How do you like your Songs Reviewed?

[waiting man]

no backgrounds from me, a part some "hails" for this or that vst developer/creation, "vsts are made for music creation so here I am"

then my difficulties in reviewing are reflected in the way I respond to people reviewing my tracks. my mind is simply too limited to translate what I feel, most of the times. there was once a Scuzzphut's track, pretty simple and moody, with an oriental accent. I really liked that one, and in that period I was really convinced to review more frequently. you guys can't believe the shock when I pushed the reply button. black hole.
it happened with Vurt's material, the Black Note ep from Terminal Sound System (the guy from ArcDev), with Can's stuff, the latest Jenkinson's cd, so it's my new state. "play loud and watch the clouds (and eventually, roll one)". I will try to pop more into tracks submission again, but the less I say the higher is the rating.

Now a new poster looking at how many times the thread has been viewed – must wonder why there can be not one response to their music (just how cruel is that?)

torpedo. and I see a parallel alignment with the same problem with instruments/effects. too many downloads, not many comments. could be worse, but...

and like shamann i very rarely rework tracks based on comments,not because i dont value the opinions on the contrary because i take them on board for future compositions

another point, same thing here.

[suburban grilla]

On the subject of giving technical advice regarding the quality of a tracks production.
I make my music using an old nad stereo amp, mid priced wharfedale speakers and cheapo "radio shack" headphones.
The tracks are generally rendered to mp3 and posted for listening on the internet. Now, while I do recieve comments on how to improve the production, I generally get favourable comments along the lines of "that sounds well produced".

Well, I think they often sound pretty good too,but, if I had Britney Spears over for a cup of tea and to record a few tracks on this setup they would sound pretty shit production-wise compared to her commercial releases.

I don't want to offend anybody who has commented favourably on my mixes, as they probably do sound pretty good in the context of an mp3 posted for internet listening, but how much validity do these comments have when considering the "real" world of audio recording/production.

Would it not be better to review songs based on their content/arrangement/feeling rather than their production values in a place such as the cafe?

grilla

[WoJ]

Id agree partly with you but here are still some people on the forum that actualy have quite decent systems (god dam them) so it may be usefull 4 them.

Also since most of the pieces posted use vsti's/synths/samples rather than acualty micing things up i find its alot easier to get a good mix. like drum sound fonts are already mixed in stereo etc. And there are alot of tricks u can use for mixing, like turning the volume down realy low and finding out wats too loud, + them testing your track on as many different systems as possible goes a long way.

But think of it this way, years ago, even b4 the first multi tracks were around people still got v.good mixes. And all they could do was mono recordings. Any cheap headphones around 2day could probably do a much better mixing job than in the 50/60's and yet old mixes still sound fantastic.

People dont realise how much power they have in thier pc's. Think back to a time when samplers took up entire rooms and then compare it nowadays to a chip on a soundcard. heh.

(gone a little off topic here...woops)

WoJ

[Sicklecell666]

I just wish someone would have the balls to come out & tell me my stuff blows so I can get my life back..

[suburban grilla]

Id agree partly with you but here are still some people on the forum that actualy have quite decent systems (god dam them) so it may be usefull 4 them.

Also since most of the pieces posted use vsti's/synths/samples rather than acualty micing things up i find its alot easier to get a good mix. like drum sound fonts are already mixed in stereo etc. And there are alot of tricks u can use for mixing, like turning the volume down realy low and finding out wats too loud, + them testing your track on as many different systems as possible goes a long way.

But think of it this way, years ago, even b4 the first multi tracks were around people still got v.good mixes. And all they could do was mono recordings. Any cheap headphones around 2day could probably do a much better mixing job than in the 50/60's and yet old mixes still sound fantastic.

People dont realise how much power they have in thier pc's. Think back to a time when samplers took up entire rooms and then compare it nowadays to a chip on a soundcard. heh.

(gone a little off topic here...woops)

WoJ

fair comments woj, and good points made (not too far OT imo)

[WoJ]

Course i have a cr*p system too but i like to make my point none the less. I need to save up for some decent monitors...+ an amp...and headphones...

WoJ

[McLilith]

Course i have a cr*p system too but i like to make my point none the less. I need to save up for some decent monitors...+ an amp...and headphones...

WoJ

I wouldn't worry too much about it. A lot of us have crappy systems, but that doesn't mean our music has to sound crappy. There was some great music recorded in the 50's, 60's and 70's. I suspect that some of the people who made music back then would have really liked some of the gear we have now--the same gear that some of us consider crap by today's standards. (Many people have a tendency to call something "crap" simply something better exists, and tend to overlook the value in the gear they actually have.)

Fancy gear is certainly nice, but you don't have to have it, just to make a good music recording. The composition, the performance, and one's productions skills usually make far more difference than the gear you have to work with.

So, if anyone can't afford better gear at the moment, don't let it get you down. If you learn to get the most from what you have now, it will make you a better artist. Later, when you can afford nicer gear, you'll probably make the most of that gear also. You'll quite possibly have developed more skills than some wealthy fellow, who tried to simply buy his way into sonic perfection.


take care,
McLilith

[WoJ]

But think of it this way, years ago, even b4 the first multi tracks were around people still got v.good mixes. And all they could do was mono recordings. Any cheap headphones around 2day could probably do a much better mixing job than in the 50/60's and yet old mixes still sound fantastic.

People dont realise how much power they have in thier pc's. Think back to a time when samplers took up entire rooms and then compare it nowadays to a chip on a soundcard. heh.

(gone a little off topic here...woops)

WoJ

[shamann]

(just so the echo continued)

[Sicklecell666]

[shamann]

[Sicklecell666]

[shamann]

I give it a nine because I can dance to it, but you are overcompressing your mids.

[Sicklecell666]

not again..

[vtx]

maybe songs shouldn't be reviewed, unless they were submitted to a separate reviewing thread..
other than that, there just
loaded up for i-pods