Hi All
Ok, looks like this topic is gaining some traction (and without
friction there is no heat!)
;'>
i know for a fact that Grant looks to this forum as a gauge of the
relevance of this, let's face it, FOOLHARDY venture that he embarked
on back in 1998.
i've said it many times before ('cause it's true) that Grant
decided to make Wiards as much as a message in the bottle to find
'others of his kind' as he did because- he felt these cool designs
needed physical expression or, (let me calm down from paroxysms of
hysterical laughter) he needed to make money.
In the modules' role as message-in-a-bottle , this forum , (with
414 769 0791) is the feedback path.
(so...what's the point doc?)
Simply this... don't be shy or too careful - folks!
Don't throw the passion out with the fear of flames. Don't assume
that the tough questions like: "what's a fair price for a Wiard?" (or
'Is tonal music better than bug music") are impolitic or, off topic.
Grant and i can't talk about the price of a dual Borg for ten minutes
before both Adam Smith and Karl Marx come up - for a half hour!
Prof. Richter is proud of this forum , he's said many times that he
sees it as one the most enlightened salons amongst the flea markets
and overabbreviated saloons of the synth websites.
so here are four random provocations, trolls if you will, but
trolls with more mirth than ego in mind:
The difference between the price of a Serge And a Wiard 300 resides
in three place:
the psychologies and skill sets of Rex and Grant,
a N.I.S.T. certification and the justification of it's cost,
and the designs of the respective devices.
Dennis V. called them apples and peaches , IMHO it's more like
apples and ennui ...not even the same class of phenomenon. i regard it
as something of an improbable coincidence that these two vastly
divergent phenomena both result in the same kind of device!
An astrological take on Mark G's observation that Grant's
announcement was just that; an Announcement , not a poll.
Look up the birth chart** of a person born on 14 Dec '56 (this
Sunday, BTW) you will note that Saggitarian natives hold
design-by-committee (or just about anything else 'by-committee') in
abject disdain , even contempt. They keep their own counsel and pursue
their muses with a ferocious, singlemindedness that basically created
the 19th century stereotype of the lone artist wrestling the Titans.
This singular paradigm was cultivated by Ludwig Beethoven (a
Saggitarius) and was borne out by many subsequent Sagg's: Jimi
Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Richard Pryor, Woody Allen. Mark observes
correctly: "I really don't think Grant was asking us. Or indeed asking
us to help him restructure his business. He's letting his customers
know, ie he's telling us. We are getting to hear his decision first."
You can take that to the bank. If Grant were going to hold a
conference call about the Wiard pricing structure, he might as well
have stuck to all the fun you can have in a meeting at your day-job
designing pizza oven thermostats for Universal.
It's not fair that only monetary commodities can currently be
traded for Wiards. It's not a fair or good thing at all. Especially
when Wiards can easily be obtained by people who lack the talent and
patience to exploit the myriad features that Grant takes such pains to
make available and that MANY creative folks with said talent and
patience will never be able to spare the cash to obtain them no matter
how industrious or willing to sacrifice they are. Yes- that is not
fair. i will say that Grant agonizes over this constantly in
conditions i would describe as FAR from luxurious, in a very small
bungalow on the south side of Milwaukee. Grant knows, first hand,
that creativity is one of the fastest tickets to poverty in the arts
and he works hard to try to figure out what he can do (and do without)
to keep his prices within the conceivable reach of those financially
doomed artists. For instance that's why Wiard always has only one
person on it's payroll and why the waiting line can't get any shorter.
Grant lives hand to mouth. The money from the last shipment is in the
gas tank of the snowblower in his garage. Starving artists in
southeast Wisconsin might find Grant amenable to bartering snow
removal service (in compliance with Milwaukee's stringent ordinances)
for a Wiard. This sounds facetious (from Doc?...never!) but i'm more
serious about this than it might sound. Grant has always been ready to
barter with me for things that directly reduce his expenses. Any
Rheumatologists or Orthopedists out there in need of a wogglebug?
(and just for some absurd fun)
What's the big deal about 1v/Oct tracking? What a costly, pain in
the ass that feature is to implement on a VCO! i noticed that i have
to bunch my fingers up way-closer together in the higher octaves on my
'cello. Dang! that made it a lot harder to learn to play! Who told
the synth-sissies that they had some kind of inalienable right to
'frets that are spaced evenly all up the way the neck'.
(Doc runs back to sit in his tire after flinging poo at the zoo
vistors!)
l'chaim!
-doc
** www.alabe.com is free and easy