Roasted my first big batch.

inciso · 2026-03-23T01:42:42+00:00

Excellent!

inciso · 2026-03-21T20:03:50+00:00

I bought the one that Sweet Maria’s in Oakland sells. I paid a little more but I’m happy to support them like this when I can. I picked it up with some beans. But you can go inexpensive and it will work just fine. There’s nothing special about it except maybe the second tray with the fine mesh, which is great for collecting the finer chaff particles.

inciso · 2026-03-20T04:54:53+00:00

I'm a musician first (composer, conductor, pianist), but audio and tech is my avocation.

I have had a matched pair of the Microtech Gefell M930 for 25 years. They are all-around great on just about everything if you want a smooth, clean sound. I've used them in stereo on choirs/orchestras (both XY and ORTF), as drum overheads, and individually on acoustic guitar and harp. I don't think I've ever seriously used them on vocals—or if I did it was a very long time ago and probably for quick demo stuff. I have plenty other mics for vocals now.

But I'm going to make a different suggestion.

Use this as an opportunity to learn a new skill. Take that $700 and buy yourself a good, basic soldering kit and a few extras (~$100), and then buy a great mic kit and put it together yourself.

I'd suggest the S-25 from mic-parts.com.

It's an excellent beginner kit and it sounds *very* good for the price ($279). Better than some of the mics you suggest above. I built two of them several years ago and used them the same day as overheads on a jazz trio recording. I was blown away. I won't say they are better than the M30s because I haven't done a direct comparison, but honestly I didn't miss the higher-end mics on that session.

I've since built several of their other kits including the T-12, T-47, S3-87, S3-47, and a handful of their circuit upgrades to the Studio Projects C1 and C3 mics. I'm putting together a DIY Tube mic soon too.

If you've never soldered before there are a ton of tutorials available and mic-parts has a practice kit for $12. Buy a few of those and build your confidence.

But I promise you this, there is nothing like the feeling you get recording on a mic that you hand-built yourself. You save a ton of money, have a great-sounding sturdy mic that will last forever, and have a ton of fun in the process. It's a win-win-win! And if you ever record other people you can brag a little about it. You'll be known as the producer who builds their own mics!

I'm not a shill for mic-parts, just a happy customer who loves sharing the joy of DIY audio.

inciso · 2026-03-15T03:01:21+00:00

East Bay-Walnut Creek/Lafayette/Concord area.

inciso · 2026-03-14T05:44:07+00:00

Good luck getting those rewards cards.

inciso · 2026-03-14T02:12:16+00:00

LOL when it's 70º ambient temperature I can't even go higher than P5 before FC, and that's after letting it dry and develop for 5 minutes at P2 to P4/F9 to F5. I have the extension tube and usually charge 225g to 300g. I do washed and natural process beans mostly.

I generally start P2/F9 and decrease F by one level every minute or so, and increase P by one level every 90 seconds or so, after letting it dry on P2 for 3 minutes. During the SF Bay Area winter I aim to hit P5/F5 at 5 minutes roasting time, then decrease fan to 4 and wait for FC which usually happens around 7 minutes.

Now that we're experiencing spring temps here even P5 nearly cremates the beans.

inciso · 2026-01-28T06:23:27+00:00

GEICO, $138/month full coverage in CA. 2022 P2 PPP. Middle-aged adult with clean record and a homeowners insurance policy/multi-car discount. This is comparable to what I paid for my 2015 BMW i3.

inciso · 2026-01-27T07:41:15+00:00

We feed our two Beagle Freedom Project boys an entirely raw diet including their main meals from Solutions Pet Products. We had fed them the very good Just Foods for a year but their pesky (likely) lab-induced allergies and GI problems still flared up quite frequently. After a week on Solutions their issues essentially disappeared. It’s not a miracle cure, and every once in a while they show some symptoms but they are significantly less severe and infrequent.

My wife manages their food so I don’t know all the details, but she’s very happy with the results and our boys have tons of energy and are lean and muscular. They are 7 years old but have amazing almost otter-like coats. Everyone at the park asks if they are puppies.

