The Manic Mechanic

I stumbled across something the other day I thought was just extreme coolness. Rocker that I am, I was always fascinated with synthesizers. While I have lusted over owning my own synth way back in the early 70s, it never panned out. Instead, I played around with old test equipment and built oscillators and amps and made some cool (interesting, weird, annoying, pick your adjective) sounds through the years. They call that 'circuit bending' nowadays. Now that I'm old, my desire to have such a plaything has waned, preferring instead to let others do the playing while I simply listen.

Then again, maybe not!

Who knew I could get a full-fledged analog synth for about 40 bucks that I could take with me anywhere?

If you are a music geek (and I know a few on my list here), and have a Nintendo DS or DS Lite, then the perfect companion for it is the Korg DS-10. I want. And I see that Amazon.com has it for about $37USD. Looks like I might have to put together a little order for the Big A and give myself a little diversion.

Here is one of many YooToob vids I've come across showing the thing in action:

Here is a little gadget I can jam on, and instead of just being some toy, it has realtime controls and patchability to create just about any sound, with an easy-to-use sequencer and the ability to sync wirelessly to other units. How cool is that? It's old school meets new cool. And cheap. Well, if you already have a DS, that is.