March Contest: Gossip

[papatomany]

Wow,

Thanks for the #2 vote from Self Contruct and the other votes from TConrady, Khepira, Scamme and Max el Belga. I was afraid as a "first timer" that I might get shut out. It's not the prize that I was after, but rather a small validation of my reason for returning to making music after an 18 year absense - that I might have something worth listening to after all.... My best work is yet to come. Thanks again to all and best wishes!

Jerry

I came back after 12 years, but I guess for me, this is confirmation that I need to sell a lot of stuff.

But it's still better to know.

Thanks all. At least now I know I can reclaim some funds and take a vacation instead of investing any more in something that I just don't do well.

So, this brain-dead* lot is your target audience? Nonsense.

[Marc JX8P]

Hi Mmichalski59, just to repeat myself from my review: I did really like your track. The fact that you didn't get too many votes doesn't mean that people didn't like your music. In fact, if you enjoy doing music it should be irrelevant what other people think of it. What I found out after spending a lot of time on KvR and other music forums is this: there's always a target audience!

Having said that, you should of course do what you consider right for yourself and taking a break from music making can do wonders for creativity.

[adj]

It's a fair topic Mmichalski59.

I think one really needs to get used to these contests -- a lack of votes can be discouraging for some. Also, perhaps one needs to enter several times until one's style is more fully appreciated (especially if it's somehow unique or uncommon -- with "unique" and "uncommon" not bad things at all).

Personally, when I've won, there's a certain feeling of 'legitimacy' you get that perhaps your songwriting skills are improving, or mixing/mastering skills -- but only when I decide to take any of this seriously.

Were the contests more specific with regard to technical achievement or relevance, then there would be a benchmark more clearly defined to strive for.

But as it stands, it's really a lot of peeps jumping in with whatever and yes -- it's sometimes a popularity contest as much as anything else.

Therefore, to take the contest so seriously as to become discouraged about making further music is a little extreme -- honestly.

I can attest to the fact that, on any given month, a winning song in our contest here would produce laughter in other contests out there -- easily proven

Even so, I have *heard* that there are *other pastimes/occupations* besides creating music that are just as rewarding. As I say, I *have heard* this but I find that difficult to believe.

Give up music? Might as well cut me willy off and call me Daphne.

I listened to your song again and there's a great sense of style there! So buck up eh?

Cheers,
Alex

[mmichalski59]

Thanks all for the feedback. I truly appreciate it. Do not fret, I was trolling a bit as I was presenting the flip side of jer's coin. I was actually saying that, while I understand jer feeling validated by the votes, the opposite side of that coin, in fact, doesn't work.

The selling of stuff was tongue in cheek. There is no way I would let a contest stop me from making the music I see fit. I should have put some smileys in there.

On the other hand, I did get some PMs today with more feedback on the tune and that was helpful. I am more concerned with the technical side of things as this has changed somewhat since I was completely hardware based 12 years ago. While the ears are the same, the techniques are slightly different for me as most of what I used to do was for live performance.

So, again, thanks for the discussion as I think it is very valid. But a lack of votes will hardly chase me off. In fact, I got a good portion of this month's entry done and now I am going to subject you all to my singing. Then you WILL wish I had gone away.

Later mates.

[adj]

[magog]

@Nils_B:
Thanks for your review! Your production comments are definitely spot on. I submitted in a rush (and panic) at the last minute and missed a lot of mix/mastering details. For instance, I totally forgot about one of the 12 string guitars that keeps on going over the piano bit - it wasn't supposed to do that! Good ears!

The fade (as everybody noticed) was awful. It's kind of embarassing. I tried doing the fade by automating the main outs in Cubase. But later on I inserted Vintage Warmer after the outs. Since it's a compressor, it naturally negates the fade. When I brought the output file into Soundforge XP, I put a tiny additional fade on the end to bring the length to exactly 2 minutes. I should have done the whole fade in Soundforge like I usually do. Or at least listened to the track before I posted...

I've since noticed that the fade and the overall sound of the piece sound very different on different systems (e.g. earbud headphones vs. speakers). I've got a lot to learn about mixing and mastering.

@Laguna Rising:
Thanks for the String Theory tip - I'm definitely going to check it out!


Michael

[zeoy]

@magog: your tune played just fine on my system and I quite liked your production (ok except for the fade out). If the last part didn't sound a little bit flat to my ears (compared to the absolutely brilliant 1+ minute) it'd be even higher on my list.

[magog]

Thanks, zeoy! And congrats on the win!


Michael

[magog]

I don't know FM unfortunately, I'll see if I can find them somewhere on the internet.

The classic album is Black Noise. They had a bunch of others that didn't make it onto CD. I keep meaning to rip my vinyl at some point...


Michael