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I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2024 5:47 pm
by DanGalasso
I am garbage.
https://www.taxi.com/members/ujrTCM1MTH ... F6YvVNu_MQ
Here's the song. Can someone help me identify the Genre? It feels like a pop rock song.. I don't know anymore. And something about low end clarity? Any ideas how I would do that? Compress the bass line?
https://www.taxi.com/members/ujrTCM1MTH ... -doo-song-
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 12:47 am
by BradleyHagen
Dude-
The song is terrific, and don't let a return get you down man....
It IS lacking in lows and low mids,,,,, that can be easily resolved... It is a bit distorted overall, and I would think that it is a bad mastering plugin on your 2 buss/main output?
All easily fixable issues... Keep the Faith.... you are on the right track here.... And if anybody ever claimed that the "Music Business in Easy?" I would like to meet that imposter! lol
Keep working man!
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 1:00 am
by BradleyHagen
And... dont EVER...EVER..... Let anyone, including TAXI screeners, colleaugues, friends, spouse, family.... tell you what do do, and what to think about your art - ITS YOUR ART!!
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 1:38 am
by cosmicdolphin
Yes I would say Pop - Rock but kinda retro/throwback ...90's-ish...not Pop Rock today
The guitar sounds way too loud in the balance in the mix , it's masking everything else..like mentioned the kick and bass are mixed too low. It's all about mix balance first and foremost, compression may help on certain instruments but you should be able hear them without that.
Production music is all about production and you need to be able to deliver a mix/master to a better standard or even the best song in the world can't be used by the industry. I reccommend this book to everyone as it's where I learned a lot, and it's geeared towards home studio users rather than professional set ups like many other books.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixing-Secrets ... b_title_bk
https://cambridge-mt.com/ms/main/
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 3:28 am
by Telefunkin
I'd say its a very catchy and marketable song to be proud of, and its only lacking a bit of mix polish. There's always rejection no matter who you are or where you are, but shining this one up should open some doors for you. Toss those stems to a mix engineer and suddenly you'll be thinking "I'm a huge success and everything I write/do is amazing."
Best of luck with it.
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:28 am
by DanGalasso
cosmicdolphin wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2024 1:38 am
Yes I would say Pop - Rock but kinda retro/throwback ...90's-ish...not Pop Rock today
The guitar sounds way too loud in the balance in the mix , it's masking everything else..like mentioned the kick and bass are mixed too low. It's all about mix balance first and foremost, compression may help on certain instruments but you should be able hear them without that.
Production music is all about production and you need to be able to deliver a mix/master to a better standard or even the best song in the world can't be used by the industry. I reccommend this book to everyone as it's where I learned a lot, and it's geeared towards home studio users rather than professional set ups like many other books.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixing-Secrets ... b_title_bk
https://cambridge-mt.com/ms/main/
Thank you for this information and feedback. I had a listen to the example MP3's on the second link you attached and immediately bought the e-book you posted here. it appears I still have lots to learn about getting my mixes right before I even start submitting. Disappointing because I thought I was ready.
Hopefully I am capable of doing this better. I can't justify the cost associated with studio time for every 2-3 minute submission yet.
FWIW this mix is 2 layers of different rhythm guitar work, a bass guitar, a piano, a drum kit, and some chorus oohs. Then a single vocal track for each vocal track, lead-high harmony-low harmony.
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:41 am
by DanGalasso
BradleyHagen wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2024 12:47 am
Dude-
The song is terrific, and don't let a return get you down man....
It IS lacking in lows and low mids,,,,, that can be easily resolved... It is a bit distorted overall, and I would think that it is a bad mastering plugin on your 2 buss/main output?
All easily fixable issues... Keep the Faith.... you are on the right track here.... And if anybody ever claimed that the "Music Business in Easy?" I would like to meet that imposter! lol
Keep working man!
Bradley, Thank you for the encouragement. It honestly means more than you know. Some days I feel like I'm on top of the world, and others, like throwing all my equipment in the dumpster, setting it ablaze and relegating myself to watching tv and playing video games. Still I keep trudging ahead.
I use Studio One and usually export a mix using their volume leveling option to get to -14db. Up until now, I've been uploading my mixes to bandlab and picking between whichever of 4 pre-canned mastering options they have available for free sounds best. Recently I figured out how to get similar results using the project page in Studio one and hitting it with the built in pro eq and limiter, but haven't revisited my recent songs because they're already up on streaming services and they seem to be "good enough" for those purposes. People are listening at least. I've submitted about 25 songs to Taxi so far, and there's probably no way to retract these pending submissions and save the credit for when I get the mixes right so.. I'll probably throw my armor expecting 100% returns on them and hunker down behind the blast doors and wait until the dust settles... Hopefully there'll be more of the same type of requests in the future so I can re-use them once they're polished properly.
