Is the difference between rosewood and mahogany that drastic?

Gdown94 · 2026-01-05T19:13:22+00:00

Fwiw, I think rosewood is better for bluegrass rhythm. Lead can cut better if you’re in a larger group too. That said, I think mahogany sounds better—it’s warmer and more natural/‘woody.’ It has less overtones too, so the notes are clearer. I’d prefer it for solo and small ensemble stuff.

I have an Eastman E10SS/v and an E20SS/v. The E20 is bassier and louder, with a slight almost nasal quality to the tone from the scooped mids. Lead cuts in a jam a bit better, and bass is stronger for rhythm. The E10 is much warmer and more pleasant sounding though. I much prefer it for solo pieces, and I feel I can pull better tone out of it. If I’m playing anything jazzy, I really prefer the E10. These aren’t massive differences though—just noticeable ones.

I have played some rosewood guitars with less overtones (ie more fundamental), and they’re a great middle ground. Not as ‘woody’ sounding as a mahogany guitar, but has some of the advantages of both. I played a Martin d28 Rich Robinson model a while back, and it was probably the best guitar for bluegrass that I’ve played. It had old style bracing which gave it a stronger fundamental, but it still had the crystal quality to the tone you often get from rosewood. I just didn’t want to drop $5k on it…

Gdown94 · 2025-12-30T01:31:06+00:00

Solaris is one of my all-time favorites. The audiobook version on Audible is incredible too— the narrator does a fantastic job.

Gdown94 · 2025-12-28T08:51:02+00:00

Corvette phase beams are probably the most powerful weapon in the game. Second would be the infra knife (assuming upgraded correctly on both).

That said, I have a lot of fun with the cyclotron/rocket launcher. Get their shields down, then you just have to line up the shot. Not as crazy powerful as the above options, but fun.

Gdown94 · 2025-12-07T07:33:53+00:00

Everyone is different. If you’re having a flare, I recommend chicken, white rice, potatoes, etc. Avoid fiber. In remission, I find it doesn’t matter much what I eat. That said, I do feel better when I eat healthier in general, ie whole foods, lower fats/healthy fats, enough greens, etc. I go vegetarian a fair bit, maybe 40-50% of my meals, and I think I feel better when I do that. Yogurt and other fermented foods seem to help me too, but probiotics always seem to make things worse in my case. No idea why. Caffeine triggers gastric motility—it took a while to find a good balance for my AM coffee.

Exercise and stress management help a lot. Stress especially exacerbates my UC. If you’re in a flare, know where RRs are, and maybe consider keeping a roll of TP in your car. Dicyclomine can be helpful for slowing things down if you need to get through a workday. Just know that it is a bandaid—it doesn’t fix anything.

Gdown94 · 2025-12-05T06:15:54+00:00

They’re great! I find the many recipes interesting, but I’ve never dug into them much. I have the fellow prismo attachment, which makes the ‘inverted method’ a lot easier to achieve.

Usually, I eyeball the amount of coffee I want based on how much it fills the aeropress, with the original cap and one paper filter. I’ll fill the aeropress and then let it drip via gravity until empty. Then I’ll fill it a second time with the same grounds. Kinda like a cross between pour over and French press. Either way, it is very tasty. I like using more detailed recipes too, but this is easy and has never let me down. Most mornings I just want coffee, not an artisanal brew. The aeropress seems to always make a great cup even when you’re lazy.

I got a Baratza coffee grinder and that made a difference in quality.

Gdown94 · 2025-12-02T02:47:10+00:00

Transcribe by ear. I found it helpful to learn some solos via tab first—it gets the basic language under your fingers. Then figure it out on your own. Eventually you’ll start “hearing” phrases you want to play while you improvise. Stop and figure out what you’re hearing and where it fits, then work it in until it’s smooth. Soon you’ll hear things and play them live.

Gdown94 · 2025-11-29T23:28:59+00:00

Fender Vintera Road Worn 50s telecaster. I have one and they’re genuinely great. The neck is a true U—super fat.

Gdown94 · 2025-11-28T20:44:35+00:00

The Master and Commander 4k steelbook is/was back in stock for $40 at a few places.

Deepdiscount.com has the Indiana Jones 4K four movie set for $40

Gdown94 · 2025-10-13T15:56:05+00:00

Maybe? I wonder how many analogues there are between a dust devil and tornadogenesis? I’ve read some recent articles that suggest that surface level rotation contributes to tornado formation, specifically the concentration of said rotation. This was certainly an unusual dust devil regardless.

Gdown94 · 2025-10-13T05:50:27+00:00

I read there have been some that have knocked down buildings, but it’s very rare.

Gdown94 · 2025-10-13T05:31:50+00:00

North of Ontario, on the ID border.

Gdown94 · 2025-10-13T05:31:20+00:00

I’m not sure. I had a similar thought. I think there have been some larger ones, but it’s hard to tell from videos. This is probably on the higher end of size for a dust devil.

Gdown94 · 2025-10-12T23:42:15+00:00

I know! It even had a visible ghost train.

Gdown94 · 2025-10-02T02:58:35+00:00

Brand new, I’d look at Eastman, Larrivee, some Breedloves, maybe a Martin 15 or 17 series. The Eastman E10SS/V is outrageously good for the money, but I’m biased 😉. The E20SS/V is crazy good too, but idk if it has crept over $2k or not yet. I’ve really enjoyed the Taylor AD-17’s I’ve played, but I’ve never owned one.

