bfields

Maybe this is already obvious and you've already done it, but: what made a difference to me, besides buying a separate set of cables and pedals, was labelling all the at-home cables and tying them all to my at-home stand. So when I plug everything back in, each cable is already hanging right below the spot where it plugs in.

100% of my gigs are in places with no stairs and if anything an oversupply of nearby parking. But, also, as a hobbyist, the "gigs", as far as I'm concerned, are mainly a way to give direction to the practice. It's the playing with friends part that I like, and that's always in somebody's basement. Back when I had a bulky 55-pound RD500, I did that once. It involved an extra pair of hands and a certain amount of worry about their walls. Twenty years later I swapped it for something half the weight and started playing a lot more. I should have done it earlier!

I remember the first laptop I bought was in 1999, a Sony 505tr to help me write my dissertation.... I'd listen to music while I worked, and wow was that thing noisy. I felt like I could hear every hard drive seek through the headphones. Audio and video playback is a core function of laptops these days in a way it was only just starting to be then, and nobody would accept that kind of flaw any more. The built-in audio on every laptop I've had since has been great. It may not be "professional" in the sense that it doesn't have some features you might want, but if all you need is a single unbalanced stereo output--I've never noticed any serious problems. (To answer the original question--one Zoom recorder, an x18 mixer, and a Scarlett 2i2 that I need to pass along to someone else, as I never use it. And I think my Zoom b3 effect pedal also does USB audio. Uh, and I think any android devices can work as USB interfaces these days? Alas, none of my keyboards support USB audio. The x18 is the only one I actually use as an audio interface.)

Since the 80s, I think? Seems like the obvious comparison, and weird not to mention it, even if only to explain how Spirio is fundamentally different somehow, if it is....

I only ever get paid a small amount of cash--hard to imagine the IRS in practice caring much about the few dollars of taxes involved--but I'm a stickler and the schedule C is easy, so I always do it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Those days I spent a lot of time at the house of my friend across the street who had MTV, and I got a lethal dose of that song. My first reaction was: a feature-length documentary on that one sappy earworm? So I skimmed through it. Then I caught some of the actual recording scenes. It's a lot of fun seeing them all together, working out parts, redoing takes, troubleshooting problems. Planning to give it another go from the start.

The closest thing I've done was just a couple student productions without real scores and such (music was either entirely the band's, or just chord charts, so more like playing in a cover band). But I really enjoyed it. We got to be part of a bigger team and put on a fun show. I'd definitely ask some more questions. Keyboard players are sometimes hard to find, and a high school production may be glad for whoever they can get, who knows. Good pit musicians are amazing, but that may not be what their next best alternative is.

Since rule changes in 2020, I don't believe that any US airline gives emotional support animals any special treatment. https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-announces-final-rule-traveling-air-service-animals Yes, you can bring animals as carry on if they're small enough, but that's nothing to do with whether they're claimed as emotional support animals or not. Also, service animals that have training to help a person with a disability *do* still get special treatment, but my understanding is that that's a much harder standard to meet, compared to getting a letter stating your pet is an emotional support animal. (And I expected the same to be true for rental housing, but googling suggests that US landlords may actually be required to make exceptions to no pet policies for emotional support animals?)

In fact, I've always seen "ra" and "me" used for the flatted second and third, which makes for an odd melody in this case.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solfège#Major

Looks like a reasonable stand. I think I'd find that pretty awkward, though, to carry around and to fit into a car.

I wonder if there's any potential for heat buildup if you attach the "external" power supply to the case. Seems to me one of the advantages of an external power supply could be that heat dissipates more easily.

Dumb question: is there any reason keyboards couldn't standardize on USB power?

I think it'd be simpler to tell you what I can play rather than what I can't--one list is a lot shorter than the other! I'm usually up for trying anything, though, as a player or a listener--even if it's something that I'm bad at, or that I dislike. Every now and the I surprise myself. It keeps life interesting.

If I was the bass player I'd play a B and call it a suspended 7th. Maybe. As the keyboardist I think I'd go with trial and error, and one note at a time--the guitarist's already covering the chords, right?

Original post here, for what it's worth: