The unit is good for learning what to avoid. It will record two tracks at once, but only insofar as those tracks have the same line levels as a guitar and a microphone. All other tracks must be overdubbed one at a time, rendering it useless for live recording. I believe I mentioned each track lowers the remaining recording time by its full duration, for instance, three four-minute tracks take the full twelve minutes of memory. But learning is what I’m doing. It is plain these mini recorders aren’t for serious work. Let’s suppose you had the time and inclination to produce a hit on this toy. Your first priority would be to rush out and buy a real mixer. That’s a serious downvote for Boss, charging hundreds of dollars for these finicky gizmos. I’ve had fun with it, for example, I recorded a four track vocal of myself doing childhood rounds. Rounds are songs like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”, which I commented back in July, 2007 when I could not sing.
The novelty is where each round should begin, I substitute another song. Now I know why I could not get others to try this. The rounds have different timings that only fit together if you can think like I do. I’m unlikely to post the results, but I have scrutinized the recording closely. I do need a studio microphone. And despite the different lyrics, the middle passage sounds like a chanted “uhmmmmm, uhmmmm”. Not unlike a chorus of chanting ancient monks. Kind of makes one think.
Wow, I had no idea those red toy bricks were so popular; I sure sparked a lot of memories. Nope, I don’t know where you could get them, have you tried eBay? I recall they came in a cardboard tube with pictures of things that could not be built with the pieces inside. I built every thing in the booklet that could be built. Some schools had these bricks as teaching aids, but I cannot find even a photo of the type I knew.
For the nostalgia buffs, here is a website where people advertise to buy older toys. It’s called Phil Lea’s and if you scroll far enough, you’ll find all kinds of 50s and 60s goodies. Toys back then were built to last. The red bricks I remember are not the “Halsam” brand with the round pins. Mine were square, and would make a popping noise if you pried them apart just right. The bricks were soft and you could bend them easily. They were scored on the outside to resemble real bricks.
[Author’s note: My most ambitious venture was a model Swiss Chalet. You know how second story overhangs the ground floor? I accomplished that, but to give you an idea of the environment, when I went to get mother to show her my accomplishment, my sister quickly squatted and pissed on it. It turned the bricks a yellowish color. There was nothing unusual about this behavior in that household. Trust me, I know, some of you still think I’m making all this up.]
Trivia. There was talk during WWII about how complicated and well-constructed German equipment was compared to the mass-produced equipment of the Allies. Yet today I watched a group of three men who, using old German blueprints and modern tools, cut and assemble a Horten (jet fighter) airframe in one day. That’s a seventh of the man-hours needed to product the average airplane on our side during the war. And they weren’t even sweating.
Here is a still of a German bomber launching a cruise missile in combat back in 1944. More trivia. When London civilians were killed by the buzz bombs, the government had newspapers print obituaries as if the deaths were in the extreme northern outskirts. This convinced German intelligence that the bombs were over-flying downtown London. The Germans shortened the range and many V-1s fell into cow pastures near Croydon.There is a misconception that the V-1 had to be moving before the engine would ignite. Wrong, a pulse-jet will start standing still. The fallacy comes from the steam ramps used to launch the V-1. This was done to save fuel and to prevent a low-speed stalling problem. Also, the low thrust of the jet engine would have required a very long runway to take off under its own power.
Sewing Machine
Arduino Microcomputer
Chinese Scooter
One Million Toothpicks
Electric Bicycle
