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musicianships2025-08-31 02:16 am
Three Acceptable Kinds of Gear
1) Fully analogue with proper MIDI.
This is the old fashioned, diodes and transistors, way of building electronics. Get out your soldiering iron and multimeter.
There are inherent flaws and variance in quality control that lead to each unit being minutely different. This is more-or-less imperceivable but, sometimes there is a little "something" that a person might prefer with one unit over another. Perhaps one compressor just does something a little sweeter than another despite having all the same settings.
In any other industry this would be considered a bad thing but, musicians get all hot and bothered when a person brings up analogue equipment. Something about those tubes that just gets a guy going.
Never mind how digital is technically better because it's more transparent and accurate. lol. But, I digress.
This variety of pedals, rack gear, etc, are get to specialize in doing one thing. All the knobs and sliders at the ready to tweak any and everything.
It's great because the worthwhile ones are built to last and are generally going to be repairable. They're made with tangible components that people can buy. No programing or flashing of firmware required. No software upgrades or artificial degradation or subscriptions. One just owns it and can potentially make modifications to it.
2) Digital multi-effects units.
The only one that I know of here that I would consider viable is the Dwarf by MOD Audio. That is because it's totally free/open source.
All of the others will eventually stop working and there's not much that can be done as it's proprietary software running on who knows what. Unless the key people behind the products have contingency plans in place, everything dies with them or the company.
Maybe someone else out there could reverse engineer and make a clone but, it's the same problem without releasing the code, schematics, and parts list. It's also a matter of upgrading to new chips and porting over.
Every one of these also has arbitrary limitations whereas the MOD Audio: Dwarf does not. The Synthström: Deluge doesn't really either. That's an open source sequencer.
The Dwarf handles all kinds of effects via plugins, amp sims, cab IRs. It has a looper, noise generators, metronome, LCO, compressors, EQs, synths, and you name it. With whatever virtual routing you can imagine.
Plus, it's possible to run via a USB drive on your computer.
The GUI to configure everything is browser based. There's a local HTML5 file to access everything on the Dwarf. This ensures it's cross-platform.
3) The UNIX Way
Have you figured out the in-between, yet? Take a selection of digital effects and perhaps some others to alter the "wet" effects-only and let each pedal excel at what it does.
Basically like what (closed-)Source Audio does. They make most effects and ultities that exist and do it well. Proper MIDI, stereo i/o, presets, expression, and an app to test out presets and tweak things with. Like MOD Audio, they have a community that makes presets and shares them.
I have a couple of their pedals so far. They're touted as being the best yet, they also are barely profitable. Plenty on the used market. If I won the lottery, I'd buy enough of the company and release the source code for the effects and for the apps. Among other things I'd like to see but, that's for another day.
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dw_maintenance2025-08-31 07:37 pmCode deploy happening shortly
Per the dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.
There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-31 08:52 pm
Bingo
I1 (Somebody at the Door) -- "No Faster or Firmer Friendships" (Polychrome Heroics)
I3 (As If by Magic) -- "To Allow in More Light" (Monster House)
I4 (Someone from the Past) -- "An Inkling of Things to Come" (Polychrome Heroics: Shiv)
N4 (He Who Whispers) -- "He Who Whispers" (An Army of One)
G2 (Family Matters) -- "When You Learn to Read" (Polychrome Heroics: Big One)
G3 (Before the Fact) -- "Where You Find Light" (Polychrome Heroics: Big One)
G4 (Deep Waters) -- "The Most Precious Heritage" (Polychrome Heroics: Rutledge)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-31 05:29 pmCyberspace Theory
There’s a moment, usually around the seventh open tab, when your brain lets out a quiet scream. Not loud. Just a gentle, exhausted howl from somewhere behind your eyeballs. You've read ten headlines, watched half a video, skimmed three opinion pieces, checked your email, ignored two messages, and now you can't remember what you were doing in the first place. Welcome to the modern infoscape. It's busy, it's loud, and it's eating us alive.
( Read more... )
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earthobservatory_iod_feed) wrote2025-09-01 12:00 amThe First Labor Day Parade
New York City’s Manhattan Island was the site of the nation’s first Labor Day parade on September 5, 1882.
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-31 01:00 amNew Year's Resolutions Check In
This year I'm trying something new, continuing to track goals at the end of each month. So far it seems to be helping, so that's encouraging. I'm looking at my goal list more often and trying to keep ticking off more of them. The main drawback is that this update becomes more of a chore each month.
These are the previous check in posts:
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 4
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 10
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 17
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 24
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In February 28
New Year's Resolutions Check In March 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In April 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In May 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In June 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In July 31
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ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-31 03:25 pmBirdfeeding
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. I heard a cardinal singing but didn't see it.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/31/25 -- I watered the irises.
