Just a quick pointer for those who service Midas consoles…conveniently, the two Torx bits in a Klein 32477 10-in-1 Screwdriver/Nut Driver
(my daily go-to screwdriver, I love that thing) are the two sizes you need for a Midas, the larger one to get modules out, and the smaller to get faders out.
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t vouch for it, but this seems like it’d be a nice thing to have around the shop, even if it’s more of a nice thing to have and not a necessity. (Via Toolmonger)
Since getting packages delivered to an apartment when you’re not home is nearly always an adventure in head-bashing-against-brick-walls, most of us at the shop get the occasional mail order item delivered to us at work. On Friday, our apprentice extraordinaire, Jay, got a package from Cabela’s, with a new waterproof work jacket they had on sale for stupid cheap.
I’d been looking for a good work jacket for next fall and winter, since I’m tired of getting my everyday jacket filthy at the shop all the time. I had been considering the Carrhart version of this sort of jacket, but that was more than twice this price. I had Jay send me a link to the site, and thought you guys would appreciate it, too.
Yesterday and today, Soundcraft had an open house demo session here in NYC for their new Vi6 digital console, inviting anybody interested to swing by the rehearsal studio room they’d annexed for a couple days to get the grand tour of the console and play on it a bit.
When I was in Vegas for LDI, I did have a chance to get a quick overview of the console and ask some questions, but didn’t really have the time or focus for a full top to bottom session. So, this evening, I headed over and spent a good hour or so talking with Soundcraft’s national marketing manager Tom Der and learning the ins and outs of the Vi6.
Just a quickie here before I go to bed. I was browsing past the TerraLux site to see if there was anything new, and indeed, found that lots has been up lately.
Most notably, to me, was that they’ve released their own tailcap switch for the AA MiniMag. I immediately went about getting one to check out, and I think we finally have a Kroll killer.
It’s got a metal machined body that perfectly matches a black MiniMag AA in shape, feel, and color, with a red, rubber-capped switch on the tail. since the switch is on the end, but the outer body is metal, the flashlight still slides easily into any holster; the one major downside to the Kroll is that tighter holsters are quite a snug fit, and even loose ones can be a struggle.
I haven’t tried this yet, but in a recent discussion on gig butt over at the LAB, one of the members posted recommending a brand of powder I’d never heard of, called Anti-Monkey Butt Powder. At first I thought he was kidding, but indeed, it’s real.
So, for the remaining couple warm months, be sure to check it out! They’ve even got t-shirts!
And there’s an endorsement from one of “us”:
My latest review has been posted at TreoBits, putting a really cool set of Treo add-ons called ProfileCare and ScheduleCare through their paces.
–A
P.S.-I’ve been making all the links here at OFTR using the “blank” target attribute to open them in a new window, so when you’re done you can come back here to OFTR without having to navigate backwards, by just closing the window/tab.
Found this cool little multi-wrench, courtesy of Smart Stuff. It’s sort of like the Mega-Combo keychain C-clamp wrench, but that fits a LOT more sizes.
Just a quick follow-up on my previous post regarding Steel Toe Skechers.
First, I finally bought a pair, and they rock. Really comfortable once I added one of those memory foam Dr. Scholl’s insoles, and other than looking slightly bigger than a standard sneaker if you really take the time to look closely, they look like any other sneaker.
Just a quick update to let y’all know that the ingenius new Lectrosonics RM Remote Controller–which I was the first to give you the scoop on from AES a while back–is finally here. Howard from Lectrosonics has been demoing it this weekend at the BSMC, and you can check it out on their website.
Way…frickin…cool.
Yet another review of mine has been posted over at TreoBits.com, this time comparing two different “skin” cases and accompanying holsters for them.
Is it finally time to say goodbye to guesstimating your suitcase’s weight once a week or more on tour?
This USA Today article seems to suggest so!
Bets that the guy who invented this has spent at least part of his life as a road dog?
