KVR Audio

stardustmedia · Post by **stardustmedia** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 8:28 am

Nope. I change everything I don't like during the project. Sometimes it happens I realize that the song sucks when it is almost finished.

Still, when I listen to finished songs much later, at least some weeks or months. There are songs that just suck "suddenly". That's something I cannot prevent.

4damind · Post by **4damind** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 9:02 am

Every track should be finished. If a part or some elements suck go a step back and fix this part

It makes no sense to leave this as it is and try to finish a track... stuff which doesn't work must be immediately fixed => Trial & Error.

AsPeeXXXVIII · Post by **AsPeeXXXVIII** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 9:24 am

Well, I have finished a few tracks that honestly suck... And they're 3 years old.

But in all seriousness, if I hate what I'm working on, I find a way to make it better instead of scrapping it.

4damind · Post by **4damind** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:14 am

IMO there should never be a track which sucks because there are always parts/element etc. which doesn't work at the first try. For me this was 100% true in every track I've released. The deal with "Trial & Error" is to go always back to this point, change some stuff or try a different idea until it works.

I think a track must not be finished in one day. If it needs a week or two this should not be a problem so there should be enough time to try also different ideas until you are happy with the result.
A bad idea (and why a lot of people don't release many or no tracks) is to stop at this point and move the unfinished track to the "archive". So a track should always be finished (but it should of course not suck

)

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 12:55 pm

I recently went through my hard drives to collect and catalog ideas going back as early as 2005. I am only now working in music full time so a lot of these ideas were partial at best as my day time job and raising a family was the priority. In the process of opening these old song files I had to replace sounds and remap drums as my rig obviously changed through the years. In listening back to the stuff it surprising sometimes as to what is "good" about the track. I can go back to some of these project files and in some cases in it only 4 bars that are worthy of pursuing. It takes so much time to get a track to "release" level that I can't possibly finish all the bad stuff but I can mine it for the spark if present and catalog it. I keep an mp3 song list of those sections. When I am at a crossroad with a new track I go back and listen to those snippets and can sometimes use that material in a new context. Usually with a lot of work. Sometimes the song is not worthy but the palette of sounds and efx still inspire something so I take that old stuff and strip away the midi data and save it as a template. That way if I am feeling it, I can go back to the song file and get a new idea working where the textures and palettes are loaded in my DAW already suggest a mood. That can be fun. In that way even failed experiments have the potential to have a second life. - Scotty

V0RT3X · Post by **V0RT3X** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 5:01 pm

Lol all the time and then i post them to my soundcloud.

SuitcaseOfLizards · Post by **SuitcaseOfLizards** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 6:46 pm

ATS wrote:know when to quit a project in my opinion unless you think you can turn it around which can happen.

Amen! You can keep polishing a turd, but you just end up with a real shiny turd. If after 3 days nothing I do will improve things, it goes into my "craptastic" folder.

Knowing when to cut your losses is a skill unto itself...

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:05 pm

I often dont finish songs at all

Like I have said a zillion times, I play gi-tar, I write songs to play gi-tar to...the truth is I really dont want to be in another band, my experience is that really most people do not listen to other's music (in over a dozen years here at KvR I have heard many members complain about this when it comes to the cafe) so I play for me, i play for my heart and soul...none of my songs suck but when I am done with them they have done everything for me I have asked of them. Those I do see through to a final product I do post up and share with friends and strangers, those I tire of get put on the back burner..sometimes I drag them back out sometimes I dont...it all depends on what I feel like playing because that's what it's all about..what I am playing, not who I am playing to...if I never posted another song it wouldn't change a thing, I would still play and record just as much as I do now...I just aint go no rules, I play because I love to play

incubus · Post by **incubus** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:28 am

Simple for me, I never finish anything. That way I can keep all my suck at bay.

Sparky77 · Post by **Sparky77** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:34 pm

4damind wrote:Every track should be finished. If a part or some elements suck go a step back and fix this part
It makes no sense to leave this as it is and try to finish a track... stuff which doesn't work must be immediately fixed => Trial & Error.

I have to agree with this approach.
A wise man once said, "A job being done, is a job that deserves to be done well."

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 9:13 pm

Sparky77 wrote:
4damind wrote:Every track should be finished. If a part or some elements suck go a step back and fix this part
It makes no sense to leave this as it is and try to finish a track... stuff which doesn't work must be immediately fixed => Trial & Error.
I have to agree with this approach.
A wise man once said, "A job being done, is a job that deserves to be done well."

except sometimes other inspirations come along and become distractions, should they be ignored?

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 9:19 pm

Engineers working in studios have to finish tracks they think suck all the time, but they getting paid makes up for it...

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 9:21 pm

Lot of good suggestions in this thread.

lobanov · Post by **lobanov** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 9:38 pm

When you think that something "sucks" this thing begins to "suck". It's a law affecting all you create.
Every track you're working on is the best. Every one. But sometimes it costs you heaps of efforts and time.

4damind · Post by **4damind** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 10:13 pm

Hink wrote:
Sparky77 wrote:
4damind wrote:Every track should be finished. If a part or some elements suck go a step back and fix this part
It makes no sense to leave this as it is and try to finish a track... stuff which doesn't work must be immediately fixed => Trial & Error.
I have to agree with this approach.
A wise man once said, "A job being done, is a job that deserves to be done well."
except sometimes other inspirations come along and become distractions, should they be ignored?

If you mean the working on different projects, this is often a good idea. If I play with a synth and this ends with a interesting idea, this will become a new "unreleased project". Which means it's a project where I have not the time to finish it immediately so it's added to my todo list.
But I would limit this projects so it's something which can be finished in the next weeks/month.

Do you still finish tracks that...Suck?