Is it me or Myspace?

[KyleAtGalaxy]

Hey everyone. I've been working on a mix for my band the last week or so. I've been making adjustments, listening back on different sound systems, and letting more experienced people offer their advice for the mix. I think I finally came up with something that I can call acceptable. At least to my ears (which doesn't say a whole lot). I converter the song to an mp3 at 128kbps and uploaded it to Myspace. And I must say it sounds very nasty.

I'm very much new at mixing and the audio game in general. I've only recorded and mixed probably two dozen songs so I believe it's very possible I just have a bad mix on my hands. But I've played the mp3 in question over many different sound systems and it will sound fine to me. (fine to MY ears, mind you). I don't remember the music on Myspace being this bad. I know they've upped the track count so maybe doing that has created the need to compress the music or something.

Or maybe my mix isn't that great, maybe it's just on the verge of being nasty and the myspace music treatment gives it that shove over the edge.

www.myspace.com/reasonstowritehome

Opinions, criticism, slams, praises, reassurance, and suggestions are all welcomed.

Thanks everyone

[rayc]

That's mspace for you.

[ido1957]

Originally Posted by KyleAtGalaxy

I converter the song to an mp3 at 128kbps and ploaded it to Myspace. And I must say it sounds very nasty.

Well Kyle, if it sounds crappy on MySpace, then why would you post a link to MySpace????? If you want us to listen and critique it properly then convert the .wav to 320K and upload it to lightningmp3.com... (it's fast, easy and free). The higher resolution will go a long way to improve my listening pleasure...and I can really tell how well you record and mix... MySpace is defeating the purpose...

[rayc]

i listened, it's very thin and distant, even for myspace. So you might be advisedto try lightning as well as setting up a soundclick account.
The song seemed OK though.

[KyleAtGalaxy]

Originally Posted by ido1957

If you want us to listen and critique it properly then convert the .wav to 320K and upload it to lightningmp3.com... (it's fast, easy and free). The higher resolution will go a long way to improve my listening pleasure...and I can really tell how well you record and mix... MySpace is defeating the purpose...

Yeah sorry about that. Not sure what I was thinking. I posted a 320kbps version on Lightning. I'm still waiting for the e mail with the link information.

Originally Posted by ido1957

i listened, it's very thin and distant, even for myspace. So you might be advisedto try lightning as well as setting up a soundclick account.
The song seemed OK though.

Thanks for the input guys. I may need to start from scratch with this one

[KyleAtGalaxy]

Okay here's the link http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=852215

Thanks for checking it out

[B.SABBATH]

cool song.. all you need is a better drum sound.. and the cymbals sound really cloudy and it effects the whole situation but I think it would be pretty close to being good with better drum sounds..

myspace does terrible things to sound but you'll probably get more plays there than anywhere else on the internet so that's the trade off.. and, if a mix doesn't sound halfway decent converted at 128 then 320 won't help.. soundclick only allows 128 but I use 192 for everywhere else.

[KyleAtGalaxy]

Originally Posted by B.SABBATH

cool song.. all you need is a better drum sound.. and the cymbals sound really cloudy and it effects the whole situation but I think it would be pretty close to being good with better drum sounds..

Thanks for the input. Yeah I went way wrong with the tracking of the drums. You live and you learn I guess. Thanks for checking it out

[ido1957]

Thanks for posting the Soundclick link. Firstly the writing is very good and the arrangement is too. The vocals are very strong where you double them up and I think that could be used more often... I think the overall mix is shy on bottom end a bit as mentioned before by Ray. Overall I think a few tweaks here and there but generally you have a great song and a pretty good start on a solid mix...

[spazex]

I would agree with B.SABBATH and ido1957, tweak the drums sound they slightly power everything. Your vocals are cool in this song however (to my ears) you sounded rushed, you sung it in a punk like tempo. I'm not sure how to word it but you seemed to cut your lyrics a bit too short 'didn't know...didn't know..woahhh" the breathing is short throughout the song. Where you begin example: 'this is the last time I will be here on my own...' 'this is not the way...' those spots is where it evens out. In all, definitely a good song; can't wait to hear more.

Just putting this out here... for another blog to upload songs check out trig.com

[KyleAtGalaxy]

Originally Posted by ido1957

Thanks for posting the Soundclick link. Firstly the writing is very good and the arrangement is too. The vocals are very strong where you double them up and I think that could be used more often... I think the overall mix is shy on bottom end a bit as mentioned before by Ray. Overall I think a few tweaks here and there but generally you have a great song and a pretty good start on a solid mix...

I agree with the lack of bottom end. I did some rearranging with my monitors and what a difference it made. I really need to look into doing some sort of room treatment in my bedroom. That would probably help alot my low end perception

Originally Posted by ido1957

I would agree with B.SABBATH and ido1957, tweak the drums sound they slightly power everything. Your vocals are cool in this song however (to my ears) you sounded rushed, you sung it in a punk like tempo. I'm not sure how to word it but you seemed to cut your lyrics a bit too short 'didn't know...didn't know..woahhh" the breathing is short throughout the song. Where you begin example: 'this is the last time I will be here on my own...' 'this is not the way...' those spots is where it evens out. In all, definitely a good song; can't wait to hear more.

Thanks alot for the critique and advice. It is greatly appriciated guys.

[jmorris]

myspace and youtube can ruin audio

[bozmillar]

Keep in mind that if the mix sounds bad in myspace, the mix will sound bad anywhere.

It might help to know what process myspace actually does to the audio. You upload an mp3 in whatever bitrate you want. Does it decode and re-encode that song to match some crappy bitrate, or does it just stream the same file you uploaded? And does it change the sample rate at all?

I've listened to music off of myspace music and nothing has struck me as completely crappy. It sounds to me like it's hanging around 128kbps which can be ok for most music. Does anybody actually have real specs for this?

[joeym]

Song's pretty good, chorus reminds me of the Goo Goo Dolls (meant as a compliment). Performance is pretty good, but you should review the vocals here and there. You've got some pitch issues in places but the voice is pretty good anyway. Drums sound a tick too lo-fi for me, but maybe you wanted them that way. Gives the song a nice rough punky feel. I think you could make a better job of the mix though, 'cos the song's good.

Cjeers
Joe

[montage]

Originally Posted by bozmillar

It might help to know what process myspace actually does to the audio. You upload an mp3 in whatever bitrate you want. Does it decode and re-encode that song to match some crappy bitrate, or does it just stream the same file you uploaded? And does it change the sample rate at all?...I've listened to music off of myspace music and nothing has struck me as completely crappy. It sounds to me like it's hanging around 128kbps which can be ok for most music. Does anybody actually have real specs for this?

I hate to bump an older thread, but this is exactly what I was wondering too. I'm not really a myspace person, but it is generally left to me in the band to provide converted files for uploading. I've provided 192k in the past which sound okay, but was wondering about doing 265k files. Is this going to matter anyway if MySpace is indeed converting once again?