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:46 am
by DanGalasso
Telefunkin wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2024 3:28 am
I'd say its a very catchy and marketable song to be proud of, and its only lacking a bit of mix polish. There's always rejection no matter who you are or where you are, but shining this one up should open some doors for you. Toss those stems to a mix engineer and suddenly you'll be thinking "I'm a huge success and everything I write/do is amazing."
Best of luck with it.
Thank you Telefunkin. I will keep at it. I can't really afford/justify the cost of a mix engineer at the moment but I did buy that book that was recommended and have started reading it. I will keep at it until I hopefully get it right. Ideally, I'd like to retire someday in the country and have a studio room and just keep writing and submitting until I die. Been writing since I was 9 years old and took a "real job" to pay the bills which it does admirably, but still long desperately for the autonomy and freedom of being a full time music creator.
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:55 am
by BradleyHagen
DanGalasso wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:41 am
BradleyHagen wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2024 12:47 am
Dude-
The song is terrific, and don't let a return get you down man....
It IS lacking in lows and low mids,,,,, that can be easily resolved... It is a bit distorted overall, and I would think that it is a bad mastering plugin on your 2 buss/main output?
All easily fixable issues... Keep the Faith.... you are on the right track here.... And if anybody ever claimed that the "Music Business in Easy?" I would like to meet that imposter! lol
Keep working man!
Bradley, Thank you for the encouragement. It honestly means more than you know. Some days I feel like I'm on top of the world, and others, like throwing all my equipment in the dumpster, setting it ablaze and relegating myself to watching tv and playing video games. Still I keep trudging ahead.
I use Studio One and usually export a mix using their volume leveling option to get to -14db. Up until now, I've been uploading my mixes to bandlab and picking between whichever of 4 pre-canned mastering options they have available for free sounds best. Recently I figured out how to get similar results using the project page in Studio one and hitting it with the built in pro eq and limiter, but haven't revisited my recent songs because they're already up on streaming services and they seem to be "good enough" for those purposes. People are listening at least. I've submitted about 25 songs to Taxi so far, and there's probably no way to retract these pending submissions and save the credit for when I get the mixes right so.. I'll probably throw my armor expecting 100% returns on them and hunker down behind the blast doors and wait until the dust settles... Hopefully there'll be more of the same type of requests in the future so I can re-use them once they're polished properly.
From my experience the online mastering stuff is hit or miss, I used to use LANDR, but you just never know what you are going to get, and typically it isnt very good... Short of hiring a mastering Engineer, or diving deep into the weeds on Mastering, I would look into getting IZOTOPE Ozone 11.
Also, remember that -14 db is not the same as -14 LUFS
Re: I am a huge failure and everything I write/do is trash.
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2024 9:13 am
by DanGalasso
BradleyHagen wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:55 am
DanGalasso wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:41 am
BradleyHagen wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2024 12:47 am
Dude-
The song is terrific, and don't let a return get you down man....
It IS lacking in lows and low mids,,,,, that can be easily resolved... It is a bit distorted overall, and I would think that it is a bad mastering plugin on your 2 buss/main output?
All easily fixable issues... Keep the Faith.... you are on the right track here.... And if anybody ever claimed that the "Music Business in Easy?" I would like to meet that imposter! lol
Keep working man!
Bradley, Thank you for the encouragement. It honestly means more than you know. Some days I feel like I'm on top of the world, and others, like throwing all my equipment in the dumpster, setting it ablaze and relegating myself to watching tv and playing video games. Still I keep trudging ahead.
I use Studio One and usually export a mix using their volume leveling option to get to -14db. Up until now, I've been uploading my mixes to bandlab and picking between whichever of 4 pre-canned mastering options they have available for free sounds best. Recently I figured out how to get similar results using the project page in Studio one and hitting it with the built in pro eq and limiter, but haven't revisited my recent songs because they're already up on streaming services and they seem to be "good enough" for those purposes. People are listening at least. I've submitted about 25 songs to Taxi so far, and there's probably no way to retract these pending submissions and save the credit for when I get the mixes right so.. I'll probably throw my armor expecting 100% returns on them and hunker down behind the blast doors and wait until the dust settles... Hopefully there'll be more of the same type of requests in the future so I can re-use them once they're polished properly.
From my experience the online mastering stuff is hit or miss, I used to use LANDR, but you just never know what you are going to get, and typically it isnt very good... Short of hiring a mastering Engineer, or diving deep into the weeds on Mastering, I would look into getting IZOTOPE Ozone 11.
Also, remember that -14 db is not the same as -14 LUFS
Agreed - Hit or Miss to be sure. I don't know the difference between LUFS and DB but I do know there is a difference. Most of the mastering videos I've watched on youtube mention that when I do a loudness analysis of my track, the post values should be -14 LUFS and the other important value is -2 db maximum so I shot for that with my limiter and eq during my mastering experiements.. I think -2 db is the peak reduction value? I have looked at Ozone 11. Is that something I just use as a pre-fader plugin during the mastering phase? I will probably just drop the $100 on Ozone 11. I have the Komplete 14 Collectors edition, justified the purchase vs buying a new performance/workstation keyboard. What's an extra hundred?