Chip McDonald

What Kenyan artists are you into? I think of "Kenyan guitar" as being a rough acoustic sound, the rest of non-south Africa guitar I generalize as the Ali Farka Toure sound, which is kind of like a JC-120 thing? The Tuareg scene I'm surprised hasn't become more mainstream.

I love the old Peavey Scorpion 12s, they roll off the highs like a greenback - and the little compact 4x12 they made in the flight case was an ultra convenient thing.

Went down that rabbit hole a few years ago, including trying to overlap multiple curves with dynamic eq, and "signal chain-ing" the impedance curve, harmonic distortion ..... I could match a number of famous recordings, but it was an illusion in that part of the "solution" was specialized to the way the track was eq'ed/balanced/processed, it falls apart in a different context while an "o.k." miced sound manages to translate. You still end up in the Uncanny Valley imo, as well as encountering Occam's Razor as you get closer to the approximation. The Melda cab plugin beckoned to me like a siren, made me realize I was lost in the Uncanny Valley. An invitation to wrestle with option anxiety; it wrecks your objectivity. Even now I'm trying to get out of it. It's like listening for the differences in dither, or oversampling in the first 60 ms of the speech band in a recording, discerning what's happening different between the snare attack and the crash decay and the guitar sound at 44.1 vs. 96k. What is the "right" harmonic overtone balance, blend of atonal vs. tonal response? It's subjective, but the most important thing is that the Uncanny Valley effect is the most important to me. There is a complexity that translates as "THIS IS A REAL SOUND YOU'RE HEARING" vs. "THIS IS A SIMULATION", a mid range "wrongness" in linearity that happens with convolution math that drives me nuts. It's like a Gary Larson cartoon where the dog is trying to trick the cat, "I think I like this? I think it sounds like a 55hz 25 watt Greenback.... I think?". A.I. plugins will solve this in a year or two, though.

I lost half of my lesson business in March when I shut down, tried to get PUA because the description of it seemed to cover my situation - but after days of trying to get it going online and trying to navigate a web page system in S.C. that wasn't designed for "partially employed" people (endless circular-logic dead ends) I (and hours on a phone with no answer) I gave up. Despite the CARES Act and endless politicians saying things referencing self-employed not being fully unemployed being "eligible for PUA" it was impossible for me. If you reported any income in the S.C. system it disqualified you. The PPP loan was a joke. I was offered $1,200 - which would almost cover my rent, leaving zero money left over for my "wages" which meant I wouldn't have been eligible for forgiveness; a loan with a small but present interest to be paid back. The banks had a holiday with PPP, that was a giveaway to them. Meanwhile I see on the list basically every last business in Augusta Georgia got loans; all the car dealerships got about $1.5 million each, lots of businesses got millions. The $1,200 stimulus made a difference. I've burned through my savings. I'm getting by a little bit by not having to buy gas to get to work, and my office utility bill is now the base amount (which is ridiculous...). I'm in an attrition situation now, slowly losing students with "let me know when you reopen your office" texts. For my parents living on a fixed income it meant getting out from under a little bit more; but my mother never got her $1,200, only my father - and she died in July. I presume I may get vaccinated by the middle of 2022; it will probably be September or later before the numbers have a chance to bring the R0 back down to something safe enough to allow me to sit in a small room with people 30 minutes at a time. I'm not sure my business is going to make it until then; and evcen so, it will take a year to try to build a student roster back up, and that's presuming a pre-COVID economy. I'm kneecapped, zero savings, dour future. I've managed to get by, but I'm at a maximal stress point. $600? Really?

It's strange. It's like a double whammy; my mother died in July, and my only family is my wife and my father - who is 86. I am staying out of my father's house. I have literally gone nowhere since March, but my wife has to work alongside many other people; she could have it, I could have it. I can't risk losing my father as well. First Christmas without my mother for my father and I, and we have to be separate. From my vantage point "Christmas" is gone.

I don't find these lyrics as crass or offensive someone leading a group of people that has a fantastic, fantastic I'm telling you, following of quality, the best quality people the U.S. has ever seen. Fantastic, I'm telling you. In fact, the quality of this music is so fabulous, the most fabulous, it's perfectly fitting of these times we live in, fabulous times, the best. The American people couldn't expect more fabulous music, fabulous, I'm telling you, just listen to how fabulous it is.

