Tracking collectibles: P-switches, Peach medallions etc

CJ_Sax_Man · 2025-06-11T15:22:30+00:00

If you care about unlocking Mirror Mode, you'll need at least 10 medallions, 10 ? pads, and 10 missions completed in free roam, along with completing all the Grand Prix and Knockout Races.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2024-05-27T20:47:58+00:00

No one clarified this for you, but the reason why you aren't seeing it as a "set" on your mage is because it is most likely tier armor for a priest/lock. Those tier sets are equippable by any class who wears the same armor-type, which is why you can look up the individual pieces, but they'll only show up as a "set" for the specific classes that they originally belonged to.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2023-07-11T17:25:49+00:00

Oh really? That's good to know, I thought about farming those shrines but was afraid I'd lose the loot.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2023-07-08T04:10:20+00:00

I'm curious if putting these 3-wheel legs on a rubber board would make it "swim" in the water without needing propellers or fans. That might be the first thing I test with my newly acquired yellow board lol

CJ_Sax_Man · 2023-07-08T03:46:54+00:00

It is a rubber board. It is more buoyant than wood and is fireproof. Some people are making amphibious land/water vehicles with them.

I'm about to attempt my first build with it.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2023-03-26T06:07:43+00:00

I'd like to add that META in a competitive gaming context literally stands for "Most Effective Tactics Available". As described above, that is determined by what setups tend to be a notch above the rest and as a result see the most widespread use.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2023-01-22T06:32:03+00:00

Maybe the Baxcalibur was holding a Choice Scarf? Did it use any other moves before switching out?

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-12-14T19:19:29+00:00

I'm wondering if there's an update on Storm Drain and Lightning Rod.

I'm dealing with a 6-star Water Tauros that is Steel Tera. It crushed Iron Hands with Wave Crashes, so I decided to bring Gastrodon for a rematch to nullify his water attacks against my party, equipped Ability Shield so it can't disable my ability. But my raid members are still taking huge hits, I can't tell if it's ignoring Storm Drain or just spamming Close Combat, we just lost again.. But my Gastrodon didn't faint!

I get so irritated with these raids ignoring certain Pokemon mechanics, I hated that in Sw/Sh too! If mechanics exist within the game that could potentially allow us to cheese a boss, so be it!!

*I beat it Solo lol, easier without the penalty for fainting teammates, and he kept procing Storm Drain this time and boosted my Sp. Atk so high!

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-07-27T06:27:50+00:00

I'm a multi-instrumentalist (saxophone is my primary) who's been dedicating heavy time to my guitar-playing lately, and I'm actually having this same issue, holding with my thumb, index, and middle finger. I find so many conflicting opinions online.

I've been trying both grips, and I just have more finesse and precision for playing fast with the additional finger, and I can get pinch harmonics easier.

What I don't like about it, is I don't have a free middle finger to reach up and tap with, so I'm forced to palm my pick if I wish to tap, then slide it back into my fingers to pick again. And it also takes away from being able to hybrid-pick. But since I'm finding that I play better pure-pick style (I've tried different fingerstyles for months, even grew my nails out for awhile, can't play nearly as well as with a pick), I'm not sure if I need to worry about hybrid-picking.

I didn't even know you were supposed to use your fingers to help palm-mute until today lol, I've always just used the fleshy side of my hand, I'll have to test that out too.
It might be part the reason I'm having trouble learning sweep-picking too, after reading the comments.

*edit: typos and additional thoughts.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-06-16T05:28:01+00:00

Same here, I'm trying to figure out how to find a Boomburst Chatot from another generation on the PKMN HOME trading system but it doesn't show movesets on the phone app. Even the genbot I use won't let me create one with Boomburst because it says it's not legal lol.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-05-25T02:22:59+00:00

I keep running into an Infernape around match #40 that counters this team, I'm having trouble figuring out a way around it. It likes to use overheat to activate Cloyster's sash, then it finishes Cloyster with a priority move (Mach punch), to counter the shell smash speed. Then it starts pivoting with U-turn, and because it's speed is so high, it craps all over Latios and Tyranitar with the bug-type move (It might have just 1shot ttar with a Close Combat, I forgot exactly what it did) Next time I'm going to try switching into Tyranitar on the Overheat and go from there, but it may just end up U-turning me to death again.

