The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Calm down, Oats.

We've come a long way from this...

HeadShot wrote:Dude ... on my speakers this sounds like NIN, RATM, and the Beastie Boys had a baby

to this...

HeadShot wrote:I'm using ... A COMPUTER MICROPHONE
With NO training in sound engineering at all.

Perhaps now we can find some middle ground between arguing that our shit is awesome and crying about why our shit sucks?
Now that you've acknowledged that you aren't using the top-of-the-line equipment, the next step is to realize that neither are most other people here, but we all work with what we've got, and dropping the hostility will go a long way towards helping you do the same.
That is, if you really did mean it when you said...

HeadShot wrote:I'd definitely appreciate helpful criticism.

Eric Y. wrote: That is, if you really did mean it when you said...

HeadShot wrote:I'd definitely appreciate helpful criticism.

I did mean it, and I didn't mean to be offensive when I said his headphones were messed up. I was being serious, I thought that might be why he thought it sounded fuzzy.

Lord of Oats wrote: AND JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, IF YOU EVER AGAIN COMPARE YOURSELF TO POPULAR ARTISTS I WILL JUMP RIGHT THROUGH THIS COMPUTER AND COME OUT OF YOURS AND BEAT YOUR ASS TO A BLOODY PULP. JUST STOP IT. IT DOES A DISSERVICE TO EVERYONE INVOLVED.

Yo dude, calm that jazz, as if you never compare yourself to artists better than yourself that you think you have traits in common with? I compared myself with those artists because others who have heard that song, at least before I re-recorded the vocals, compared me to them.

Rabid Garfunkel wrote: To better hear how things sit in a mix, listen to it with the volume down way low (so low you could have a quiet conversation with someone while it's playing) and adjust after you've got your loud mixing done. Then go back to the loud mixing and fine tune.

can't listen at this time, but this is good advice. when i'm finishing an album, i put the mastered songs on a cdrw and put them on in the car when i'm going somewhere with my wife. she doesn't like just listening, so that's a good test. does it sound good with car noise and conversation?

...though it's a little less useful now that i drive a prius they are quiet!
-bill

HeadShot wrote:I used Windows Movie Maker to make the shitty slideshow

OH, and btw, in case you couldn't read this in my description, I'm using AUDACITY, and A COMPUTER MICROPHONE

With NO training in sound engineering at all.

Dude, there's more people like this at SF with the same setup than you'd think. A few years ago when I came to SF that was my excuse for subpar entries, and believe me, I got pretty indignant when people didn't like my music. I haven't listened to your tune, and I probably won't, but remember - if you yourself admit to having "NO training in sound engineering at all", it's probably best not to argue with people who think your mix needs tweaked.

HeadShot wrote:But sorry, I forgot, they don't approve of people who can't afford pro-tools and condenser microphones here. I'll go spend my time on something more intelligent, like trying to teach myself trigonometry.

If you can't afford pro tools (I can't either), use reaper instead of audacity. Audacity pretty much sucks balls for most purposes, and reaper comes with some pretty decent plugins. Also, you'll probably find that even an extremely cheap bargain bin condenser mic will serve you better than a computer microphone.

I dunno man, I kind of see where you're coming from - you really got pounced on here, but don't give up that easy. Take whatever criticism you get as a challenge and make something that will shut your critics up.