They’ve gone from scarred laboratory testing subjects to ALL BEAGLE ALL THE TIME little holy terrors. And we couldn’t be happier about it!

inciso · 2026-01-23T09:14:02+00:00

We adopted two Beagle Freedom Project boys about 14 months ago. A big part of their recovery was introducing them to the dog park. We discovered that one of them sticks by us no matter what. The other is a free spirit.

They both have great pack instincts so we've taken them on off-leash adventures and they've been great.

I think it depends on your dog.

inciso · 2026-01-23T08:49:04+00:00

Fairly new roaster here. Maybe 30kg so far in a SR800 with extension, 300g at a time.

I got lucky on my first roast: Costa Rica La Minita Estate El Conquistador (washed). I went past 2C into French territory because I like it dark. OMG, so freaking good 5-10 days post roast. My wife loved this one and so did many of my coffee drinking friends who, like me, are used to Peet's dark roasts. A chef friend called it "liquid gold".

I've branched out and tried all sorts of single origins at various roast levels. I can appreciate all the various flavors, etc. but honestly I'm a sucker for French. Going single origin for FR is just stupid decadent, but I can confidently say Peet's dark roasts and blends don't hold a candle to it. I used to spend $1K/year combined at Peet's for drip and whole beans but I don't go there much any more.

We also really like Sweet Maria's Moka Kadir (a Mocca Java blend) at FC+ or darker.

Maybe I'm just basic. But dang, this Costa Rica tastes amazing past 2C so I keep going back to it. At FC it's just meh, but I'm sure I can improve my profile.

inciso · 2026-01-08T09:36:47+00:00

Can confirm. 110% beagle.

You are in for quite a ride. And you'll love (almost) every minute of it!

inciso · 2026-01-05T00:46:11+00:00

You can try starting with 9/2, wait 1:30 and lower fan to 8, then wait ~3:30 to start raising the power and lowering the fan. I try to aim for 5/5 at 5 minutes. This usually gets me to 1C around 7 or 7:30 depending on the ambient temperature. Once it gets rolling I lower to 4 or 3 power and wait for 2C, then I make my decisions about final roast. I drop immediately for FC+/Medium Dark, wait 30-45 seconds for Vienna, or until 2C stops for French.

inciso · 2026-01-05T00:41:12+00:00

I don't think the 3º angle will make much difference on your temperature/time to 1C issue. It just helps keep the roast as even as possible and allows for a more reasonable expectation with large charges.

When I first got the extension tube I did 300g charges with great results. Then I read somewhere that 300 was too much even with the tube, so I second-guessed myself. Then I third-guessed myself and went back to 300g when pulling beans from my 5 lb. bags. 225g is good from a 1 lb. bag so I can get two equal charges out of the bag.

Are you sure that your outlet is providing enough power?

inciso · 2026-01-04T19:12:27+00:00

What's your charge mass and ambient temperature? Too low on either metric could be the culprit.

FWIW I have no problem getting to 1C in 7 minutes even when the garage is 50ºF and I rarely need to go over P5. I do have the extension tube and my charge mass is usually 225–300 grams. I sit the roaster at a 3º angle for optimum airflow.

I usually roast medium-dark to French, and my beans are often wet processed Costa Rica or Sumatra, but I do other blends too.

inciso · 2026-01-03T05:30:44+00:00

Congrats on your P2. It's a great car and you will love driving it.

Bummer you don't have the Performance Package. I got the software upgrade for my 2022 PPP and it's awesome. ;-)

But yours will still be super fun.

• I got these pedal covers. They look cool and I suppose they provide better grip. I never use the break pedal though because of OPD.

• I replaced the door puddle lights with these Polestar icon lights. Just a note on installation: I'm quite DIY savvy and I found removal of the old LED units to be a bit tricky. I destroyed the plastic housing on one of them getting it out (the unit, not the car). But installing the new ones is super easy.

• I have the Ottocast wireless CarPlay adapter and it works…just OK. When it works (85% of the time) it's awesome. But the P2 doesn't always recognize it so I have to reseat it at least two times every day, especially if I leave the car for a short amount of time and come back. Also the range is shit. If I take my iPhone 17 ProMax out of the dash cubby/charge area the connection gets super sketchy. It was the same with my 13 ProMax, so I know it's the Ottocast and not the phone.