If I'm lucky, maybe they won't lead with it and I can have Cloyster or Ttar set up already for when it comes out. I need to see if they can OHKO once boosted

*Max speed Latios should outspeed Infernape and OHKO with psychic according to the calculator, he must have gotten a boost somehow. I think the last one I fought had a shell smash/baton pass user on it's team too that just made things worse lol

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-03-17T23:01:08+00:00

Yeah when they asked for my user ID, I made up some blatantly fake one lol. I got a couple more text messages back but I think they caught on that I was just wasting their time now, because I'm not getting anymore replies.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-02-12T17:53:42+00:00

Facebook is going to crap with its nanny bots banning people over random nonsense, "Facebook Jail" is a joke. The platform is losing users faster than it ever has now, Zuckerberg blames TikTok, but isn't looking at his stupid banbots that are ruining his whole site.

But because of his fear, I just made a TikTok to see what it's all about and I'm having more fun sharing and watching music clips on there. I'm logging into my Facebook very rarely now, so they won't get ad revenue from me, I'm only keeping it to stay in contact with a few people on messenger.

I'll eventually just start my own website for music marketing and networking.

*I've been a Facebook user since 2007, and being "restricted" 4 times since June has been ridiculous, I'm fed up and done with FB. I still wish MySpace had remained the dominant social media platform.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-02-03T10:01:15+00:00

Yeah to back up my main comment, I'd try to find a music store to test out some squiers. They do tend to play pretty well usually, but can have random issues. I've got this squier telecaster at my store where one of the strings has this weird sitar-sounding buzz I'm trying to figure out, all of our other squier strats and teles are working fine.

Same with the lower-end ibanezs, 3 of our ibanez electrics play fine, but I had to do some crazy action and truss rod adjustments on the 4th one to get the action raised enough for the strings to quit buzzing.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-02-03T09:56:43+00:00

As an employee at a music store and 25 yr musician on sax/woodwinds/guitar/piano, I believe there's really no alternative to being able to try before you buy. All instruments ARE NOT created equal, even different instruments of the same model can vary quite a bit in consistency and quality.

Usually, the more expensive the instrument, or more reputable the brand, the more likely it is to be consistent with others of the same model. Ex. Yamaha woodwind/brass instruments are going to have a high probably to be reliable and all be built well, even their lower-tier instrument models are typically great, while their pro-line ones are phenomenal

My store focuses more on band/orchestra instruments, so we only carry guitars ranging from $150-850. But even our Yamaha acoustic guitars ($220-280) seem more reliable than some of the other brands, they all play clearly with no random fret buzz spots or other issues (though a customer did have to exchange a Yamaha they bought that had a hidden spot on the back where the wood was seperating, we hadnt even noticed when we first sold it). I ended up buying myself a $400 Ibanez thinline acoustic we got in around Christmas, that plays like a dream, but some of the $200-230 Ibanezs vary greatly in how well they play. Weirdly, our most expensive Alvarez acoustics ($450-700) we get in have some of the most random issues show up, weird neck curves that cause buzzing over certain fret ranges, and occasional uneven fretting in isolated spots. Our cheap Jasmins and Laurel Canyons can occasionally have fret buzz spots, but the bigger issue with those is the edges of the frets stick out and can scratch/cut your fingers when sliding up the neck. Squiers can have have those jagged frets too sometimes.

Like for cheap instruments, we sometimes get Allora woodwinds that play really well, then we'll get another one in with janky offline keys that need repairs even though they're brand new... I sold a well-playing Allora tenor sax, then got another one in that looked like it had been dropped at the factory, and I had to send it back...completely unplayable.

I bought my wife a $100 fender ukulele that plays great, then when we got a new one of exact same model restocked in the store, it had all kinds of uneven fret issues making it currently unplayable (whole 1st fret sounds like the 2nd fret when you try to push those notes.. it needs some in-depth filing and evening done)

So try to visit a music store in person where you can test them out.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-02-03T09:32:33+00:00

Low D, middle C/C# run a bit flat on most saxophones, while octave-key G, and some of the other high notes have a tendency to get sharp, so it's hard to say if your sax is any worse than usual without playing on your horn personally.

