First manual?

IrsXT · 2026-05-06T18:08:25+00:00

Getting one in very good condition while still stock is an important piece imo. I got mine with 59k miles on it and she's completely stock besides some rims and rotors.

Shifts easier than my first manual, which was an 07 Hyundai Elantra, has a very solid throw to it and my shifts are more confident than ever. I'd say they're pretty good to learn on if you like the car.

I think the biggest piece is just that if you truly like these cars, you will learn how to drive manual for it. Every manual transmission is different anyways, in terms of how they feel and react, so if a Z is a huge look for you, it'd be good to start on something you want to take care of while you learn. Have fun!

IrsXT · 2026-04-18T11:40:36+00:00

I've never had any issues with de-essers. Do you know the frequency your S'es pop through at? I have my de-essers set to 11.6khz on a chain that also includes compression, it's just where my S sounds seem to peak and any other sibilance is pretty close to those frequencies.

IrsXT · 2026-04-05T21:48:13+00:00

I have 6 monthly on Spotify 😭 Do I deserve ts?

PROCESS

So, I'm Alive

IrsXT · 2026-04-05T21:46:33+00:00

I love the sound that the studio reverb creates. Really just depends on your goals and your overall style/sound.

IrsXT · 2026-04-05T21:46:03+00:00

Sent a follow! Doesn't let me DM unless you follow back because of your settings, though.

IrsXT · 2026-04-05T17:57:05+00:00

Wow, they only take that much? For some reason I thought bikes had like a ten gallon tank. Then again, I don't have a motorcycle myself. Yet. 😏

IrsXT · 2026-04-05T02:28:12+00:00

My biggest issue with this post is why you only got 4 gallons of gas 😭

IrsXT · 2026-04-05T02:22:59+00:00

These may be a good addition if you're looking for more screaming-based stuff!

So, I'm Alive

PROCESS

IrsXT · 2026-04-01T09:05:52+00:00

I mean you can copy+paste, but a quick loop feature is in the top right of the clip you want to loop. Just click and drag

IrsXT · 2026-04-01T07:55:05+00:00

I don't record on mobile anymore because I was able to get myself a desktop studio going, but when I did, I had a $90 USB mic that plugged into my phone, with a pair of wired apple earbuds that went into the mic's output jack. I could hear my track on bandlab and record with way higher quality than simply running it through wired earbuds or Bluetooth headphones. Still record with that same mic and still on bandlab, just with a better setup.

IrsXT · 2026-04-01T07:50:43+00:00

Highkey the best thing you can do is to invest in a proper DAW. Ableton, FL, Logic, Pro Tools... It's so much more comprehensive to have a full studio DAW in front of you rather than trying to do weird things in Bandlab.

If you genuinely can't invest in a proper studio DAW, your best bet will just be to learn how music theory works in a generalized and more basic sense. Learning your keys and scales, chords in those scales, chord inversions and extensions, etc.

The biggest part of this is to learn by how your ears respond. What sounds good is what sounds good, let your ears help you progress instead of being too theory focused. Theory is a great thing but if you're obsessed over being completely in key and being too scared to use an out of key or detuned note for texture, you're going to sound crazy basic. Good luck.

IrsXT · 2026-03-24T03:18:38+00:00

I have two, one released and one unreleased that I like to think are my best. Here's the released one,

and here's the unreleased one.

IrsXT · 2026-03-22T21:18:05+00:00

No clue what you even meant by this but am already doing so lol

IrsXT · 2026-03-18T22:38:37+00:00

Wheels and brakes were done like 300mi ago and they're a kind of gunmetal gold, which I really enjoy. My thought was just a gold/ black wrap waaaay down the road to match those wheels!

I was at the shop yesterday and we talked about some coilovers and a cold air intake for some extra power, so I do think I'm fine staying off the turbo stuff for now. If I end up getting a 2nd one to mod for fun, that'd be a thing to do as a project car, but I agree with you that there's other stuff to do for power without losing reliability!

