Dave Migoya posted this on the flute board and I thought there might be some folks on the whistle side who haven’t seen it (posting it here with Dave’s permission). It sounds very cool:
"Okay. I’ve got a new toy and it’s way, WAY, neat. I just bought it and played with it this morning. You’ll ALL love it and want one. I’m glad I’ve got it. Read on.
Ever wanted to figure out just what Matt Molloy was doing on that tune, but he was just playing too freakin’ fast for it to make sense? Heard that cool lick by Larry Nugent and, darn it, if it was just a teeny bit slower you could get it? Don’t like futzing around with CDs at the computer, and have to constantly ply the keyboard to slow a tune down electronically?
What if it was portable? What if you could do it in any part of your house…or at a friend’s house…or in your car?
It’s here. The Superscope PSD 220/230/300 (or Marantz PDR300)
I just bought the 220 unit (@$300 at cheapest…stay away from the eBay sales of it…it’s illegal under the Superscope dealership contracts, so you know they’re not legitimate dealers…plus their prices on eBay are only marginally better, about $10-$20).
Let me tell you. Cool. Pop in the CD, hit play, hit the slow down button and BOOM, as slow as you’d like WITHOUT CHANGING THE PITCH! Excellent. In 5 seconds, a move of Molloy’s that’s been annoying me for weeks was there, easy as could be.
The 220 is the basic unit. While it has its own speaker, it’s much better plugged into a stereo through the AUX jacks (should be RCA type). Nice bass/treb/mid contrls, has an optional remote or footpedal.
AND…I love this feature…it will play as little or as much of a tune, anywhere on the CD (any CD works) that you want, over and over and…, until you’ve got it.
Folks…as a player who’s wanted one of these, let me tell you, it’s terrific tool for practice and learning tunes from CDs. WOW. It’s not attached to a computer! And it’s small. About the size of a box that holds computer software programs at the store.
The 230 does one better (which I dont’ need because I’ve got a good selection of instruments)…slows down speed AND can change pitch to any degree you want. Why is that good? Slow down Molloy’s Eb flute solos, AND lower the pitch to match your D flute!
HOw about the time you’ve tried your D flute to Kevin Crawford and he’s just a bit flatter (or sharper) than you. Raise/lower the pitch to match your tuning so you’re not constantly pulling in/out to the CD.
Price @ $400-$600.
The 330 is even better. It’s a CD player AND CD recorder!
That’s about $800-$1000 depending where you look.
Anyway…do I sound positive and upbeat? I am. I love this thing! I have it at my practice table in my den and it’s great. Before I was tired to go to the computer, download the tune from a Cd, slow it down, re-burn a new CD with the slow track…yadda, yadda, yadda.
Here’s a link to all 3 units and just read about them. There should be a function somewhere in there where you can try them and hear for yourself.
http://superscopetechnologies.com/products/
I bought my 220 from a place in Tenn. called Rik’s Music (link: http://www.riksmusic.com/superscope/psd220.htm )
They were great and have a return policy!
They don’t advertise their price on the Net because it’s less than the suggested, so they can’t. I paid $300 even for the 220, the lowest I found anywhere that’s legitimate. (The eBay sellers don’t offer returns)
I really hope you guys check this out. It’s terrific."