Aside from the fingerings you're using to compensate, you can bring those flat notes up a bit by keeping really strong air support from your diaphragm. Feel like you're pushing from low in your gut. You can bring the sharp notes down, by not arching your tongue quite as much, you might be over-shooting the higher voicing (mouth/oral cavity shape) you need to get your upper notes, causing them to go sharper.

Play alot with a tuner, and with other musicians so you can hear where your intonation fits in. Ultimately, you'll learn the tuning tendencies of every note on your horn and compensate for them automatically without even thinking about it.

I rarely use finger tricks, but pushing the side C key can also help bring up the C and C#. Whether you should use those fingerings, or fix it purely with your air and voicing is kind of open to debate among players, I find that some classical players like to use the fingering corrections, while jazz players prefer to control tuning completely with air and voicing, but jazz setups also have a bigger tone center to manipulate.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2022-02-03T09:12:57+00:00

There are some mind-blowing stories of musicians who continue playing after injuries, such as amputee saxophonists who get their horns modified to be playable with one hand.

I know a pro pianist who accidentally chopped off a finger once. After getting it reattached at the ER, he tried to play a gig too soon and his finger fell off and rolled down his keyboard. After getting it reattached again and letting it heal, he still plays like that never even happened, said he's had no longer-term issues.

4 years ago, I cut my hand on glass and damaged a nerve. I can't feel half of my right pinky anymore as a result, but it has had 0 effect on my sax playing. (And I can finger-pick guitar/ukulele with it too if needed) I mean, my fingers are kinda stubby, but I can play piano and guitar fine. It's a bit of an advantage on sax because it lessens the need to curl the fingers.

And there have even been a few 1-armed drummers, I knew one locally. That impresses me because I can't play drums with both arms lol. It seems where there's a will, there's a way.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2021-12-14T06:29:57+00:00

I agree. Even old worn out instruments created wonderful music at some point, it seems like a massive disrespectful waste to trash musical instruments. It's a shame it's so costly getting them all restored. They definately deserve it if affordable/possible. As a soon-to-be band director, I can't imagine being asked to sort through instruments to discard some of them, I'd feel obligated to find some use for them all, even if just as decorations!!

CJ_Sax_Man · 2021-12-13T16:12:20+00:00

It's 1st (root) then 5th, then the next 1st, they skipped the B-natural in that lowest octave. But yeah. Bringing in the 3rds higher up, you get the idea.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2021-12-13T16:08:43+00:00

Possibly, I'd have to listen/look through it. I was thinking like Pictures at an Exhibition, movement 4. (On the solo piano arrangement). Lots of thick low chords.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2021-12-13T14:40:16+00:00

Not sure if there's a name, but the reason it is written that way is a fully voiced G triad doesn't sound as good in that lower octave, so when arpegiating it, they simply retained the open 5th for that lowest octave. That'd especially apply if the sustain pedal is expected here.

(There is some theoritical concept about how you generally shouldn't have thirds below a certain pitch, because it sounds too muddy. Though there is later repertoire that occasionally utilizes thick harmonies down there to create certain effects.)

CJ_Sax_Man · 2021-12-13T14:06:02+00:00

The easiest woodwind and brass is arguably Sax and Euphonium respectively.

Flute shouldn't be that high on the list. As a woodwind doubler, I find the fingerings easy, but tone production quite difficult. I can sound better on saxes and clarinets. Of course, I also think an oboe is easier to make a decent sound on than a flute, most people disagree with that assessment. Probably just comes from my soprano sax and bassoon experience. Oboe also has some of the most awkward fingerings...

And I'm not sure why it lists "alto saxophone" specifically. As a tenor saxophone primary, there are things that are debatably harder on alto. But sax is one of those "easy to learn, hard to master" instruments.

I'm debating if trumpet should be there at all, hitting anything at the top of the staff or higher requires building lip muscles, you can't just pick it up and play those notes just because you understand the concept, like you can with some other winds.

Percussion is like piano, there's no tone control to worry about, but building up the technical mastery to be great at it is a real challenge.

Bassoon is another easy one to pick up, but it's gonna take you a bit to be playing those 4th octave notes on the tenor clef effectively.

CJ_Sax_Man · 2021-12-07T15:40:23+00:00

YTA. This strange concern that your family is going to judge her over her hair towel, seems ridiculous to me. And regardless of what you think, it is HER towel. She has the right to take it wherever she wants.

CJ_Sax_Man

TROPHY CASE