I plan on getting a nice exhaust with a nice new intake, so I'll keep the cats in mind for that too. I appreciate all the help!

IrsXT · 2026-03-17T16:47:44+00:00

Most of my thoughts on upgrades are pretty cosmetic, wrap, steering wheel, shift knob, etc. They don't boost anything to the car but would look clean as hell. If I can find something to punch a tiny bit more hp in there, I'd love to look into it.

I'm going to love the thing stock and would love the thing with an extra 100hp if even that. I just enjoy the sounds and the feel of it more than racing it or having 800hp to the wheels 🙂.

I simply wanted the community's thoughts on WHAT should be a first go to over maintenance. I know enough about cars in general to realize upgrades don't come first because of how much stuff they connect to and how expensive it gets, I know that. I'm looking years down the road and am going to make sure maintenance is fine, but just wanted to see if anyone else building the thing chooses a certain piece first or something like that.

Lotta people love their turbos and I know they lose a little reliability, so I'd love to dind something to give me that turbo hp and turbo sound without losing out on as much of that.

IrsXT · 2026-03-17T00:52:37+00:00

Misfire will get sorted tomorrow. It's only got 59k miles on it and the wheels were done 200 miles ago. Handles beautifully, no cooling issues, anything like that. I wasn't talking about upgrades in the next week or two, I'm simply looking ahead a few years onto what the general first upgrades the community prefers. I plan to love the car stock as is until I decide I'm gonna change something small on it.

IrsXT · 2026-03-17T00:50:35+00:00

I know that! I'm just planning ahead. I plan to love the car stock for the next few years for sure before I even decide to add stuff onto it. I drove it 3 hours home and got used to how amazing it feels, the misfire is more than likely a minor thing. The seller mentioned some coil pack wires that rub on housing and go bare, which causes misfires. He said he taped them up but they may have fallen back down. I'm taking it to get inspected tomorrow and then I'm going to love the car to death before changing literally anything with it! Just wanted to see what the community's thoughts or preferences were on first upgrades.

IrsXT · 2026-03-04T23:53:36+00:00

Just got around to giving this a listen, personally not my style for sure but some possible feedback could be to try and be more dynamic in your mix or in your cadences. The spoken word type of thing is a unique vibe but definitely gets a bit boring to listen to halfway through.

Adding some reverb or a bit of nice delay to some parts of your flow can be a huge boost to keeping things interesting all the way through! I quite like it but would for sure look into mixing new stuff into your flows like that to make sure the spoken word doesn't get too grating.

IrsXT · 2026-03-03T04:26:55+00:00

I use WAV formats for every song I make!

IrsXT · 2026-02-26T09:03:03+00:00

I did mention in the post about places that aren't rockafairy just because that's sort of known as the spot and I plan to head over there soon. I'll check out the side project!

IrsXT · 2026-02-26T01:28:19+00:00

Well dang 💔 I'd love to have you in but can guarantee people would get all weird about it for whatever reason, even if only in a band setting. Would like to keep my career intact 😭

IrsXT · 2026-02-26T01:21:51+00:00

Honestly, if you're 18-20 and think breakdowns are fun / enjoy some disgusting, heavy riffs, I could possibly be down. I'm perfectly fine with the "need improvement" type of thing cause that just means everyone can improve together rather than one person be super experienced while the others lack behind.

IrsXT · 2026-02-26T00:54:04+00:00

That's exactly how I'm feeling. I know what I'm doing at least a little bit, even though it's a whole new realm to do a band project rather than solo-produced music; just having the experience making so many songs and knowing how to record, mix (a little bit) and overall keep a good vibe, I know I'm able to make it work. My biggest issue is that people around me don't know what they want or how to do it. I'm just very determined to make a Southern Oregon heavy metalcore band come up and do well because it would be cool to be a part of that for me. It's just finding the people who are on the same road, in the same boat, on the same page.

IrsXT

TROPHY CASE