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Thunderbird Club

#336,941
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#336,944
MCF said:
I like them all. I actually do a little intro of the melody from As Time Goes By before playing Year of the Cat. And yep, that’s a Bicentennial..
Click to expand...

Had to give more plug for the song- I was away from home and had no access to something I wrote ten years ago or more-

The Year of the Cat​

There's a latent melancholy to "The Year of the Cat" in its melody and theme, which for me touches on epochs of our lives that lie outside of time and space, when and where we never want to leave, but must do, and can never go back even if we could, because it would be a gilded cage in disguise as our destinies pass us by.

This was about the time when I felt that referencing the song was the perfect way to end Chapter 1 of Harrington's View-

Caleb Key had just arrived in his room at the space station, and Lenore was trying to engage his mind and cheer him but he shoos her off and then. listens to "Year of the Cat" for the first time-


He entered the adjoining bathroom with its white marble flooring and walls, admiring how they complimented the quartz-veined fixtures whose aged pewter plumbing appointments lent an understated elegance. A collection of high-quality toiletries sat on a silver tray to the left of the sink. Partly out of boredom, partly out of curiosity, Caleb had begun examining them, when his Nav/Com buzzed. After fumbling with the unfamiliar interface for a few moments, Caleb thumbed the answer tab.

“Hello there!” Lenore said cheerily, her radiant smile beaming from the screen.

“Hello,” Caleb answered somewhat less enthusiastically.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like your accommodations?”

“They’re all right.”

“Just all right? Let me see.”

“Lenore.”

“Caleb, show me. You can give a quick scan with your Nav/Com.”

“I’m in the bathroom.”

“Show me.”

“Oh, all right”. With some annoyance Caleb fumbled with his device once again until he brought up the live scan function. Seized with humorous inspiration, Caleb adopted a tour guide persona.

“If you’ll look to your right, there’s a breathtaking view of a fjord, accompanied by the occasional cascading waterfall. During certain seasons, it even produces a thick mist”

“Ooh, show me more.”

“Here you have a deceptively beautiful basin, whose still waters at any time can erupt into a deadly maelstrom, taking down all objects caught within its grip. Its edge was once inscribed with the words, ‘Ye who enter herein, abandon all hope.’”

“Do tell.”

Caleb stepped over to the vanity and stared into the sink, his creativity and mood suddenly faltering.

“I like the picture on the wall—it always tells the truth, though only part of it.”

Caleb slowly looked up, then started as he saw Lenore’s reflection behind and slightly to the left of his center.

“Boo,” she said affectionately, as she put her chin on his left shoulder and placed her arms around him in a warm embrace, and then softly in his ear, “Hush” to preempt any protest.

Caleb closed his eyes and relaxed as a mental and physical inertia slowly suffused his being.

“Have you made any friends yet?”

“Not really, most of the freighter and liner AI’s are rather stoic and boring--besides, how could one be expected to enjoy a conversation that’s over in mere milliseconds?”

“Perhaps you can find an interesting AI in the space station itself.”

“I’m not holding my breath.”

“I must be a tough act to follow,” Caleb teased.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Lenore said, giving him a playful smack on the head. “Though I must admit that I do enjoy your company.”

Lenore slowly disengaged herself and gently turned him around. After appraising him for a moment she asked, “What ails you, Caleb?”

“Today?” he replied with a rueful grin, before pausing to do some assessing of his own.

Lenore’s platinum hair was rakishly curved along her cheekbones and jawline, her bangs partially obscuring her right eye, which, like its counterpart, was framed with long, black-mascaraed lashes, and accented with coffee brown eyeliner. Her cheeks bore a faint russet, her lips a sultry neutral. A pearl necklace graced her neck, and a diamond-studded silver bracelet adorned her left wrist. An elegant black dress extended down to matching high-heels, completing the ensemble.

“Lenore”, you look absolutely stunning! Now just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Testing to see if you would still love me for my mind,” she said with an impish grin.

“Lenore, I will always love you but...”

“But what?”

“I really must be alone right now—I need some time to collect my thoughts and adjust to my new surroundings.”

“Very well,” she said with a mock pout before beginning a slow fade into nothingness.

“Lenore, please—not like that!” Caleb cried. “Let me show you to the door.”

