Since I am unable to participate in my usual activities (polital action groups, various Veterans groups, various social action groups), I get to spend more time in my studio. At the moment I am having a blast re-discovering some of my old boards and modules. My favorite at the moment is my Motif ES module driven by my Roland A70 controller. The A70 continues to be my favorite controller (76 keys) with far and away the best keybed and amazing flexibility considering it's age (4 separate midi outs (5 pin din), each with multiple zones and almost unlimited programmability. The other three are routed to a voice processor/harmonizer, a SonicCell, and a older Korg module (forget the model). The Motif ES is especially responsive to the A70 and reminds me of all the fantastic sounds in that module; same with the Korg module.

I know that a lot of you have older boards and modules that you no longer or rarely use. You should go back and listen to them again. You may be pleasantly suprised, especially at the 'fullness' (richness??) of some of the voices. As long as you're using them in the studio, they're just another arrow in the quiver. It's like seeing your wife or girlfriend again after a six-month absence.

I noticed that some of you have elected to add older or prior-generation instruments to your arsenal (which gave me the incentive to go back and revisit some of the older gear in my studio). Now I'm inspired to put together some things using only my vintage gear (and maybe some 'live' drum tracks). It may not be an improvement over the more modern gear but it should still be a lot of fun.

chas