:

• 35 year old bassist's band for the last 10 or 11 years pulls a Barbaro, leaving said bassist temporarily without a hookup for a very serious noise habit
• Bassist enters period of intense introspection and transient angst
• Bassist gets big idea
  
• Bassist gets another big idea
• Bassist talks to friends and confidants, gets druthers
  
• Bassist gets off ass, does something about his situation

Which brings us to today, March 1, 2007.

The New "Band"
VÜFT is born. VÜFT is an exercise in absurdity and heaviness which, so far, comprises the following:

Yours Truly: Bass
Greg Dellaria: Bass
Ken MacKay: Vocals
The Late Jack Palance: Backing Vocals
Derek O'Sullivan: Percussion
Christian Campagna: Guitar
BOY: Collusion

The concept is simple: theme for the mutual annihilation of competing singularities. Requiem for Dead Planets. Or, "What would it sound like to be thrown down a well and have concrete poured on top of you?" Influences include Sunn 0))), Celtic Frost, Melvins, Harvey Milk, Sleep, John Carpenter, Charles Ives and the perpetual hum of celestial engines.

There is a place for both an additional guitarist and an additional percussionist--preferably a kit player--in this lineup. The aim is to have the equivalent of two full bands performing simultaneously to create a visually and sonically MASSIVE experience. For now, though, the focus is getting set up and writing some songs.

The Home Recording "Studio"
A man does not live by subsonic frequencies alone. With that in mind, I'm shopping for gear to turn my home computer into a decent demo studio for some of my other experiments. Right now, the big question is USB Mixer vs. FireWire Mixer.

I've already decided to buy a mixer with one of those two interfaces so I can just plug right into my computer and go. The question is, which one will give me the least amount of latency and the most amount of reliability/features on my budget? USB is affordable but a little slower; FireWire costs more to get something dependable plus I need to throw a PCI adapter in my computer.

In my next post I'll share the "final four" mixers I'm considering and list some pros and cons in the hope of soliciting some good, free advice.

In Closing, I love...
...me a nice chunk of chocolate.