From larry.a.schurr@boeing.com Tue Dec 23 10:38:44 2003
Subject:Re: Need your light... was gonna buy a Hammond XK2 those days but...



-----Original Message-----
From: rick155@aol.com [mailto:rick155@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2003 12:03 PM
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [CWSG] Re: Need your light... was gonna buy a Hammond XK2 those days but...

In a message dated 12/23/2003 11:56:48 AM Eastern Standard Time, larry.a.schurr@boeing.com writes:

> If all you do is beat on a hollow log, then even a standard keyboard would be a "whacky interface".

Sure, but experience also teaches us that some interface designs are simply superior to others for a given application. The steering wheel on a car, for instance. To me, Hammond drawbars are like that: a perfect interface. And of course the fact that I've been using drawbars virtually all my life plays no role in reaching this conclusion!

Rick

[LarryS:]
Rick,
I'm sure MY experience has nothing to do with MY opinion, either!

Your steering wheel example is great! The wheel isn't on a car simply for directional control -- because there are much better devices for directional control than a steering wheel -- but it's also there for crashworthiness and familiarity. If it were just for directional control, we'd put them on F-16's. But an F-16 gets into a different kind of crash than a car, and likely you didn't grow up watching your dad drive his F-16, so there's no familiarity component to preserve.

That familiarity is inarguably the drawbar's greatest advantage. There is nothing more familiar than a drawbar -- to a Hammond player. And had some dimwit come up with a bunch of round knobs like on old mixers, the slider concept woulda been quick to follow like on new mixers so yes, some interfaces are just better than others.

But familiarity does, IMO, not make an interface any less "whacky" than any other. Wait, I guess it does.... if you're not interested in change. OTOH, if the familiar is only one small component, then lots of interfaces could be chosen. My Hammonds have draws, as does my FrankenClone (MidiDrawbars), but drawbuttons work just as well for me, too.

Still waiting for motorized, programmable, lighted draws and multi-select presets :-)

L.

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