The Netherlands are locking down until January 15th. There will be more and more nations realizing that the NZ and Australia model has nothing to do with being islands, but citizen behavior and that the sooner they take it seriously the sooner they can get past it. The U.S. will be last. People will be moaning about the economy, when it's a direct result of not being able to have a mature attitude towards "freedom". I see people are already starting this bizarro-world idea that since the vaccine won't immediately eliminate the need for masks "see! SEE! The vaccines are FAKE!!!". The fall of the United States empire is going to accelerate drastically; Europe might be the big winners in the end, supplanting the U.S. economy because of bozos and their "freedumbs".

You could also install the Spleeter a.i./ML plugin (or now I guess the new version of Ozone?) and stem out the track, phase cancel the kick with itself and then replace it, mix it back together.... I suspect this will become a "secret" SOP thing very soon, once people realize it can be done.

What I want is to have a camera pointed at the knobs while Famous Mix Engineer turns them. I can learn wayyyy more by watching the knob turn - and stop - while hearing what Bob Clearmountain/Michael Brauer/CLA/whoever is hearing. I'd love to watch/hear Terry Manning quickly eq say 10 different guitar tracks from scratch, in a row. That would be exquisite.

Nashville is a concentrated Blue dot in the middle of a Red state. In the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area)/Augusta you've got one sort of Blue county and very concentrated Red counties. You see masks on about half the people in the Blue county, but go 10 miles out to the affluent Red county and it's like nothing special is going on.

I don't know, it always annoys me with a VST doesn't allow shift for fine control. I think we're still in the Model T days of UI "standardization" in some respects. Dave Rat has a good channel, he's remarkable in presenting info with practical examples. For live sound people I would think it's a must, he should hold the title of "Master of Live Sound Tricks". Dan Worral does a lot of good presentations of "obscure digital technical problems" on his channel. But for the most part a lot of videos are rehashing basic things, or selling plugins with hyperbolic "WOW! I really love what that's doing to the top end, the presentation of body and air!", things that 98% of the viewers aren't going to hear and just be confused by.

I know people that are doing gigs at places where mutual friends have been infected, and dozens of people have been infected. I also know people that are gigging that now have family members infected after Thanksgiving. The government, social media and the networks are to blame. Zero education. There should have been PSAs on every commercial break, CDC should have had a consistent and conservative message; and I hate to say it, but those in positions at the CDC, NIH et al should have defied the imperial regime and been blunt about the dangers of COVID and to be extra circumspect about taking precautions. In a lot of ways, that time Fauci did the interview and played down masks (no doubt because of pressure from 45) has a LOT to do with the anti-mask brigade feeling so empowered months later. And Redmond being lackadaisical, and the Surgeon General should be in jail for crimes against humanity - going around telling people masks don't work. I now realize the median i.q. aren't capable of grasping the science, and that's where the government should step in and take responsibility. It took 50 years for the same demographic to grasp smoking kills you, and we don't have 50 years for this. Local hospitals in my area are at 90% capacity - and we have a LOT of hospitals, a big medical school as well - and restaurants, clubs/bars are open. Most places with people not wearing masks. I drive around occasionally to see what's going on, look at the people walking into restaurants with no masks, going in the gas stations with masks (it's amazing people work registers at these places .... 100's of people going in and out all day...?)....... I find myself awake in a loony bin.

Unfortunately I think it's reached a critical point where the Peasantry is finally starting to grasp the scale and ramifications of what's going on. A couple was arrested for getting on a plane knowing they had COVID in Hawaii; at some point more criminal negligence charges will happen, and liability lawsuits. Then there won't be a need for mandates, it will be self-policing. I think Facebook and Twitter should start consulting their legal teams, because a year from now hindsight is going to make their part in letting the anti-science bozos spread nonsense look criminal as well.

The Vishnu seems to have an aluminum back plane, another thing I looked for since the Logitech I had must have had a circuit trace coming loose that made it mallllfffunnnnction if it wasn't perfectly level and supported. I don't know if all of the Redragons do, though. For each of the types of keyboards (TKL, TKL compact, 75%, 80%, all of the combinations) there are preferred brands, but the main thing is getting one with "hot swappable" switches so you can customize/modify it. Then there is key cap style, the feel of the different types of plastic, double injected caps, the offset/profiles... pretty hilarious deep dive....

