How helpful are you?

[jimistone]

I have received a lot of great advice and help here. Even guys who don't like me like Greg and kcearl have been more than willing to give me advice. ....like when I was shopping for an interface and also when I w as trying to get decent recordings of acoustic drums. I have always appreciated the help I recieve. I try to help others as best I can. One thing I try not to do is make suggestions and give advise on things I don't have a clue about. I agree with Greg that there is a lot of the blind leading the blind.

 

[MrUserNameIV]

There's a lot of helpful people on here, but I'm too cynical about people's evil nature to ever help another. They'll only use the money made from their mixes to buy booze.

Therefore, I tell them all to record with their pre-amps as low as possible and normalize the signal. I instruct them to unplug their mics with phantom power active. I demonstrate how if you pour a bottle of beer into your tube compressor, it gives it that vintage beatles sound. Use ribbon mics for guitar amps and kick drums. Record everything at 8bit 22,kHz, and make sure to use an 8:1 compression ratio on your master bus.

I no longer post naughty pictures though, because that's a bad thing to do. Sorry about that.

 

[Robus]

I agree with Greg that there is a lot of the blind leading the blind.

I don't think that's much of a problem here, and anyway what's the alternative? If the self-described experts can't be bothered to help out newcomers (because after all, we are just clueless noobs and they are experts), then the noobs will just have to help each other as best we can. Those inclined will offer what advice they can. DIY--people who are learning how to do things helping other people who are learning. Is that a novel concept on a home recording forum? Like with all advice you get on the internet or elsewhere, it's up to you to filter, pick, and choose.

I'm talking specifically about mix and composition suggestions on the Clinic. I haven't seen much advice that is genuinely dangerous. It's more along the lines of "try a little compression there," or "that guitar solo isn't working." The potential for bodily harm's not that great. Some of us make clear that any suggestions we offer are based on our current level of understanding, and on things that might happen to be working for us, personally.

The forum has bigger problems. You've allowed a clique of high-count posters with a xenophobic and condescending attitude to set the tone.

 

[Resurrect]

I've definitely been guilty of trying to give advice on stuff I really wasn't all the knowledgeable about. Not sure if I've ever really been a real help to anyone. I've kinda stopped talking for a while. With super experienced guys here, I'm not really needed. I definitely have been helped a lot here, though.

 

[jimistone]

I don't think that's much of a problem here, and anyway what's the alternative? If the self-described experts can't be bothered to help out newcomers (because after all, we are just clueless noobs and they are experts), then the noobs will just have to help each other as best we can. Those inclined will offer what advice they can. DIY--people who are learning how to do things helping other people who are learning. Is that a novel concept on a home recording forum? Like with all advice you get on the internet or elsewhere, it's up to you to filter, pick, and choose.

I'm talking specifically about mix and composition suggestions on the Clinic. I haven't seen much advice that is genuinely dangerous. It's more along the lines of "try a little compression there," or "that guitar solo isn't working." The potential for bodily harm's not that great. Some of us make clear that any suggestions we offer are based on our current level of understanding, and on things that might happen to be working for us, personally.

The forum has bigger problems. You've allowed a clique of high-count posters with a xenophobic and condescending attitude to set the tone.

I'm always more than glad to help.
It isn't really that seasoned people don't want to be bothered with helping newbies....lots that newbies ask for honest critique on their mixes and then get butthurt when they are told the mix isn't very good.
They press the issue "Why?"
if the are told " well, because the performance is lousy, the tracks sound boxy because of mic placemwnt, your guitar is out of tune, the timing is off on the drums, the amp Sim sounds like shit, everything is pumping and breathing from over compression, and the whole thing is washed in reverb."
They get all pissed off and say the one telling these things is an asshole and just trying to be mean and it's really not that bad
...so forth and so on.
Seasoned people throw their hands up and say "What's the use? these people don't want truthful critique they want to be told how good their recordings are no matter how bad they are.
I would.rather someone tell me that my recording sounds like shit than say it's great when they think it sounds like shit.

Most people new to recording can't handle the truth.

 

[Resurrect]

I'm always more than glad to help.
It isn't really that seasoned people don't want to be bothered with helping newbies....lots that newbies ask for honest critique on their mixes and then get butthurt when they are told the mix isn't very good.
They press the issue "Why?"
if the are told " well, because the performance is lousy, the tracks sound boxy because of mic placemwnt, your guitar is out of tune, the timing is off on the drums, the amp Sim sounds like shit, everything is pumping and breathing from over compression, and the whole thing is washed in reverb."
They get all pissed off and say the one telling these things is an asshole and just trying to be mean and it's really not that bad
...so forth and so on.
Seasoned people throw their hands up and say "What's the use? these people don't want truthful critique they want to be told how good their recordings are no matter how bad they are.
I would.rather someone tell me that my recording sounds like shit than say it's great when they think it sounds like shit.

