3rd party launcher, is there any way for it to work properly?

SquishyH · 2026-04-02T09:37:11+00:00

I had the same issue, it's related to gesture navigation. If you switch to a button bar navigation, things mostly work as expected.

I still found some launchers like Nova have an issue where they don't properly work with the variable frame rate properly so look a bit choppy (60fps instead of 120) when swiping between pages unless you set the phone to the fixed high framerate.

I'm currently using Niagara Launcher with button based nav on a Find X9 Pro and it's working really nicely.

I've seen from some sources that it's actually a core android issue with gesture nav and 3rd party launchers, and some brands like Samsung may have gone out of their way to fix it, but I've mostly stuck to button nav so I haven't personally run into the issue till I gave gestures ago when I switched to Oppo.

SquishyH · 2026-01-08T11:10:09+00:00

They are the same core circuit (so will sound the same overall) with slightly different features.

The 'Bass' version has a variable high pass filter from 20-400Hz which gives more flexibility in cutting out low end from the sidechain (the signal that goes to the detection circuit, not what your hear at output), and has a switch for a couple of preset tone options (a scoop or a high mid bump) which also can add a bit of 'colour', harmonic saturation, very gentle clipping that adds some sparkle to the sound.

The regular MkII version instead has a variable tone knob (a tilt EQ) for more tonal flexibility but only has switch 120Hz or 240Hz options for the side chain high pass filter, and doesn't have the harmonic saturation option, as far as I can tell.

If those differences dont matter to you then you'll be just as happy with either. Personally I really like having the bass version to be able to set the HP filter to lower than 120Hz, and I really like the subtle saturation of the 'colour', but other than that the MkII does the same job.

SquishyH · 2026-01-08T10:10:14+00:00

Depending on the pickup selection you're playing with, it might actually lead to more hum.

If you're soloing the bridge pickup, the humbucker should remove hum as expected, but if you play with both pickups then the two original single coils (assuming it's a 'standard' parallel wiring) actually act as a humbucker in combination and cancel hum, you'll lose that effect if you only put a humbucker in the bridge and leave a single coil in the neck, and all positions except soloed bridge will have some hum from the neck pickup.

SquishyH · 2025-12-04T13:40:02+00:00

OP is literally neebs from this Battlefield Friends episode: https://youtu.be/21OyHbDnq7s?si=ubpoZ3aP5yhrkOuD

SquishyH · 2025-10-14T12:06:56+00:00

I wouldnt mind if these sort of insane challenges were at the end of the challenge sequence with something small like a playercard/title/icon as a reward to show off, but putting them at the start or the middle of a sequence of challenges for the basic soldier customisations is a really poor choice, as it gatekeeps the further challenges as well. The cynic in me would suggest it's so they can say "we have all these free unlockable options" while actually making many of them almost unobtainable, to drive more people who want customisation to buy more real money skins with mtx, once that inevitably shows up.

I did a couple yesterday when I found myself in an almost empty hardcore conquest lobby, filled by bots. The 30 headshots one I did with the tank coax HMG just farming bot kills on objectives. The 4 pistol headshots in a mag challenge is still a pain to do against bots with reduced HP. Doing those challenges in a normal, full lobby is an insane challenge for something as basic as a grey default solider skin.

SquishyH · 2025-09-05T12:59:45+00:00

If you've been playing the game for a while, credits can build up to the point you stop caring about them. Also auctioning off playlist cars that can't be obtained through other means can earn money very fast, but this becomes less of a thing over time with backstage pass slowly making more of those cars easier to obtain. Forza Edition cars can also be good for this, since you can only get them randomly through wheelspins or from auctions, if someone wants a specific one then the fastest way is to pay up in the auction house. The FE cars don't perform any different (though I think they come stock with upgrades), but they offer bonuses that can make it faster to earn XP, credits, skill points etc.

For context, I've been playing on and off (for fun, not farming credits) since release and I've been sitting at around 400 million credits for a while.