The Vishnu comes with the "red" style switches (a German company called "Cherry" differentiated their different key switches by color = actuation force), which are about as quiet as a generic Logitech/Dell etc., but you can replace (hot swap) them with any switches made by Outemu. Outemu makes a silent switch I believe, but you can get these little neoprene grommets from Amazon that go under each key that will make them silent. The customizable aspect combined with the choice in actuation weight really makes touch typing a refreshing experience with mechanical keys, you should investigate it given how much I presume you use a keyboard. I've got my home row keys with the lightest actuation force switches (red, 45 gram force), and the rest brown (50 gram) so I won't miskey them from the home row. My enter and space bar are stiffer and click so I get positive feedback I've hit them. There are also a lot of separate/discrete ten-key pads that are macro programmable in the $30 ball park. But really, look into mechanical key switches, it's like the difference between a pro fret job with low action and a pawn shop guitar with high action and corroded strings.

Redragon Vishnu k5956. TKL/ "ten keyless" Bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity. Battery last awhile off charging cable (USB A>C) Hot swap mechanical keys (comes with red (lightest touch)), extra keys that can be programmed for text macros. The led lighting is very adjustable - I just have mine barely lit with one color for night, but it does all of the elaborate programmable lighting effects. Lots of extra features. As I am wont to do, I spent a saturday researching "mechanical keyboards" to make sure I didn't waste my money in the debate between "buy another $30 Logitech or shell out and exorbitant $55 for a mechanical keyboard". Don't go through my pain, I did the hard work. And if you don't already know it by now, you need a mechanical key switch keyboard! In the mechanical keyboard realm I believe this is most affordable (pragmatic), mechanical key swap-able macro function choice. $.10

The vaccines will need over half the population to take it to be effective. If not enough take it mutation will occur. For those of us that take it we'll still have a 10% chance or better of getting infected, and what people don't get is that it's not perfect immunity (although better than if you have already seroconverted from having had COVID). Even vaccinated if you get enough viral load it's likely you can be overwhelmed by it and get infected. So we'll still have to wear masks through at least 2022. Of course, if EVERYBODY WORE MASKS, GOT VACCINATED AND STAYED HOME FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS WE'D BE DONE WITH IT. It's really up to the fence sitters and the anti-science mob: if we let them have their way we'll be screwing up what will probably be our only chance at getting things back to normal. Effectively the end of the world as we knew it, because we coddle the jerks.

We have a problem in the U.S. because we've allowed "freedom of expression" and (faux) "courtesy" to allow a dangerous mindset to flourish, become accepted as a social norm, instead of being marginalized. 10 years ago, how was someone regarded that didn't cover their mouth if they coughed in public? The person that used cuss words loudly in a mixed business setting? Someone that cut people off in traffic? These things are (were...) considered unacceptable public behavior, marginalized, and at one point in time simply not done because of social pressure. What's been allowed to happen with masks and distancing: "polite acceptance". That's wrong IMO. And ranting about it here may only influence one person reading this, but if they ask someone to pull their mask up in public because they feel they're not alone in this opinion, a change HAS been made. The anti-maskers have been brigading social media, and are being allowed to continue to mainstream their "perspective" and it's already caused people to die. *We should not let it become a "socially acceptable choice" when it should be ostracized*.

If you don't wear one when you're around people..... you are anti-mask by default. but unless I run into a crowd of people, I don't use it. .... I'm not going to assume English is your native language, so maybe you missed the part where I wrote "if you don't wear one when YOU'RE AROUND PEOPLE...." Again, *if someone decides not to wear a mask when they're around people* given we're in a pandemic and it prevents the spread of a deadly virus.... what is a good way of stating their preferences...? You made a straw man, that is not what I wrote. Another straw man. I didn't say that. On the other hand, it's ridiculous to say someone fit enough to run can't wear a mask while doing so. ANYBODY FIT ENOUGH TO BE MOBILE IS FIT ENOUGH TO WEAR A MASK. Rubbish.

