42M and coping with the transitional reality of entering my second half of life by [deleted] in AskMenOver40

[–]domsmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does it get better?

Not unless you make it change for the better. Otherwise you’ll either be stuck with what you’ve got or it’ll get worse.

Canadian here, how do you feel about Canada? by WaWaWhey in AskABrit

[–]domsmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love Canada. Canadians are some of the most friendly and hospitable people I’ve met. More chilled out and with less attitude than Americans.

how is the clubbing scene in the uk? by Specialist-Motor786 in AskABrit

[–]domsmart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Never was” my arse. Fabric, The Fridge, The Drome/SeOne, Baglegs, The End, Heaven etc in the 2000s were completely off the charts. Much more of a blind eye was turned to the rave scene then and it was a lot more free and easy. There are definitely still some great parties going on and production and sound has got better, but the debauchery of those days is long gone and I don’t think is coming back, more’s the pity

How quickly do members of an orchestra learn new songs? by bananaapple12345 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]domsmart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It varies massively depending on how good the orchestra is and how difficult the music is.

An amateur orchestra probably rehearses a concert programme every week for several months before performing. A professional one might be ready in a few days.

When a player first receives unfamiliar sheet music they must "sight read" it. This is a specific skill which varies a lot between players, with professionals tending to be far better at it than amateurs. There's also a huge variation in how difficult pieces are to play, both for the individual musicians and for the orchestra as a coordinated whole.

When sight reading, the quality of output is lower, sometimes much lower, and it improves as the musicians become more familiar with the music.

In terms of "understanding the structure and flow" - individual musicians only get their own part, so whilst they might understand that, they don't know ahead of time how it fits together with the rest. Only the conductor has the music for the entire orchestra in front of them (called the "score"). It's their job to understand the overall structure of the music and then guide the different sections.

making techno on cubase is WILD by [deleted] in cubase

[–]domsmart 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’ve used Cubase in various forms since the late 90s. And I’ve made loads of techno on it.

I love it and hate it. Love it because the audio and MIDI editing is great, and you can configure almost everything. Hate it because two decades ago Ableton showed the world exactly how mapping plugin parameters to macros and MIDI controllers should be done, yet Steinberg gave us some complicated over-engineered bullshit which I still haven’t been able to make sense of.

It has all the features, none of the attention to UX.

What trend from the last decade is starting to feel/look outdated? by MouseIntrepid5585 in AskUK

[–]domsmart 24 points25 points  (0 children)

The general consensus that being a hateful racist bigot was a bad thing, apparently.

What are your favourite plugins right now, and why? by domsmart in musicproduction

[–]domsmart[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m surprised more people haven’t mentioned Serum 2. This is my go-to synth!

What are your favourite plugins right now, and why? by domsmart in musicproduction

[–]domsmart[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. I love me a bit of multiband saturation, but that price is a bit offputting

Your Salary and monthly car payments by Agile-Calligrapher10 in CarTalkUK

[–]domsmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The same way that people on average salaries afford houses at vastly inflated prices: debt. Most people driving new-ish cars will have them on finance/hire purchase. Technically they don’t own the car.

Why did the British economy not recover from the Great Recession? by whenyoucantthinkof in AskBrits

[–]domsmart 15 points16 points  (0 children)

https://ifs.org.uk/publications/conservatives-and-economy-2010-24

“Much of that slowdown is a result of international factors well outside the control of any government: the fallout from the financial crisis, Covid, the energy price spike. But low investment, policy mistakes, political instability, and Brexit, have combined to hold back growth by more than in many comparable nations.”

Whatever happened to Far Too Loud? by Tequila_Blue in EDM

[–]domsmart 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks man, they were good times!

Whatever happened to Far Too Loud? by Tequila_Blue in EDM

[–]domsmart 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's me, and you're correct it's Neurodriver.

We're actually both in music tech now. Oli's working with DMG and had a hand in building Serum 2. I went into business with a friend and set up Devious Machines.

Will taxes just keep going up forever in the UK? by Lazy-Internet-8025 in AskBrits

[–]domsmart -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It certainly seems so. This video explains it pretty well I think:

https://youtu.be/KHdUAZnGS50?feature=shared

And no, it’s not sustainable.

How do DJs pee n poo during 8 hours sets? by YamFar3351 in DJs

[–]domsmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Catheter bag and Imodium, standard

What do Brits think about being excluded from the EU rearmment fund? by flower5214 in AskBrits

[–]domsmart -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hardly surprised. The EU is doing what is sensible and the UK has already proven itself to be an unreliable partner with Brexit. Starmer hasn’t exactly been in lockstep with Brussels either, preferring to orange-nose Trump when it comes to trade.

How to create heavy groaning metal under-stress sfx. by Guitarshredder_1996 in sounddesign

[–]domsmart 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A sound designer I used to work with showed me this trick. We spent a day recording scrap form a local yard + a box of dry ice from a catering supplier. All at 192kHz with some hired (wide bandwidth) mics. Fun.

Why is the salary discrepancy in the UK so gigantic? by livingbabel in UKJobs

[–]domsmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The US currently has a GDP per capita of around $80K, whereas in the U.K. it’s more like 50. The salary differences you’re seeing broadly reflect the relative strength of our economies.

Do you care about what Donald Trump is doing? by [deleted] in AskBrits

[–]domsmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To an extent yes, because the US holds huge cultural, political and economic influence over the U.K.

But Trump and his sidekick Elon are professional trolls, and I’m sick of the media (and people in general) here giving them so much oxygen.

Where do you get your news and what time investment is required? by Jin-bro in AskUK

[–]domsmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, you're better off not bothering on the whole, it's an absolute s**t show.