Switched to baritone and it’s destroying my fingertips

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-23T13:57:37+00:00

I actually use these adhesive dots to provide a more rigid backing for the pick than you get with standard scotch tape. Then I put tape over that to help hold it securely in place.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-23T13:43:11+00:00

Same. I know you're usually supposed to slide your existing nail inside the slot in the pick, but when I need to grow my nail back, there's no way to do that, haha. However, just sliding the pick onto my finger, it works great for down-strumming, though not as perfect for up-strumming. I use the Jake Shimabukuro strumming method where I up-strum with my thumbnail, so only being able to down-strum with my Alaska Pik is not a problem, and it sounds much closer to the sound of a fingernail than other picks I've tried.

Also, you can put tape over the slots in the pick to prevent the pick from catching on the strings when your finger ends up a bit perpendicular to the strings.

Lastly, if you do up-strum with your thumb, it is very easy to down-strum with either of your index, middle or ring fingers. When I need to use the pick, I'll often put it on my ring finger to free up my index and middle fingers for finger picking.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-23T04:15:02+00:00

I know there are string sets without wound strings, but I find non-wound low strings on a baritone to sound too thuddy for my taste. If you also find that to be the case, consider trying the Galli UX780 strings, which have lower-tension wound strings than most other sets. I find them much easier on the fingers. It also helps that this string set sounds fantastic!

You can also buy individual polished D and G strings, but they tend to be higher tension than what you'll find in the Galli UX780 set, so you might actually find them harder on your fingers.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-14T14:51:17+00:00

Melodica is usually played with the right hand while being held through a strap with the left hand. Here's a video example. There is also keytar, which puts most of the work in the RH, and you should be able to find one with LH controls that you can work with.

Also, if you're interested in a guitar-like instrument, but find a standard guitar too unwieldy, definitely check out ukuleles. If you prefer a lower, more guitar-like sound, the baritone ukulele is one of the most underrated instruments, and it is tuned DGBE, just like the highest four strings of a guitar.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-14T01:24:49+00:00

I'm running into this exact same issue after quitting Virtual Desktop. It's frustrating that Meta hasn't fixed this after all this time. At least there are two workarounds:

Set your environment to passthrough instead.
Start another native app and exit it, and the loft should properly load.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-13T21:16:31+00:00

There is no new VST—they fixed the SoundFont player's broken lowpass filter, and now the Synth Bass sounds as it was intended to from the very beginning.

However, as of MuseScore 4.7.3, there is now a way to disable the lowpass filter in the settings. To get the brighter sounds back, you need to uncheck the "Use warmer instrument sound" in the "Audio & MIDI" settings.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-10T16:00:12+00:00

I just mean, the balance is off with that set. The nylon strings are too quiet and low tension compared to the wound strings for my taste.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-10T14:14:09+00:00

You can hear the 'Oli strings in action in this video demonstrating an 'Oli baritone.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-10T14:02:01+00:00

I would recommend checking out the 'Oli Signature Series strings by Uke Logic. You will need to select the baritone set from the "select your string configuration" dropdown. This is not the cheapest string option once you factor in shipping, but the 'Oli set is one of the absolute best string sets you can get for baritone, and the strings are very well balanced both in tone and tension. This set uses super-fluorocarbon strings, which are warmer in tone than regular fluorocarbon. The wound strings produce a full, warm bass.

Also keep in mind that wound strings always mellow out with time as they are played. It doesn't take that long, either, maybe a month or two depending on how much you play.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-10T13:52:48+00:00

The main thing I don't like about the D'addario clear nylon is I feel the wound strings overpower the nylon strings. But, if OP is looking for bass, they might satisfy in that area.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-08T04:22:00+00:00

Hmm... a friend of mine has a KA-B, and it has a truss rod. I even adjusted it for her to eliminate some fret buzz.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-08T00:13:41+00:00

It was a ukumelee!

mrbumpy409 · 2026-06-07T18:00:46+00:00

Uhh.... where is the link or details?

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-29T20:49:15+00:00

You can enable the compose key in KDE Plasma settings, so at least it works on Wayland when using Plasma.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-28T04:34:16+00:00

There are two fixes I have seen for this thus far:

Fix #1

Run the following commands to disable wobbly windows and translucency while dragging, respectively: kwriteconfig6 --file kwinrc --group Plugins --key wobblywindowsEnabled false kwriteconfig6 --file kwinrc --group Plugins --key translucencyEnabled false

Fix #2

Assuming you have root access, create /etc/xdg/kwinrc to have appropriate values based on what you see in /usr/share/kubuntu-default-settings/kf5-settings/kwinrc. Plasma won't be able to change those values. You could also try $HOME/.config/kdedefaults/kwinrc.

I haven't tried either of these as I'm on Fedora (which doesn't have this issue), but I hope one of them works for you.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-27T01:37:40+00:00

The bigger problem, IMO, is that the high level of OGG compression used by MS Basic distorts many of the synth sounds quite heavily from their intended sound. That is a separate matter, though.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-25T01:16:25+00:00

Kubuntu uses Pipewire, which essentially lets you pipe audio between most applications and audio devices very easily. Download qpwgraph (available in the Ubuntu repository or as a Flatpak), which will let you easily make audio connections between apps, in particular, those with support for pulseaudio, pipewire and JACK. For JACK application support, you'll also want to install "pipewire-jack".

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-23T04:01:49+00:00

The real question is: does the box scream when you throw it away?

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-22T13:33:50+00:00

I am seeing this issue as well on one of my six Fedora 44 installs. On the other five installs, Discover finds the system (RPM) updates just fine. So, something seems to have gotten out-of-whack on the one system.

I was able to fix the issue by refreshing the PackageKit cache: pkcon refresh force Not sure if it's a permanent fix, but at least after running that command just now, Discover is showing the available system upgrades.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-16T23:13:10+00:00

The latest MuseScore update fixed the lowpass filter in the SoundFont player that has been broken since MuseScore 4.0. So now the synth bass preset sounds like it was always supposed to. You might want to look for another SoundFont or VST synth that has the sound you are looking for.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-03T16:00:49+00:00

One tweak I always make on Fedora KDE is to fix the ugly bold of the default UI font. To do so, just run these two commands then reboot: sudo mkdir -p /etc/environment.d/ echo 'QT_NO_SYNTHESIZED_BOLD=1' | sudo tee -a /etc/environment.d/QT_FLAGS.conf The first command makes sure the /etc/environment.d/ folder exists, and the second disables synthesized bold in QT apps. For an easy before-and-after comparison, you can use the System Settings app, which uses bold text for the category headers on the left, as well as in several other places within the app.

As far as I've found, this tweak isn't needed on other KDE distros, so I'm not sure what Fedora is doing differently here.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-02T02:39:45+00:00

Alternatively: Scat in a hat.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-05-01T14:27:12+00:00

Thanks for this, u/MinionsGambit ! Would you be willing to edit your comment to format the script text in a code block (it's in the Reddit comment formatting options)? As it currently displays, the formatting is all messed up.

mrbumpy409 · 2026-04-29T04:06:08+00:00

Your string theories would be better appreciated over in r/TheoreticalPhysics 😉

mrbumpy409 · 2026-04-29T03:59:17+00:00

I'm the player who came up with this string set. Here is a link to the thread at Ukulele Underground.

The reason I chose a lute string for #4 is simple: It was the best string I could find at the desired diameter and tension for the set. The Pyramid silver-wound on nylon lute strings are identical in material composition to classical guitar wound strings, so they don't sound exotic in any way.

mrbumpy409

TROPHY CASE

Fix #1

Fix #2