on spanish harlem, the piano should be almost sibilant on some notes, but shouldn't glare. This is where watching an RTA while the song is playing helps, but I think the range is around 1-4k. That's pretty loose, but try toying around with that.

On finger snaps, they should be back, and way left. Hearing them sound different is a good thing. Also on mine (and this prolly isn't right), but it seems like the snaps move around a little bit too.

Great questions, keep them up! My first score was a 70.5. Getting a 73 average from Dave, Kirk, and Matt from a all but out of the box stereo is impressive. You keep working on it during the winter and you're going to be deadly next year.

DEFINITELY keep a journal. I keep mine in my car. Also hang on to all your scoresheets so you can compare notes from similar judges. Something else that's good to do that I need to start doing is write down all the settings on your preset on one of those papers and then attach it to the sheet. That way you know what preset got what remarks.

On the piano notes, maybe play with the eq just on that side and see if you can tame them a bit.

I'm not going to lie, 80 is pretty lofty, but you have a solid install, great equipment, and a ton of great resources at your fingertips. If you show up to hang out at finals, see if you can get some tips after judging is over with.

Dude, I'm excited to see what your car will do next year!

i mean scoring an 80 is lofty. Also, as you get closer to finals, the judging gets more strict, so it's harder to get a higher score. That's the biggest thing you have going against you right now. Well, that and time. But who needs sleep anyways?

dude, i know you. no touchy.

ever.

if steve was smart, he would have used custom made security screws and not given you the bit for them.