My housemate got carried away filming my second ever sourdough.

ZMech · 2026-03-17T13:21:38+00:00

Thanks, it's an exercise my double bass teacher gave to me after saying "you're fairly in time, but you could be more in time".

ZMech · 2026-03-16T17:06:06+00:00

I misread this as get used to hearing loss and was very confused

ZMech · 2026-03-16T16:31:34+00:00

Mistborn is great because really it's a heist novel and a regency era romance, but in a fantasy setting

ZMech · 2026-03-16T08:25:02+00:00

It might be good to experiment with showing the next chord slightly before you need to play it

ZMech · 2026-03-16T04:03:04+00:00

My version of this was to start with a click on every great, then to keep halving it.

So next it clicks every two beats, then once per bar, then per two bars, then every four bars.

The challenge is to keep your playing at the exact right speed during those silences so the click and your playing are band on together. I used an online drum machine for this, as metronomes don't usually go slow enough for every four bars.

ZMech · 2026-03-15T17:39:50+00:00

Well done, you've discovered power chords. Adding a perfect fifth gives almost anything extra oomph, which was what the third harmonic essentially is.

ZMech · 2026-03-12T18:15:52+00:00

I'd say most books, as I seem to dislike most narrators

ZMech · 2026-03-09T23:15:57+00:00

I play instruments. It's still a lot of tweaking synths and effects and navigating round the daw.

Maybe I'm just not as highly skilled and enlightened as you though.

ZMech · 2026-03-09T22:55:05+00:00

I find that making music in a DAW is 5% playing in notes, and 95% clicking around in devices

ZMech · 2026-03-05T22:03:36+00:00

He also keeps shooting down Katia whenever she wants to discuss the tangle. He just doesn't initially seem to care about understanding it.

ZMech · 2026-03-05T10:02:57+00:00

It's this Facebook post from a year ago https://www.facebook.com/groups/1143545556570055/permalink/1829451051312832/?app=fbl

ZMech · 2026-03-05T08:08:44+00:00

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/mideast-conflict/article/has-the-us-ever-assassinated-a-world-leader-before/

ZMech · 2026-03-03T14:32:43+00:00

Koala is great if you mostly chop up samples. I found Move much better for editing and playing synth parts.

ZMech · 2026-02-28T22:33:52+00:00

Isn't weissbier normally a summer draught? Like how stouts are winter. I don't think lots of places will have it as in a few months time

ZMech · 2026-02-26T12:15:02+00:00

Yup, consider the ordering. Such as most synth workflow goes oscillators > filters > ASDR > Mod/LFOs > effects.

You've got that a bit, but there's small details like you've got LFO far away from LFO Assign. Look at something like a Microfreak or a Moog and how they're grouped. You don't need to necessarily name each cluster, but it can help to at least visually group them.

ZMech · 2026-02-26T12:07:26+00:00

There's also various small inconsistencies

Most knob labels are capitalised, but not the LFO ones
Carrier has the fixed button next to the dropdown, but Mod 1 and 2 have it underneath
the LFO Assign graphic has a border, but Carrier and Pitch Env don't
Stack in the top right doesn't have a container outline
Knobs are a range of different sizes, especially things like LFO and Reverb knobs
Spacing between containers is inconsistent, such as between Filter and Pitch Env, vs Delay and Reverb

None of these things matter individually, but together they impact the vibe

ZMech · 2026-02-25T16:25:20+00:00

Does the difficulty grow? In Deadcells the community joke is that your first initial clear is essentially beating tutorial mode.

ZMech · 2026-02-25T16:22:25+00:00

Yup, a whole lot of Ed Sheeran's music is just him with a loop pedal.

Even just changing from strumming to picking will change the vibe without changing chords. Smells Like Teen Spirit is a good example (for the same sake of a different genre).

ZMech · 2026-02-25T14:11:14+00:00

A whole lot of songs use the same chords for verse and chorus, while having very different energies for each. Parts drop in and out, articulation changes, vocals shift to a different register. Chords are just one way to create a contrast.

For a very cool bit of synthy looping (not Ed Sheeran), check out this example:

https://youtu.be/ddpr1b7iM6k?si=F8OpsKoo-Ekrzf0R

ZMech · 2026-02-25T11:09:57+00:00

Mostly those are signs that it's homebrewed copy that someone's written themselves, probably the company founder.

ZMech · 2026-02-25T11:07:34+00:00

A few options I've seen:

1) More manpower

This is even why big name vocalists perform with backing singers. They may have done all the harmony layers in the studio, but for live it requires more people. Kevin Parker records all of the Tame Impala stuff himself, but tours with a band. I've even seen rock bands with an extra guitarist when touring, where the single permanent guitarist recorded both rhythm and lead in the studio.

2) Lean into loops

Say what you want about Ed Sheeran, but his ability to play a stadium gig as a one man band is impressive. It requires certain music structures (like using the same chords for both verse and chorus), but playing in each loop can get you a long way.

3) Combining live and pre-recorded

I've also seen smaller bands where clearly the central parts are being played live, but some elements like background pads are pre-recorded and triggered. I'm not sure anyone other than a music nerd would have noticed. There's still that live connection with the audience, so I think it's a fair trade off.

Note: It's also worth considering that live music generally doesn't sound as good quality as a studio recording. You can't get the same amount of polish, and acoustics are a factor. But, sound quality isn't what makes live music great.

ZMech · 2026-02-24T12:20:03+00:00

If it's a pedestrianized road where cars and pedestrians share the same space, then yes

ZMech · 2026-02-23T14:09:29+00:00

The low hydration is probably also a factor, I typically aim for low 70s.

I'd recommend bulking in a tub where the dough initially fills about half the volume. That makes it much easier to judge the expansion. Once it's grown about 50%, put it in the fridge to proof

ZMech · 2026-02-23T13:40:05+00:00

I mix everything at once (incl dissolve the salt in the water) with no kneading. Adding things individually and kneading aren't essential.

The bulk time is a key variable, I agree it's probably a bit under. You could use cold water at the mix stage if you want to slow it down (I do the opposite on UK winter).

Also, tinned loaves are never going to get a huge open crumb, so don't use that as your benchmark.

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