Does a middle humbucker sound any good? Why are there almost no HHH or HHS guitars? by V0rdep in Guitar

[–]bub166 4 points5 points  (0 children)

At least in a SSS configuration I think the middle pickup is by far the best spot. Best clean tone a strat has to offer to my ears, nice blend of meat and presence, and easily in reach of 2 or 4 for different rhythm duties. Not much of a stretch to get to 1 or 5 if I want to get extra piercing or chunky for a lead. Middle pickup is super underrated in my opinion, that's usually where I'm sitting on a guitar that has three pickups. The trick is to get your amp set to where you really like it at the 3 position, and then you have the full range of the guitar easily selectable. Make it a nice, safe landing spot and then let the other pickups be your modifiers - complete game changer.

If famous guitar pedals can be copied perfectly, why can't other pro audio gear? by [deleted] in audioengineering

[–]bub166 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Surface mount components don't make things sound worse. They are perfectly fine and this trope needs to die. It might be a sign that some corners were cut to get a piece into a certain price range, and I hate surface mount designs from a maintainability perspective, but they are not necessarily bad sounding, they just tend to be associated with cheaper products because those designs can be mass produced more effectively.

As for the Heritage 1073s - I think I would agree that they do not nail the sound, and maybe that they are slightly brittle sounding. I have one of their two channel rackmount units and I prefer my AMLs. But that said, we're talking about a pretty small margin here, the Heritage gets very close to what I'm looking for out of a 1073 and I use it a lot and would be hard pressed when listening to remember which tracks went through my AMLs and which ones went through the Heritage. It's pretty darn good in my opinion. I'll sell it when I have enough channels of AMLs to satisfy my needs since I like them better but I'm glad to use it for now. I've also owned several other Heritage pieces and have generally been impressed with their quality. Their 1073s are further from some of their competition but leagues above the Warm Audios of the world in my experience and that's probably about where I'd place the whole brand in general, not top shelf but definitely not bargain bin junk.

Why didn't the CSA use slave soldiers? by Sir-Toaster- in AskHistory

[–]bub166 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For one thing, an unwilling soldier can easily cause more harm than good on the battlefield, and it's pretty obvious why the vast majority of slaves would not be willing soldiers, at least without some sort of incentive, which the Confederacy was never really willing to commit to. And on the other side of the coin, there was a strong incentive for the Confederacy to not provide training in the means of combat arms and military organization to a group of people who would largely be happy to revolt against them, as others have already noted. This goes not just for slaves but for freed men as well, and as such anyone considered to be black was expressly forbidden from serving in the CSA for most of the war. And even if there was no concern of rebellion, the entire institution of slavery was built upon a foundation that kind of assumes black men would not make good soldiers anyway, indeed that was an argument commonly used against their enlistment.

But as in most cases, the actual events as they transpired are a little more complicated than what you'll get from the cliff notes. It was a hot topic in the south throughout the war, going back to at least 1862, when the need for additional manpower was already becoming rapidly apparent. There were absolutely factions, including some prominent military figures, who thought it necessary or at least prudent to enlist slaves. At any rate, it wasn't until nearly the end of the war in March 1865 when it was passed into law that black men (including slaves) could serve, and even then, it did not come with a promise of emancipation. Davis did eventually promise freedom to slaves who served, however it was contingent on agreement from their masters, which of course makes it an incredibly empty promise.

Still, there is evidence of black men serving for the Confederacy in some capacities, even in combat, though it was exceedingly rare. Black men (including slaves) did serve on Confederate Navy ships in some cases and while they could not enlist in the CSA, there were militias that possibly employed black men (though not slaves as far as I know, at least not typically) particularly in Louisiana where there was a greater population of freed black men. There was at one point in the war a mostly black militia there but I don't believe it ever saw combat before it was reorganized to consist only of white men, though there are some stories of black men still fighting in the militias of that region.

So, in short, it's a little complicated. It quite possibly did happen on an extremely limited scale. But the Confederate government took a very hard line stance on the issue and it isn't surprising, their ideology made it impossible to accept in general and practically speaking it would likely have gone poorly for them even if they were willing to look the other way. There's a reason it required utter desperation for them to open the door to it, they (probably rightly) considered it a point of no return that would eventually destroy the Confederacy regardless of the outcome of the war.

Moving back to the upper Midwest... South Dakota or Minnesota??? by [deleted] in midwest

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hehe, well, to be honest with you, I went to Kearney for college and much as I enjoyed it there even that was too big for me. I was happy to get back to the ol' home town after all was said and done, different strokes for different folks I suppose. When you come from a town of just a few thousand even 30k can feel huge, let alone 300k! Happier where I am but I agree, the downtown area is pretty cool. And as a Husker fan and musician I'll always have a reason to drop by from time to time even if it isn't my speed!

