What to do about preparing for #FAWM ?
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Update: uninstalling and reinstalling did not work, probably because that's not how things are organized on the Mac compared to Windows. Deleting the app only deletes the app, not the settings.
Following the steps in https://promixacademy.com/blog/loop-in-reaper/ also failed, because the behavior described in Step 2-1:"Right-click on the timeline above your selected area and choose “Set Loop Points” from the context menu." simply does not occur. There's no "Set Loop Points" option there.
However, after selecting "Remove all markers from time selection" from that same context menu, I can draw a time selection on the ruler, which is progress. I do not recall having made a time selection before, but maybe I have. Does it work? Let's find out!
… yes, yes it does. Only took me an hour to troubleshoot.
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However, after selecting "Remove all markers from time selection" from that same context menu, I can draw a time selection on the ruler, which is progress. I do not recall having made a time selection before, but maybe I have. Does it work? Let's find out!
… yes, yes it does. Only took me an hour to troubleshoot.
Well, stone me, I've recorded some drums. And it's time to wrap up practice for the day and go to bed, so more tomorrow.
Once again, once I'd jumped through a dozen different hoops and tore my hair out for over an hour to identify the tiny thing the instructions missed, things work pretty much the way I expected before I started on the task.
I wish just for once I could go directly from zero to things working the way I expected them to in the first place!
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Well, stone me, I've recorded some drums. And it's time to wrap up practice for the day and go to bed, so more tomorrow.
Once again, once I'd jumped through a dozen different hoops and tore my hair out for over an hour to identify the tiny thing the instructions missed, things work pretty much the way I expected before I started on the task.
I wish just for once I could go directly from zero to things working the way I expected them to in the first place!
Though I guess the sample player, ReaSamplOMatic5000, counts as something that worked as expected immediately. So maybe I'm being unfair in the thread above.
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Though I guess the sample player, ReaSamplOMatic5000, counts as something that worked as expected immediately. So maybe I'm being unfair in the thread above.
January 8: After thinking through how things went yesterday, I think I was a little too hard on Reaper (and on linux and its community as a snide little aside). I regret saying that in public, but only a little bit. Part of documenting what I've been up to every evening that I'm working my way to being ready for FAWM is mentioning how I feel about things, and that was how I felt. But I also thought what kept happening wasn't Reaper's fault.
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January 8: After thinking through how things went yesterday, I think I was a little too hard on Reaper (and on linux and its community as a snide little aside). I regret saying that in public, but only a little bit. Part of documenting what I've been up to every evening that I'm working my way to being ready for FAWM is mentioning how I feel about things, and that was how I felt. But I also thought what kept happening wasn't Reaper's fault.
Gradually working with the same templates to get to something I can use involves the creation of some technical debt: actions that I may have forgotten about but that effect the next lesson. If I started from scratch each session, I wouldn't have these problems.
That was what I thought late last night.
Today… I followed @etherdiver 's video about using the MicroFreak with effects, specifically the ZOOM CDR-70 Multistomp. -
Gradually working with the same templates to get to something I can use involves the creation of some technical debt: actions that I may have forgotten about but that effect the next lesson. If I started from scratch each session, I wouldn't have these problems.
That was what I thought late last night.
Today… I followed @etherdiver 's video about using the MicroFreak with effects, specifically the ZOOM CDR-70 Multistomp.This time around, very little of what Ether said was new to me (I've had both the synth and the pedal for a while and know they go well together), but it was a nice refresher. I did, however, tune out when the discussion about whether the pedal was worth purchasing or not started. At that point, I took that as my queue to try out the chorus/delay/reverb effects that shipped with Reaper instead… and what do you know?
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This time around, very little of what Ether said was new to me (I've had both the synth and the pedal for a while and know they go well together), but it was a nice refresher. I did, however, tune out when the discussion about whether the pedal was worth purchasing or not started. At that point, I took that as my queue to try out the chorus/delay/reverb effects that shipped with Reaper instead… and what do you know?
The curse struck again. After a few minutes, something happened that made the effects chain not work. I know it worked at first because I sent the feedback on a delay right into the hell zone of digital clipping. But after switching out chorus effects… I got the dry output from the MicroFreak and nothing more.
I decided not to go into the rabbit hole today, A fresh start tomorrow should have everything working again, and if not, I can deal with it then.
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The curse struck again. After a few minutes, something happened that made the effects chain not work. I know it worked at first because I sent the feedback on a delay right into the hell zone of digital clipping. But after switching out chorus effects… I got the dry output from the MicroFreak and nothing more.
I decided not to go into the rabbit hole today, A fresh start tomorrow should have everything working again, and if not, I can deal with it then.