On the other hand, I’m sure the LCD won’t last more than a couple trips…unless perhaps they ruggedized it with a break-resistant screen?
Hey gang, just a quick heads up that I’ve been tapped to do some reviews of software and hardware for Treo smartphones over at TreoBits (some of these are things I’d considered reviewing here on OFTR, but that I realized would be boring as hell for the many of you who don’t have Treos, so I figured I’d do them over there and link from here for those who do care :o)
So, then, here’s the first, a review of a really cool and inexpensive piece of phone software called 2dial.
We had a nice surprise at the shop this Friday, with a demo of the pre-production Dolby Lake processor, and boy, what a cool little box this thing is…
Now, when I first saw this in some press stuff a week or two ago, I thought the display was kinda cool, but just a silly gimmick. Having actually seen it in use, though, it’s actually quite brilliant.
I was in a Skechers store this afternoon, and discovered that Skechers offers a couple different designs of steel toe sneakers. That’s right…normal looking athletic shoes with steel toe caps. No more big beefy work boots or hiking boots (unless that’s your thing)…
Check ‘em out at Skechers.com in both womens’ and mens’ sizes and styles. Sweet!
And before we get the old “they’ll cut off your toes” stuff going again, here’s one of the MythBusters tests I actually haven’t found a major flaw in.
–A
Okay, so you know that nasty, painful, dry cracking you get on the side joints of your fingers after a couple days of pulling cable or rope? You know how none of the normal “hand goo” you buy in the pharmacy does a reasonable job of making that go away? Worry no longer, my friend, because if you can get past the name of it and actually convince yourself to try the stuff, I’m going to share a secret with you.
When I gave you my "best of" report on October’s AES convention,
I teased you about a scoop regarding a new development from Lectrosonics that
will make the day of every engineer who’s ever worked with a beltpack transmitter.
Well, gang, here it is!
One of the highlights of my couple days visiting the show floor at AES was
finally meeting Gordon Moore of Lectrosonics
in person. I’ve known of Gordon and his co-worker Howard Kaufman via the Theatre-Sound
Mailing List for quite some time, but had never met them. It was great just
to put faces with names, but it also happened that Gordon was excitedly touting
Lectrosonic’s new SM transmitter, the smallest beltpack they’ve offered yet
(and it’s surprisingly affordably priced, too–yes, a tiny Lectrosonics trannie
YOU can afford!). Gordon was quite ecstatic about these new toys, and by the
time we were done talking, I was, too.
Posted from: New Brunswick, NJ
(I’m still trying to get some decent comparison photos of these and some
of the other lights I’ve reviewed here on the site. I didn’t want to keep this
waiting any longer, though, so I’ll update with the photos once they’re all
sorted out–trying to take photos comparing flashlight beams is an art in and
of itself!)
Well, after reviewing a bunch of LED upgrades aimed at turning the standard
issue MiniMag lights into something approaching a tactical light, it’s
time to break out the big guns. For the last two months or so, I’ve been
switching between SureFire’s E2E Executive incandescent light, and their
L1 Digital LumaMax LED light, both designed to function as relatively compact
tactical lights.
Posted from: San Diego, CA
Next (and last) tour stop: Honolulu, HI
Yup, it’s time for a picture page, but no, it’s not time to go get your crayons and a pencil (for the two of you who might actually get that reference).
Anyway, here’s the picture I promised of the Com-Bit sitting atop my 02R’s display. Not the greatest pic, but then again, when are phone cam pics good quality?
Posted from: San Diego, CA
Next (and last!) tour stop: Honolulu, HI (two weeks with tons
of free time, woohoo)
Okay, what’s the deal with companies who make all these good little toys that
I have to keep giving good reviews to? Not that I’m complaining, but seriously…I
almost wish somebody would send me something awful just so I don’t seem like
a softie (and to think, in the other field I do product reviews for, I’ve actually
had one retailer trash talk me in an ad for one of my products because of some
criticism about one of his products I made in a review!). But, of course, that’s
getting ahead of ourselves.
