R2 is a bit faster, but I would,t say its worth it. Move onto commutators for corners after OP.

They're not too bad to learn and super efficient. :)


P.S.:

Starting off with OP instead of M2 is fine. Once you get quicker, then you'll probably want to move to M2 (which is only slightly more advanced).

There are some people can easily get sub-1 with just OP.
 
I would really recommend learning M2 right from the start. It's ALMOST as simple as OP and saves a s**tload of moves.
I wont learn OP then.
BTW would Yellow on top blue in front be a good orientation for BLD. I am switching to ZZ and that is my ZZ orientation. Will it help me identify where pieces need to go faster?
 
R2 is a bit faster, but I would,t say its worth it. Move onto commutators for corners after OP.

They're not too bad to learn and super efficient. :)

I don't think I'd bother with getting too fast with BLD, but who knows?

About how many comms do you have to memorize for corners?
 
No, it is that easy. Learning comms is a lot easier than people think imo.

Edit: He actually described the exact method of learning comms without passing comment on how hard it is. It's exactly that hard/easy to learn comms.

+ You don't even have to learn them all at once. Just learn few easy "types" of commutators and setup to those cases. Then as you get comfortable with those you can learn more and need less and less setup moves as you progress.

A good comm for DF-DR-LD anyone?

L2: M' U' M , D' 10

^^ That's the best IMO
 
No, it is that easy. Learning comms is a lot easier than people think imo.

Edit: He actually described the exact method of learning comms without passing comment on how hard it is. It's exactly as hard/easy as he described to learn comms.
Oh wow! Then I will learn 3 style once I get sub 1:30 with M2/OP. As for my question, should I do M slices with my right hand or left hand? I can use both for CFOP
 
Oh wow! Then I will learn 3 style once I get sub 1:30 with M2/OP. As for my question, should I do M slices with my right hand or left hand? I can use both for CFOP

Well, obviously depends on the situation...

If you use setup moves with L and U moves then that leaves your right hand free to do M2 quickly. And the oppositte for RU setup moves...
 
Just a quick question about comms (specifically corner comms). I understand comms, and I can execute almost every corner cycle (except maybe some of the long ones) but I feel a big disconnect between seeing a cycle and seeing just where pieces need to go. If I set up a corner cycle, I solve it by seeing the interchange, doing that, and inserting the other corner based on the color of the interchange face. But I don't know how to to this blindfolded, let alone do a bunch of cycles blindfolded. Is it just a lack of spatial reasoning, or is it just something that comes with time?

Note that I'm not looking to switch to comms now, but I'm preparing myself for the future when I start getting more serious about BLD.
 
Just a quick question about comms (specifically corner comms). I understand comms, and I can execute almost every corner cycle (except maybe some of the long ones) but I feel a big disconnect between seeing a cycle and seeing just where pieces need to go. If I set up a corner cycle, I solve it by seeing the interchange, doing that, and inserting the other corner based on the color of the interchange face. But I don't know how to to this blindfolded, let alone do a bunch of cycles blindfolded. Is it just a lack of spatial reasoning, or is it just something that comes with time?

Note that I'm not looking to switch to comms now, but I'm preparing myself for the future when I start getting more serious about BLD.

You've got the right idea thinking about how the commutators work! That will prove invaluable when you come to working out your own speed-optimal algs. But to transfer them to your muscle memory you need to start becoming a bit more brain-dead.

You could start rehearsing your algs in letter sets (for example, execute every corner comm beginning with the letter A) until each alg is associated automatically with it's respective letter pair. In other words, the cycle AG changes from "the algorithm where I have to do x as an insertion and then y as an interchange" to the "AG alg = R U2 R' D2 R U2 R' D2".

Even if you slowly work through all your letter pairs one letter at a time, you will have a group of commutator algs that are fast and automatic and you can use in real solves, even if you are visualizing the rest in your head (and this will cut time off your solves.) It's a gradual process, but the end result is rewarding :) I hope this makes sense.

tl;dr = comes with time. Practice solving with your eyes open using your BLD comms
 
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1) When picking a letter scheme for 4x4 wings, if you pick your scheme to match with your 3x3 edges, then you can use the same setup moves per letter for both M2 on 3x3 and for r2 on 4x4. I am switching my letter schemes (on big cubes) and was wondering if there are any similar opportunities which arise? Are there any other tricks one can take advantage of by labeling centers in a particular way, for example? (Hopefully that made sense.)

2) Anyone who doesn't use commutators for centers seems to use U2 (please correct me if I'm wrong). I've noticed that r2 seems to work nicely for +-centers, slightly less well for obliques, and not very well for x-centers. Is there any reason to prefer U2 over r2 for the +-centers? I'm not sure how to decide which to go with.

(My background: I've done several (successful and unsuccessful) 4x4 solves using commutators, but I'm realllllllly slow at figuring out the commutators on the spot. I know this would come with practice, but I just don't have that kind of time right now.)

Thanks
 
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