Therefore, masks aren't needed. Ironically, I have seen many runners wearing masks, and magically they don't seem to have a problem with it. BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ONE. You're hung up on wanting to make a point based on a fallacy. I did not write "all runners are anti-mask" or "everyone I see at the park are anti-mask". If you want to continue that knock yourself out. Behold, the Speaker for All Runners! ......... Except at the park I was referring to, IT'S IN THE SOUTH EAST WHERE IT'S VERY WARM, THERE WERE CROWDS, NO MASKS AND THEY WERE NOT KEEPING THEIR DISTANCE. BS. Show me a study, not an opinion, that it's "more difficult". Gaiters are not effective, and may make it worse by making droplets smaller and more easily transmissible. The neck gaiter has a larger transmission (110%; see Fig. 3A) than the control trial. You're making excuses for people engaged in reckless behavior. "He was driving his car on the sidewalk in the crowed shopping district, but otherwise he is a "safe driver". You don't live in the south east United States, do you? You are stating everything from YOUR perspective of what you think people are like where YOU are, as opposed to where *I* am - where people actively shout down people that wear masks in public. People walking around inside grocery stores and Walmart with no masks.

Nashville is mature as a town. People there are proud of their city, and I think in turn act responsibly and don't exhibit the "YOU AIN'T TELLIN' ME WHAT I'M GONNA DO!!!" reflex because of that. It's why I think New York turned their situation around so fast and so well; you see footage on the street in Manhattan and everyone is wearing a mask, they're responding as a social unit that has been "impuned". My area, not so much....

Do you know what paraphrasing is? Do you understand one can describe a summation of a scene without trying to cover 100% of a perfect description? Probably not. If people are congregating in groups without masks, walking alongside other people without wearing masks, they are not thinking about wearing masks when they should be. A "mask requirement" not being present is exactly my point: you don't need a mask requirement if you're being conscientious and responsible. They're not wearing a mask because they don't want to, they're not thinking about those around them. By default they're anti-mask. The virus doesn't care about "mask requirements". Everyone knows at this point they should stay apart from each other, and wear masks around other people. If they choose not to it's not because there isn't a mask requirement. I can, unless you need to go to the ER because you have a problem with your lungs. I do have an idea. If you're fit enough to run you're fit enough to wear a mask without passing out. It's fact. It's proven. People magically do it all the time. I do not care about alienating the irresponsible. If you feel I'm addressing you I can't help that. Bruce was defending me with that statement here long ago. But there is no requirement for you to know that so I understand.

I think you're making an incorrect assumption here. That people don't wear masks where I'm talking about? Or that it's "safe" to walk through the exhalation of a jogger going past? Or that it's arbitrary whether one wears a mask, as opposed to an individual's attempt at protecting others around them? Ok, what does that have to do with my point? Kudos to Mayor Davis for doing the right thing, except there is no enforcement and is ignored. .... and that has what bearing on my post? If you don't wear one when you're around people..... you are anti-mask by default. A) that's not true. B) you don't HAVE to run where other people are.

Kudos to Ohio for being smart with a mask mandate. We've got to have a U.S. national mandate to get past this, the vaccines alone won't be enough. ..and Fauci is screwing up again babbling about the vaccines turning it around, like telling people masks are necessary. Frakking frak.

When Eddie VH died I knew I'd get phone calls. 2 different bands called "hey, we're doing an EVH tribute, you've got to do it of course" - one was talking about an outdoor show at an Atlanta location, the other a theater. "How do you plan on doing a rehearsal?", oh, we'll get together in the band room... "How are you going to make everyone in the audience wear masks?" - oh, well, we're not worried about that. "How are we going to stay distant at the gig?" - "oh man, you're not that afraid of it are you?" I had no intentions of doing either gig, told them get back to me when the pandemic is over. But it was... sad and... typical to be presented with such a prosaic denial of what's going on. Had a conversation with one guy that ended going over a mutual friend that got COVID from a local gig where some 30 people got infected; that the guy didn't die meant it was no big deal. What of the other 30 people? What about people the other 30 infected? I feel so insanely alienated, more than normal. I could have gone on with my life thinking the median was smarter than they are, but this year has been such a wake up call for me. It's literally insane articles in my local newspaper talk about "businesses opening up!" and more, alongside articles about schools closing because of infection, the local hospital bed count and the death toll. It's like I suddenly find myself in an alternate reality of dumb sociopaths, where science is subjective and propaganda "educates" people. The Matrix fails.