Pictured here is the instrument for my next project. It’s the Korg Kaossilator Pro, a touchpad synthesizer and sampler with looping capability. To use an art analogy, the music I made in Ableton Live was like painting with acrylics – very precise, with the ability to cover up mistakes. The Kaossilator is like watercolors – fluid and not always what you expect. But they’re both fun and can create beautiful results.

The first song of this set is called, “End of Summer.” It goes out to everyone whose summer vacation is coming to an end. It’s a little melancholy, with a Ventures surf organ feel. Hope you enjoy it.

Posting a new rock song will take awhile, because I’m still writing the lyrics, composing the music on the guitar synthesizer, and dealing with moving chaos. In the meantime, I’ve unpacked the Korg Kaossilator Pro and have begun a downtempo piece on that, which will probably be the start of another album. I’d planned to post the song today, but when I started to set up the recorder, I found I had no batteries or power supply. So I’ll do the recording tonight and make it available for you tomorrow.

The new studio is set up enough, and my cut finger has healed enough, that I’ve been able to have some casual jams, but there’s still work to do. Cables have to be run to enable recording, vocals have to be run to the PA, the rest of the room has to be unpacked, and curtains and art have to be hung.

I also have to make some equipment choices. My next music will feature the Roland GR-55 guitar synthesizer, which I currently have hooked up where my effects pedalboard would be. I have to dig into the synth to see if its effects can replace those of the pedalboard. If not, it’s going to be quite the puzzle figuring out how to wire up both and make room for them.

I’m also still using the synth pickup on the Fender Strat, since that was a simple installation at a time when the Fernandes Sustainer was in use. But I need to bring the Fernandes into play soon, which means either moving the pickup from the Strat, or shelling out the cash for a second pickup. The Fernandes will allow me to play organ, horn, or pad sounds as long as I want, so it’s an important next step.

I did find an online retailer who claimed to have my loop station in stock, and I attempted to purchase one. But in the end, they cancelled my order, saying the item was discontinued. Yeah, tell me something I didn’t already know. They obviously don’t actually keep stock of anything, but order it when they get orders. Oh well. Now I’m just hoping Roland/Boss really does come out with an updated version in the future. If not, I have an idea of how to mimic what I need with other equipment. It won’t be as convenient, but it’ll get the job done.

The good news is that everything was moved over the weekend without any problems. I’m tired, sore, and have minor injuries, but that’s to be expected.

The bad news is that none of the promised cleaning or repairs had been done to the new location by the time the move started. Time that would’ve been spent unpacking and setting up was spent cleaning and doing maintenance. And the repairs that have to be done by a professional are only now being scheduled for weeks in the future.

So I’m still no closer to having a working studio. That’s probably just as well at the moment, because one of my injuries is a nasty cut to a finger on my fretting hand. It’s going to have to heal at least to the point where I don’t have a bulky bandage on it before I’ll be playing any guitar. And believe me, as work has continued after the cut, I’ve been extra, extra careful with my hands.

One other issue I’m facing is that my loop station, which is the only looper with the particular features I need, has been discontinued. I don’t know whether to just take care of the one I have and hope it lasts forever, and hope that if it doesn’t, maybe in the future someone will have released a comparable replacement. Or shell out a lot of money now for a spare one. Buying a spare sounds the safest, but money’s an issue after this move. I’m giving it some thought, but I don’t want to wait so long that the existing stock is sold out.

The main activity this week has been packing and taking furniture apart. The actual moving begins this afternoon, and unfortunately, I’m already tired and sore. The good news is that I have a moving company coming to take care of the large furniture. The bad news is that there’s a lot of small furniture and boxes for me to move, some of it quite heavy, with stairs to climb, and only two days to get it all out. I expect to be pretty beat up by the end of the weekend.

During breaks, I’ve worked on the latest song, using my old Teisco Del Ray, which is the only guitar that isn’t in a case behind a stack of boxes. It’s a memento that’s awful to play, but I can suffer with it at times like these. I’ve written the first verse and the chorus, but then found I had no more to say on the song’s topic. The song might be long enough if I wrote one more verse and took up a third verse with a guitar solo, but I’d prefer to have two more verses of lyrics. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I can even come up with one more verse, so I might have to change the topic entirely.

Maybe it’ll keep rolling in the back of my mind during the move, and some “Aha” moment will occur. I’ll let you know in the next update.