Oomo

I'm guessing that the site is looking for full chords for identification, e.g. looking for root, 3rd and 5th (and optionally 7th plus extensions) to determine the chord. It looks like the 5th is omitted from the first two chords, and the 3rd from the last chord, which is probably why the site is saying "no chords found". Omitting these is common enough when playing though, especially when playing with other instruments that provide some of the missing context. So I'd probably see these as: 1st is a D major 7 chord (Dmaj7), but missing the 5th 2nd is a D major chord (D), again missing the 5th 3rd is more ambiguous, as others have mentioned. It could be written as e.g. Aadd4/D, A11/D etc. since it has the root and 3rd of A major, with a 4th/11th added (the D). I guess someone might also write it as D5maj7 (root, 5th, major 7th), but not sure if that's a technically correct way or writing it. But context will matter a bunch too - since you're playing chords all around D major, I'd tend to think of them as Dmaj7, D, Dmaj7 (but omitting the 3rd when playing) rather than anything more complex.

Same, my middle finger's nail extends further over the finger than others. I solved the problem with a diamond nail file - it gives way more control than scissors, so easy to take down any long bits.

I probably can't offer much insight (I honestly don't really know what I'm doing with compressors very well), but I do have an Alma mk1 and an Empress Mk2. The Empress is great since it has metering, so I can tell exactly what it's doing (which is handy since I'd have no idea otherwise). It sounds quite transparent, and I can really tell (and see from the metering) when it's compressing, and how much by. The Alma mk1 doesn't have metering, so I've just had to adjust it by ear to get sounds I like. It's less transparent than the Empress to me, but I really like the sound. So I basically use the Alma as a sound enhancer, and really like having it always on with fairly gentle compression settings, and it sits on my board most of the time. I'll switch to the Empress when I actually want lots of control and to be able to tell what's going on (e.g. switching between fingerstyle/picking/slap, switching basses, etc.).

I found almost exactly the same! I won't repeat what I posted elsewhere, but here's a link to my comparisons:

In case it's of use to anyone, I did a side by side comparison of 6 octave pedals (mostly 2nd hand, I wanted to try a bunch out then sell the ones I didn't get on with). I tested them all with 1 octave down at max, and no dry signal (since that's the thing I pretty much only use them for): Boss OC-5 Boss OC-2 Cog T-16 MXR VBO HX Boctaver Broughton Subsonic In rough order of least to most favourite for me (but there wasn't much in it for most): HX Boctaver - I just didn't like the sound nearly as much as the others. A bit better after messing around with filters and EQ in other bits of the HX Stomp, but didn't like it at all as a solo effect. MXR VBO - Had a bit too much of a high end fizzle/fuzz/overdriven type of sounde in comparison to some of the others. I prefer a rounded subby type sound from octavers, so this might be better if you prefer fuzz/octave type sounds. I also found the tracking cut out at higher volumes compared to the other pedals (e.g. if you play a note and let it sustain, most of the others kept the suboctave playing until the end, whereas this cut it off earlier). Boss OC-5 - Really great all round pedal, and quite close in sound to the 3 below. Liked all the other sounds (e.g. octave up) it does, and probably the best for versatility. Octave down sound wasn't as rounded as the pedals below to me though. The main difference I found was in latency though - it's totally unnoticable when playing it alone for a while, but when swapping back and forth between an all analog pedal (e.g. the OC-2), it becomes really obvious (same with the HX Stomp). Broughton Subsonic - Based on the OC-2, but fixes various foibles, and is nice and simple with just an octave down. Very close to the OC-2, but the sound to me was maybe 90-95% of the way there, but not quite as deep/rounded as I like. Boss OC-2 - Probably my favourite sound all round, it's classic for a reason I guess. Tracking not as good as some of the others, but you get used to it. Very sub/round sound. Cog T-16 - Don't like the sound as much as the OC-2, but having a filter on it makes it extremely versatile, and can dial in a much wider range of sounds. It also tracks a bit better, and has a tiny footprint, so great all round. I'm using the T-16 on my board, but I'd probably use the Subsonic as a backup. The OC-2 I love for recording at home, but I don't trust its reliability enough to play out (but mine is a bit battered...). The OC-5 I'd also keep just for octave up sounds.

I tried buying a pedal from one of the earlier releases, but it was such an unpleasant experience all round that I just decided not to bother in future (I'm sure the pedals are nice, but I don't think they're worth that much hassle, at least not to me). Creating artificial scarcity and encouraging a feeding frenzy of buying is not something I really want to support. Plenty of small builders do just fine without all of that by having waiting lists - means no wasting time in front of a computer hitting refresh constantly, scalpers setting up bots to autopurchase, etc. It also lets the builders gauge demand in advance, or take pre-orders to help with cash flow.