The Logic Off Topic list

For anorak completeness, I can bear witness to Roger Mayer
pedals. Visually unique with their distinctive, 1950's
futurist styling, they're the pride of my unused equipment
collection.

BBC trained, Mayer was Hendrix's white-coat, tech guy in
the 60's. God knows if you can get them anymore but in the
late 80's, he was still hand building them with some obscure
old transistor parts he'd saved. They contained 'Germanium'
(or something) - I still don't know what this does but it
sounded impressive and it was missing from my life.

I managed to get Mr. Mayer's number from a shop in London's
Denmark St., and was invited down to his home in some
godforsaken suburb, possibly 'Staines', to audition the
pedals. He and his American wife even picked me up from
the train station.

However, once on site, they then proceeded to got me
leglessly drunk and the wife mauled me every time I tried
to leave (apparently she did it to everyone, sad really..
I suspect the toll of 60's hedonism - or living in Staines
- nevertheless, a scary bag-lady ceaselessly fondled
me in front of her oblivious husband as I struggled to write
down what he told me of Jimi Hendrix's preferred string
gauges.

Me & Roger jammed for a while (terribly), I left him my
Crybaby wah-wah to customize - it subsequently had a nicer,
throaty sound and an extra switch to flip sweep ranges,
and when his Mrs at last had to empty her bladder, we made
a dash to the car and I got a lift back to the station.

Anyway, (you still reading this?) two pedals of his which
I tried, later bought, and which I've never gotten
close to with anything else except, ironically, some
software fx, were 'Octavia' - fuzz with envelope/harmonic
doubler, and 'Axis' - overdrive. Listen to Hendrix's second
album and Ernie Isley's searing 70's Strat textures and
you'll know.

With my Tele & valve Fender SuperChamp, they're creamy,
overdrive heaven. However, having only the attention span
of a hamster, it takes me so long, faffing about, setting
it all up that on the rare occasions I need guitar, I now
just reach for the 'GuitarPort' and have done with it.

I saw an ad recently for a convolution mic or pre-amp
processor - I wonder if one could run these old boxes through
some kind of convolution process? Maybe that 'soon to be
released' Tascam convolving VST thingie will allow us to
capture stompbox er, footprints...?
___
Ade