New to CL world after years of research

[VirginiaKeith]

Hi all. Just wanted to drop a line. Looking forward to adding to the CL forums. I just made a splurge into the CL world and after longing for them for about 4 years and after getting my taxes back for this past year, I bought the Coco, PB, Sidrax and Tetrax in one order. I know myself well enough to know that was probably to much to start with so I’ve given myself a few days to focus on each one before moving to the next. I am on day 4 with Tetrax then moving to Sidrax, then PB then Coco Wish me luck and any advice would be great. Thanks for being here!

[d42kn355]

Wowie! That is quite the start!!
You got some of the most unique and explorative instruments to play with now! Enjoy

^_^

[baleen]

wow that's a go big or go home order. I hope you ordered your weight in banana cables at all lengths.

I'm a year in on just plumbutter and am still richly rewarded. enjoy the trip!

[VirginiaKeith]

Thank you! I’ve been doing the serge thing for a while but I did order a few of the packs of bananas from PP. I think I’m pretty well covered.

So far I’m a few days into the plumbutter. I feel like I turned a corner this afternoon, starting to somewhat understand it and achieve sequences that I intended to do before I started patching. Haven’t gotten to the coco yet, purposely waiting to do that last.

I can say that I have never experienced playing instruments like these. I’ve been playing for 20+ years, classically trained and the feeling that these pieces of gear give me makes me feel as if I have never touched an instrument before. Playing the CL stuff for a few hours then jumping over to double bass or guitar has helped me approach playing my “normal” instruments in a new way. It’s weird and good. It’s all good.

I might be get courage to post some of my jams soon, so far it all sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

[ClausF]

Sounding like a Hitchcock movie is a pretty good start!

[BananaPlug]

Good for you! Please tell us how it goes.

I'm intrigued with that gear and impressed with some of the results I've heard here. Several times I've tried to understand them well enough to make an informed decision but the documentation reads like Lewis Carroll and Ken Kesey with a dash of P.T. Barnum. Secondary sources do help but when you get your new gadgets how do you evaluate them?

"The nobs are not really "frequency controls" or "filter cutoff range controls", but more like strange dialers, with an infinite gradation of zones, twisting becomes experimentation, feels like a fractal, like traveling through dimensions, expanding on features invisible."

[VirginiaKeith]

Several times I've tried to understand them well enough to make an informed decision but the documentation reads like Lewis Carroll and Ken Kesey with a dash of P.T. Barnum. Secondary sources do help but when you get your new gadgets how do you evaluate them? "

This is what appealed initially. The mystery of it all is what drew me to them to begin with. I mean it seems pretty punk (or what I think punk is) and that is what I have related to most my life. Just a whole new language, open to interpretation, no right way, no wrong way just do it and be yourself.

I suppose my evaluation of things starts with the person building, the idea and I like (what I think) what Peter is doing. He's a weirdo. I can relate to that. At this point in my life I am way more into the idea of my bodies current playing a role in shaping the sounds and ideas. I love what Soma is doing as well, the pulsar is incredible as well as the lyra and can not wait to get my hands on the Terra.

I am late to the game on modular but I feel like it entered my life at the right time because I was really close to giving up playing music all together within the past few years. These instruments have allowed me to find that innocence that I initially felt when I first picked up a guitar when I was a kid, that vast open opportunity feeling with endless possibilities. I just turned 40 and the CL stuff makes me feel like I know nothing. It's rewarding to feel that way, to have the opportunity to grow as a person. Perhaps I am philosophizing too much but I like the way it makes me feel and the sound coming out of my speakers.

I'll stop now.

[medium Rob]

hey, nice post. thanks for sharing your thoughts. i identify with what you're saying. i'm well-interested in hearing about how people engage with these instruments, and the rhetoric that's been generated around the CL brand. PB's syntax is refreshing and amusing, btw