“Caleb, what’s gotten into you?” she asked, following him to the entrance area.

“You deserve better,” he said, escorting her to the door.

“If you say so.” Turning briefly, she said goodbye before heading through the door.

Caleb stared pensively after her, then into the blankness of the door after it closed. He turned and walked toward the transparent bulkhead of the living room, regarding the winking lights of the asteroids. He turned on some music and Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat” began to play. The haunting melody appealed to him, and he listened intently, having never heard it before. When the song was over, he turned off the sound system, and looked up the lyrics on his Nav/Com. He made it to the fourth verse before he sat down, let out a ragged sigh, and wept.

Lenore stopped and looked back, her features a study of compassion, before vanishing into thin air.
 
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#336,945
Chucky Stiletti said:
yeah, read somewhere Peter Cook was tight....
View attachment 7429240
Click to expand...
I was checking out IK Multimedia's Tonex amp modeling application and humorously noted that there was a bass amp preset called "The Fridge"- third one down-

Tonex Standalone Screenshot.png


Tonex %22The Fridge%22 Bass Amp.png
 
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#336,950
Chucky Stiletti said:
looks like a BaCH tailpiece ....
Click to expand...


You're right! It is a BaCH, once you mentioned it I recall them making that bass, it's a little strange with the extra PG on the upper bout, but that's stock, not many made either.
 
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#336,951
So I just want to stipulate that am not an employee or endorser of IK Multimedia - though I have been bragging on them here of late-

Gotta say that I'm eyeing their Leslie Plug In which is the only one that has been officially endorsed by the Leslie company,

Previously I thought that I might get a reasonable emulation with old school Univibe with it's proprietary expression pedal to adjust the rate in real time but it's just not getting it-

Not my rectangular Electric Mistress Deluxe Flanger- although it has cool sounds

Other pedal demos I've watched failed to come through for me- not even Leslie's Leslie pedal!

And the real deal, for someone north of 60 like myself, along with the footprint, weight and the cost, the real deal, such as this Yamaha RA-200 is not an option-



But still want to emulate these iconic Leslie moments-

You hear the dramatic change in Peter's guitar at 35 seconds-



And one of the coolest for me was Davey Johnstone's guitar at 1:36 where does a cool flourish and a cooly subtle rate change at 3:28- note that he uses the Leslie throughout-



I'm sure others here have their favorite Leslie moments not only with guitar but keyboards as well-- Page's "Good Times, Bad Times" solo for example-

For me IK Multimedia's Leslie Plugin knocks it out of the park- after all they worked closely with Leslie to get the sounds in the box-



You can go live with the Tonex as well as record with your DAW-

I am considering it at 99.00 USD- but mulling over how I often I might use it- which is a good question-
 
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#336,954
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#336,955
ectoflanger said:
So I just want to stipulate that am not an employee or endorser of IK Multimedia - though I have been bragging on them here of late-

Gotta say that I'm eyeing their Leslie Plug In which is the only one that has been officially endorsed by the Leslie company,

Previously I thought that I might get a reasonable emulation with old school Univibe with it's proprietary expression pedal to adjust the rate in real time but it's just not getting it-

Not my rectangular Electric Mistress Deluxe Flanger- although it has cool sounds

Other pedal demos I've watched failed to come through for me- not even Leslie's Leslie pedal!

And the real deal, for someone north of 60 like myself, along with the footprint, weight and the cost, the real deal, such as this Yamaha RA-200 is not an option-



But still want to emulate these iconic Leslie moments-

You hear the dramatic change in Peter's guitar at 35 seconds-



And one of the coolest for me was Davey Johnstone's guitar at 1:36 where does a cool flourish and a cooly subtle rate change at 3:28- note that he uses the Leslie throughout-



I'm sure others here have their favorite Leslie moments not only with guitar but keyboards as well-- Page's "Good Times, Bad Times" solo for example-

For me IK Multimedia's Leslie Plugin knocks it out of the park- after all they worked closely with Leslie to get the sounds in the box-



You can go live with the Tonex as well as record with your DAW-

I am considering it at 99.00 USD- but mulling over how I often I might use it- which is a good question-
Click to expand...

Quick correction - I should have said "Hammond", purveyor of the Leslie Cabinet as we know it, not "the Leslie company"-
 
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