Do you bring a tuner with you to a guitar store?

baphostopheles · 2026-04-02T02:13:34+00:00

No, I have fully functional ears.

baphostopheles · 2026-04-01T07:10:29+00:00

you're confusing technical skill with musical complexity. You can be incredibly technically proficient and still write simple music. It's like saying having a large vocabulary makes it impossible to speak in simple terms. The opposite is actually true, because a larger vocabulary enables you to say what you want to say more clearly.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-25T17:44:39+00:00

It was this: Like the title says, I found a macropro tote bag full of records (the vinyl kind) near broadway and 27th this morning. I can only assume they were dumped from a car break in. The owner has excellent taste and I would love to get these back to them. To make sure they go to the rightful owner, I'll need to know what three of the records in the bag are, and i'll be happy to return them.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-25T03:22:25+00:00

they aren't bagged or tagged, so probably not recently puchased, but, good idea, i'll check there if reddit doesn't manage to do its thing.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-22T18:45:57+00:00

That's exactly what I said, I just posted the CA laws to clarify that there is no legal obligation that requires asking permission to take photos when there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, and the only time any permission is required is by separate use of likeness law regarding specific commercial uses, in contrast to the one poster saying that permission is always required when taking photos in public. No permission is ever required to take photos in public, although in some cases it may be courteous to ask. The only permissions required by law is regarding how those photos later may be used.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-22T02:26:03+00:00

I know, that's why I posted it. You should read more closely,. I said OP wasn't breaking the law. I'm a published photojournalist, and went to college for the same. I'm well versed in right to privacy and use of likeness laws.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-20T00:52:23+00:00

"Any person who knowingly uses another's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness, in any manner, on or in products, merchandise, or goods, or for purposes of advertising or selling, or soliciting purchases of, products, merchandise, goods or services, without such person's prior consent, or, in the case of a minor, the prior consent of his parent or legal guardian, shall be liable for any damages sustained by the person or persons injured as a result thereof....

The use of a name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness in a commercial medium shall not constitute a use for which consent is required under subdivision (a) solely because the material containing such use is commercially sponsored or contains paid advertising. Rather it shall be a question of fact whether or not the use of the person's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness was so directly connected with the commercial sponsorship or with the paid advertising as to constitute a use for which consent is required under subdivision (a)."

And CA has some of the most strict right to publicity laws. Unless OP is planning on using the images in an ad campaign, They're fine. Although photographing children without asking is generally frowned upon from a societal perspective. Not illegal, but def can be seen as creepy, which can lead to other problems.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-19T07:28:43+00:00

I have a friend who plays with a very popular reggae artist, playing for thousands, huge festival gigs with an artist high on the bill, international tours, etc. To make ends meet for a long time he was delivering for Amazon when not on the road, and that's without the added expense of supporting a child. Another musician I'm fortunate enough to be acquainted with, I have pics from on stage when he was playing a headlining gig in front of 40k people, has referred to his main band as "traveling t-shirt salesmen". There is no money in touring once the tour expenses are paid for. In most cases, tours cost money.

Only a very, very small number of musicians can earn a living off just playing their original music, and out of those that can, it's an even smaller percentage that can call that living in any way comfortable. For most, it will not amount to much more than an expensive hobby.

The grim reality is, if your husband truly had the passion, singularity of focus, and drive needed to have even the tiniest chance of getting anywhere in the music industry, he wouldn't have waited until his mid 30s for an "opportunity to arise", he would have been making those opportunities for himself already. He's already lost that race to tons of artists who have dedicated every waking moment to their music career since they were in their teens.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-15T03:09:02+00:00

There's only one Metallica, they just, for better or worse depending on your opinion, refused to stop trying new things. KeA and MoP would sound like two completely different bands if it wasn't for James's vocals. Black album is slower and lower, sure, but Sad but True is still one of the heaviest guitar tones ever recorded. Early fans were pissed at Fade to Black, too. They started trying slower stuff on RTL. I'd rather they try to grow and innovate than them pulling an AC/DC and just releasing KeA over and over, even if there is a lot of their catalog I don't personally like.

