Esem/Eesn

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Gear Hall of Shame

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This page is about mobile digital musicians on a budget. I list things you\'d better not buy. Spare you the frustrating experience with some products I\'ve bought over the years.

Now, bear in mind, I am quite budget-conscious. My budget has always been tight, and I\'ve always tried to pick stuff that will last me, or at least, earn the cash for its successor. This is especially valid for computers, and audio interfaces.

The bar is fair. Most units listed under Gear (to the right) all perform well, with the exception of the ones listed here. It\'s a simple equation. I like it built like a tank, metal body preferrably. I like it to work, no matter if I use it regularly or power it up once in a blue moon. I like it to do what it says on the box. I like it to last. My screening process is tough, and if a faulty device still makes it to this list, I feel cheated for buying it.

:::

DISCLAIMER: These are my own thoughts. I don\'t claim to know the universal truth. Maybe I\'ve had a faulty unit (maybe not). This is merely provided as a place to vent off steam.

So here\'s the list in no particular order (yet):

Edirol PCR-M1

This nifty little keyboard has it all. 25 velocity-sensitive keys, lots of buttons, knobs, fair amount of control. It looks perfect. After one year with only occasional use, it acts horrible. Picture this. I hit E moderately. That transmits E3 at velocity of 4. I then hit F, right next to it, in absolutely the same way. I get F3/127. So E3/4 and F3/127. I press F# lightly.. F3#/127. For the same w/ G i get G3/15.

Get me? The keyboard is fucked. It started off with the top C (last key), always hitting at full velocity, so I wasn\'t bothered. But then it slowly crept into the other keys and now it\'s scattered all over the keyboard, and it\'s a real problem. So what I did was open the thing, disassemble it, clean it, close it. That seemed to work! For a while!!

I then proceded to open it and take a picture so you know what\'s inside.

Sorry, Edirol, I don\'t care who you are, where you come from, and how good the s.l.i.m technology is. You sold me a crap product that doesn\'t last, and I feel stupid, and lied to, for buying it. Stay away from PCR-M1 as its ugliest problem takes months to reveal itself.

M-Audio Transit USB

This was an on/off struggle for a week. I\'ve gone as far as to describe why you should not pick up a USB soundcard. For me it wasn\'t stability, it was worse than that. The card would turn on and off on a completely random basis. Later on I discovered it had to do with electricity so I couldn\'t be bothered anymore. I can\'t get proper electricity everywhere. I need the thing to work the same way all others do.

M-Audio MicroTrack 2496

I ranted enough about this unit. Good on paper. Annoying to use, though no specific problems as such. I\'ve lost confidence in M-Audio now. I mean, come on, the Midisport is perfect. What\'s with this expensive piece of plastic here??

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