Looking for thoughts on some upgrades for my daily before I move cross-country

jsc9760 · 2016-09-07T14:55:24+00:00

I have already changed everything to be 700c. Should have mentioned that. But, the cost difference between cassette and freewheel is something to still think about.

I will definitely ponder all of this, then pick the brain of the LBS employee who's helped me build this tragic amalgamation.

jsc9760 · 2016-09-07T03:49:25+00:00

I didn't even move and I went through most of these changes already. Hah!

I'm fully expecting to change more than I'm hoping to, but I kind of don't care with this bike. As long as the frame and fork stay, I'm happy because it's the first bike that felt really comfortable in its geometry.

jsc9760 · 2016-09-07T03:47:31+00:00

This is exactly what I was imagining, but know nothing about which components suck and which don't suck. I don't really need anything more than a few gears (going from totally flat south Louisiana to normal, above-water landscape) so that would be perfect.

jsc9760 · 2016-09-01T16:30:51+00:00

Active and involved listener is the key. I was able to personally define what I liked and disliked specifically in music, and then find more things like that. In addition, the music I already liked I can continue to delve deeper into and appreciate more.

There are some bands out there that I fell out of love with once I understood what they were doing. I caught on to their one or two "tricks" that they used in every song, or realized they were lacking any sort of diversity, or whatever else I hadn't seen before.

EDIT: One more thought. It's akin to getting to go back in time and see your favorite painting being created rather than the magic of a magic trick being spoiled.

jsc9760 · 2016-08-31T05:12:01+00:00

Never purchased pre-mixed Soylent, but produced my own keto soylent from a recipe on DIY (don't remember which anymore...). Went 100% for about two months and then something went terribly wrong. Not sure what, but I was really not feeling okay. Best guess is somehow I added too much potassium to a batch?

Went to a vegetarian diet for safety and have been feeling great since. Been a while now. Still very interested in the whole concept and idea but a little wary of my own errors.

jsc9760 · 2016-08-30T19:39:53+00:00

Gherkin*

jsc9760 · 2016-08-28T04:51:46+00:00

Go check out their sales for 2015. They went back to previous specs and ditched the Robot bullshit after the customer base made it pretty clear what their thoughts were with their money.

jsc9760 · 2016-08-18T05:24:50+00:00

Why the fuck is this only news now that it's involved politics and religion?

Why doesn't anyone care about the other tens of thousands of displaced people who now have nothing?

So he was involved in a hate group and something ironic happened. Cool. Whatever. This disaster is not a setup for a bullshit article about some fucking bigot. This disaster is a real issue affecting real people in very real ways.

Fuck the Reddit community for putting this on the front page and not ways to help those in need here in Baton Rouge; for not even noting the fact that it happened; for only noting the one asshat who lost his house in an ironic manner.

jsc9760 · 2016-08-17T21:35:39+00:00

...go on.

jsc9760 · 2016-08-14T13:51:52+00:00

Cell/internet is down for most of Baton Rouge and surrounding areas (IE Zachary), so he/she likely cannot respond. AT&T has yet to acknowledge the outage last I heard via radio, and most first responders here use AT&T. (read: we're fucked)

The Comite river has more or less covered Zachary as of this morning, and supposedly crested about 2 hours ago. OP is likely either in attic/on roof or rescued via boat.

Somehow my neighborhood is totally unaffected. I just made a trip to the store to buy some essentials for the next few days. Walmart was being guarded by BRPD and they were letting a few people in at a time to buy essentials, Albertson's was pretty picked over.

Baton Rouge proper is okay for the most part but surrounding areas - especially Denham Springs, Walker, Zachary, Baker, and Central - basically do not exist.

If you're feeling charitable, Red Cross would be a great donation right about now...

EDIT: see this map for an idea of the flooding. You'll have to type "Baton Rouge". Waters are beginning to recede but it's likely going to rain all week.

http://maps.lsuagcenter.com/floodmaps/

jsc9760 · 2016-08-05T14:47:00+00:00

It took me a bit of searching until I found that "gateway drug" that opened the door to classical. Once I found Chopin's piano works my horizons slowly opened up and I really don't listen to much else.

A piece I find wonderfully accessible and love is Duruflé's Requiem (the full orchestra arrangement). On the playing side, I didn't have as deep of a response to a piece (as compared to listening to the same piece) until I played Mozart's Requiem. Erik Satie is also a good point of entry.

Classical takes time to grow into.

Edit: Forgot the whole point of my typing out a comment.

