FM3 - Buddha Machine II

I'm like my friend Dave with his phone camera, it takes photos but ain't worth the cost and hassle to download the photos. That's what a digital camera is for. I have become a luddite with new tech gadgets I don't really need and really hate text messaging. I must be an old fart. As for useless tech gadgets, now that's another story. I'm running my new FM3 II through my Mesa Boogie Amp right now. Somehow I managed to break the new toy yesterday (it was in my coat pocket, showing it off at my radio-show and lunch over Margaritas). After all, this little unit is "made in China", where quality control is not in the vocabulary, as Walmart customers know so well. Had to disassemble the FM3 to figure it out and I finally traced the problem to cracks in the solder on the EPROM chip, which probably broke in shipping. Heated up the ol' soldering iron and after a few attempts everything was fine again.

As for the sound, gotta say I'm a little disappointed in the speaker sound, since the FM3 guys have made enough money on the first one to do a little more research. It does sound a lot better through the amp or computer. And only 9 loops is a step backwards. I think the attempt to try new loop ideas is noble, but a few of them, especially the morse code percussion and the two-quick-note loops, are annoying, no matter what pitch they are in. But you'll like the 'Satie-like' piano loop and the bowed prayer-bell ones for sure!

The FM3 guys were a little disingenuine in their net-interview when asked about the pitch wheel effecting the loop tempo-speed. That one has an obvious correlation. The amazing thing about the little FM3 boxes is that they have gotten more people into ambient soundscapes than any other recording device. There are web-pages devoted to mod'ing and 'bending' the electronics, and the amount of re-mixes using the device is ridiculous. 'Music for Airports' has turned into 'Music For Cubicles'.

For the advanced user, save your pennies and buy a Raagini Electric Tanpura Box from India. About the size of a motorcycle battery, it comes with more buttons and patterns than a barrel of monkeys, and the drones are proven to cure any malfeasance caused by Western Civilization.

Uncle Jeff