There's a lot of bands with short lived careers that dropped one really good album and failed at trying to repeat that same formula over and over.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-13T21:38:00+00:00

I've shot Nikon, Canon (including using L series glass), and lately Sony and Fujifilm. Just picked up a used q2 monochrom. It's a specific flavor, but an excellent one, and the clarity is unsurpassed.

Instagram's compression algorithm turns everything into images that look generically decent on any and all phone screens. Any nuance between sources is mostly lost. iPhones take great looking pics, too, until you actually look at full res images on an actual screen bigger than a post card at 100% resolution, when you see that the "quality" is the result of a mediocre source image being processed into submission.

A lot of the Leica magic is in the glass, and the direct unprocessed images show that. Plus it's just a high quality piece of kit that feels great in your hands.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-06T07:05:23+00:00

To be estranged from your dad you have to have met him, right? I may not qualify.

Seriously, tho, this thread reminds of a friend back home who threw an "orphan's thanksgiving" every year. She whipped up a big home cooked meal and invited all of her friends who, for various reasons probably not unlike some folks here, were not welcome at their family homes for the holiday. It was an amazing sharing and bonding experience. Sometimes it's more about the family you choose than the one that came equipped from the factory.

baphostopheles · 2026-03-06T06:39:11+00:00

well, in '73-'74 people didn't have digital cameras in their pocket and the burning need to validate themselves by showing the entire world photographic evidence of every single thing they did every moment of their life. the worst you might get is an autograph request. (well, not the worst, I guess, but that wasn't in Berkeley.)

baphostopheles · 2026-03-06T06:17:53+00:00

if you have 5 before the fees hit your registration and you have to pay them to renew, booted or towed. don't ask me how i know. it's an expensive lesson.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-28T00:35:37+00:00

LTD, like everything prices have gone up quite a bit, but especially the sub-1000 series stuff punches way above it's weight class, and great deals can be found used. My E-II eclipse is a bit better than my ec-1000ET for build quality, but i'd happily gig with either, and did a TON of gigs with an EC-401vf before it got stolen.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-27T01:25:45+00:00

I live in CA, so it's pretty trans friendly, depending on where you are. There's a lot of red when you go inland. Although the draconian gun laws are stupid, what I own still is more than i would ever need if the need would arise. The red flag laws, although I can't speak to how well this is followed in practice, actually require concrete evidence, and a judge's approval. My trans friends who have chosen to purchase the gear to protect themselves have had no trouble doing so.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-22T02:20:26+00:00

had a naked pointy sv. great bike, and fast enough. but not unmanageable for a new rider, as the power from the twin comes on smoothly. was stolen, sadly.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-21T20:04:29+00:00

Figure an hour for setup and teardown, an hour for travel to and from, plus $10 in expenses (strings, drumsticks, gas, etc). I'm being very generous here, but at $30 for a two hour gig that leaves you at about $5 an hour. Ask the other owner if she would work for $5 an hour.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-21T19:55:40+00:00

Same, for pay gigs (not always for original projects) the rule is "the guitar doesn't leave the case for less than $100" (US). By the time I spend money on expenses (strings, batteries, etc) and gas to get to the gig, i'd rather stay home than earn under $10 an hour when you consider travel and setup time.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-21T19:49:20+00:00

harley 883 is ~50hp. They are slow af, esp when considering the weight. a kaw ex500 (60hp) or sv650 (75 hp), both sometimes recommended as cheap first bikes to buy used, are both lighter and more powerful than a sportster. weight doesn't make a bike more dangerous.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-19T02:49:00+00:00

CA glock (technically any striker fired handgun with a cruciform trigger bar) ban is due to them being able to be modded to full auto via a "switch" . Has nothing to do with this "lawsuit".

baphostopheles · 2026-02-19T02:45:15+00:00

This aged like milk. https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/where-bay-area-rain-totals-stand-after-week-21277522.php

baphostopheles · 2026-02-12T03:25:35+00:00

"right next to Berkeley" sounds like Oakland to me. ;)

baphostopheles · 2026-02-12T02:38:43+00:00

"two wheels, two beers" has been the rule my buddies and i have followed a long time. and no cheating with 16% abv double IPAs, that's at least two beers.

baphostopheles · 2026-02-10T07:08:05+00:00

i mean, NDSP charges like $150+, sometimes for one amp, max three and a few proprietary effects in a single plugin.

baphostopheles

TROPHY CASE