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A thread for EP


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To be honest with you, despite having some good ideas, your stuff is almost unlistenable....There isn't really an excuse for this as Garageband is satisfactory (though not great) and you can pick up a simple guitar midi to usb interface for next to nothing.

 

https://www.gear4mus...uIaAlAcEALw_wcB

 

You need to spend a bit more time exploring your DAW and setting things up than you are doing and learn a bit more about mixing.....Stoopid has helped me immensely with this and I would recommend you avail yourself of his offer of help.

 

Hey man, it's just a hobby. Thank you for the constructive criticism, I do take it to heart, but you should know I'm not trying to please anyone but myself with this stuff. I hardly even know why I post it here, but it's not really to ask for advice.

 

You put it in the public domain therefore anyone can comment.....listen to advice or ignore, it's your call....

 

True. I suppose I had hoped people who cared to comment would look past the fact that all I have to record with is a laptop with its built in speaker and Garageband, and instead would comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the songs themselves.

 

Both Stoopid and I did actually.....and as far as your recording set up goes then you could vastly improve it for very little outlay....I know people who use garageband with perfectly reasonable results.......believe me, you will get much more satisfactionn from your stuff if you care a little about the sound.

 

Well I’m happy you care enough to keep offering me setup advice, but I’m really not looking for it right now. I’m a college student pursuing a degree and a career in architecture, and recording songs and posting them on the internet is very truly a hobby.

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I suppose I had hoped people who cared to comment would look past the fact that all I have to record with is a laptop with its built in speaker and Garageband, and instead would comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the songs themselves.

 

Think of it like this -- a nasty person who insults everyone *might* have a good heart, but you wouldn't know it from what's visible on the surface. Same for your recordings - they're so rough it challenges the listener to get through them, let alone 'enjoy'/derive pleasure. Music is most certainly more than just random notes strung together cohesively and shoved into the listener's ears by whatever means necessary. The entire process of writing, recording, mixing, and mastering exist because those are the steps necessary to produce a recording that people will *want* to listen to. Not stomach/tolerate, then never visit again.

 

This is a hobby for all of us. Using "hobbyist" as an explanation, to my ears, sounds a bit like a cop out or excuse. If you don't have time right now to write/record the songs and get school work done, then I would suggest focusing on the recording part for a bit then return to writing/performing later, once the fundamentals are solid. If these are truly scratch tracks, then don't post them publicly. Posting them for others implies you want the listener to either respond or enjoy them. You're only getting that part half right.

Edited by stoopid
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I suppose I had hoped people who cared to comment would look past the fact that all I have to record with is a laptop with its built in speaker and Garageband, and instead would comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the songs themselves.

 

Think of it like this -- a nasty person who insults everyone *might* have a good heart, but you wouldn't know it from what's visible on the surface. Same for your recordings - they're so rough it challenges the listener to get through them, let alone 'enjoy'/derive pleasure. Music is most certainly more than just random notes strung together cohesively and shoved into the listener's ears by whatever means necessary. The entire process of writing, recording, mixing, and mastering exist because those are the steps necessary to produce a recording that people will *want* to listen to. Not stomach/tolerate, then never visit again.

 

This is a hobby for all of us. Using "hobbyist" as an explanation, to my ears, sounds a bit like a cop out or excuse. If you don't have time right now to write/record the songs and get school work done, then I would suggest focusing on the recording part for a bit then return to writing/performing later, once the fundamentals are solid. If these are truly scratch tracks, then don't post them publicly. Posting them for others implies you want the listener to either respond or enjoy them. You're only getting that part half right.

 

Well they are all scratch tracks, and I'm much more invested in performing than recording music right now (I play at my school's weekly acoustic nights all the time). I'm not defending the quality of the recordings; I know they're noisy and not well recorded, and I know I have a lot to learn. I didn't think I'd get called out for it on such a small forum, and I thought people wouldn't mind listening to a college kid's scratch tracks once or ignoring them altogether. But heck, I've never been any good at social implications anyway. I honestly do wish I had time to invest in making music, really getting into the recordings and production side (my favorite band is Queen for goodness sake), getting a band together, sitting down and practicing all my instruments and consciously getting better...but that's just not what I can do in my life right now.