But it's at moments like this I'm really glad to have my standard pedalboard, as well as the extra pedals that can come in handy (the Multistomp, a Strymon Bluesky reverb and a mono CabZeus cab simulator). If all else fails, I can show them to my computer and remind it it's replaceable. I mean hook them up and record wet signal from those devices. Into my R16. While the goddamned computer watches and starts thinking about how to get back into my good graces.
Ahem.
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But it's at moments like this I'm really glad to have my standard pedalboard, as well as the extra pedals that can come in handy (the Multistomp, a Strymon Bluesky reverb and a mono CabZeus cab simulator). If all else fails, I can show them to my computer and remind it it's replaceable. I mean hook them up and record wet signal from those devices. Into my R16. While the goddamned computer watches and starts thinking about how to get back into my good graces.
Ahem.
That reminds me, my wrists are doing great and I might just play some guitar again tomorrow.
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That reminds me, my wrists are doing great and I might just play some guitar again tomorrow.
January 9: Wellp, I managed 20 minutes of guitar, five songs from the repertoire, playing into Reaper (which worked fine) until I began to feel more pain in my wrists again. Quitting while I was ahead, I guess. Quality of playing was appalling because I am using reduced brain capacity to do more work: monitoring pain is now part of my daily playing practice and it's both distracting and ruining my confidence in my own movements.
Passive Reaper tutorial watching now. NOT hands-on, oh no no no.
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January 9: Wellp, I managed 20 minutes of guitar, five songs from the repertoire, playing into Reaper (which worked fine) until I began to feel more pain in my wrists again. Quitting while I was ahead, I guess. Quality of playing was appalling because I am using reduced brain capacity to do more work: monitoring pain is now part of my daily playing practice and it's both distracting and ruining my confidence in my own movements.
Passive Reaper tutorial watching now. NOT hands-on, oh no no no.
Jan. 10: a bit of a headache today so I was watching short-ish YouTube videos in the early afternoon, including one on using VST synths within Reaper. It looks like that is how I will be doing FAWM: nothing clever with multi-channel sequencing, just building up parts with a MIDI controller one at a time.
Probably time to switch back to a piano keyboard controller then, as Monster Drums is made with that in mind, and regular synths are easier to play that way anyway.
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Jan. 10: a bit of a headache today so I was watching short-ish YouTube videos in the early afternoon, including one on using VST synths within Reaper. It looks like that is how I will be doing FAWM: nothing clever with multi-channel sequencing, just building up parts with a MIDI controller one at a time.
Probably time to switch back to a piano keyboard controller then, as Monster Drums is made with that in mind, and regular synths are easier to play that way anyway.
So, the question "which of these seemingly identical but subtly different mini-USB cables (or lightning cables, or just about anything that isn't USB-A to square USB) will work" is "the one that's covered in tape, because that's the one ou used the shit out of before". Nice to be reminded of that.
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Anyone has a recommendation for a phone cover vendor? Android, so no need for Fancy magnetic thingies.
I broke a few screens over the years dropping my phone and I'm thinking maybe I need it :)
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@futurebird Also, I tell junior devs to think back to science class. Every change you make to code is an experiment; your hypothesis is that the new code will be somehow better than the old. But you can't put too many variables in an experiment, or you won't know which changes mattered and why.
So test often. Test after every line of code if you have to. It sounds annoying but it's much easier than the avalanche of bugs you get when running 1000 new lines the first time.
Go slow to go fast.
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@futurebird i think Microsoft in the 90s set up this attitude towards computers that still lives today: “it’s your fault if it doesn’t work”.
I never had to use Windows — ever — and every time I would sit down to try, something glaringly bad would be right there interfering.
And I’ve been a dev and UX person for nearly 40 years.
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Yes, that's exactly what I did! I already posted a couple of answers, but after looking at the whole thread I realized I didn't really understand the question. Yes, I think this is the answer to the question.
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@futurebird oh I see, indeed this was with university students, I've never teached computer science to younger students so I'll read what others have suggested. But at any stage of learning, I completely agree that some fun being involved greatly greases the wheels :)
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@fortunos @futurebird pretty funny if you can pull it off. Can destroy some kids though.
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@futurebird Some of it may be the lack of confidence in being able to fix it. I have seen devs who, as soon as they hit an issue, immediately look to make it someone else’s problem, so I fully support teaching them how to debug.
I like the idea of giving them buggy code. A lot of being a developer is finding the mistake the past developer (often yourself) made. :)
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@futurebird
Thank you for asking this. It made me feel useful, and brought back good memories now that I'm retired. Something else it made me think of was students' reaction when I'd come over to help with a problem they'd been struggling with for a while and point right at it. They would be all amazed and say how did you do that, and I'm like, well I've seen it hundreds of times. 😄