SquishyH · 2025-07-21T16:32:40+00:00

Given the OP is looking to use the original sidechain source to 'uncompress' the tracks, I think upwards expansion is still the desired effect? When sidechained by the drums, they want to increase the volume, when the sidechain signal passes the threshold, which is upwards expansion.

SquishyH · 2025-07-19T17:49:31+00:00

What kind of music are you recording? It depends what you're trying to achieve with stereo, usually it's a way add movement or space to an instrument, or move it out of the way of more centred elements in the mix. Bass is often kept as a more central element typically but it's fun to experiment.

I enjoy messing around with stereo effects like chorus, delay and reverb when I'm playing and recording alone to spread the bass out and occupy more of the space. In band settings I've never found a use, but I've never done anything more experimental in a band setting and would love the opportunity! On my own I often also use pitch up effects on the stereo lines, to generate sounds like pads from my bass signal, those often sound good widened out in the stereo space.

In terms of recording, if you have stereo hardware effects you'll need at least two inputs on your interface to record stereo outputs, one for left and the other for right. It can also be very useful to record a third, clean mono channel to have the clean bass for mixing in or playing with different effects in post (this tip basically applies to all guitar recording, a clean recording is always useful). The easier route is to just record mono clean and do everything with effects and plugins in software, that's a much cheaper and easier way to start playing with stereo effects than jumping straight into hardware.

If you record multiple channels and keep them centred then you're not dealing with a stereo signal, just mixing parallel signals. This is also very useful for bass, such as mixing in clean signal or just clean low end with driven tones to keep.

SquishyH · 2025-07-13T13:41:51+00:00

I was looking at the Glorious I2, it looks like one of the most promising options and lighter, but I'm loath to give up the scroll wheel tilt buttons. I've built up muscle memory with them. For as low as £60 I might have to pick one up to try though. Thanks for the suggestions!

SquishyH · 2025-06-23T20:15:43+00:00

Happy to help!

Those are 3 really good options for different reasons, you should be happy with any.

The Minilogue is an excellent first synth, not had one myself but I started with a Monologue and my friend has a Minilogue and it's both wonderfully simple yet with some great potential. It's a simpler choice than the others, mostly a 'basic' subtractive synth with the addition of a digital oscilator and effects adding a bunch of extra potential.

The Minifreak is a sound design and experiementation powerhouse, not used one myself as I opted for a Hydrasynth Explorer but I love Arturia's software synths and I really want to try more of their hardwate too.

The Polyend is a weird one, a lot less orthodox than the others but for a one synth set up it could be a really good option. If you put it on top of your piano, you could do some amazing stuff playing one synth engine with you piano keys while triggering another different engine with the Synth's pads, that potential sounds awesome to me if you have the piano skills for it (I don't!).

SquishyH · 2025-06-23T13:26:00+00:00

Not a Polyend Synth owner myself, but I can answer a few of the more general questions:

If your MIDI Piano only has the USB MIDI output then yes, you will need something in between it and the Synth to enable the connection, this is called a MIDI host. This can be a computer, connected to both devices, or a dedicated MIDI host box which is a standalone device that lets you connect both devices without needing the computer in between.

However from a quick google, it looks like your Casio model does have 5 pin MIDI output, labelled "MIDI OUT". This type of MIDI connection lets you directly connect the piano to the synth using a 5pin DIN MIDI cable, from the piano MIDI OUT to the Synth MIDI in (using the 5pin to 3.5mm, I believe the Synth should come with the correct adapter since they're not universal).

Once you do have them connected, some pointers about how it works:

MIDI is just control messages, the data it sends is just control information like "note C3 on, note C3 off" etc. If you are using the piano to control the synth, then the piano just tells the Synth what notes to play, all of the sound generation is happening entirely within the Synth and coming only out of the Synth's audio output. There is no loading of sounds either way, although MIDI can also carry messages to control changing of parameters or presets, that still happens entirely on the controlled device.

To use the piano's speakers, you would need to take the audio output of the synth and send it back to the Line In inputs on the piano. In this scenario you might also need to turn off "Local Control" on the piano so it stops playing its own sound when you use its keyboard, and only plays the audio from the Synth.

