My new phoner gear and Daniel

I finally bought a new digital voice recorder. I used a tiny mic for iPod for a few times and it didn't work as good as I thought when it comes to recording a phoner. The mic for iPod costs like ¥8,500 and the DV recorder ¥10,000... shoooot, I should have gotten the recorder from the beginning. But a young editorial staffer in my office is happy to use it now so it wasn't a waste after all.

I also bought an earphone mic at the same time. I've used it once years ago and didn't like it very much at the time. I felt something stuck between my ear and the receiver and it felt uncomfortable. So I ended up using a telephone recording adapter for years but the thing is it limits the type of telephone you can use it with. I find this earphone mic is pretty handy although it takes me a little while to get used to it.

The Jacob Jensen phone on the right is... I mean, was almost a garnish sitting next to my main telephone/fax machine. It was connected but not used at all because I could not connect the adapter to it. But now, with the earphone mic, it's got a chance to work. Yay! And it actually sounds much better than the wireless receiver.

The first interview I did with my new gear was Daniel Erlandsson from Arch Enemy. Frankly, I was a bit nervous before it started. You know, you get nervous about whatever you do for the first time, right? I mean, not about talking with Daniel, it's about using the new gear without knowing how it really works. But it went very well.

Daniel is an absolute sweet guy! I've met him twice and his shy smile and gentle voice just attract everyone, I'm telling you, folks!! Even a male staff writer Masaru became a big fan of him once he met him. Masaru is a funny boy who got jealous of me being so close to my lovely friend photographer Rob Shanahan at the winter NAMM show a couple of years ago. Maybe he doesn't have such close friendship like the one between Rob and me? Poor thing!

I cannot tell the details of Daniel's interview. It will appear in Rhythm & Drums Magazine January 2010 issue and it's going to be the greatest feature of Daniel's. If you are an Arch Enemy fan or a heavy metal drum fan, you must get and read it!

During the phoner, we agreed we would need Skype for certain questions. Hmmm... that's not a bad idea for doing a phoner. As a matter of fact, my extended family in Germany (Hi Elizabeth and Ulf! Love you! xoxo) also insists me to get one so that we can talk face-to-face for free anytime we want. But the problem is... I couldn't do a phoner wearing my pj's when it's scheduled late at night or early in the morning because they see me... oh wait, all I have to do is wearing pj's look like a normal outfit. Or I could get a request of what they want me to wear, maybe? It might be a new service to offer, perhaps? ;) Anyhow, Skype might be the next step for a phoner for me to consider.

I got an email from Larry saying he loves the cover of Bass Magazine I uploaded a couple of days ago. I'm glad to hear that! You will receive some copies soon, Larry :)