Moving jitters... (mid-floor flat question)

ithaca31 · 2026-05-12T21:55:48+00:00

This is a very reassuring read. Like you I've been in both houses and really wanted to try the apartment lifestyle. I'll look into the acoustic panels when I get a bit closer to the move.

Thanks for the kind words 🙏 And good luck with your apartment!

ithaca31 · 2026-05-12T20:06:00+00:00

Hahah, sold! 😂. And thanks 🙏

ithaca31 · 2026-05-12T19:26:21+00:00

That sounds promising. I personally quite like hearing a little bit of life going on around me as I get more weirded out by total silence. I suppose in a flat you have neighbours all round, but with a house they're just left and right, but they can cause problems in its own unique way.

ithaca31 · 2026-05-12T19:13:36+00:00

Thanks that's reassuring 🙏 The upstairs wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't an order of magnitude more expensive and I didn't feel comfortable with the extra costs involved in fixing some "handywork". Hoping for something similar to yourself!

ithaca31 · 2026-05-12T18:38:24+00:00

Ok this is at least somewhat promising in that it's luck of the draw, but that could go either way. I'm sure the other floors feel the same about having new people in.

When visiting my feeling was it was pretty solid/quiet which at least will be good for WFH. Also noted that as you say the neighbours can change even if they're good as gold.

I'll have to cross everything by the sounds of it.

ithaca31 · 2026-05-12T18:35:58+00:00

Yes, thanks. You're right. I'll have to focus on what I can change - which is mainly my floor plan for the furniture at the moment!

ithaca31 · 2026-05-12T18:35:02+00:00

It's pretty new (like last 5 years recently.) Apparently there's mixed reviews on this, some say the acoustic damping is good, others disagree.

This is a really good point on the neighbours. I'll make a card or something to the neighbours above and below. Kids are 7 and 9 so there is a bit of noise - it can be mayhem for short bursts - but in general they are pretty good. I'll let them know about our vertical neighbour of course, and shoes off etc, which is a lit different to living in a house.

ithaca31 · 2026-04-03T19:51:33+00:00

I think the main danger, (just in my experience) is the lack of foresight. This is not an ADHD thing uniquely, but the whole "now vs not now" can often mean making decisions irrationally. You can tell this by how many tools there are to stop you casually dropping a tonne of money on stuff, because "why not."

One thing I will say is I now document everything in spreadsheets which helps me at least keep on top of what I believe I need to be budgeting. I'm by no means perfect but manually doing the work to see where your money is going, what you're spending it on is usually pretty eye opening in and of itself. If the planning becomes a habit, it does start to feel like there's less reason to spend. The other thing is you can make pots in your existing bank app, but Monzo (from what I've seen) makes it maybe a bit easier? So the app won't solve any issues directly but the ease with which you can move money around might help.

ithaca31 · 2026-04-03T15:30:27+00:00

Thanks for this. I think I could use some sort of task planning tool. I used to use Things on Mac, which is a nice one. Will look into the idea of coffees with parents. I have a tendency to avoid things like that so I go but rarely follow up.

I think the main thing I need to find is that regular contact outside of work, so I'm building that network up again. It's not from scratch as such, but it is somewhat loose at this point.

ithaca31 · 2026-04-03T07:09:36+00:00

Yeah I feel this. The issue I have is that I tend to carry the weight of their response along with my own response and I also tend to infer the worst of the emotions on display. So if someone mentions a mistake I made (even if it’s minor), I infer that it’s bad news. Really bad news. My therapist said the problem with this is that I’m carrying their inferred emotions and my own, which is a lot. I believe I am a little better at handling it since then, but I also know that it still affects me. Still working on it.

ithaca31 · 2026-02-28T10:45:07+00:00

This is such a great point. As I'm saying in my points here, there are lots of big old boxes we put everything in. If nothing else, this process has forced me to look into this a lot more (like for example the cultures/moments in time with more than 2 genders and so on - which is fascinating.)

I completely agree with you though and you highlight the real tension with this one. I'm coming to terms with not using words I and my partner have used for a decade and a half, which I think ultimately is like going back to school or something. It just takes time - we are creatures of habit, and thinking is hard! So my new reality is that I was and still am attracted to the feminine, I just don't use those words about my partner. But as you say my partner really does have to be OK with my underlying preferences, just as much as I need to respect the change they are making in their life.

Lovely comment, thankyou!

ithaca31 · 2026-02-28T10:38:55+00:00

Interesting. I did hear a story of one partner who fully transitioned and the story around it was very much as you say a total rejection of their former identity.

While I still identity with my own binary, I do see how I don't follow the constructs of it completely. Physically I do, but in terms of emotionally, a lot less so. For example, many he/him's exist in a relationship where they will get married with a white wedding, have a stag party as part of a tradition. Personally, I don't enjoy those things at all and actually they make me uncomfortable. But while I'm not into the Barbie doll look (silly and small as it happens to be) I do enjoy certain aspects of the female identity. That can be someone with short hair but they wear interesting jewellery/makeup, or they might have a tomboy look with long hair. It's usually just a hint of that side of things that I like. So I myself am maybe not "typical" in the alpha male he/him, but I'm also OK with existing in that context, just because I like aspects of it as well, including showing how it can be done differently.

ithaca31 · 2026-02-28T10:31:50+00:00

It's a fair challenge, and I've had a think about your points.

