the agony of waiting philosophy

[gorton@umich.edu (Russell Gorton)]

Erik Ljones wrote:

>The people at Gibson just told me it may be another 3 weeks before the new
>upgraded Echoplexes reach Europe. I ordered mine 7 weeks ago, and I'm 
>having
>problems killing off the waiting time. My Ensoniq Dp2 3.6 sec delay/looper
>and Boss pedals (2 sec) just don't do it for me anymore, I guess. This
>actually might make me go mad, you know. Any suggestions as for how to 
>make
>my life seem meaningful playing the guitar the next 3 weeks?

Hear hear!  Waiting for my Echoplex nearly caused several psychotic
episodes, right up to the day of delivery (me in my officecage chanting:
"echoplexechoplexechoplex..." at the approaching UPS guy.)

Let's face it: we're all techy geeks obsessed with ridiculously
small-market electronics.  How many people go out and buy a dedicated
multi-effects processor every year compared to, say, the number of people
who go out and buy color televisions or personal computers? (actually, this
would be interesting to know...does NAMM keep these kinds of numbers?)  And
the ratio of people who buy something so specialized in function as a
DEDICATED LOOPING DEVICE to those who buy "normal" effects
processors...probably another jump down.

The point is, connoisseurs and slight eccentrics that we are, we are often
forced to wait longer and pay more for the goods that satisfy.  We
(probably) wouldn't want a world in which EVERYOHE craved their own [insert
LoopingDevice(tm) of your choice here]; but it WOULD make them cheaper and
plentiful (like color TVs.)

These are the breaks of "swimming upstream" in life.  Oh, sure, it's
agonizing.  But, the divine bliss one feels when the deal is made, and the
wonderful posture of superiority (internalized or on public display) you
get as a person of discrimination...these are the rewards of the cerebral,
patient hobby/lifestyle.

Enjoy it when it arrives.

--RtG