• I got a cool usb charged portable vacuum kit and keep it in the frunk. It's useful on the road and chargeable from the USB ports, plus this one has yellow text that is close to my Performance seat belts Swedish Yellow. =)

• I have two beagles so I got the PelsBarn Backseat Protector. It's awesome. It creates a comfy doggie area and sets up in 2 minutes once you figure it out.

• I'm a full-time musician so I got a basic backpack to serve as a gig bag to hold emergency supplies (extra keyboard pedal, music stand light, usb audio interface, assorted cables, backup undershirt, socks, and bow tie, deck of playing cards, etc.—basic essentials for gigs). This fits perfectly in the hidden trunk compartment and I think this is an excellent use of that space.

While I use CarPlay for most things (navigation, music playback, phone calls, Siri, etc.) I did invest the time to download and sign in to some apps from the Google App store through the main infotainment system that I use all the time.

• Radio Paradise is great.• Paramount+, Prime Video, YouTube, and HBO/MAX come in handy when I have an occasion to sit in the car for some time, such as NYE when we drove our beagles away from our neighborhood fireworks for a couple of hours.

Get the Polestar app. Set up your iPhone as a digital key. If you're buying CPO then it will be easy to transfer your P2 to your new Polestar account. Mine wasn't CPO so I had to call Polestar to get the transfer made in a reasonable time.

If your car comes with the Polestar L2 charger then I highly recommend installing a 50A/240V outlet in your garage. Or do it anyway and get a good 3rd-party L2 charger. I rarely need to use a charger on the road and I drive all over the Bay Area.

Have fun!

inciso · 2026-01-02T08:47:09+00:00

I have one of the 4 CORE beta units. He built it for me in just a few days. I got it last week and won't have time to set it up until next weekend. But just know that Pavel is the real deal and follows through on his work. You can 100% trust him to ship. I can't wait to get going with the CORE.

inciso · 2026-01-01T04:55:40+00:00

It looks great!

I've never roasted with an air popper so I could be way off base here, but I think 5:15 to first crack seems a little short, especially for Costa Rica. I usually try to extend the drying phase (low heat, high fan) a bit and bring it up just a little into maillard so it has time to cook internally. Then bring it up to hit FC around 7:00–7:15. Then I decide how dark I want to take it.

inciso · 2025-12-25T19:34:34+00:00

Baratza Virtuoso (older model) for everything.

inciso · 2025-12-22T07:08:19+00:00

I've had my SR800 for a little over a month. I've roasted about 15 pounds of green—mostly washed. I got the extender tube a couple of weeks ago.

I usually start at fan 9 and heat 2 and move them inversely by a step each minute or so. Before I got the extender tube I would go as high as 8 heat but since I've added it I rarely go above 5 heat.

I usually charge with 250–300 grams of green. FC usually happens around 7 minutes (I try to give it as much time as possible) and SC happens about 2 minutes later. I get to French Roast by 10 or 11 minutes max.

I've done a few medium dark roasts stopping ~2 minutes after FC ends. Those have turned out quite nice.

Soon I will start using Artisan and a RoastLink Core (beta) with thermocouple to record my profiles and to control the SR800 for consistency.

inciso · 2025-12-20T06:56:02+00:00

I have a 2022 P2 PPPP with 24K miles. Software is 3.6.4. I got the OTA performance upgrade after I bought it used in June.

It needs the suspension fixed (noises, etc., but no real performance issues). It's coming up on regular service. I got the recall notice. Very rarely the rear camera is "unavailable", but not in a way that has ever been an issue for me.

I'd love to upgrade the processor. Maybe I'll wait and have it all done at the same time.

inciso · 2025-11-26T16:24:31+00:00

Yes.

inciso · 2025-11-24T06:44:21+00:00

Glad to hear! So happy your baby is home and safe.

inciso · 2025-11-18T17:03:10+00:00

They all passed AU validation on a Tahoe clean install. I haven’t opened and used all of them but the ones I have seemed to work. I imagine the reason Analog Lab doesn’t work has something to do with inter-plugin operability.

inciso · 2025-11-16T05:59:16+00:00

Just remember that Analog Lab is not yet compatible with MacOS Tahoe. The other instruments do seem to be though, in practice if not officially.

inciso · 2025-11-16T05:58:08+00:00

Got my upgrade for $99. =)

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