We're getting ready to launch my son Scott's Kickstarter campaign for Sprout; the little amp that could. It took a lot of courage for Scott to build Sprout the way he wanted.
Courage is an interesting concept. The word's history is from Middle English meaning 'from the heart', but modern usage seems to be more about doing something despite fear. Perhaps that happens when one's convictions are strong enough in their heart to bust through fear and step into the darkness of the unknown.
Talk about conviction. From day one Scott has been adamant there be no remote control except when you're streaming from your phone. His conviction born from his passion for hands on play. He and his contemporaries play mostly vinyl; and to them, vinyl is all about touching, feeling and interacting with the medium and the music. The physical act of taking an album from its sleeve, holding it by its edges, placing it on the turntable and lowering the needle honors the music. To then pick up a remote control and turn the volume up and down seems a sacrilege. Playing vinyl is an act of love, as is the physical interaction between you and the machine. Scott wanted us to return to these visceral joys.
But that took courage because we all told him "it'll never fly." It took courage to make it small, compact and precise.
But holding Sprout in my hands and using it, finally after all this time, I get it.
It takes courage to hold an ideal up high and see it through to the end. But when it's done, it has heart because it's from the heart.
I'll let you know next week when we launch.