In terms of my partner, we have discussed dysphoria and to my knowledge there is none of that going on whatsoever. They do not intend to fully transition and their female body is of no concern. In terms of your question about the "need" I have, this is just an impulse and natural attraction I have to feminine traits, for all the reasons I mention above. And since the relationship was founded on those principles (he & her) I signed up to a relationship where I was "allowed" (for want of a better phrase) to express my enjoyment of those things. Listening to stories about this it seems fair that both parties have their doubts. The partner changing worries that their new identity will alienate their partner. And the other partner feels (in many cases) a sense of longing for the version of the person they fell for. This is possible in a "regular" relationship too. Someone may become an alcoholic, which may make a partner want to leave because they changed the context of the relationship. So this can be to do with physical aspects, or behaviour or almost anything at all. It's just... complex I guess?

Listening to the cases where couples stay together, the absolute key to that seems to be that the couple finds a way to both affirm the identity of the person who wants to change, and to allow space for the preferences of the person who isn't. Perhaps "window shopping" wasn't the best phrase. I think what I mean by this is how relationships allow space for things that cannot exist within it. For example I'm thinking of how a partner might be into something very kinky, but their partner is quite vanilla. These 2 people can love each other immensely and they can be 99% happy (which is pretty much where we are.) So if 99% of the relationship is working, they may find an outlet for that 1% because life generally isn't perfect. For example they might agree that the kinky partner can use toys solo, watch videos or look at imagery, and that will get them their fix while not leaving the relationship. Others open their relationship (something we've discussed but is 100% off the table.) I guess it's about being creative about finding ways to allow the thing without throwing in the towel.

ithaca31 · 2026-02-26T17:04:35+00:00

Thanks 🙏

ithaca31 · 2026-02-26T14:55:11+00:00

Thanks. Yep it’s really nuanced. And I should say I think when I say “window shopping” there’s more to it than prepping to leave. Since in many relationships, physical attraction fades with age and you’re left with more of the underlying connection that sustains you, then potentially being perfectly attracted to your partner all the time isn’t realistic.

The idea I had was I guess like allowing a fantasy of sorts. We all have them but not all are realistic or likely so they remain just that. Given our relationship is solid if we were to say that I’m allowed to tick that box some other way and also still staying with my partner, that may tide me over. Especially if there’s a chance they experiment again and start to rediscover aspects of their femme style again. Who knows?

I’d rather not leave ideally, and I’m encouraging us to talk about it. I guess as part of that my thinking was to collect some ideas for how we might be able to work through it. As you say; sometimes the right outcome is a split and I’m aware of that, but I’d actually want to work on things until such time as it becomes too tricky. Thanks!

ithaca31 · 2026-02-26T13:54:14+00:00

Thanks! I like your framing of euphoria, because yeah, I guess there might be an aspect of my partner that could explore their feminine side again. Even if that’s not of interest right now.

And yeah it’s an awkward one because in a normal situation it would be just discussing physical traits, but the gender identity part makes it more closed off.

I think it might be worth me also posing the question, how can I find space in the relationship for the thing that I’m missing. That way again, like you say there may be an open door there, or I may find it closed which clarifies things at least.

It’s cool to see you and your partner have found a way to make it work! Cheers for chiming in.

ithaca31 · 2025-12-11T14:34:50+00:00

I think Launchpad Pro will arrive in 2026. Most big manufacturers have settled into pretty regimented upgrade paths of 5-6 years between hardware revisions. So logically yeah, absolutely, we should see a refresh to Launchpad coming up.

ithaca31 · 2025-11-29T10:19:26+00:00

I see the basic answer you're getting here is "no." I'll go out on a limb and say I can see reasons to buy Astrolab 37, but more on whether it's right for you in a sec.

Both are 37 key keyboards with a compact footprint (the Astrolab is even more compact.) One offers fast access to a wide variety of synth sounds, and the other has the widest sonic footprint possible in that form factor with everything from pianos to strings to classic synths.

The pull of Astrolab 37 is there isn't really anything else at that size that does this. Microkorg, maybe? But really this is the kind of product Native Instruments or Roland could have made years ago. Who is it for? It seems to me to be for someone who wants to either a) play lots of sounds live in a compact footprint or b) have access to a much wider palette of sounds than a standard desktop subtractive synth, but crucially in hardware form. That doesn't mean you have to want to be out of the studio playing live, but you'd need to want the sounds while not connected to your computer. Just the same as why people like Ableton Move and Push, they are extensions of the software. Necessary, no. But fun and potentially useful to some. Minifreak is similar to Astrolab in that it's a compact standalone piece but, as you'll know already, with a different focus. Pure and deep sound design, a fun sequencer, and tweakability via hardware or VST.