Most people new to recording can't handle the truth.

Anybody serious about their music already knows everything that is WRONG with their song, and will have done everything they can do to change that. For me, the mixing clinic is a way to test the product that I think is good against the ears of others. When I think the song is good, I want other people to let me know what they are hearing. Many times, it's just the fact that I've heard it sooooo many times that I've become deaf to the details. The dudes who can't take advice will just crash and fade. If they get nothing but honest feedback and don't like it, I think they will eventually leave.

 

[Robus]

Jimi, you seem like a good guy. But you're repeating something that is conventional wisdom and is simply wrong. As a participant of the MP3 Clinic, you should know better. I've listened to nearly every track that has been posted there in the last couple of months. I've read every thread. I have seen almost none of what you are describing: People asking for advice and then reacting with butthurt to honest criticism. How many current threads can you link me like that?

Now how many threads can you find where people show gratitude for honest feedback and constructive criticism? That is the norm over there. People who say otherwise aren't reading.

The first time I posted a song on this site was back in the summer. The OP, Armistice, posted feedback, as did Gecko, famous beagle, and several others. Armistice was particularly blunt, and appropriately so. That kind of feedback was exactly what I was looking for. My dog thinks I'm the greatest person in the world. I come to HR to get real criticism that will help me improve. I'm not alone.

 

[muttley600]

The butthurt of the inexperienced and soft ego is beginning to creep into this thread.

Keep it up guys...

 

[muttley600]

I'm always more than glad to help.
It isn't really that seasoned people don't want to be bothered with helping newbies....lots that newbies ask for honest critique on their mixes and then get butthurt when they are told the mix isn't very good.
They press the issue "Why?"
if the are told " well, because the performance is lousy, the tracks sound boxy because of mic placemwnt, your guitar is out of tune, the timing is off on the drums, the amp Sim sounds like shit, everything is pumping and breathing from over compression, and the whole thing is washed in reverb."
They get all pissed off and say the one telling these things is an asshole and just trying to be mean and it's really not that bad
...so forth and so on.
Seasoned people throw their hands up and say "What's the use? these people don't want truthful critique they want to be told how good their recordings are no matter how bad they are.
I would.rather someone tell me that my recording sounds like shit than say it's great when they think it sounds like shit.

Most people new to recording can't handle the truth.

As far as OT stuff goes as you know I pretty much stick to the g$b board and occasionally into the acoustics relm elsewhere mainly because I am not qualified to deliver much help elsewhere. The main problem is that the n00bs want instant answers to questions that have already been round the block a dozen or more times. It's the knowledgeable (read high post count xenaphobic posters that made this site worthwhile). Lose them and you just have a kindergarten of lazy wannabees and a shit load of targeted advertising.I know which site I would prefer and yes I know you agree I just couldn't be assed to reply to rubus-dufus...

 

[MrUserNameIV]

The butthurt of the inexperienced and soft ego is beginning to creep into this thread.

Keep it up guys...

You'll want to use a carving knife to trim off the frequencies below 40Hz. Take extra care only to cut off the parts of your audio interface which are responsible for the sub 40Hz frequencies (the USB port, the UV meters, the left main output jack and whatever circuit board you find inside). If you accidentally cut off the parts responsible for above 40Hz (the rubber feet, the logo plate, mounting brackets, or the outer case), then you'll have to buy a new interface. Once you have trimmed your audio interface of anything below 40Hz, go ahead and see how much clearer your mixes sound.

I hope this helps.

 

[gecko zzed]

As far as OT stuff goes as you know I pretty much stick to the g$b board and occasionally into the acoustics relm elsewhere mainly because I am not qualified to deliver much help elsewhere. The main problem is that the n00bs want instant answers to questions that have already been round the block a dozen or more times. It's the knowledgeable (read high post count xenaphobic posters that made this site worthwhile). Lose them and you just have a kindergarten of lazy wannabees and a shit load of targeted advertising.I know which site I would prefer and yes I know you agree I just couldn't be assed to reply to rubus-dufus...

High count does not always correlate with knowledgeable, and noobs does not always equate to lazy wannabes.

 

[Greg_L]

Jimi, you seem like a good guy. But you're repeating something that is conventional wisdom and is simply wrong. As a participant of the MP3 Clinic, you should know better. I've listened to nearly every track that has been posted there in the last couple of months. I've read every thread. I have seen almost none of what you are describing: People asking for advice and then reacting with butthurt to honest criticism. How many current threads can you link me like that?
.

