Re: Sample sound clip from my notebook computer system

[tEd ® kiLLiAn <tedkillian@charter.net>]

Hi there Kris,

Wow! That list of plug-ins is really impressive. The sound clip is too.
Quite a variety of spacey oddball noises that one could get quite
creative with. I love it! I am envious to the point of drooling on myself 
. . . heheh . . . almost. It's all really kinda funny/ironic to me personally 
how this laptop thing has developed . . . and is still waaaaaay out 
of reach for me. 

WARNING: old geezer fish-story about the "one that got away" follows.

A dozen years ago, when I lived in Santa Barbara and worked for 
Seymour Duncan, I had some friends who worked in some big "think 
tank" type research centers for a couple of HUGE firms there. I'm talking 
about really bright guys, mind you. Anywho, one good friend there 
was listening to me complain about schlepping my big rack around
to gigs over beer or something and I predicted that someday all of
this stuff would reside in software on a laptop and all I'd need for 
a gig was a guitar, some cables, a laptop and a bank of MIDI pedals 
to control it with -- and I'd just play through the house PA and stage
monitors. I hoped I lived long enough to see it.

Well, this friend happened to actually work with computers, programming,
A.I., and digital signal processing on a project for the Department of Defense.
He hadn't told me that before because, technically, it was all classified stuff 
having something to do with "electronic counter-measures" or something.
Anywho, he said (a dozen years ago) that it was totally possible THEN 
in terms of what his computers could do. Commercially available 
consumer -level computers would soon follow.

Later, he got a few of his work friends together for a little demonstration 
at his house where he had me haul in all my gear, demonstrate how it 
worked, and talk to them about the musical equipment industry -- or
at least what I knew about the guitar-oriented end of it as an "insider"
already working in the marketing end of it. At the end of the demo they 
were all nodding their heads in agreement that such a scheme was not 
only possible and viable . . . but probably inevitable too. Oh happy day!!!

They were all still young-ish middle aged guys and they though it would
be a great way to escape the world of "building a better bomb for the
Pentagon" and do something positive and creative with their lives.
Well, life happens. While they were all still scheming about this little
hobby-horse, one guy's wife got pregnant. Another went through a nasty
divorce, another guy (my friend) got transferred to Boston (of all places). 
It never went any further than that . . . talking and thinking about it
. . . and dreaming of the day. I did some GUI sketches . . .that's all.

Now, it's apparent, that the day is actually here and I have too much money 
and experience tied up in hardware . . . and my now ancient back is really
killing me. I never told you. But, I injured my elbow too in Boise lifting my rack 
during load-out. It's didn't hurt all that much at the time. But it got worse
and worse over the next month or so to the point that I had to go in to
the Doctor and get a cortisone shot directly in the elbow for "tennis elbow"
a couple of weeks ago. The old body is simply falling apart. 

Anyway, I digress, laptop technology is finally here, I need it desperately
and I cannot afford it. That's the irony. Life happens.

Like I said, your list of plug-ins (and the sound they make) are very impressive.
I am practically soiling myself over them as it is. You're going to have to
set me down and give me a serious demo at the next gig in Boise at the end
of August. So . . . there is just one more reason for me to look forward to it.

Peace,

Ted