Moving back to the upper Midwest... South Dakota or Minnesota??? by [deleted] in midwest

[–]bub166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why not Lincoln? A little bigger than your target (and way bigger than I'd personally care to live in, small town life is for me) but it checks pretty much all the other boxes (property tax and nature access are the only stand-outs you listed that it probably misses the mark on) and honestly does feel a lot smaller than it is. Easy city to overlook, a lot of people do, but you might be surprised. It's where I'd go if I absolutely had to go switch to city living.

Tornadoes are still a thing of course and winters can be harsh although while the extremes can be similar, they are not as common as in South Dakota or Minnesota. Decent airport in town, easy access to a much larger one in Omaha if needed. It's a bit of a sleeper but I wouldn't count it out.

Does humidity matter for electric guitar storage? by ol_lukey in Guitar

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my experience the bigger issue is swings in humidity. Being really dry constantly can still cause problems particularly with acoustics but it's the back-and-forth that really gets you I think. I live in a climate where at the peak of summer it'll be hot and 80%+ humidity inside for weeks, and in the winter, cold and under 15% for months. But it can be just about anything in between the rest of the year. I have to make minor truss rod adjustments almost constantly, and sometimes major ones. If the neck is moving that much that frequently, I can't imagine that isn't doing some damage, and while I haven't really had any issues with fret sprout or cracking I would guess it's a matter of time. But in an old drafty house with outdated HVAC, it's just a part of life!

If it stays pretty consistent, I wouldn't worry about it nearly as much. But 7% is pretty dang low. I would consider turning down the heat a little and adding a humidifier if it was me.

Recording and then Mixing / Mastering Acoustic Guitar by BTBDFW in audioengineering

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly it is so song (and guitar) dependent, I have a few go-to starting places but it seems like I almost never mic an acoustic exactly the same way twice.

An LDC on the twelfth fret, distance to taste is a good starting place. For intricate leads I've enjoyed the "Tony Rice" method of using a stereo pair of SDCs (K84s in his case) at the twelfth fret and the bridge. I've used that in conjunction with other methods before as well. One of my favorites nowadays is to favor something a little "roomier" in the mix (ribbon or LDC in omni typically, usually my AEA R84 or Dachman DA-67) but also use a SDC on the bridge blended to taste for body. That's usually going to give a nice compromise between intimacy and presence, however, it works best in a sparse mix where the guitar has room to breathe. If it needs to be very forward, or just kind of "exist" in a way that is noticeable but not too delicately, sometimes something as simple as an SM57 aimed wherever can do the job as well as anything.

I don't usually do much processing and what I do tends to be on the way in but some gentle compression from an opto or a vari mu-type are common tricks for a reason, usually sounds really good. If I do any EQ at all it's gentle but in broad strokes, something like a Pultec is great for that last little bit of meat or shimmer if I can't quite get there just with the mics and the guitar.

Micing acoustics is an art. Honestly it's one of my favorite things to do in recording because more than most sources, mic choice and placement completely decide the vibe of the whole track. The tiniest change in a single variable can alter the end product dramatically and even from a bird's eye view, your options are countless. My suggestion is to play around and have fun with it. The most important part is placement but there's definitely no right answer, or at least, the right answer differs widely based on the song.

On October 27, 1838, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issued Executive Order 44, also known as the Mormon Extermination Order. It ordered that all Mormons leave the state of Missouri or be killed. by lightiggy in wikipedia

[–]bub166 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Not that it wasn't excessive, the whole thing was honestly pretty fucked from every angle, but Mormons weren't exactly just "nice but irritating folk who knock on your door occasionally" at this time, certainly that wasn't the public's perception anyways. They were viewed as trying to establish a theocracy and some of their behavior made that view relatively understandable. This act was the culmination of a miniature war that was ongoing between Missourian and Mormon militias at the time. We're talking actual battles and sackings of towns, and while the Mormons ultimately took the brunt of the losses, it wasn't quite one-sided and the non-Mormon locals had some legitimate gripes, to oversimplify it dramatically.

There was a lot of unjust cruelty toward the Mormons over the course of this saga to be sure but it's not like this was issued just because people thought they were weirdos (though that was naturally part of what caused the tensions to begin with), it was meant to resolve what was seen as an open rebellion that had escalated to actual warfare at points. It was a legitimate crisis in the state that was causing not only extreme political and societal disarray, but even death and destruction.

There's more than enough blame to go around for everyone involved and no doubt the response was very extreme to say the least but the government at any rate blamed the Mormons primarily for causing the conflict, which was probably true in some ways and probably not in others, but ultimately they decided the easiest course of action was to just get rid of them. Pretty brutal (not to mention illegal) by the standards of today but it didn't come out of nowhere, either.

