Time to listen?????

I know I've avoided the MP3 Clinic...mainly 'cuz things often get too far off into personal/subjective views, which isn't surprising, but often not very helpful/insightful, and so it just becomes a "taste" thing, what people like/dislike...but I'm working on a new album project, and rather than wait for the entire album to be finished, which may not happen until the end of the year, I may toss up some "singles" in the Clinic for the heck of it.
Thing is...I prefer to finish tracking/editing ALL the songs for the album project before I get down to the final mixing/mastering, just to keep things with the same overall vibe, so I'll have to break with that approach and maybe try mixing/mastering as I go along, per song...I'll think about it.
I just don't want to put up half-backed goods and then have to explain what I have yet to do to the songs... :rolleyes:
 
The clinic is useful when you get comments from people you know you can trust. I trust my own ears above all else for my sound, but I'm open to feedback from people that I know make good mixes themselves. I don't always agree with every comment, but if it comes from someone I trust, I can believe that it's meant constructively based off of experience.

And then you have smoke blowers and people being negative just because they're douchebags, like me. :)
 
There is no time of day that's better for anybody in general. It is up to the person.

There is no time of day that's appropriate for the MP3 clinic for me. It's 2nd only to the cave as the most useless part of this BBS, IMHO.

G.
 
RAMI said:
Hey, is there any general consensus on WHEN our ears are more alert?

Is first thing in the morning good because your ears are rested, or is it the other way around, because they haven't woken up yet?

I noticed mixes can sound different to me depending on the time of day, how I feel, what mood I'm in, how tired I am, etc...

I've even notices that songs can sometimes sound too fast or too slow depending on when and how alert I am when I listen.

Am I a weirdo?
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You may well be a weirdo....but I have definately experienced the "too fast" early in the day phenomenon. I have tried waking up, getting some coffee and hitting the studio for some mixing time.....doesn't work for me....I have to acheive a certain "zen" type of mood otherwise my hearing is fucked and my mixes sound like crap when I come back to them.

Am I the only one who has (eagerly) gone back to a mix I have been working on....only to wonder who the fuck was the idiot that thought that sounded good, the next day?
 
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Greg_L said:
The clinic is useful when you get comments from people you know you can trust.
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Well...there's the rub.
I've only heard a few member's music in any sort of "finished" form, as lots of people just put up "stuff" that's yet to be finished, so it's not always clear which of those folks have "ears" you can trust, as very often it appears like they are not yet sure about their own efforts...so then when they comment about yours, it's often based on their "tastes" more than anything.

But I've learned to get past all that, because in the end, all that really matters is that I like it...and the fact that I already post my music on the Internet in a few spots, means I'm not "shy" about it...I just haven't bothered to post it in the Clinic.
Like I said...I may toss up a few "singles" in the Clinic sometime in the near future....
...and Greg, your opinion is the only outside one that matters to me...douchbag or not! :D ;)
 
The MP3 clinic has uses beyond the mix. You can get/give feedback on arrangement, performance, lyrics, etc. Plus, it's entertaining just to sit back and listen to the contributions. There are some great songs posted that you don't even have to critique, just a simple, "Nice job" works well, too.

When is the best time for me to listen, usually after the 5th cup o' coffee.....
 
I have a problem when I am mixing that after hearing it over and over I start to hear things that aren't there, or things that are there but I wouldn't notice if I hadn't heard them over and over. This gets frustrating because the little guitar noodley gracenote that is so cool stands out when I have heard it a lot is actually really really quiet if I were to just hear it one time through. The answer? I dunno, but lately I have been trying this:

Finish my mix, go have a beer and a cigarette, watch the TV, hear all sorts of other stuff like commercial jingles, newscast intro music, etc so the song isn't still going round and round my head. Then come back and listen an hour later when I haven't heard it over and over and over.

All this for just a raw 3 piece with 1 vocal, no crazy special effects. How do the bigwigs with layered guitar parts and MIDI sequences and 10 tracks of drum mics and so on stay sane?

Then after hearing it with fresh ears, scrap the whole mix and start over :D
heh, maybe this is why I haven't put anything up online yet.
 
RAMI said:
Hey, is there any general consensus on WHEN our ears are more alert?
Click to expand...
I don't think it's a particular time of the day as much as it is a particular orientation, ie what your ears are used to catching. For example, the first drummer I used to jam with, his family lived on a main road and they had no bell and I was always fascinated that amongst all that noise they could hear the door knocker from the first and second floor of their house. Suddenly someone would say "oh, could you answer the door ?" and I'd be thinking 'how in the world did they hear that ! ?'. Given that engineers track and mix at all hours, I'd say it was much of a muchness.
 
Right after a Motorhead concert usually works for me :D

Seriously though I prefer mixing through the night.
 
Chili said:
The MP3 clinic has uses beyond the mix. You can get/give feedback on arrangement, performance, lyrics, etc. Plus, it's entertaining just to sit back and listen to the contributions. There are some great songs posted that you don't even have to critique, just a simple, "Nice job" works well, too.

.....
Click to expand...

I love the Mp3 Clinic too, I dont have my old friends 2 min. away to drop by and critique a mix anymore, so I found help here, and after all its nice to hear what members are actually producing.
 
I've noticed and have told friends that if they are going to be mixing, or running sound to NOT drive to where your going with the window down. It has an unbelievable affect on your ears.
The swish sound of the air flow can be as bad as listening to your car radio on 11 on that whole drive.
 
When I get home from work, I'm too tired, and I rush it. Ears are probably fatigued, as well, from listening to music during the day......:spank::spank::spank::spank:
 
RAMI said:
Hey, is there any general consensus on WHEN our ears are more alert?

Is first thing in the morning good because your ears are rested, or is it the other way around, because they haven't woken up yet?

I noticed mixes can sound different to me depending on the time of day, how I feel, what mood I'm in, how tired I am, etc...

I've even notices that songs can sometimes sound too fast or too slow depending on when and how alert I am when I listen.
Click to expand...

Songs can also feel too fast or too slow depending on what else I've been listening to. If I'm tired or cranky trying to mix or record is a waste of time.

I like to record songs, get a faders-up mix, and then sit on them for a long time. 12 months later I'm like "what the fuck was I thinking" or "crap, there's way too much instrumentation". I don't know how it works for you, but I know from experience that you turn around material very quickly and it sounds very good.

So my guess is that it depends on who's listening.
 
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