Retro Thing

Vince Clarke's Incredible 'Home Studio'

Matt Musick writes, "The new episode of Electric Independence documents a visit to Vince Clarke's incredible home studio that features more analog gear than, well, probably anyone we've ever encountered. The founding member of Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure is enjoying the country life in Maine but still cranks out the jams, or as he likes to put it 'making something from nothing.' "

Watch Electric Independence: Vince Clarke and the Temple of Synth

Vimeo Videos Rendered In ASCII

Asciimeo generates ASCII art versions of your favorite Vimeo flicks on the fly. I cannot think of a better way to squander a Friday afternoon.

Watch Vimeo in ASCII [thanks, Eric Brodeur!]

UMG Aggressively Drops CD Pricing

Universal Music Group has announced new retail pricing for compact discs that ranges from $6 to $10 in the hopes that reduced prices will rejuvenate sales. The new "frontline pricing structure" underscores the damage that downloadable singles have done to UMG's bottom line. Modern consumers are ruthless (and smart), preferring to lay down $1.29 for a hit single while avoiding the filler that often pads out an album.

It's amazing it took UMG this long to make this shift -- the move made strategic sense a decade ago. Back then, CD sales totalled 706.3 million units annually in the USA. By 2008, that number had slid to 360.6 million. And physical media sales continue to decline at over 15% each year.

Will it make a difference? Perhaps for a short while, but this will only slow the format's inevitable decline. From a purely analytical perspective, I might be inclined to spend $10 on a CD just to have nice artwork and a high quality backup on hand. But purchasing that disc would require me to jump into my car and then brave the throngs at Walmart (just about the only place that sells CDs around here lately). And that's assuming Walmart actually stocks the disc I'm after. Realistically, I'm far more likely to mash the iTunes button on my iPod for immediate gratification.

Wholesaler reaction has been mixed. The new pricing model carries a 25% profit margin, which has some specialty retailers concerned about evaporating profit. Walmart, on the other hand, has been pushing for lower prices and the return of shorter "EP" discs for a while.

UMG To Launch U.S. Pricing Test

Shogun Warriors Are Back In Stormtrooper Style

In the late 70's, Mattel imported toys from the Japanese "Machinder" line. There were some lovely diecast spaceships and robots, but towering above them were the 2 foot tall Jumbo Machinders, sold here in the US as "Shogun Warriors". In addition to their impressive size, the large robots (and Godzilla!) were equipped with shooting fists and many, many firing missiles.

Super7 Magazine is devoted to Japanese figure collecting, and for years has offered their own line of limited edition collectible vinyl figures, but this is their most ambitious project yet. This officially licensed Star Wars Stormtrooper manufactured in the same style as the original Shogun Warriors, the first Jumbo Shogun type toy to be made in 25 years. There never was a Stormtrooper back then, but there certainly could have been. The Stormtrooper features an articulated head & neck, wheels on the feet, the signature "firing fist" as well as a highly detailed version of the BlasTech blaster from the movies. Super7 is even using the same blow molding process for the Stormtrooper as they did for the original toys, to have an authentic feel throughout.

This is our favorite type of project, when determined fans are able to create something new in the spirit of an older idea. However this isn't being marketed as a toy, but rather as a limited edition collectible. Super7 are taking preorders right now for their May 29th release date. Pre-orders will get free shipping as well as a special certificate. The trooper is $299, and will only be available as a limited issue. These are going to go fast because in this single product you have a collectible that's of interest to robot collectors, toy collectors, anime enthusiasts, and Star Wars fans. I predict that once these Stormtroopers are available in select stores, fists will be flying - literally!

link:

Preorder a Shogun Warrior Stormtrooper

related:

Behind the scenes home movies while making Star Wars
Star Wars: prehistoric computer graphics
Star Wars movie viewer

Peek Handheld: Mobile Email Done Right

We usually don't cover modern gadgets, but the Peek is good enough that I'll make an exception. It's a little handheld wireless device that supports unlimited email and (optionally) text messaging. It doesn't include a web browser, calculator, whack-a-mole app or even voice capabilities. It just does email, and the hardware costs only $17.95 without a long-term contract. Keep reading to find out why I love mine and how you can score a free month of service.

No More 4-Track Cassette Recorders

People often ask how I come up with post ideas. More often than not, they're sparked by fleeting memories from my youth. This post is a typical example. Back in the late 1980s, I was a synthesizer-obsessed teenager. The technology was brutally expensive and quickly outdated. I funded my musical obsession with a part-time job at A&W on the weekends, but by the time I'd purchased a synthesizer, drum machine, sampler and MIDI sequencer I didn't have enough left over for niceties such as digital effect units or a multitrack tape recorder.

The solution to my dilemma was to rent a multitrack deck for a weekend whenever I had a new song to record. My recorder of choice was a Tascam Porta Two, simply because it was the cheapest rental deck available at the local music shop.

The Porta Two incorporated a six channel mixer, DBX noise reduction, and analog level meters. Best of all, it ran at double speed to squeeze maximum fidelity from a Chrome cassette tape. I usually recorded time code on one track and then used the other three to ping-pong several layers of synth and samples. Once I had everything the way I wanted it, I'd record vocals over the time code track. Not the most glamorous or hi-fi way to work, but it did the trick.

These memories came flooding back to me late last night after a concert, and I went looking to see if there were any cassette multitrack recorders still on the market. It took only a minute to confirm that both Tascam and Fostex discontinued their last analog cassette decks several years ago, dragging the last few analog holdouts kicking and screaming into the digital era.

The Littlest Casio

This Casio VL-10 is even smaller than its famous brother, the original VL-Tone. It includes the same cheesy sounds and 29-button chicklet keyboard, along with convenient calculator functionality so you can double-check your record company royalty payments.

Both VL-Tones feature five awful monophonic sounds (basically the same square wave bleep with different amplitude envelopes), a sixth programmable "ADSR" synth mode, and 10 drum rhythms that should be perfect for accompanying your next smash-hit waltz or bossanova.

All kidding aside, the VL-10 is a rare example of 80s calculator style. This one is boxed with the instruction manual and slip-on case. It should fetch a pretty penny.

RARE Casio VL-10 Synth [eBay via Matrixsynth]