New Gear / Everything Old is New Again

Posted on May 18th, 2007

Filed under: Music News,Reviews — Karl Olson @ 12:55 am

So, my old MidiStudio midi controller has been giving me grief lately, which is a bit of an accomplishment considering it has never worked perfectly – the pitch bend had an issue with returning to 0 from the first time I bought it. I tolerated that problem because I rarely had cause to use the pitch bend, and when I did, I’d just program it in the sequence itself because it was typically sounded better anyway. However, as it’s midi connection began to fail, I realized that the controller was going to need to be replaced (well, I suppose it could be fixed, but that’s easier said than done.)
new keyboard
Now, I was really aiming for just getting an MAudio Keystation 49 – very much like my old keyboard, if not even a bit more minimal barring the convient USB interface. Alas, the only one Guitar Center had in stock was a lemon, something I didn’t discover until after buying it. So I went back, and sucked up the fact I was just going to have to get an MAudio Oxygen 49 – a keyboard that is a lot more feature rich than I was really aiming for (I would have picked up the Korg controller instead if its keys were hinged right, but they aren’t – molded plastic hinges are trouble waiting to happen.) However, it plays really nicely – the action is way better than on the old controller – and the extra features are a bit handy, or at least fun to goof around with.
new mic stand
While I was at it, I picked up a new mic stand that fits my studio a lot better (the old one goes to a certain Canadian Nerdcore Diva.) No more knocking the mic stand over and taking out half my books and figures with it.

Meanwhile, during my journeys today, I also happened upon a new beverage… or did I?

You see, a billion years ago (or rather 5 years ago,) back when I fashioned myself as a young Matt Caracappa, I took it upon myself to review Pepsi Blue, back when my website was similarly colored to this outfit. Needless to say, between laziness and shame, I’ve never bothered reupload that version of the site archive and its associated content, even as an archive (even though it’d be very simple to do.) The short of the review was, I really disliked it, just like the majority of the internet did at the time. What does this have to do with the here and now?
Karl and Summer Pepsi
Turns out that Pepsi has come out with a special tropical version for summer. Now, one would think this would be a very, very different beast to Pepsi Blue, starting with the fact that it’s at least Cola-colored. However, it smells like Pepsi Blue. I mean, exactly the same. Disgustingly so even. But how does it taste….
More Karl and Summer Pepsi
It tastes sorta like Pepsi Blue. Not quite the same – there is a little citrus tinge that makes it relatively palette-able, and it lacks the nausea-inducing after-taste. Oh, there is still quite an after-taste, but it’s not gross or particularly annoying. However, much like with Pepsi Blue, it’s absolutely intolerable warm, and it tastes a lot more like Pepsi Blue at that point too. I’m talking almost exactly the same, unfortunately, even down to the after-taste. As such, I personally think Pepsi Blue fans are probably better served by the Vault Red Blitz, as its berry taste is exactly like Pepsi Blue, while lacking that gross cola-berry after-taste, even when warm.

Unless you like that sort of thing, in which case, good on ya. You have a stronger stomach than I. ^_^

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