EDIT 8/31/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 8/31/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 8/31/25 -- I took out the hose and watered the new picnic table and septic gardens.
A male ruby-throated hummingbird dive-bombed me while I was out with the hose. Hopefully he'll go back and drink from the droplets on the plants. :D I heard a woodpecker drumming but didn't see it.
EDIT 8/31/25 -- I watered the patio plants, old picnic table, barrel garden, goddess garden, and other house yard plants.
A sphinx moth tried to lick me, and then visited the impatiens and other flowers on the old picnic table. :D
Cicadas and crickets are singing.
We got the hose reeled up and put away.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
Mississippi site block, plus a small restriction on Tennessee new accounts
A reminder to everyone that starting tomorrow, we are being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court. People whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we'll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.
The block page will include the apology but I'll repeat it here: we don't do geolocation ourselves, so we're limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider. Our anti-spam geolocation blocks have shown us that their geolocation database has a number of mistakes in it. If one of your friends who doesn't live in Mississippi gets the block message, there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don't control it. The only way to fix a mistaken block is to change your IP address to one that doesn't register as being in Mississippi, either by disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting it (if you don't have a static IP address) or using a VPN.
In related news, the judge in our challenge to Tennessee's social media age verification, parental consent, and parental surveillance law (which we are also part of the fight against!) ruled last month that we had not met the threshold for a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the court case proceeds.
The Tennesee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), but it's still a risk to us. While the fight goes on, we've decided to prevent any new account signups from anyone under 18 in Tennessee to protect ourselves against risk. We do not need to block access from the whole state: this only applies to new account creation.
Because we don't do any geolocation on our users and our network provider's geolocation services only apply to blocking access to the site entirely, the way we're implementing this is a new mandatory question on the account creation form asking if you live in Tennessee. If you do, you'll be unable to register an account if you're under 18, not just the under 13 restriction mandated by COPPA. Like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we're sorry, and we hope we'll be able to undo it as soon as possible.
Finally, I'd like to thank every one of you who's commented with a message of support for this fight or who's bought paid time to help keep us running. The fact we're entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work. I've also sent a lot of your comments to the lawyers who are fighting the actual battles in court, and they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do. Thank you all once again for being the best users any social media site could ever hope for. You make me proud and even more determined to yell at state attorneys general on your behalf.
sciam_feed) wrote2025-08-31 12:00 pmAI Spots Hidden Signs of Consciousness in Comatose Patients before Doctors Do
A machine-learning algorithm spotted signs of “covert consciousness” in coma patients—in some cases, days before doctors could do so
sciam_feed) wrote2025-08-31 11:00 amGiant ‘Gullies’ in the Earth Threaten Cities in Africa amid Rapid Urbanization
Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of losing homes, businesses—and lives—as giant “gullies” expand into cities across Africa
sciam_feed) wrote2025-08-31 03:30 amEPA Fires 5 Employees Who Signed ‘Dissent’ Letter
The EPA fired five agency employees who signed a June declaration decrying moves that contradict science and undermine public health, alongside four more served removal notices
sciam_feed) wrote2025-08-30 11:00 am5 Books Scientific American Recommends for August
Check out this collection of nonfiction and fiction books recommended by Scientific American
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-30 09:53 pm
Today's Adventures
Amusingly, I'm wearing a goldenrod-yellow T-shirt with a corncob and the caption "This is my crop top." (It's full length.) I got at least half a dozen compliments on it. :D I bought it earlier this year at another event, definitely a good choice for fall festivals.
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ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-30 05:57 pmCommunities
As I write this, however, as the new part-time engagement coordinator for a small community farm, I’m laughing at the comedy of errors. I’m not afraid, because this is the first job I’ve ever had that treats me, first and foremost, like a person.
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ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-30 05:54 pmBirdfeeding
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.
EDIT 8/30/25 -- I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 8/30/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 8/30/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 8/30/25 -- I potted up 10 Ginger Gold apple seeds.
EDIT 8/30/25 -- I watered the apple seeds and the new picnic table plants.
I've picked several groundcherries today.
Cicadas and crickets are singing. I saw one firefly; it's cool for them and terribly dry.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
earthobservatory_iod_feed) wrote2025-08-31 12:00 amHaze Sweeps Over the Mediterranean
An oblique photo from the International Space Station captured haze spilling from valleys in Italy and France and streaming south along the Italian peninsula.
sciam_feed) wrote2025-08-30 10:30 amNeglecton Particles Could Be Key to More Stable Quantum Computers
Scientists have revived an ignored area of math to envision a path toward stable quantum computing
sciam_feed) wrote2025-08-29 06:00 pmVoting Integrity Messages Fight Misinformation in the Lab. But What about the Real World?
Telling people exactly how voting security works helps defeat election misinformation, experiments suggest. But outside experts question how well that works in the real world