YOUR ideas for the Recording forum - WHAT'S HAPPENING...

[Gust0o]

You know, we get all this great music being created and recorded... and then we spend our time asking about which bass is best for metal, or some other trivia

I think it would be great if we could do some kind of blog or vlog on the recording process - so we're not just getting the outputs, but perhaps hearing a bit more about how people go about putting their compositions together; and definitely something around both home and studio recording, so we can see both sides... the finished product, and the art in craft

[oggiesnr]

Maybe it's because I'm a coward but I've started work on several of the monthly composition challenges. The problem is that by the time I've barely started (and I'm trying to work out how to do what I want to do next) there's always several very professional (and very good) pieces submitted which I listen to and decide I can't compete with.

OK it's a failing in me but ...

I wonder anyone else feels the same? If so would having an earliest submission date, say the 21st of the month onwards, help?

Steve

[lurksalot]

Don't listen to them , I never do , probably for a similar reason , but also I would like to know that the inspiration comes from the picture and not from another entry.
I end up having to learn an entirely new musical style than I am used to half the time , thats probably why mine are in the more supporting role rather than at the head of the field .
the later entry date is worth a thought though .

[RockfordStone]

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1381578169' post='2240860']
Maybe it's because I'm a coward but I've started work on several of the monthly composition challenges. The problem is that by the time I've barely started (and I'm trying to work out how to do what I want to do next) there's always several very professional (and very good) pieces submitted which I listen to and decide I can't compete with.

OK it's a failing in me but ...

I wonder anyone else feels the same? If so would having an earliest submission date, say the 21st of the month onwards, help?

Steve
[/quote]

i don't listen to any of them until voting... regardless of how good or bad they are, they will always obscure your vision and views on your own work. if you plan to enter the race, just worry about your own stuff, then listen to the others when its time to vote

[Skol303]

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1381578169' post='2240860']Maybe it's because I'm a coward but I've started work on several of the monthly composition challenges. The problem is that by the time I've barely started (and I'm trying to work out how to do what I want to do next) there's always several very professional (and very good) pieces submitted which I listen to and decide I can't compete with.[/quote]

Well this is something we need to help fix! If it helps you to know, the first time I submitted a track I was very unsure of myself musically. A year on and I've had a real shot in arm, confidence-wise, and I have these monthly challenges to thank for that.

It's a very friendly community here - especially in the Rec forum - so just go for it Steve! Nothing to lose and everything to gain.

[oggiesnr]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1381609860' post='2241469']
Well this is something we need to help fix! If it helps you to know, the first time I submitted a track I was very unsure of myself musically. A year on and I've had a real shot in arm, confidence-wise, and I have these monthly challenges to thank for that.

It's a very friendly community here - especially in the Rec forum - so just go for it Steve! Nothing to lose and everything to gain.
[/quote]

Thanks for that

Steve

[Skol303]

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1381610987' post='2241479']


Thanks for that

Steve
[/quote]

No probs mate. And seriously... this is THE best place I've found online for sharing new music and getting honest, useful feedback. No big egos that often plague such forums on other sites. You're in good company

[Zenitram]

Your song's rubbish though.

[Skol303]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1381613660' post='2241517']
Your song's rubbish though.
[/quote]

There's always one....

[Silvia Bluejay]

I've just added my vote and will now tweet this thread. Let me know what I can do for the new setup on social media in due course

[Skol303]

Thanks Bluejay!! You've always been a huge help with Twitter I'll drop you a line about that shortly...

[Dave Vader]

Votedededededededed

[Grangur]

Hi there, I'm a total noob to anything involving recording. My teacher talls my I should record myself but until recently I had no idea how to start. (I cracked it by buying a Zoom B3 and downloading Audacity)

I've tried reading this forum but I get lost in all the talk about MIDI and VST.

Maybe someone could open the door to folk like me be writing a sticky with some basic information. Maybe they should assume the reader has a combo with a phones/speaker o/put, a laptop and a bass. Where do I go from here?

One other request: When posting a link to a recording it would be good if folk could say what genre the track is. It doesn't matter if it's exactly right. But if you can't stand metal, or you fall asleep to classical, then it would save readers' time.

