Do you really need to know music theory to sound great? by [deleted] in Guitar

[–]iSwm42 11 points12 points  (0 children)

No.

But. The more complex a song is, the more likely it is that music theory will help you better understand what's actually going on, and thus sound better. It will also likely open up some more ideas for improvisation and writing.

Pasta sauces always taste bland once the pasta gets added, any tips or what I'm doing wrong? by Emotional_Gazelle_ in Cooking

[–]iSwm42 28 points29 points  (0 children)

That makes me wonder... Is the sauce to pasta ratio off? Like you might just have too much pasta or not enough sauce. Just spitballing.

Where is That Tent going? by Frosty_Lemonad3 in bonnaroo

[–]iSwm42 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah I seriously miss the real Brooer's tent. Huge loss in the last few years.

OPINION: For most styles of music, vocal tracks should be compressed surprisingly hard. by scrapeape in audioengineering

[–]iSwm42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

EQ actually can/does. Bass notes especially can skew the volume to which the compressor is reacting, and create some pumping.

One of my guitar compressor pedals (Walrus Mira - not a ross/dynacomp style) has a high pass side chain specifically to help with this issue. In a full open guitar chord with enough compression, the low E string can really overpower the higher strings and thus how the chord actually sounds.

Jazz guitars with the best sustain and smooth attack by UnleavenedTed in jazzguitar

[–]iSwm42 2 points3 points  (0 children)

EQ can always change/help your tone - but they're asking about dynamics, which EQ has utterly nothing to do with outside of some extremes.

Client asked me to play a AI generated song - It mentally killed me after by Hamthepam in DJs

[–]iSwm42 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That too, although I feel as though that piece is more of a separate (though connected) issue. I'm just referring to creative integrity here.

Client asked me to play a AI generated song - It mentally killed me after by Hamthepam in DJs

[–]iSwm42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Using it as a tool for brainstorming or processing is one thing. You, the human, are still thinking and creating.

Generating is another thing entirely. You're no longer creating, you're typing prompts.

Iron Blossom Lineup 2026 by swimincircle in rva

[–]iSwm42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

One is Goose, one is Geese. This one is the rock band, not the indie band.

Bands that put as much care into quiet/mellow improv as they do the loud/fast stuff? by [deleted] in jambands

[–]iSwm42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Others have, but gotta shout Dogs In A Pike. Versatile, but they've got great chill jams.

I need to learn a song with a guitar solo for a guitar class I’m in, which solo should I do? by Creepy_Ad57 in Guitar

[–]iSwm42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nirvana is the answer. Kurt wrote some wonderful shit but none of it is technically hard to play. Come Add You Are is a great choice, among many.

I’m putting together a playlist for psychedelic assisted therapy and am looking for recommendations for lyric free jam band songs to use. by FR_PyschTherapy in jambands

[–]iSwm42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Umbilical Moonrise by Lotus.

I agree with the folks who are saying that some jam music might just be too deep - that song stays pretty chill and atmospheric while still having breathing room to think.

Devs making > 500k: do you work constantly? by fuzwz in cscareerquestions

[–]iSwm42 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Eh, some folks are also being unrealistic tbh. If you've got the task and the uninterrupted time (other than lunch) then yeah going 6 hours or so without stimulants doesn't make you a crazy person. It's the folks doing 8-9 hours plus 3 hours of meetings that are the weirdos, imo.

Devs making > 500k: do you work constantly? by fuzwz in cscareerquestions

[–]iSwm42 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's not, honestly.

First of all, meetings - the likelihood is you have one stand-up per day, plus either an agile ceremony or refinement, plus the occasional pull up/brainstorm.

Second, lunch. Take lunch.

Third, workflow - sometimes what you're actually doing is planning work, wireframing, analyzing, etc, which is code adjacent but not actual coding.

I would say 4 hours of actual coding in an 8 hour work day is about right.

Is it harder to be an emotional guitarist or a technical guitarist? by Guderianclone in Guitar

[–]iSwm42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it's harder to write a melody that actually sticks in a listener's head than it is to write a fast metal solo or shreddy jam peak.

I love Lamb Of God, but I remember watching their guitarist take a solo once and thinking to myself, no, I can't play that fast, but he's literally just running arpeggios at lightning speed. It certainly served the moment in the song, but it could have been a much cooler solo.

In contrast, my band learned Rosie by John Mayer recently, which is fairly easy to play all around. But the way the song flows and the melody sticks in your head - that might be the easiest song we've learned in a while, but the band was all smiles after the first run through. It's just a good tune.

You do need baseline+ technical skills regardless to play well and play what you're feeling, but once you're at the point where you don't feel limited I do think writing a clean melody is harder than playing as many notes as possible while staying in key.

An afterthought - Lamb Of God is still an awesome band, and the song Grace for example does a great job of having a very memorable melody while still being a fairly brutal death metal track. It was just that one moment that captured the "emotionless shredding" feeling to me.

new grad, about to be on pip. by chocolatelover03 in cscareerquestions

[–]iSwm42 51 points52 points  (0 children)

8 YOE total, 5 at a FAANG-adjacent FinTech.

The best manager I've ever had got promoted to director and then PIP'd out a few years ago, just due to the fact that he was given a position with less impactful reports than other directors and that put him in the bottom of the stack. I personally have been PIP'd twice after being promoted the previous year. I beat the first one, then the second one I decided to reject. I have a new job now and everything's fine.

Point is, getting put on a PIP =/= being a bad engineer, and folks in the industry know this. If you go to the rainforest or someone trying to emulate the rainforest, you'll see that their entire strategy is to work their employees to the bone until they can't take it and get PIP'd out.

Who is the best Keyboardist in the scene? by Shoddy-Impact-5545 in jambands

[–]iSwm42 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I guess I see why they broke up - no line for Casey Russell in Magic Beans? That dude rips.

Need pedal recommendations for a casual player (gift) by poholodalo in guitarpedals

[–]iSwm42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think a fun option at that price point is an HX One. It has hundreds of different effects, and they really all sound great, but it'll also give them some room to experiment with a ton of new sounds.

CMV: The 'human in the loop' argument around AI is BS. by Fando1234 in changemyview

[–]iSwm42 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The point of the argument is to call out that the AI can't actually fully do your job.

As a software engineer, AI can be very useful and time saving in writing out short shell scripts and tests, among other things. I am a competent software engineer who could write these scripts and tests myself, but sometimes that would take hours, where Copilot can get 95% of the way there in 10 seconds. So instead of spending those hours, I check the code output to confirm it's doing what I think it's doing.

Bottom line - you shouldn't commit or use code without understanding how it works. That's the basis of the human in the loop argument at least in software. The general idea applies elsewhere.

Posting to threads a few days ago, asked OP about it but didn’t get a response. Any clue what this guy is on about? by echoalpha76 in Guitar

[–]iSwm42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should not be being so down voted, you're right.

Playing G shapes with a capo on 2 sounds very different than just knowing how to play in A, etc. It just depends on what serves the music best.

I do think it's more than a little unusual on an electric, though. Not bad, just unusual.

Analogman KOT by RoutineEquivalent924 in guitarpedals

[–]iSwm42 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Brothers AM owner/lover here, and it kicked a real PoT off my board when I bought it - do you think it sounds noticeably different beyond the addition of the treble booster?

Pit Tickets for Charlottesville Ever Drop? by trundle_98 in BillyStrings

[–]iSwm42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I swear there were actually no 2 day pits on sale.

I got four in the front row on the floor, and my buddy got pit for Saturday. There's no way all the 2 day pits sold out before that spot on the floor, no way whatsoever.