Never understood the platform these folks are standing on with the whole arbitrary tuning thing... What, are they trying to get even with all the monkeys with perfect-pitch? As in trying to drive them batty with out of tune shit Same deal with the flat-earthers... No one can really be that dumb, so they must just be trying to purposely piss off clear thinking mf'ers...

 

Yeah, i have neurosis on my work with music, but not on the same league (for example, i don't care that much about micro attack and release values or fader values as OP said). I'm more neurotic with EQ, since i get pissed eveytime i hear one especific frequency range on an especific element that i think it shouldn't be there. Cutting or boosting that range probably won't make the record any better but i start thinking it's flawed because my brain starts ignoring the good things and focusing on 0.5 dB on 300hz of a cowbell. Sucks.

 

 

Last edited: May 9, 2026 at 9:40 PM

I used to obsess over symmetrical and/or visually coherent setups when building my patches on VCV Rack. How it looked visually was just as important as how it sounded, perhaps even more.

When I realized I was spending hours visually arranging modules without even outputting any audio I decided it was a bit too much and stopped doing it. It was hard at first but eventually I got to a point today where I can start visually arranging stuff only after I get something musically satisfying.

 

It is getting more and more difficult these days to push REC button, isnt it?

 

I like compressor release and reverb pre delay/decay calculators. Especially for setting longer releases and decays it's pretty handy. And you can use a single timebase to calculate all the other values. It works.

 

I am AuDHD (a composite term of autistic and ADHD), so I exhibit many, many "different from the other kids" patterns.

One of which, since you mention numbers, is multiples of 3. So I will cut or boost by 3, or 6, or 3.6 or 9.6 or 12, 15, etc., if I can (and it sounds good).

I didn't really do this, or didn't notice, when I was all analog (tape and console). I don't even think I looked at the values, I just turned the knob until I heard it "right."

It manifests in other ways: when I solo (jazz), I never jump modes on the bar line, or on the beat of the chord - always 'over' the bar line (both the actual bar line and 'imaginary' bar line). I'm always one or three eight notes ahead, depending on tempo and changes.

When I compose, I reverse engineer myself. This likely comes from my Harmony and music analysis courses in school - my teachers would dissect compositions and put all these symbols all over the score, and explain the composers' intent or choices. So when I write, I'm also analyzing myself as they would have, and I play cat and mouse games with this imaginary teacher in my head to make it more difficult for them, and rewarding for their students to analyze and synthesize my composition. Harmonic pleasure booby traps, if you will.

When I orchestrate, or arrange a piece (mine or someone else's composition), I always contrast: dynamics, texture, tempo, pulse, time signature, everything is fair game. If the tempo is fast, I will insert a half time section; if it's a ballad, I'll put in a few bars of double time or imply it (double time). If the tune is balls to the walls, I'll put in an oasis of quiet (have the drummer play on cymbals for instance, or a bit of ethereal solo piano, or other acoustic instrument), etc. And I love contrasting textures: synthetic vs electric vs acoustic. I always make sure there's one playing or soaring against another.

Incidentally, I do the same with food: capers on my pizza, gherkins with my brie, orange juice with my morning omelette, or one scoop of bitter lemon sorbet against my three scoops of extra dark chocolate. I live and die for contrasts - sonic, musical, culinary, olfactory.

I'm also dearly fond of age gaps - in friendships and relationships. I was always with much older or much younger women. About which women, I quite like 'masculine energy' women - not androgynous or buff, but surfer girls (pretty but bad ass), or athletic (swimmers or ballerinas), or women in traditionally masculine roles or jobs (e.g., police officers, army-navy, pilots, drivers, etc).

I only noticed this pattern 5-6 years ago, during the pandemic lockdowns: I enjoy, I seek contrasts in people too. Almost half the time I'm attracted to a woman, she turns out to be gay, so it's not without pitfalls, but, as it turns out, some lesbians have turned out similarly attracted to me.

Bottom line being: whatever our personal quirks or proclivities, it's contrasts (at the restaurant, in the studio, or bedroom) that make up the spice of life. The key for us musicians, is to make sure our music reflects that (spice of life) to a palatable and enjoyable degree.