Hot Seat Sunday AMA: mixman0g Edition
The thread that's Still Going™! This is an AMA thread with a twist – the 'victim' gets to name who is next up in the rotation.
There are some rules:
- Try picking someone who hasn't gone yet
- It has to be someone who actively posts here
- No dead people (i.e. notcharlesmanson isn't eligible)
- Preferably a name that people recognize, 'regular poster' means someone who is a) alive and b) has posted in the last three months
- Complete the FAQ before posting
If you do the hot seat, you can add up to three names to the list of people who are potential victims.
Possible: u/AlfredPudding , u/Apexified , u/enyawreklaw , u/shyndo , u/NaCHeF , u/duncanyoyo1 , u/kuri_sanTou , u/QueenBuzyBee , u/StardustCoyote , u/SteveTC , u/Nstewart , u/EyeMSam , u/Zany1337 , u/glasschalice
Already Done: u/juthinc , u/isuamadog , u/humanpuck , u/eyemakepizza , u/ID10-T , u/vApe_Escape , u/mlNikon , u/EdibleMalfunction , u/Foment_Life , u/Kittybit8 , u/Vishousness , u/staybert , u/TeslaDelMar , u/UnappreciatedRobot , u/modivin , u/Max-Savage , u/FieldGreens , u/T-a-r-a-x , u/wolfwheeler , u/SpiderJRusalem , u/hesherette , u/mixman0g
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How'd you get your handle?
mixman was available on ELR when I signed up. I think mixguy, and mixdude were already taken. My handle stems partly from my love of old school hip hop, but it's also practical. mixman says what it is I do: I mix, man.
Of course mixman was taken on Reddit, so mixman0g would have to do ("0g" as in old school hip hop "O.G." because what self-respecting almost 50 white guy didn't always secretly want a rap name?).
How long have you been mixing for?
Off and on again for about eight years. I started vaping in February 2014 and started experimenting soon after.
IIRC, I stumbled on the fact that you could mix your own juice when researching the ingredients of e-liquid. I stopped buying commercial e-liquid in 2018, with the exception of one juice that I bought 300ml of in an attempt to clone it. I ended up vaping it instead. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
MTL or DTL?
Both. I'd say that I MTL mostly one recipe, and DTL everything else. I rarely test with an MTL setup and, when I do, it is always bacco flavor/recipe related.
Current flavor or profile obsession?
I honestly don't have one...just obsessed with the hobby and not smoking.
Most/Least disappointing flavors that was/not as expected? Secret Weapon?
Most disappointing is CAP Vanilla Custard v2 along with CAP New York Cheesecake v2. I bought these when the "DAAP is bad" hype train started. They are tolerable-ish if you wait 3-6 months and bury them in other, better flavors. At that point though just buy better flavors, which I did. :)
Least disappointing flavor has been TPA Vanilla Custard II. Tastes good, inexpensive, and plays nice with other flavors. It was also easier to source until BCF started carrying FA Custard Premium.
My secret weapon is... wait for it... making you wait for a dad joke. Kills every time, hahaha.
Jokes aside, I would say maybe TPA Cotton Candy (Ethyl Maltol) for making something in a hurry. Just a drop or two sometimes can smooth out rough edges and harsh/off notes. Like any flavor though, you have hits and misses with what it can do and which other flavors it can work with.
Mixing Milestone?
When I decided that recipes made at my desk are just as good as, if not better than store bought juice, I started mixing a helluva lot more.
With that milestone also came the realization that everything I was told or read about steeping was a lie. "Streathing?" Do you all remember that one? Oof. Ultrasonic Cleaner? Yup. Hot water in a cup? Warm up your VG first? ALL LIES. Bonkers the things I beleived were needed to acheive results, when all I had to do was wait. ಥ_ಥ
Recipes you admire/love?
Blue Frost Revisited by u/Apexified
Blue Eyes White Dragon by u/Foment_Life
These two because they are tasty, but also because someone I care about loves these a lot.
Custard Now by u/EdibleMalfunction
Sorry Ed, while I love your recipes, this will always be my favorite. It's a great example of K.I.S.S, is SnV, readily available concentrates, and it tastes good. To me anyway. My fall back "oh crap, I'm out" juice for DTL. It's simple enough I can add just about whatever I want to it.
Gin Candy v2 by u/isuamadog
EDIT2: Looks like this was a Mixer's Club recipe. Sorry folks, but I believe it's private. Please do not hound dawg about it.
You know why this is here, dawg. <YALL_GOT_SOME_OF_THAT-meme.png> This is a superb example of how to use FM OMGin,
If I was stuck on a desert island with only these four recipes to vape, I'd be fine with that. Great, ADV-worthy mixes imo.
White whale?