Thanks for reading

Edited October 16, 2013 by Grangur

[Zenitram]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1381919976' post='2245359']
Where do I go from here?
[/quote]

What do you want to be able to do?

[Grangur]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1381920260' post='2245366']
What do you want to be able to do?
[/quote]
Many thanks for the quick response. I'd like to understand what other folk are talking about. So a simple glossary would be good.

WRT the starting to record, I've probably met my requirements.

Others may like to know a good low cost way to get started to write the kind of music in the monthly composition compo.
Others may want to get to where I am, but using another route other than a Zoom.

[Skol303]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1381919976' post='2245359']Maybe someone could open the door to folk like me be writing a sticky with some basic information.[/quote]

Your wish will soon be granted! We're going to be setting up a new sticky thread on the basics of recording - covering equipment, software, free resources, etc. This will be launched ASAP. I'll make sure it also contains a glossary of terms - good suggestion. In the meantime if you have any specific questions then ask away

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1381919976' post='2245359']One other request: When posting a link to a recording it would be good if folk could say what genre the track is. It doesn't matter if it's exactly right. But if you can't stand metal, or you fall asleep to classical, then it would save readers' time.[/quote]

Nice idea. Early days, but the current poll suggests support for setting up a separate sub-forum for posting recordings. This will give us opportunity to refresh the format a little bit. For example: setting simple guidelines for posting tracks (like mentioining the genre in the topic title as you suggest) and [i]maybe[/i] encouraging people to review others' material - a system I've seen work well on other music forums (a kind of "I'll scratch your back... you scratch mine" policy).

Cheers for your comments!

Paul

[Skol303]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1381917597' post='2245311']Votedededededededed[/quote]

Cheers Dave! No demand as yet for a competition exclusive to people working in outhouses... but give it time mate, give it time

[xilddx]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think most BC members would rather talk about music than listen to it. If they do listen it seems to me to be they want to learn something rather than enjoy the music. I also think there is possibly a general cynicism that they are probably not going to like what they hear.

There is some really great music on BC though, some really great bands that I have bought albums and EPs from, and seen live. I think having product - promo vids, singles/EPs/albums, merch, etc - somehow induces trust in quality and therefore may induce a click. So I think a subforum for BC members with products to promote would be good.

I think a subforum for BC members bands would be a good alternative to the above promo subforum though. It would be a bit like what Silvia has pinned for each band, but I think they currently get in the way of the gig forum thread listings, so a sub forum would be best IMO.

I love the mix and composition challenges, we all learn from them.

Other than that, I don't see how it's possible to change the slightly apathetic BC culture towards its members' music easily. I do think people are very reticent to post critically about another member's band, it may feel too personal for some, and that may be part of the problem. I have done and have had a few monkeys jump on my back and slap me about for being too critical, even though I was being constructive. So there could be some sort of guidance regarding that aspect - if you post a number, you should not expect people to be all cuddly, and that criticism should be expected and valued too. That may encourage people to listen because they know they can post even if they didn't like the music, or felt it was lacking in some regard.

Having said all that, I do believe there is much hope for the expansion and patronage of the Recording Forum

Edited October 16, 2013 by xilddx

[BigRedX]

TBH a single new forum within the performance section that is for Basschat members bands and contains both live photo and videos as well as recordings and Promo videos would be the best solution IMO to both the ideas being discussed here and the over-abunance of pinned thread currently clogging up the gigs forum.

[Skol303]

^ Spot on! Cheers Nige. Useful comments there mate.

I like the idea of somewhere for bands to post their music. We might be able to accommodate this within the current idea for a new sub-forum on music generally... we'll see how that goes first.

The issue of motivating people to get involved in the Rec forum and listening to other people's music is a challenging one - and not something we're likely to solve easily, if I'm honest. We can do a few things to make the Recording forum more inviting and 'accessible', but it's the old adage of "taking a horse to water... but not being able to make it drink" This is very typical of every other music forum I've frequented - us musicians are generally more interested in plugging our own stuff than listening to other people's. Fact. So it's not something we should beat ourselves up about - but we need to manage our expectations in terms of who's going to be interested in Recording and why.