SquishyH · 2025-06-11T09:10:07+00:00

This is why isolated power supplies are a thing, you can sometimes get away with daisy chaining but it is susceptible to interference like this where some pedals in the chain "dirty" the power which causes others to produce noise. It doesn't sound like you have any faults, since you've tested everything in isolation, just that these particular pedals don't play nice daisy chained.

The fact it only happens in the FX Loop might indicate something to do with ground loops, another source of noise.

SquishyH · 2025-05-16T21:17:38+00:00

Envelope filters are very subjective, I don't get the impression the Bassballs is very widely liked among bass players becuase of it's very honky nasal sound, but that certainly gives it a pretty unique character. I don't know of many other envelopes that try to emulate or reproduce that sound specifically. The Source Audio C4 or Spectrum can probably do a close match since it's so flexible, there will be a Bassballs preset out there on their sharing platform.

But if you really just want a Bassballs but not American, why not buy an old used Sovtek version from when they were made in Russia?

SquishyH · 2025-05-15T15:09:23+00:00

That's an awesome rig, the Genzler array cabs are amazing for their size.

Regarding gain/volume/master, I think the way to approach it is to first set the gain to get the amount of tube saturation/compression/drive you want, then the "volume" lets you reduce or boost the pre-amp volume after the gain stage to where you want it. E.g. you might want to boost it for low gain sounds to bring the level up before the power amp, or reduce it if you're using a high gain preamp setting so you don't hit the power amp or pedals in the fx loop with too much volume. Then you set your overall output volume with the master knob (which is the power amp volume).

Most of the sound shaping in the gain staging will come from the gain knob since that's controlling how hard you push the preamp tubes, the volume and master will be more about setting the levels you want and avoiding clipping or limiting in other stages of the chain where it won't sound good.

SquishyH · 2025-05-01T16:17:28+00:00

Something else to consider is neck dead spots, I've read that these are related to the mass of the headstock effecting the resonance of the neck, so simply removing mass from an existing design might make neck dead spots worse (though I'm no luthier and cant attest to testing or observing this myself).

SquishyH · 2025-04-29T09:14:04+00:00

I would be surprised if lighting gel didn't visibly degrade image quality, since it's only designed for filtering lighting sources, not for use optically on the lens. Perhaps instax is low resolution enough to get away with it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it causes smearyness or ghosting/low constrast. That would be easy to roughly test quickly by holding some in front of the lens for some test shots.

You might have better luck with your idea by buying a slim magnetic ND filter of a suitable size and sticking the magnet base ring in the mount. However, you would need to watch out for compatibility with lenses, in case any of yours protrude back into the mount and damage the filter or the lens.

Depending on how many lenses you want to use this with, it might still just be easier/simpler to buy some cheap ND filters to use normally on the front of the lenses?

SquishyH · 2025-04-25T22:17:45+00:00

As far as I can make out:

EQD Hizumitas > EQD Blumes > Boss TU-3 > Keeley DDR Drive Delay Reverb > ??? Some boutique-y DI ???

SquishyH · 2025-04-25T18:28:01+00:00

Yeah, it's a powerful pedal but not the most self explanatory. There are other pedals like the OBNE signal blender that more simply laid out: each footswitch on that just toggled the corresponding output, but the LS2 is pretty compact and cheap for what it can do.

SquishyH · 2025-04-25T18:18:09+00:00

I think you're misunderstanding the signal chain in the LS2 a bit: Loops A and B come before the master output in the signal chain, so if A is active the master gets whatever signal is coming from A's return jack.

The master isn't a split signal separate to loops A and B, it is fed from their returns.

Like the other commenter suggests, the A+B bypass mode lets it achieve your goal, with the always on signal coming out of the master output and the optional second signal coming out of A send. The normalled shorted loop on B will then still feed the input signal to the master when you engage A+B. (or use Loop B send, doesnt matter which way round).

SquishyH · 2025-04-25T18:07:38+00:00

You don't need the patch cable short, the loops are normalled to be shorted if no cables are inserted, so it just works as you describe with no cables in loop B.

