7.45 am. I addressed a few admini-things before launching into town for an appointment with the dental hygienist at 8.30 am. The new bandstand is now in its skeletal form:

The wait ….

‘I’ll be a good boy, and floss … a bit’, I promised the hygienist. 9.10 pm. I bumped into Mark Williams, our MP, on the way home. My congratulations on his Pyrrhic victory sounded rather hollow. Back at homebase, I cleaned-up the inbox droppings before returning to the sound studio. 10.00 am. To begin, the looper/sampler array was set on the floor. Turntablism is a very hands-on technique. So, foot controls are an essential:

Two units, only, will suffice. Now, I have to consider the ergonomics of feet.

1.30 pm. If a piece of equipment isn’t used regularly, I forget how to program it. My large instruction manual is now at my elbow. My collection of manuals and instruction books for gear exceeds five full-files:

3.30 pm. The Crimson Custom RF Stealth returns, fitted with an active pickup and new electronics, and repainted. She’ll be test driven over the weekend:

4.15 pm. Having programmed the sampler/looper boards, a schematic of the whole system is in order. Diagrams help me to think clearly:

In this layout, I’ve inserted a notional post-sampler/looper effects unit. Thus, I’ll be able to modify sounds both prior to and after they’ve been sampled and looped. The only absence in the system, presently, is some form of hand sampler (which would be installed in front of the sampler/looper), capable of extracting and preserving ‘dry’ snatches of output directly from the decks. The Korg KP3 and Quad Pad touchpad modulators now require attention. So much to (re)learn. 5.25 pm. Shut down!