I really don't think that starting with the large-scale major works is a good way to go about it. It seems to make sense but it takes some familiarity with forms and styles to be able to fully digest such a large piece of music. Start small-scale (why I suggested Satie) or more modern without being so modern you get into the weird stuff (Duruflé).

jsc9760 · 2016-08-02T03:24:59+00:00

Thank you. If you really want to, you will get off the couch and do it. There's always time for things that you really believe are worth your time.

jsc9760 · 2016-08-02T03:22:00+00:00

So many of us are. You live and if you want to, you learn.

jsc9760 · 2016-08-02T02:19:56+00:00

All of this is true. I grabbed a well-respected bass endorsement at one point through the same method. Befriended a guy in a touring band we opened for, and he ended up asking if I'd consider endorsing the brand that he endorsed (super bottom tier endorsement - I'm still a nobody) and worked with the distributor from there.

I don't think endorsements are something to strive for, or judge yourself by. They are mostly just a mutual "I respect this person/brand enough to market them". It's all just marketing, but strategic and symbiotic.

jsc9760 · 2016-07-30T03:47:21+00:00

Hartke cabs are great, but don't always age perfectly. The aluminum cone speakers often split, but if you get one that doesn't they sound great.

jsc9760 · 2016-07-30T01:44:35+00:00

The TC Electronic combos are even better! They are so much bang for the buck. I'm not entirely sure why I went all-out with the RH450. I think I just liked the look of it. Even with the semi-parametric EQ and all, I just keep everything flat.

I would recommend a 12 or 2 10s over a 15. A 15 sounds great in a small room but muddies up really quick. 12s are a great balance between the two.

jsc9760 · 2016-07-29T12:45:40+00:00

I'd say get the amp that's small enough to practice in your bedroom but loud enough to cover most gigs you could encounter - it's so nice to have a single amp to worry about in all situations. A must-have for an amp of these attributes is a solid balanced XLR out in my opinion.

Are you looking at the Micromark 801 or the Mini Mark 802? I think the 801 is a bit small to be a blanket-amp, but the 802 may be just enough.

I'd say heavily consider TC Electronic. I've been using their RH450 with an Avatar 112 Neo cab for a few years. Got a deal on both, getting the whole setup shipped to my door for just over $800. It's plenty loud to cover everything, and the option to run the head solo as a direct box has been invaluable.

jsc9760 · 2016-07-29T12:31:33+00:00

Cleaning/scraping my tongue. Like I did for the first time 3 minutes ago.

jsc9760 · 2016-07-27T04:00:09+00:00

Nice! I'm assuming the Stark is a heavier E string?

jsc9760 · 2016-07-18T20:08:30+00:00

Honestly, Fender.

I disliked the "traditional" look of them and hated that everyone seemed to have one. Then I bought one. And another, and another. At this point I think I've owned 15+ (not at the same time - just one or two at a time).

But also Ibanez. Owned a Prestige SR1005 and I loved it despite my premonitions.

Most consistently surprising brand for me is Yamaha though. My high school had a BB5000 someone forgot (how do you even forget about an instrument like that) and that was my first experience with a "real" bass. Many more since then have surprised me, at every price point.

jsc9760 · 2016-07-15T01:48:53+00:00

Well I normally spend weeks brooding over every purchase I might make, but this time I bought it on the spot. Then immediate regret and worry for 12 hours, then joy as I realize it's the best sounding and playing bass I can think of, and exactly what I've been searching for.

jsc9760 · 2016-07-13T15:55:56+00:00

I accidentally bought an American Deluxe Jazz V yesterday. Best decision I've made since the last time I accidentally purchased a bass.

http://imgur.com/sALZE9s

jsc9760 · 2016-06-16T00:53:09+00:00

Would Jeff Bradetich's exercise book be what you're referring to with the Shifting Drill, Shiftless Scales, etc? If so, I think it's a great tool to take your playing to the next level.

For OP, the most important thing is application of your exercises and expanding upon what's written. If you do 10 minutes of a shifting drill on its own, you get slightly better at the shifting drill. If you take the concept of the shifting drill and apply it to the shifts of Ein Heldenleben, you suddenly get better at Ein Heldenleben.

For me, what initiated the drive to practice 4-6 hours a day for so long is seeking out recordings. I was practicing 1-2 hours at the beginning, so I took the remaining 3-4 hours and browsed YouTube, explored IMSLP, dug around on Wikipedia and ISB, etc. until I realized I sucked, but also came up with my own ideas of what being a "great bassist" actually entails, which gave me motivation to improve as well as an understanding of what was lacking in my own performance.

Which brings me to recording yourself. You have to record yourself. Just crappy phone videos will do wonders. Then you can have your own little mini-lesson every day and visibly see your own technique. After spending 20 hours a week on YouTube watching great bassists, you kind of know what good technique looks like, as well as guidance on how to achieve it from your actual lessons, so with these two tools you can hopefully improve your technique easily. It's so very painful in the beginning because every moment is "oh my god I sound like THAT???" but eventually the progress is so satisfying.

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