I can link you to one right now. Front page. It exhibits the butthurt response and blind-leading-blind mentality that is very real. You choose not to see it, or you don't understand it because you've been here for 5 minutes. Not only that, he's one of your brother forum savior crusaders. Do you wanna see it?

---------- Update ----------

The butthurt of the inexperienced and soft ego is beginning to creep into this thread.

Keep it up guys...

Yup. Have you met the forum crusader yet?

 

[muttley600]

High count does not always correlate with knowledgeable, and noobs does not always equate to lazy wannabes.

Why are you pointing this out to me? I wasn't the one that raised it...

While we are on the subject neither does either equate to being xenophobic or any other such stuff. If you lose the knowledgeable posters you definitely do have a massive internet advertising billboard and a bunch of noobs though that much is certain. Good luck with that there will only be one winner and it wont be knowledge.

 

[Robus]

I'm sure he has heard of me, since his views are recycled versions of your own. Your insults are more clever. He needs to up his game.

Not sure which thread you mean. Was it the one where you posted yesterday? That poster has accepted tons of suggestions. I've seen him re-track parts of his songs two and three times to correct problems others have pointed out to him. He's anything but lazy. But you weren't there to give constructive feedback, were you? About your sycophant who followed you into that thread, the less said the better.

 

[miroslav]

There are threads where I'll try to be helpful, but there are also threads where when I look at the question and who is asking it...I just don't want to bother even though I may have some info I could provide.

I guess it comes down to 1.) the stupidity of the question, 2.) the ease of finding info on your own rather than asking for it to be served up, 3.) my own particular recording interests, like if it's about something close to home that I enjoy talking about and 4.) my mood at the moment I ran across the thread.

 

[Greg_L]

I'm sure he has heard of me, since his views are recycled versions of your own. Your insults are more clever. He needs to up his game.

Not sure which thread you mean. Was it the one where you posted yesterday? That poster has accepted tons of suggestions. I've seen him re-track parts of his songs two and three times to correct problems others have pointed out to him. He's anything but lazy. But you weren't there to give constructive feedback, were you? About your sycophant who followed you into that thread, the less said the better.

I didn't say anything about him being lazy or ignoring suggestions. Stay focused here. He asked "what do you think?" and I said what I thought. He then went on the defensive. At that point I'm not going to waste words on a clown like that. It's right there in plain type. You choose not to see it that way because you are part of the participation award problem.

And I don't know who this "sycophant" is you're talking about, but if he agrees with me, then he's right. And speaking of sycophants, you've amassed quite a few yourself. Your crusade is working! I see you have two or three little team members and you follow each other around spreading the gospel of mediocrity and kumbaya. Nice work.

 

[Greg_L]

There are threads where I'll try to be helpful, but there are also threads where when I look at the question and who is asking it...I just don't want to bother even though I may have some info I could provide.

I guess it comes down to 1.) the stupidity of the question, 2.) the ease of finding info on your own rather than asking for it to be served up, 3.) my own particular recording interests, like if it's about something close to home that I enjoy talking about and 4.) my mood at the moment I ran across the thread.

That's how I am too. It's not that I don't want to help someone, I've just had to fine-tune my selection process. One of my biggest pet-peeves lately is this epidemic of fuckers that just won't try anything for themselves.

 

[Armistice]

This can be a decent question when you're in the office and you're thinking about stuff - you come up with an idea of something that might work but haven't tested it. Someone might be able to tell you that its a shite, idea but for what you're trying to achieve you could try a different thing instead. Saves you a lot of time/pain in the arse factor.

Explaining what you're trying to achieve is always a better way of asking a question though.

I do this a bit - mainly because of the time zone differences - think of something when I should be working, pose a question, and mull through the answers when I'm home. Nothing wrong with that...

I don't think that's much of a problem here, and anyway what's the alternative? If the self-described experts can't be bothered to help out newcomers (because after all, we are just clueless noobs and they are experts), then the noobs will just have to help each other as best we can. Those inclined will offer what advice they can. DIY--people who are learning how to do things helping other people who are learning. Is that a novel concept on a home recording forum? Like with all advice you get on the internet or elsewhere, it's up to you to filter, pick, and choose.

I'm talking specifically about mix and composition suggestions on the Clinic. I haven't seen much advice that is genuinely dangerous. It's more along the lines of "try a little compression there," or "that guitar solo isn't working." The potential for bodily harm's not that great. Some of us make clear that any suggestions we offer are based on our current level of understanding, and on things that might happen to be working for us, personally.

