blog.smalleycreative.com · EST. 2010
"Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. -Aristotle" -Francis Bacon
32 ENTRIES · SINCE 2010
NOW ON THE BENCH
For the last few years, my daily driver monitor has been an Acer Predator XB273U that I picked up from Micro Center around the tail end of the COVID-19 era. Despite the "low" 1080p resolution, it was an appealing display to me because of its high maximum
3 MIN READ
When LLMs counterfeit thought itself, a New Renaissance emerges, and its currency is authenticity.
25 MIN READ
My theory on why outrage pays best when the party in power is idolized by a minority, and how analytics and generative AI will supercharge the grift.
7 MIN READ
Why hiding our passions in order to maintain a sanitized "professional" image dehumanizes us and deprives us of countless opportunities for human connection.
5 MIN READ
I am pleased to share that Modartt has released the long-awaited Pianoteq 8 for iOS (iPhone/iPad). As of this writing, Modartt hasn’t even shared this news on their website, so it’s likely you may be hearing this news here first. Recently, I wrote up a deep
2 MIN READ
If you’re a jazz or blues guitar player, there is a good chance you’re not interested in much distortion in your tone. You probably seek mostly clean tone. One of the most crucial yet frequently neglected components of any guitar signal chain is the preamp vacuum tube(s)
2 MIN READ
Understanding how to perform the visual study of vacuum tubes can enable you to readily identify the unique characteristics and applications of a given tube. In The EICO 667 Vacuum Tube Tester I shared high-level information about what vacuum tubes are, their use cases, and how to test them.
5 MIN READ
My 1975 Rhodes Stage Eighty Eight Electric Piano, where to hear the best examples of the Rhodes sound, and a VST showdown.
5 MIN READ
How a hefty price tag on the Nord Stage 4 turned a Nord Stage 3 loyalist into the smitten owner of a barely used Studiologic Numa X Piano GT.
4 MIN READ
I was recently fortunate enough to get my hands on a workhorse vacuum tube tester, the EICO Model 667 Dynamic Conductance Tube and Transistor Tester. For those of you who don’t know, vacuum tubes are amazing little piece of hardware that are similar in construction to lightbulbs and have
4 MIN READ
When our descendants dig up useless trinkets like Funko Pops and fidget toys, they'll wonder what we could possibly have been thinking.
2 MIN READ
This blog is now 13 years old, certainly a relic by Internet standards. It’s now 2023, and it’s been some time since I’ve last posted. Still, I regularly receive messages from those readers who have found value in my posts, whether they’re wrangling legacy software, or
4 MIN READ
