jramm

Yeah, pomplamoose are a little odd, but I think thats why it has become an internet success. You mention that internet would be your preference as it is a massive platform for exposure, but to me this has massive difficulties in itself. Sure, there are millions of people on the net, but how would they ever get to your website unless they are aiming to get there? Just putting up a site may cause only your friends to have a look. By doing a gig, at the worst you would play only to your friends, but crucially also to the people that have come to see the other bands, the promoters, barman, sound guy etc. All ready a better base for getting the word out...

So, there is a big thread on online promotion and I was wondering what people on here think about the 'traditional' of playing live and building up a fanbase this way and its place today? How important is regular playing to bands and how should they go about it? Is it even a good idea to rely only on this method these days? Or conversely (and this is what I think) is internet promotion pretty useless without live gigs to back it up? I'll give 2 examples for both sides of the board. 1. Pomplamoose. If you don't know them they are a band who came to prominence last year through their youtube videos. They record everything at home and make innovative videos to go with it. They sold 100 000 downloads alone last year. Pretty good as they don't have any label, management, etc to share it with! 2. Fleet Foxes. I'm sure you have probably heard of them, came to prominence in 2008, but didn't even get a .com website until the release of their 2nd album this year. In fact for a long while they only had a myspace with a small number of songs that never changed (they had myspace take their page down this year), there was already a huge buzz around them when they released their ep Sun Giant before their debut. Their first album is platinum in the UK and the 2nd debuted at no 2 in the uk. So, pomplamoose - all internet promotion and the biggest band I can think of who have relied on only that. Fleet foxes are the biggest band I could think of that did it mostly without self-promotion on the internet. I sit on the fence that to get a deal, a lasting fan-base etc, then playing live and promoting your ep that way is the optimum method of filling up that fan list! I think it takes a certain kind of music to succeed purely on the internet - light hearted, a bit comic perhaps and fun? The kind of music with videos that you would link to your friend. I find that I don't often mention more 'serious' music to friends unless I've seen them live or heard the e.p/album What do you guys think? How many of you are playing live regularly?

for me on piano, I think now I'm past the point of being able to improve drastically. Speed and things need to be learned when very very young. But if I could I would improve trills and tremolos and rhythm at speed (even, crisp notes!)

Ah, I gotta disagree there. If you can't hear it, it doesn't matter and thats why the top guys have really good ears. They rely on them. I don't think their are hard and fast rules. Their are common techniques and tricks, and there is a general acceptance of what sounds good, but theres no laws! Otherwise we could just all learn them and be top producers. I would just shift around mic's until it sounds good, without worrying about phase. If they are perfectly in phase, but it sounds rubbish, whats the point? Perfect ears are impossible, but also not required as the people listening will also not have perfect ears.

Yeah its really great stuff and important to point out as music shops will try and sell you special 'foam' for ridiculous prices. I think both fibreglass insulation and rockwool have similar absorption coefficients so you could use one or the other. Just make sure you wear gloves!

Does anyone know a good place to go to get a valuation of a guitar? The local music dealer is a bad place to go as they typically seriously under-value it, hoping to buy it off you for a bargain. I'm specifically looking to get a '72 Martin D12-20 priced. Any websites that can at least give an idea of the kind of value?

So, I generally sing back-up vocals in my band, although I write a lot of harmonies and a lot of lead lines generally require me to double it (lower down), so I'm trying to improve my live singing, especially as we have a radio performance coming up. So I've just done a quick recording of me performing a folk song to see if you can give me tips. I think my main problem is with coming in flat pretty often: http://snd.sc/qFtPTW Any tips?