A better version of a commercial juice that I have vaped untold liters of: Lunar Harvest Black by King of the Clouds (Vapor's Knoll). While I had given up on this some time ago I'm currently back at it again.
I would describe it as an odd, slightly floral, blackberry/raspberry rock candy. Probably the thickest juice I've ever vaped (it's gotta be over 85% VG). At high wattage (150W+) it tastes so so good. Hard af on your coils though.
I would bother to build custom coils for my Voltrove if I could nail this down.
How would you describe your mixing style?
A combination of JOTSWTFII, FSMHVFFF, DTGOIDTR, and JHCTTLG styles. For you noobs that's:
Just-Organized-This-S***-Where-TF-Is-It
F***-Spilled-My-HVv1-F***-F***-F***
Damn-That's-Good-OMG-I-Deleted-The-Recipe
Jesus-H-Christ-That-Tastes-Like-Garbage
Advice for new mixers?
The knowledge pool is deep, feel free to dive right in.
If you are new to mixing and are reading this, you are in the right place. Without this sub and the discord, and the wonderful people involved, I likely wouldn't have as much fun as I do mixing, or be able to make tasty recipes.
The only way to get better at mixing is to mix, man. (⌐■_■)
EDIT: Added some details about what I like about those recipes, and links to the recipes on ATF.
How this has nary a question, I have absolutely no idea. Well I guess it’s only 14hours old. I really had no idea you liked gin candy that much. I’m really rather surprised. No question still. I start work on v3 tonight. Promise.
Might have worked better just to call it Hot Seat Monday considering it was 2 min past an accurate title. Maybe people feel more inquisitive on Sunday's.
dawg, please, V2 was GREAT.
I'm just using a public forum to beg you for MOAR V2 PLZ lol
That’s how I was with magistra. It hadn’t done what I wanted so I couldn’t ‘like’ it despite it being tasty. I never would have retried magistra if it weren’t for you saying it was fine.
As with all of these Hot Seat Sunday’s my question is always the same. How many flavors do you actually have? And how many have you not even used yet?
What's your unpopular DIY opinion? The madness in your method, if you will...
Are you implying my opinions are unpopular? How dare you! XD
My best answer is probably: I mix to aid in not smoking. It keeps me grounded when I've added > 10 flavors to a recipe, or just over thinking a recipe in general.
The madness is selectively shirking points of conventional wisdom to explore things folks normally wouldn't. Not 4% FA Corn kind of experiments, but along those lines.
I mean, who can say "A little Blue Raspberry makes certain Vanilla Custards taste like a genuine toasted marshmallow" but me? XD
EDIT: Don't go chasing this. Just use TPA Toasted Marshmallow. Not the same, but still perfectly suitable if you want a toasted marshmallow.
I recently tried TPA VC v2 for the first time + was so disappointed to find out that I smelled/ tasted tons of pepper in it, I hope it steeps out bc seeing everyone praise it so highly just makes me sad haha. Your mixing milestone + mixing style answers had me cracking up!
You got pepper from TFA VC II? You also dislike INW Custard don’t you? They’re both delicious to me.
I know Kuri, I am mega-broken. I have hope for TFA VC II because the pepper seems to steep out a bit, I have to revisit it though. It smells super peppery to me, but sometimes I don't taste pepper in things that smell peppery. I'm shocked it was peppery for me because I recall u/ID10-t saying he didn't get pepper from VC II.
I do dislike INW Custard in general, however I have found a few mixes I can tolerate it in. It has a weird lingering taste/ off-note for me, which sucks bc it does smell pretty good.
Well dang, I hope that pepper steeps out too. Do you get pepper from other TPA flavors?
The mixing styles, hahaha. All of us have been there at one time or another. Things will go wrong. Nasty juice will be made. etc etc Just Keep Mixing.
Yes, unfortunately I'm a dreaded pepper taster, I also get it from LB VIC over 5-6% too. I'm going to mix up some TPA VC v2 + forget about it for a month to see if it steeps out, staying hopeful.
Lol oh yes, the mixing styles you made acronyms for were SO relatable haha, I had my own "JHCTTLG" moment [one of many[ recently so that one really cracked me up :) thanks for doing a hot seat, these are always so fun to read!
What's your favorite recipe of your own doing?
Premium Menthol, a MTL recipe that helped a few folks stop smoking, and I still vape it today. It's as close as I could get to a KOOL Filter King.
Unfortunately TPA discontinued one of the flavors that is fairly distinct, M-type Premium. However u/TeslaDelMar hooked me up. (Thanks again Tesla!)
What’s an invention from the 1900’s that you still use that’s out of fashion now?
All my vehicles still have a cassette deck, and I keep Alice In Chains - Dirt on Side A, Tool - Undertow on Side B. Really I think it's just the last tape I "made" and somehow survived living in my cars over the years.