02-23-2018, 10:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-23-2018, 11:30 PM by Mattias Westlund.)
Long time, no updates. It's been almost a year since I used this machine for anything; I've had some plans for it but I haven't gotten around to really doing anything. Partly because the computer itself was incredibly noisy, and partly because I didn't have a dedicated midi controller for it (and using either of my two main keyboards wasn't really feasible due do space considerations and speaker placements).
About a week ago I decided to try and remedy the noise problem, and replaced the PSU and the main system fan. Much quieter now, though still nowhere near a modern computer. I can't believe how I used computers like this 20 years ago and didn't go mad from the incessant humming, whirring and whining!
Then just yesterday I made a rare lucky find at the local Red Cross thrift shop: a Fatar Studiologic CMK-149 midi controller for €30.
![[Image: IMG_20180223_114216067_HDR.jpg]](http://mattiaswestlund.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_20180223_114216067_HDR.jpg)
It's ugly as crap and I have no idea how old this thing is, but I doubt anyone has made translucent blue casings for hardware since Bondi blue iMacs were a thing, which dates it roughly to somewhere between '98 and '01 I guess. The upper half of the casing also has some sort of dark gray rubber layer on it which is... weird. I would love to hear how the designer motivated the choice of translucent blue plastic and gray, almost faux leather-textured rubber for a keyboard controller. But I digress.
The CMK-149 plays great! Lovely synth-style action; a little bit springy but not too much. It's sturdy despite being all plastic, and it's also very slim for a 49 full size key controller -- which is perfect for my cramped retro corner computer desk. So I took this as a sign. I need to get back into working on some retro midi goodness.
And oh; I will probably be getting rid of the AWE64 card as it picks up interference from inside the computer (and it doesn't do anything that the other cards can't do better), and I will be meeting up with a fellow retro enthusiast next week who has a variety of old sound cards that he might be willing to sell me. So stay tuned
About a week ago I decided to try and remedy the noise problem, and replaced the PSU and the main system fan. Much quieter now, though still nowhere near a modern computer. I can't believe how I used computers like this 20 years ago and didn't go mad from the incessant humming, whirring and whining!
Then just yesterday I made a rare lucky find at the local Red Cross thrift shop: a Fatar Studiologic CMK-149 midi controller for €30.
It's ugly as crap and I have no idea how old this thing is, but I doubt anyone has made translucent blue casings for hardware since Bondi blue iMacs were a thing, which dates it roughly to somewhere between '98 and '01 I guess. The upper half of the casing also has some sort of dark gray rubber layer on it which is... weird. I would love to hear how the designer motivated the choice of translucent blue plastic and gray, almost faux leather-textured rubber for a keyboard controller. But I digress.
The CMK-149 plays great! Lovely synth-style action; a little bit springy but not too much. It's sturdy despite being all plastic, and it's also very slim for a 49 full size key controller -- which is perfect for my cramped retro corner computer desk. So I took this as a sign. I need to get back into working on some retro midi goodness.
And oh; I will probably be getting rid of the AWE64 card as it picks up interference from inside the computer (and it doesn't do anything that the other cards can't do better), and I will be meeting up with a fellow retro enthusiast next week who has a variety of old sound cards that he might be willing to sell me. So stay tuned