That said, we have a very strong cadre of regulars (yourself included of course!) and that's plenty good enough already. Also, I think honesty should be welcomed in people's feedback - constructive criciticism is always more valuable than generic praise, so I think we need to encourage that and maybe post a few simple guidelines (Mike Senior mentioned this when he judged the mixing competition one month... I'll dig out his advice on it).

Thanks again bud!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1381925924' post='2245520']TBH a single new forum within the performance section that is for Basschat members bands and contains both live photo and videos as well as recordings and Promo videos would be the best solution IMO to both the ideas being discussed here and the over-abunance of pinned thread currently clogging up the gigs forum.[/quote]

Cheers Mike, that's an interesting idea... a combination of the Recording and Gigs forums. I can see how that would make sense. I'll float this idea once the current poll is finished.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Skol303

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1381926536' post='2245539']
Mike, that's an interesting idea... a combination of the Recording and Gigs forums. I can see how that would make sense. I'll float this idea once the current poll is finished.
[/quote]

The way I see it, is if the the course of various other conversations in other threads you think that a particular Basschatter's band sounds interesting, then you can head over to this forum and find out what they sound/look like. The trick will be be not to make it a place that people will want to go to in order to see the wide variety of musical styles that the various members here have on offer. One thread per band that can be updated with new live photos/videos/recordings etc. as they are produced.

Regarding genre, I don't have a problem with having a listen to anything and sometimes it's better not to have any pre-concieved ideas of the music before I click play. If it happens to be something that I don't like then I can easily click stop and move on to something else. IME bands are notoriously bad at describing themselves and sometimes listeners can be very conservative without realising it. The Terrortones have a lot of diverse influences and seem to fit vaguely into quite a few genres, but naming any one of them could potentially put off someone who might actually like what we do, so these days I mostly describe it as B-movie visual rock n roll and then let people make up their own minds when they see/hear us.

[Silvia Bluejay]

No, I don't think the Gigs forum and its live (NB - [b]live[/b]) photos and vids should have anything to do with the Recording forum.
If we really want to create one single repository for each band's "stuff", be that released tracks, promo videos, professional photos or live stuff, then the only solution would be to mix the two forums together in one big confusing jumble. I'm firmly against that.

[Skol303]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1381927681' post='2245570']No, I don't think the Gigs forum and its live (NB - [b]live[/b]) photos and vids should have anything to do with the Recording forum.
If we really want to create one single repository for each band's "stuff", be that released tracks, promo videos, professional photos or live stuff, then the only solution would be to mix the two forums together in one big confusing jumble. I'm firmly against that.[/quote]

Fair point Sylvia! I'm definitely against big confusing jumbles! (although I do love a good jumble sale... but that's another topic ).

I think the safest step will be to set up a sub-forum for sharing music in the Recording forum, and encourage links with relevant threads in the Gigs forum so that bands can advertise both live performances and recordings to potential listeners.

We can consider other options once the recent changes have had chance to sink in, and we can see what's working well and what isn't.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Skol303

[xilddx]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1381927681' post='2245570']
No, I don't think the Gigs forum and its live (NB - [b]live[/b]) photos and vids should have anything to do with the Recording forum.
If we really want to create one single repository for each band's "stuff", be that released tracks, promo videos, professional photos or live stuff, then the only solution would be to mix the two forums together in one big confusing jumble. I'm firmly against that.
[/quote]

How about a separate forum in the Performance Section called [b]Basschat Members' Bands [/b]or summat. No need to even pin them. Just a list of BC members' bands, created and controlled by the members themselves, they can sling everything in there.

[Grangur]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1381927627' post='2245569']
...Regarding genre, I don't have a problem with having a listen to anything and sometimes it's better not to have any pre-concieved ideas of the music before I click play. If it happens to be something that I don't like then I can easily click stop and move on to something else. IME bands are notoriously bad at describing themselves and sometimes listeners can be very conservative without realising it. The Terrortones have a lot of diverse influences and seem to fit vaguely into quite a few genres, but naming any one of them could potentially put off someone who might actually like what we do, so these days I mostly describe it as B-movie visual rock n roll and then let people make up their own minds when they see/hear us.
[/quote]
Fair point - it's probably just me. Right now I'm on a slow Thai connection and recordings take ages to download.. So point well taken.

What could be good is if, when posting, folk say if they're noobs or Pro or whatever-in-between. The reviewers comments could reflect this.