 

Sorry to be a bother I guess. I thought sharing a bit of nothing much around here could be a little fun.

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To be honest with you, despite having some good ideas, your stuff is almost unlistenable....There isn't really an excuse for this as Garageband is satisfactory (though not great) and you can pick up a simple guitar midi to usb interface for next to nothing.

 

https://www.gear4mus...uIaAlAcEALw_wcB

 

You need to spend a bit more time exploring your DAW and setting things up than you are doing and learn a bit more about mixing.....Stoopid has helped me immensely with this and I would recommend you avail yourself of his offer of help.

 

Hey man, it's just a hobby. Thank you for the constructive criticism, I do take it to heart, but you should know I'm not trying to please anyone but myself with this stuff. I hardly even know why I post it here, but it's not really to ask for advice.

 

You put it in the public domain therefore anyone can comment.....listen to advice or ignore, it's your call....

 

True. I suppose I had hoped people who cared to comment would look past the fact that all I have to record with is a laptop with its built in speaker and Garageband, and instead would comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the songs themselves.

 

Both Stoopid and I did actually.....and as far as your recording set up goes then you could vastly improve it for very little outlay....I know people who use garageband with perfectly reasonable results.......believe me, you will get much more satisfactionn from your stuff if you care a little about the sound.

 

Well I’m happy you care enough to keep offering me setup advice, but I’m really not looking for it right now. I’m a college student pursuing a degree and a career in architecture, and recording songs and posting them on the internet is very truly a hobby.

 

Sorry but now you're beginning to sound a little passive/aggressive....you posted the songs "as seen" and must expect comments accordingly,

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Sorry to be a bother I guess. I thought sharing a bit of nothing much around here could be a little fun.

 

More passive/aggressiveness

 

Any criticism/advice here has only been offered with the best of intentions...I myself am on a steep learning curve with regard to mixing/mastering...though I am nowhere near pro/expert level I feel I am finally getting somewhere and that has mainly been down to Stoopid whose invaluable advice and insight I have profited greatly from.....however I have had to accept a fair amount of criticism which although always constructive has been pretty humbling at times.

 

I suppose what I'm trying to say is you can't grow unless you see lessons for what they are....if you don't have time for any of this then I suggest not posting tracks which sound horrible (despite some being really pretty good) in the public arena...you don't get to dictate the terms upon how they are reviewed by other people.

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you don't get to dictate the terms upon how they are reviewed by other people.

 

This.

 

You got feedback on your tracks. It's not what you were hoping, but hopefully it's been helpful. The offer stands if/when you're ready to start moving forward in terms of recording process (and a very small investment in gear capable of accomplishing a recording).

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I do appreciate your advice. However, I stand by my assertion that I can't afford to make better recordings right now, because investing my time and effort there would necessarily detract from school. I have gotten upset by the comments I've received here and written with a corresponding tone, for that I'm sorry. I may continue to post my songs here, you may continue to offer your critiques. I won't question them unless for some reason they become unreasonable or mean (which I don't expect they ever would). I wouldn't expect the recordings I post to get any better though. If they please me, even in shambles, I don't see why they couldn't possibly please somebody else somewhere.
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Here's a little a cappella thing. I got to borrow a decent microphone from one of the band directors at school so theoretically these are my best recorded vocals. I've got them all under probably a few more effects than need be but hey, that's what's fun about experimenting.

 

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Here's a little a cappella thing. I got to borrow a decent microphone from one of the band directors at school so theoretically these are my best recorded vocals. I've got them all under probably a few more effects than need be but hey, that's what's fun about experimenting.

 

https://soundcloud.c...19/bows_rain_in

 

10/10 for creativity!

 

What might be a cool thing to try is to have a couple of tracks for the main vox. As it is now, you're having to cut some words just a tiny bit short because you're running out of breath. That may be the way you like it, but if not and you had two tracks to pick up when you left off, the effect could be cool.

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Here's a little a cappella thing. I got to borrow a decent microphone from one of the band directors at school so theoretically these are my best recorded vocals. I've got them all under probably a few more effects than need be but hey, that's what's fun about experimenting.

 

https://soundcloud.c...19/bows_rain_in

 

10/10 for creativity!