2nd tip, and this will both save money and give better results. Do not buy acoustic absorption treatment as advertised on music websites! Especially acoustic foam! A much better absorber and cheaper is rockwool. This is the stuff thats often used as insulation in houses and it is the stuff used in big boy studios. You can even find technical articles from bbc detailing how to create different aborbers with rockwool. Easiest way: buy some rockwool, buy some fabric to cover it in (don't want to let the fibres out, and it is ugly as hell). Simple cotton fabric is fine. You then need to attach your rockwool panels to the walls where you feel they are necessary. Its often a good idea to put some wood strips at the edges of the panels so there is a small gap between them and the wall as it helps absorption. So...my 2 biggest tips for more professional recordings - studio monitors and simple acoustic treatment. Much more worthwhile than upgrading to a $500 mic or so. A great mic in a bad room will sound bad. A fine/decent mic in a good room will sound fine.

The biggest tip I would make, and one I dont think is covered is getting Studio Monitors. Nice mics etc etc dont mean anything if you can't listen to them properly so studio monitors are vital for mixing your tracks. I was sceptical when first told to upgrade my speakers (probably like you), but they really do make a huge difference, so big a difference that you will, like me, feel the need to make the distinction betwee 'monitors' and 'speakers' once you get some. Broadly put, all hi-fi/computer speakers 'colour' the sound in some way - either to make them sound better, to fit into constraints cause by their casing (speakers can look cool, monitors are generally just boxes, but it affects the sound) or inadvertently. The idea of monitors is to be completely transparent - the signal going in is what you hear. Decent monitors start at around £50 - so not much at all (although they go up to the hundreds). I bought a fairly cheap pair for £65, and it was probably the biggest change to my recording. Sorry if I sound like a marketing freak - but seriously, studio monitors!

It also depends on what you would use the mic for - if it is just for live, then you need to bear in mind that if you play at a venue, they might oblige you to use their mics, so it doesnt matter if you have a super mic at home or not. If it is just for recording, you need a condenser mic - best value for money imo is the Røde NT-1A, very versatile mic. If it is for both, then I agree with everyone on the SM57, but you might also want to look at the Shure SM7

Hey, I don't understand - why 60 000? For me, I dont really think its that helpful to use math to set plugin/hardware settings - perhaps maybe to get in the right area. I'd rather just close my eyes and twiddle the knob until it sounds right to my ears. It doesn't matter if when I look at it it's displaying some totally insane value - as long as it sounds right.

Seems like a fun thing for a noob so I'll give it a go... 1. Do you sing, play an instrument or instruments? What instruments? - Piano, Guitar, Bass, Mandolin and I pretend to sing a bit When did you start playing? Different times, piano came first Did you teach yourself? Yes, everything except piano 2. Are you in a band or bands? Yup What is the name of the band? Ramshackles What do you play? Piano,Guitar,Bass, anything I can get my hands on What other instruments are in the band? 2 other singers, when we play live we recruit drums/bass Do you have a band website? Here it is 3. Do you write songs? yes Do you write lyrics, music or both? both Do you have a writing partner? No 4. Do you record your music? yup Do you use a home studio? If so what gear do you use? PC running Cubase with an audiophile 192 soundcard running through a phonic mixer. A couple of Røde mics and a good pair of monitors Do you use a recording studio? We are thinking about starting to use one for acoustic guitars and for help with mixing Do you have music available on the web? if so where? You can download from our facebook bandpage 5. What other roles do you perform in the music business? Management? Label owner? Publishing? Promotion? Other? Not really. I occasionally update a blog about York music called Eoforwic 6. Are you a tech head? Not at all 7. What country do you live in? Studying in denmark right now, but from UK. 8. What are your ambitions? Well, to be able to play music all day everyday would be lovely. For that I guess I need to somehow earn money from music. Or marry a rich girl. 9. Do you draw/paint/write stories/computer art/dance or other creative pursuit? Draw and mess around on photoshop a bit, but it all comes back to the music/band What are your pastimes? Music Music Music. I like looking for music bargains on ebay, sometimes to sell on, sometimes to keep 10. What would you like to get out of Songstuff? hmm...tips, advice, reassurance? I think that covers the main musical things!