The forum has bigger problems. You've allowed a clique of high-count posters with a xenophobic and condescending attitude to set the tone.

Jimi, you seem like a good guy. But you're repeating something that is conventional wisdom and is simply wrong. As a participant of the MP3 Clinic, you should know better. I've listened to nearly every track that has been posted there in the last couple of months. I've read every thread. I have seen almost none of what you are describing: People asking for advice and then reacting with butthurt to honest criticism. How many current threads can you link me like that?

Now how many threads can you find where people show gratitude for honest feedback and constructive criticism? That is the norm over there. People who say otherwise aren't reading.

The first time I posted a song on this site was back in the summer. The OP, Armistice, posted feedback, as did Gecko, famous beagle, and several others. Armistice was particularly blunt, and appropriately so. That kind of feedback was exactly what I was looking for. My dog thinks I'm the greatest person in the world. I come to HR to get real criticism that will help me improve. I'm not alone.

Glad I could help. I don't recall the tune and I try not to bruise people and to be generally supportive of their efforts, but maybe I was having a bad day...



The thread wasn't particularly aimed at the Clinic, by the way - that is what it is. When I looked in last night there was a guy posting his entire greatest hits collection... that's going to work... Annoyingly it probably pushed stuff I would have listened to and critiqued off the first page - some moderation/"listen son" advice/forum sculpting in that scenario probably wouldn't go astray.

It was more the other forums - I think by answering some of the "how do I record karaoke vocals over this MP3 from which I've 'removed' the original vocal badly with freeware" threads, and the "I need a hug / can I sing" threads and the so, so obvious click harvester threads you just encourage more of the same to come here, and I'm not sure that's a great thing. But that's just me - maybe I'm old and grumpy and just don't like helping people any more - but I don't think so. Nothing I say or do has any material effect on the things I'm complaining about as there are others who will pop in and answer the question - and there's a core group of people who routinely sort everything out for the newbs... there's one guy there who should be on commission for a certain interface manufacturer...

 

[jimistone]

Jimi, you seem like a good guy. But you're repeating something that is conventional wisdom and is simply wrong. As a participant of the MP3 Clinic, you should know better. I've listened to nearly every track that has been posted there in the last couple of months. I've read every thread. I have seen almost none of what you are describing: People asking for advice and then reacting with butthurt to honest criticism. How many current threads can you link me like that?

Now how many threads can you find where people show gratitude for honest feedback and constructive criticism? That is the norm over there. People who say otherwise aren't reading.

The first time I posted a song on this site was back in the summer. The OP, Armistice, posted feedback, as did Gecko, famous beagle, and several others. Armistice was particularly blunt, and appropriately so. That kind of feedback was exactly what I was looking for. My dog thinks I'm the greatest person in the world. I come to HR to get real criticism that will help me improve. I'm not alone.

I'm just saying why experienced guys that are making g r eat sounding recordings are getting burnt out on the clinic. I have seen it many times. I have seen Greg for instance tell people that there guitar sound sucks because they are using amp Sims that don't sound good, and they should record an actual amp and get a speaker pushing air....they start arguing with him saying that not everyone can afford Marshall amps, and why does he have to be a dick (he really can be a dick about it too). My point is that a lot of people want to be handled with kid gloves and the responses be padded and sweet.
If someone tells me my recording is horrible and the whole fucking thing needs to be redone from scratch....
I'm not going to immediately get butthurt and lash out at them. First I'm going to listen to their recordings. If they have fantastic recordings (like Greg does) I'm going to try and seriously listen to what advise they have to offer and put it to use. If their recordings suck, I will tell them I think they should learn how to record before taking a swipe at my stuff.
Anyway, some people who have a lot of fantastic advise to offer don't feel like coddling people with fragile egos. It's a shame because they have a lot to offer in the clinic but just don't come in there much anymore

 

[Robus]

I didn't say anything about hm being lazy or ignoring suggestions. Stay focused here. He asked "what do you think?" and I said what I thought. He then went on the defensive. At that point I'm not going to waste words on a clown like that. It's right there in plain type. You choose not to see it that way because you are part of the participation award problem.

And I don't know who this "sycophant" is you're talking about, but if he agrees with me, then he's right. And speaking of sycophants, you've amassed quite a few yourself. Your crusade is working! I see you have two or three little team members and you follow each other around spreading the gospel of mediocrity and kumbaya. Nice work.

No, he asked you to explain. That's different. But you weren't there to help anybody except your own ego, which seems to feed off: A. lavish self-praise; B. constant belittling of others.

He's not a clown. He's somebody working hard on his music and trying to improve. Good thing you were never like that. I know snowflake, you really are Superman.