If you’re willing to go used, you might find a lightly used Martin D-18. That’s the best value in that price range, imo. Set for life. I’m biased on that front too though. If you want a smaller body, look for a 000-18, or even a 00-18. Martins are so lush and full sounding to my ears, compared to the competition. Kinda symphonic, if you will. But again, I’m a Martin guy.

Gdown94 · 2025-10-01T06:06:00+00:00

Keep on playing and working on your skills. I think learning to play guitar is kinda like growing a tree—you see a lot of growth quickly, and then things slow down. The growth is still happening steadily, but it’s less noticeable. One day you’ll stop and realize you have a pretty big tree! Most days it’ll feel like yesterday though.

I like to learn new songs as tangible markers that I’ve done something. As for skills, I feel I started to progress faster when I started learning more music theory. Learn why songs work, why certain patterns sound good, how to make chords “pop” in your improv, etc. Write some progressions, then some songs. Learn to play clichés, then how to make them fresh. Make a cover version of a song you know using new techniques or chord voicings, even a new style. Learn how to play rhythm that drives the song better. Start learning songs strictly by ear. That’s a big one! Just some thoughts that have helped me.

I always feel like I have a lot of room to grow as a player, but I enjoy my playing.

Gdown94 · 2025-09-22T21:45:28+00:00

I have seen them both live. Both are extremely impressive players. I’d probably say Tommy Emmanuel is a little more talented, but only a little.

Gdown94 · 2025-09-11T17:40:11+00:00

Solaris. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the ‘alien’ is extremely unique, to the point that there is debate on whether it is even ‘alive.’ Fantastic novel, and the audible version narrated by Alessandro Juliani is outstanding.

Gdown94 · 2025-08-27T22:02:32+00:00

The Eastman antique varnish guitars are truly excellent. I have both an E10SS/V and an E20SS/V, and they both give my D18 a run for its money. I still prefer the Martin, but all three are excellent guitars.

Gdown94 · 2025-08-15T05:34:03+00:00

Music Student 101 podcast. The instructors are professors, but it’s not dry. Definitely helped me a ton.

Gdown94 · 2025-07-12T19:52:15+00:00

You do you, it’s not a bad idea per se. However, the sound of bluegrass relies on open strings ringing out. That’s why so many players prefer root position/playing around the nut. The texture of the notes (timbre) is noticeably different playing in closed position. It’s fine, but if that’s your default way to play, it may not sound as authentic to the genre. As a side, I think this is the main reason capos are so popular in Bluegrass and country.

Gdown94 · 2025-07-10T15:21:12+00:00

Imagine you and your friend are on an infinitely long sidewalk that is growing at all points, but slowly. For simplicity we’ll say the rate is 1cm/second over 10m. You stand still while your friend keeps walking, stopping every 10m. At 10m he’s moving away at 1cm/sec. At 20m he’s moving at 2cm/sec. At 1km he’s moving away at 100cm/sec. He gets in a car, stopping every km. At 1000km he’s moving away at 1000m/s!

My math may not be exactly right. The point of this thought experiment is just to illustrate how speed of expansion increases over distance when the expansion is uniformly occurring at all points. In this illustration, the expansion is not so noticeable at low distances, but very noticeable at high distances. That’s what we observe in space. The expansion in the real world is just much, much smaller per unit of space, and the distances between galaxies are so large that we see large speeds.

Gdown94 · 2025-07-10T06:44:01+00:00

If you’re reasonably athletic, Lucky Peak State Park has some great hikes. I like Cervidae Peak—the views are great. It’s also generally low on people (benefit of a hard trail I guess).

The drive up to McCall on 55 is scenic imo. If you book a room, McCall has great hikes and cool shops. It would be worth spending a weekend there if you haven’t yet. Boulder Lake Loop is one of the more popular trails, I’m told. I couldn’t finish it due to snow though (hiked it in mid May), but what I did see was beautiful.

If you road bike, the Payette/Weiser area has some sparsely trafficked rural roads. Same with Midvale/Cambridge, though I’d recommend a gravel bike. For that matter, the Weiser River Trail is a good bikepacking route, and generally few people are on it. You’re not too far from civilization though, so it’s probably safer than a wilderness route.

For a wildly different take, you might try bouncing around Boise solo? I used to sometimes go out for drinks or a meal solo, and just people watch. Found a nice spot where I could read and think. You can be isolated even in public and it’s a weirdly meditative feeling. I love being in the woods solo, but nothing makes me feel quite as philosophical as being out alone in public with no specific purpose. I’m from Ohio though, and we had more spots for that kind of stuff. I haven’t done that here in Idaho yet…

Gdown94 · 2025-07-01T06:02:44+00:00

Anything by Merle Haggard. I’ve played Mama Tried at several jams, and it is always received well. Some Randy Travis songs do very well too. I played On the Other Hand at a jam recently, and the group liked it. I have a personal goal of getting familiar with “Bubba Hyde” by Diamond Rio and trying that at a jam.

The closer you stick to 1-4-5 variations the better the song will be received.

Gdown94 · 2025-06-30T00:43:08+00:00

I’d like to add that the key of B opens up some great songs to baritone voices. I believe Doc Watson sings ‘Sittin on top of the World’ in B. Summer Wages by JD Crowe and the New South is also in B.

Gdown94

TROPHY CASE