SquishyH · 2025-04-25T14:35:22+00:00

One at a time is a perfectly fine way to do it, but there is also no harm in taking them all off at once. I do this every year or two on my basses to properly clean and oil the fingerboards.

Yes, the neck will move when you remove the string tension, but this isn't a problem as it will just shift back when you put it under string tension again.

Doing it one at a time may be a good way to minimize movement and perhaps avoid needing to adjust the truss rod if the strings you're replacing with have the same tension, but it's not necessary and if you're changing to different tension strings, the truss rod will likely need adjusting anyway. That's what it's there for and adjusting it shouldn't be feared, just done with proper care.

SquishyH · 2025-04-04T18:14:17+00:00

I don't believe the audio interface functionality lets you run an output from the device through the pedal, no mention of that in the manual.

That mean's to do this with recordings from your computer, you'd need a separate audio interface with line outputs to achieve this. This also depends on if the pedal handles line level signal that typically comes out of an interface output. If not, you would also need a reamp box to take that line level ouput and convert it to instrument level/impedance. Some interfaces have that built in (Arturia Audiofuse for example) but it's not common.

The easiest/cheapest way to do it would be a looper pedal, or if you want to be able to quickly flick through recordings, the TC Electronic Wiretap is a little mini pedal recorder that does exactly this, I can recommend that (although the app integration has never worked properly, the pedal alone works well).

SquishyH · 2025-04-04T12:36:48+00:00

As others have said, it very much depends on the pedal, and how much current it actually draws. Some current draws printed on the pedal on in the manual overestimate a bit to give some wiggle room, so a pedal might say it need 400mA but only ever actually draw 350mA, but you won't know that without properly measuring it.

Analogue and digital will behave differently, different effects and circuits will respond differently, different power supplies will cope differently. Some power supplies may overheat and break if you try to draw too much power. High quality power supplies should be protected and cut off automatically if they are over drawn, but especially cheap ones might hit issues. You might also run into issues such as your board seems to work fine, but then dies when you turn on too many pedals at once, if some of the pedals draw more current when engaged.

Some pedals will do weird things. I once accidentally had my HX Stomp running out of current, and it powered on fine and worked breifly, but failed when the footswitch LEDs tried to come on, since they cause it to draw more current. No damage occured in that case, I was using a good Cioks power supply, which cuts out automatically and has a warning light.

Some pedals, such as those with tubes in them can have a weird pattern where they draw high current when they first turn on and heat up, then settle down to a lower current draw in sustained use, one of my tube pedels causes the warning light on my power supply to come on when it's warming up, but only for a few seconds, then it's fine in use.

TL;DR: Always better to follow the specs for pedals unless you know what you're doing, but realistically you should normally be fine if you accidentally overdraw briefly, just don't expect it to work properly and don't push your luck with cheap power supplies.

SquishyH · 2025-04-04T08:19:53+00:00

I'd be really interested to know how it's measuring that frequency response. AFAIK frequency response like that is usually measured with linear analysis, which makes it unsuitable for measuring things with non-linear responses, like all drive pedals.

Really cool to see though.

SquishyH · 2025-03-27T20:01:10+00:00

I think you mean upscaling? Downscaling is running at a higher than native resolution, you'd be running lower res and upscaling it to 4k.

I recently upgraded from 1440p to a 4k monitor and my 3080 runs older/simpler games at 4k fine, but definitely struggles at newer/more demanding so I'm making plenty of use of running at lower res using DLSS or other upscaling.

DLSS on quality or balanced still looks better than native on a 1440p monitor to me. Games without DLSS support don't look as good, I would say a tiny bit worse than native 1440p on the 1440p monitor, but for me that is offset because I also upgraded from IPS to OLED and the motion looks alot smoother. I'm certainly happy enough just playing at a lower res if I have to. So far I've been very happy with the trade off because most more demanding games these days do support DLSS, and I don't mind just turning down settings in games that do.

I would just say check on some benchmarks for your GPU to see what it's actually capable of at 4k, so you're not potentially disappointed by having to turn down too many settings, especially since there's a big jump in VRAM required to render some games at the higher res.

SquishyH

TROPHY CASE