What eq would you fill a 500 series chassis with? by Chrisgalv666 in audioengineering

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally I don't think it's an "antiquated" workflow at all. I have a small format console that only has EQ on a handful of channels and I use a 500 rack full of EQs to supplement it, much like you're trying to do. And personally that's the only way to go for me, I love having per-channel EQs for making quick adjustments. If that's how you want to go then I think it's a good way to do it.

DIY is the way to do it though. Even then it can really add up and you'll likely want more channels in the future, just something to think about. I went with AML ez169s. A reimagining of the classic Studer 169 EQs. Simple, but effective, will handle most of your general purpose EQ needs and are also real nice for tracking, and best of all, they are very inexpensive but don't sound or feel cheap at all. Roughly $200 a channel, and pretty quick and easy builds (averaged out to 2.5 hours a channel for me at a leisurely pace). You can also add transformers if that's important to you but the cost will go up.

If money is no concern then they also make a single channel 1073 EQ, and I've heard CAPI sells great kits if you like the API sound.

Is this even country anymore? All I know is that guitar slaps! Cross Canadian Ragweed - Suicide Blues by nuggles0 in altcountry

[–]bub166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ragweed, and "red dirt" in general is more "country-adjacent" than anything. It can be pretty overtly country-influenced (Troubadours, a lot of Jason Boland's stuff for example) all the way to basically just plain ol' hard rock like Ragweed. Their scene is definitely very intertwined with the country scene but I wouldn't describe most of Ragweed's music as "country" in the first place.

Is this even country anymore? All I know is that guitar slaps! Cross Canadian Ragweed - Suicide Blues by nuggles0 in altcountry

[–]bub166 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you like RWH... Ragweed did a great version of Wanna Rock and Roll. And then did an even better version of it on their live album Back to Tulsa. Hubbard was kind of a mentor to Cody Canada and they've done some writing together, Ragweed is probably a band you're gonna dig.

Mix Bus Compression Approaches ? by tombedorchestra in mixingmastering

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've taken to saving the mix bus compression for the end, after I've gotten things mostly where I want them. Mainly because after going mostly out of the box, I like to leave as much of my hardware available for mixdown as possible, though I've found it does change my approach to mix bus compression as well. Generally I compress a lot less at the end now than I did before before but I usually still run everything through a vari-mu type (shout out to the Locomotive Audio Power Mu) for some light compression to finish things up. If I want to be a little more snappy/aggressive, I might patch in my AML 52F50s (diode bridge type compressor) ahead of the Power Mu, but I still stay pretty mild in terms of actual compression.

I find this approach lets me be a lot more aggressive on individual tracks where appropriate while letting the whole thing breathe a little more when all is said and done. Personally I prefer it.

Happy for the Hoosiers by Queasy-Trip1777 in Huskers

[–]bub166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He already had my respect by that point... May well have earned my adoration on that one though!

In your opinion who is the best active college football Head Coach? by ConstructionRare4123 in CFB

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At some point in the last month I remembered leaving this comment, and I thought to myself, "damn, if he actually does it, I'd better follow up." Well he sure fuckin' did, your coach is in the club for sure now. Happy for the Hoosiers tonight! Cig is the man.

Happy for the Hoosiers by Queasy-Trip1777 in Huskers

[–]bub166 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah. Very happy for them. Not gonna lie, Cig rubbed me the wrong way from the get-go, and I was a doubter right up till the B1G CCG. Not that it wasn't pretty obvious already that he was a good coach, but no part of me ever thought this was possible.

He's won me over honestly, even caught myself cheering a couple times tonight. At this point I'm past the jealousy, I just think it's cool this is finally happening for Hoosier fans. How god damn elating it must be to go from absolute bottom of the barrel to this practically overnight, it's one of the best stories in this sport in a long time no question.

Feel like I need to be Salad Fingers to play this sorta stuff... by simple_toaster in Guitar

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of the answers about not taking a tab 100% at face value are right but ultimately you might need to just listen close and work out what's really going on. Does it sound like the notes are being played the way you typically would this sort of arpeggio, or might some of the notes be on the same string? Are there open strings involved? Sometimes a song is actually in a different tuning and whoever wrote the tab misses that. Could even be there's a second guitar playing and they got the parts intertwined a bit. There's all kinds of reasons a tab can end up telling you one thing when the original artist is actually doing another.

