The joy of Git Submodules

I’ve been using Git Subtrees for more than two years to manage the dependencies of my projects in Git. Today I found this article explaining Git Submodules, and I realized that I had it all wrong. Submodules suits my needs much better.

I finished migrating my C++ repositories which have WinLamb as a dependency. The nested “winlamb” folder effectively acts as a separated repository, without interfering with the top one. No more annoying merges with a huge hash as the commit message, when updating the library.

Rust for C++ programmers in 30 minutes

From time to time I get back to studying Rust, which looks like a good alternative to the unthinkable complexity of C++ for native programming, which even after about 20 years, still upsets me tremendously. From the perspective of a seasoned C++ programmer like me, the Rust concept of lifetimes has been particularly esoteric.

Fortunately, I found a great resource online today:

30 minutes of Introduction to Rust for C++ programmers

It’s a very concise online book with direct comparisons between C++ and Rust codes, exactly what I was after. It explains Rust basic concepts by direct comparison to C++, what greatly helps. Although you’ll need a little over 30 minutes to properly digest it, it’s well worth reading, and I consider to be the greatest introductory material so far to C++ programmers who want to dig into Rust.

Props to vnduongthanhtung, who authored the book back in 2017.

A new custom gauge for the backbowed Majesty

I’m having some trouble while setting up my new Music Man Majesty. It seems that Music Man applies some kind of pre-tension to the mahogany neck so it backbows, to counterweight the .010 strings that come stock with the guitar. Looks like a bad design decision to me, I wonder: isn’t it what the truss rod is for?

Since the guitar is hard-set to .010 gauge, my custom .008 is causing a strong backbow, with the 5th and 6th frets buzzing like crazy in all 6 strings, even with the truss rod completely loose. But I’m really enjoying the neck profile and the overall feeling of the Majesty, so I’m trying to work it out.

My current gauge is .008 .009 .011 .021 .030 .038, which I use in the Ibanez JPM and the Suhr Modern Satin without any problems. The Suhr setup is particularly perfect.

So yesterday I rescued the two heavier strings from the .009 D’Addario set I had thrown into the trash bin, and now I’m trying .008 .009 .011 .021 .032 .042 on the Majesty, with the hopes that the heavier strings from the .009 set will pull the neck forward and alleviate the backbow.

Plot twist: A couple weeks later, measuring the neck relief, I found out that the neck wasn’t backbowed, but very close to straight. The real problem was, probably, a raised 7th fret, which made the 6th fret unusable. Being an expensive instrument with stainless steel frets, I found it to be unnaceptable.