and, now the device is inconsistent again. ugh. i may actually have multiple inconsistencies. or i may be driving myself insane.

the nad is actually really not very flat. it has a very compressed sound that i recognize as a vacuum tube because i'm a guitarist and guitarists have this romantic notion of vacuum tubes. i can see why this would be perceived as a good thing in a variety of situations. and i could even see using it as a mastering device. but that's a very bad quality to work into mixing into a digital environment, as it's going to smooth over the rough parts. it's immediately obvious.

i remain left with very few useful conclusions. the cord *seemed* to make a difference, until the device got weird. it's hot in here, i should let it cool off...

i'm just going through so many possible combinations that i'm unable to rule out the possibility that i'm playing tricks on myself.

if you've been following this page, this isn't the first time i've gone through these gear crises, and they seem to resolve themselves randomly. i rarely figure out what the cause actually is before it dissipates.

are there psychological factors? temperature? air pressure? neither has been stable here this month; we're going through extreme swings in temperature and humidity, jumping from what seems like october and back into july. existential loss? finishing these tracks as instrumentals is something i've been putting off for 15 years. &etc.

even if i conclude it's psychological - and that's a hard thing to even consider when you're sure you're hearing dramatic differences - i'm still stuck until i can be certain of consistency.

but i know that, previously, when i've realized it might be psychological, it tends to evaporate.

one thing that i will say is that i've heard enough of these tracks in what seems like their proper state that i can conclude that i will not be remixing the first seven tracks.

i just wish i could understand why they don't sound the same way every time i listen to them. it's really something that shouldn't happen. ever. a recording should always sound the same on the same gear. this isn't quantum physics. there are wavefunctions. they're causal. it's repeatably demonstrable. i should have consistency.

dammit...

i should chill out and eat.