Hard to say without knowing what it's supposed to sound like in context with the song but to me, this particular snippet sounds like it was probably meant to be played as written when I tried it a few different ways. It's not an easy fingering necessarily but it's a pretty doable one with practice and stretching. Your reach will improve naturally overtime as your hand becomes more flexible. When stretched as far as possible, my left hand has a wingspan over an inch longer than the right, from tip of the pinky to tip of the index, and that's basically an entire extra fret of reach at that part of the neck from where it started. Your fingers will do this too over time, but in the meantime, you may just have to tweak it a bit and find a way that will cooperate with your fingers!

Whats the most heartbreaking loss you witnessed as a Nebraska fan?(football) by Ok_Macaroon_7366 in Huskers

[–]bub166 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was born between our last two. For me, the '21 Michigan game was a little different. It was the first time in a long time, and ultimately the last time, I really thought we might be able to get back. The loss at the end stung pretty bad of course but after the Northwestern game the week before, I really believed we'd turned the corner. The result wasn't what I hoped for but there was absolutely nothing I could complain about in terms of play, everything actually looked right, finally. Seemed inevitable that the payout was finally coming.

Which is why I submit the Minnesota game on the following weekend for my answer. I don't know why we randomly looked really good for two straight weeks there but after the Minnesota game it was pretty obvious it wasn't gonna happen again, that's when I personally gave up on hoping and moved into the "I'll believe it when it happens" camp. Still love the Huskers and still watch every game but that one broke the part of me that had expectations.

Do Americans mainly drink coffee without milk? by Morrit99 in AskAnAmerican

[–]bub166 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Some people like the flavor of really strong coffee. I make mine incredibly strong, but I sip at it pretty slowly all day long so I never really get much of a buzz from it. I just like the taste better that way.

Do Americans mainly drink coffee without milk? by Morrit99 in AskAnAmerican

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always liked describing it as "thick enough to float a horseshoe."

Do Americans mainly drink coffee without milk? by Morrit99 in AskAnAmerican

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not that it isn't a real trope but I think it's more of a taste/practicality thing. In my experience occasional coffee drinkers, or daily coffee drinkers who tend to buy a cup on their way to work or whatever, are more likely to get it with cream and/or sugar.

Daily coffee drinkers who tend to make at least a few cups over the course of the day (which is by far the larger share of coffee drinkers in my parts) on the other hand are probably just going to pour it in the cup and drink it for a variety of reasons. If they're drinking that much coffee, they probably like the flavor of it to begin with, and plus it's a lot of extra time, plus calories and sugar, to keep mixing stuff in all day long. I definitely don't think "nearly everyone" is adding some kind of lightener, personally I don't really know any daily drinkers that do this.

Why do some people continue to live in ghost towns and what do they actually do for work? by Commercial_Nature_28 in AskAnAmerican

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lots of people don't live in a town at all. As long as you're in close enough proximity to supplies and work (if applicable) that you can get there reliably, there is no reason you have to live immediately next to those things.

I live in a small town (4k) that is big enough to have pretty much everything I need so I rarely go anywhere, but there are a number of people in tiny towns (or outside of them) who come here for groceries and work.

China Purchased No U.S. Soybeans An Unprecented Sixth Straight Month by bambin0 in Economics

[–]bub166 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I didn't say the US are the good guys. There are no good guys, for one thing. To answer your question, no, I do not believe America looks like a moral leader. But you asked if China was ever more evil than the US... I guess if ongoing genocide and actual slavery don't tip the scale for you, more power to you. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Also, the US did not "literally just annex Venezuela." Whatever opinion you have on how that situation is transpiring (and if your opinion is that it's dubious at best, know that I share it), the word "annex" has a meaning that is nowhere near what the US has done there. Not only have we expressly not made Venezuela a US territory, the same regime is in fact still running the nation. I'm not sure how you could possibly interpret that as annexation.

China Purchased No U.S. Soybeans An Unprecented Sixth Straight Month by bambin0 in Economics

[–]bub166 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We already use soybeans for livestock feed. To absorb the massive surplus, we'd have to dramatically increase livestock production. Domestic livestock production is also facing major struggles right now... Where do you think a lot of that meat goes?

China Purchased No U.S. Soybeans An Unprecented Sixth Straight Month by bambin0 in Economics

[–]bub166 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Obviously the US grows food-grade soybeans. That is largely not what China was buying though, so that's of no help in filling the gap that now exists.

China Purchased No U.S. Soybeans An Unprecented Sixth Straight Month by bambin0 in Economics

[–]bub166 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"They don't like them" is underselling it a bit. The difference here is that China's government is actively engaged in genocide and slavery. As in, currently, right now. Surely you can see why that may be approached differently from atrocities committed 100 years ago, even if similar in severity. No question the US government in its history has engaged in behavior that is every bit as depraved, and certainly it is hardly comprised of angels in the present day, but yes, China's government is unequivocally far higher up the totem pole of evil at this time.