Randy Angella “Angel”, New Printer and other news

Randy Angella “Angel” 2012
How have I not blogged about this? A few months ago I acquired a Randy Angella “Angel” from New Millennium Guitars‘ Larry Cooperman.

I was eyeing an Angella guitar for some time, but couldn’t justify the purchase because I already have a few high-end guitars. When I saw the “Angel”, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to add an Angella to my collection. I was looking to acquire a mid-price, ‘out-of-‘home’ concert guitar (at least that’s what I told myself to justify the purchase :P).

Part of construction utilises CNC manufacturing to cut down on the labour.  Playability is excellent (though the action is a tad low) and it sounds great for the money.

I’m not sure if Angella plans to make more of these, but if he does, it will be a very competitive and attractive offering at this price point.

It’s a cedar/Indian rosewood guitar with Der Jung (!) tuners. This is the first time I’ve used these premium Chinese tuners. They feel a bit stiff at first, and it feels like the string hole either wasn’t drilled properly or perhaps a bit too small, but when it’s strung up,it operates smoothly and reliably. I’m not a fan of the tuners’ ostentatious Dragon/Phoenix design, though some who have commented on how nice it looked.

Overall, I still prefer the aesthetics and functionalities of Gotohs, but it’s nice to see the Chinese produce a quality offering.

New Printer!
I’ve been itching to buy a laser printer for years. My family has been using an Epson TX700W laserjet printer for the last 2 years and it has been horrible.

Why do people buy inkjet printers? It’s a huge scam. They print slowly, the cartridges are expensive and the cost per print is ridiculously high. Some claim that the cost of ink is even higher than gold!

This is a huge problem for musicians with high-volume paper needs. During the PC Show I bought a Canon MF4580DW multifunction laser printer. It has duplex printing AND scanning. That means it can print and scan both sides of a document automatically. It’s pretty awesome and the best home printer I’ve ever owned and used.

It’s a wireless network printer too which will be useful when I…

Buy a Tablet for Reading Music
For the longest time I’ve wanted to convert all my material to a digital format and read it on a tablet. The acquisition of a new printer was part of my ‘print-on-demand’ plan where I read the majority of my material on a tablet, and only print on demand.

The problem is that most tablets have screens that are about 20-40% smaller than an A4 sheet of paper. Reading music is tricky enough, I don’t need the added challenge of reduced readability. Then there’s the issue of page turning, but that could be solved with bluetooth pedals that act as page turners. In practice, I have concerns about how well this would work though. Waiting for a page to turn on a tablet may cause a break in continuity during reading. The pedals are also pretty pricey.

I’m still thinking about it, and it’s an interesting proposition. If I decide to go ahead with it, I’ll probably make the purchase during the Sitex at the end of the year.

Do you have experience using a tablet for reading music? Got any opinions about it? If you do, leave me a comment below. I’m having a terrible time trying to get more info on this.

Free Movie Tickets From Dell
Whenever I participate in a survey online, I don’t expect anything in return. As a Marketing Communications Professional, I usually participate to see what kind of questions they are asking.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I received an e-mail from Nigel, an administrator of a Dell facebook survey I participated in. He told me that they appreciated one of my open-ended responses and they wanted to send me a pair of free tickets as a ‘Thank You’. Good on you Dell.

I’m probably going to use it to watch “The Dark Knight Rises”.

Durian Extravaganza
It’s durian season and dad and I have been indulging. When it comes to durians, I’ve learnt that it makes sense to pay more for quality. I bought some regular durians and found that it had less quantity and quality.  After we finished that batch, I bought some Sultan durians (1 grade above D24 but 1 grade below Mao Shan Wang) and those were absolutely heavenly.

Much strong, meatier and satisfying. Even though it cost more, it was much better value for the money. It also gave me more heartburn.

It cost me $50 for 5 boxes. The vegetable rice seller told me that it was expensive. Was I ripped off? How much does Sultan durians cost? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

Scheduling Conflicts Galore
Though many of my friends adamantly disagree, I have never considered myself ‘busy’. Even though I’m not that busy, I was very perplexed when everyone in my various circles (professional, guitar, social, family and friends) started booking me on the same days and times.

There are 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Why does everyone have to book me on exactly the same days and times?

Is there an auspicious ‘Best time and day to book Dedrick’ calendar I don’t know about?

These unfortunate clashes saw me cancelling about 5 appointments this month. If I couldn’t attend your event, I apologize, but thanks for the invite. It’s always nice to be considered.

One more thing…
I’ve been toying with a possible programme for my next recital. I like where it’s going and how the programme is developing. I hope to hold another recital sometime next year.

I will probably give a few preview performances once I settle on my programme.