 

What might be a cool thing to try is to have a couple of tracks for the main vox. As it is now, you're having to cut some words just a tiny bit short because you're running out of breath. That may be the way you like it, but if not and you had two tracks to pick up when you left off, the effect could be cool.

 

Hey thanks for responding! I had thought about just doing it in a couple of different takes but was afraid the cuts might sound obvious, but doing it on multiple tracks might be the solution. I wrote this one years ago in high school and only rerecorded it for a class project, so I wasn't very kind to myself back then about leaving room to catch my breath, lol.

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I also played an acoustic gig tonight and there's a shoddy livestream recording of it on YouTube right here:

 

I'm on at the 1 hour 59 minute mark.

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All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

Making progress! In addition to Elvis Costello, I hear a bit of Pete Townsend in your voice. Do you hear that, too?

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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

I like this!......if you wouldn't take it amiss, I would be more than happy to put a drum track on to it that would do it more justice if you like :-)

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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

I like this!......if you wouldn't take it amiss, I would be more than happy to put a drum track on to it that would do it more justice if you like :-)

 

Seriously? That would be incredibly appreciated! Those GarageBand drums were a nightmare to make work. I can send over the GarageBand over DM if you like.

 

And also I never apologized for being so stubborn with you earlier in this thread. You were just offering advice and I wasn't listening. Sorry for acting dumb.

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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

Making progress! In addition to Elvis Costello, I hear a bit of Pete Townsend in your voice. Do you hear that, too?

 

I haven't really heard those comparisons before, though I can definitely see them! My dad has told me he thinks I have a kind of later period David Bowie voice at times. Thank you much, JARG! :)

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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

Did you add the drums after you recorded the other parts, or did you record to the drums?

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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

Did you add the drums after you recorded the other parts, or did you record to the drums?

 

I added the drums after recording the guitar, bass, and vocals, then the rest I recorded to the drums. Since I stay fully to my metronome when recording the guitars, bass, and vocals, I couldn't quantize the drums to make them line up, so I had to try to match the ebbs and flows as best as I could, which was tedious.

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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

Did you add the drums after you recorded the other parts, or did you record to the drums?

 

I added the drums after recording the guitar, bass, and vocals, then the rest I recorded to the drums. Since I stay fully to my metronome when recording the guitars, bass, and vocals, I couldn't quantize the drums to make them line up, so I had to try to match the ebbs and flows as best as I could, which was tedious.

 

I bet! The way I record my stuff is to program the drum parts first and then record everything to the drum track. Fridge just volunteered for a fairly big job, imo. :)

Edited by JARG
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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

Making progress! In addition to Elvis Costello, I hear a bit of Pete Townsend in your voice. Do you hear that, too?

 

I haven't really heard those comparisons before, though I can definitely see them! My dad has told me he thinks I have a kind of later period David Bowie voice at times. Thank you much, JARG! :)

 

Vocally I hear equal amounts of Pete (especially when you're doubling the vox) and Elvis, but compositionally, it's more Elvis than Pete. It's weird how influences can sneak in without us knowing it.

Edited by JARG
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https://soundcloud.c...on-i-like-you-1

 

All this is missing is live drums. I did my best with GarageBand's drums, but they're not ideal and... difficult to keep in time. But! The rest of this is probably my best recording.

 

Did you add the drums after you recorded the other parts, or did you record to the drums?

 

I added the drums after recording the guitar, bass, and vocals, then the rest I recorded to the drums. Since I stay fully to my metronome when recording the guitars, bass, and vocals, I couldn't quantize the drums to make them line up, so I had to try to match the ebbs and flows as best as I could, which was tedious.

 

I bet! The way I record my stuff is to program the drum parts first and then record everything to the drum track. Fridge just volunteered for a fairly big job, imo. :)

 

Yeah I definitely understand how that's a better way to do it after trying it my way. At least for solo recording stuff. If you can record all the parts at once with a live band I think letting it ebb and flow around the beat makes a bit more sense (like on Jimi Hendrix's recordings) since it gives it a more human feel, but as for home recording, it's a huge timesaver to be able to quantize things so they line up nicely.

 

Fridge feel free to back out if that doesn't sound like a task you want to be stuck with, lol.

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