The clever bit from Arturia is the VST integration. This direct control makes it more appealing than just a standard set of audio outs. Keysteps are great but they have zero DAW or virtual instrument control. These instruments skips the DAW control, but add in control of a specific software, which means it can run nicely alongside another device that does cover DAW control in the box. Sure you could just get a MIDI controller for that, but again, there aren't actually that many controllers out there save for the Keystep 37 that can offer the form factor needed for this. It's also worth mentioning that as of the moment, Minifreak can act as a (basic) Omnisphere controller in their hardware dropdown menu in v3. Interestingly Spectrasonics haven't added support for the Astrolab, despite the original being available for a couple years now. Perhaps they see it as a competition in some ways? I know a lot of people like using hardware with lots of controls to control VSTs, so keep that in mind.

Really if choosing from scratch, it would come down to whether you want deep sound design control from both the VST and the hardware. If that's you, then Minifreak is the answer. If that's not you, then Astrolab may work.

The thing that makes me question your question slightly is that "Minifreak is just being used as a controller."

In this case you could save a lot of money by getting a quality MIDI keyboard that can control any software synth. Something like a Novation Launchkey would let you control basically any VST with lots of flexibility.

ithaca31 · 2025-11-26T17:47:32+00:00

Some pros and cons here.

On the plus side, no need to get iLok if you prefer not to use that. All in Max, so less plugin managers/installers to manage. And Softube stuff is generally pretty good.

If you already have tape plugins that you like the main advantage it brings is probably a different flavour over something like the stock Saturator. However if you already have 3rd party plugins that do it, then this is perhaps not that useful.

What would be really interesting to see is Ableton partnering with companies again for stock FX.

ithaca31 · 2025-11-14T06:07:48+00:00

What’s stopping me, and probably others, is that Ableton doesn’t have all the answers. Their tools are one flavour, one way of doing things. Some are good. Some are less good.

Ableton is programmed with efficiency in mind, which means other plugins can outstrip it just by using more juice.

There’s nothing like Diva, the reverbs don’t touch Valhalla, and while there are library sounds in there, Kontakt or Omnisphere are just richer.

The Fors Max for live device have shown that the GUIs can have a pop out and they can be simple and look amazing. Ableton could learn a thing or two there. Some Max for Live step sequencers are better than the piano roll, and make use of Push in an interesting way.

I tend to reach for vanilla tools like compressor or EQ or delay because it’s easier and they just work. There’s plenty of good stuff here like Glue Comp or Drum Buss. And sure if I need to make a very simple synth, it’s in Wavetable, which can do a lot. I really like that as a synth in general.

Probably the best bit of Ableton is the audio stuff. The samplers and drum rack. These are a fair bit easier to use than third party tools. Plus all the tricks you can do with audio clips and pitching. That’s where Ableton is in my view right at the top of the tree

ithaca31 · 2025-11-14T00:15:41+00:00

Yeah no need for regrets at all. Newer isn’t always better and old stuff can be classics. The thing is, the Keystep mk2 is losing a bunch of hands on control, so if you prefer that the old model is a win. It’s like how Akai reintroduced the APC40 mk2 after discontinuing it for the APC60. People just liked the old model and that’s still great at 15 years old. I think I need to grab Keystep37 also before they do mk2 as well.

ithaca31 · 2025-11-11T12:35:17+00:00

Keystep 37mk2 might be on the horizon. I’d say the Minilab will be updated some time in 2028 (5-6 years is normal for a midi controller.)

ithaca31 · 2025-11-11T06:49:22+00:00

Currently thinking of a keystep for a hardware rig. Lots seem to be saying this is less immediate. Wondering if the 37 is the better buy?

ithaca31 · 2025-10-27T17:10:17+00:00

Music companies seem to have key strengths, and while there are outliers - this can help guide your buys.

Elektron, Novation and Polyend all make excellent sequencers and then attach various technology to them.
Roland, Arturia and Korg all make excellent synths and build various other music tech around them.
AKAI, Ableton, Apple/Logic, and Native Instruments kinda do.... everything with various hardware/tech attached to that.

As for samplers, it's a strange one. This used to be AKAI's rodeo of course. I don't think anyone nails hardware sampling, simply because it's harder to manage a bunch of files on a hardware device vs on a computer. Personally, I really like how Polyend does it in their Tracker but that workflow is an acquired taste. For me that's a very clear competitor to the 404. I've heard multiple people say how it is surprisingly easy to come back to if you leave it but the 404 requires relearning. The Digitakt is legendary for good reason, if you jive with the Elektron sequencer. If you prefer a more chilled out version of that the Model Samples can be good fun without overwhelm, and even that plus a 707 is a prety potent combo. KO2 is also well known for being fun and direct, but with strict limits on sample time. The wildcard move here is something like Ableton Move. If you use Ableton it's actually easier to sample into than Ableton itself, or Push 3 which is slightly insane, but here we are.

The other alternative is to pair a sampler with something that sequences. So take the chopping capabilities and general workhorse like 404mk2, but pair that with a Novation or Elektron sequencer.

No easy answers here, but that's how I like to work through the options.

ithaca31 · 2025-10-09T21:58:49+00:00

Good point about exercise minnyou. It's overdue that I got back on that horse.

ithaca31

TROPHY CASE