MusicMan

That was painful.... I love freebies, but I'm not entirely sure that was worth it! I'm not actually sure what it is either, but I'm not going to browse their site right now to find out, as I'd rather be one less person hammering the site!

8 hours ago, Kal Elle said:

I am sure 100% the most difficult thing to do in music is to create a catchy tune. Start to finish.

You accomplished that.

Gratz 1000 fold. ?

Thanks Kal, I really appreciate that!! ☺️

On 12/4/2022 at 8:21 PM, Nick Blanc said:

Great! The feeling must be awesome. I hope to get there sometime.

Closest I got was in my very amateur DJ days when a mix of mine got played on a fairly large station. Afterwards I learned that they got so much positive responses that they repeated it a couple of months later. As a first.

Thanks Nick and that's pretty impressive in itself as well and you should be very happy with that achievement already. I'd be stoked and it already shows you've got the ear for it as it is ?

16 hours ago, pseudopop said:

Absolutely! When I say something is not my style I mean that it's not something that I usually gravitate towards and therefore I don't have the qualifications to evaluate its merits. But I am genre agnostic and can definitely enjoy other music besides 90s death metal.

And I think music is like visual arts in the sense that while I may not fully understand the subject of a painting I can still appreciate the craft itself and the skill of the artist.

That makes total sense to me and I'm very much the same and would say "genre agnostic" too and same with art. Although I've had friends in death metal bands, so I've even got an appreciation of them too in ways! ? Haha.. 

Aside from that, I reckon there's a genre to suit every emotion in life, so it's always great being able to pick a genre to suit ?

16 hours ago, Philip G Hunt said:

Since we're sharing good news.

I got this fine fine message this morning.

 

Congratulations Philip, that's super impressive and glad you shared it! I gave one of your tracks a listen and really enjoyed it ?

1 hour ago, Craig N said:

Looks like I spoke too soon. Some of these Halls of Fame reverbs are pretty good. The earlier impression was from comparing the Eventide SP 2016 with the native plugin and finding the Halls of Fame versions lacking, but now I'm comparing the Bricasti M17 with Seventh Heaven Pro and some the Liquidsonics wins, but some the Halls of Fame definitely win (Large Ambience is a good example). I've never really been a big fan of Seventh Heaven Pro. It sounds a bit muffled to my ears. Cinematic Rooms Pro on the other hand, now that one is stunning. 

I did pull the trigger as I was curious about their reverb too. The cost for that might just be worth it anyway and it seems to get some good reviews. I figure that Trinity could go either way, but maybe for some different one shots, or patterns that I might chop up, it might have a place. Haven't had a chance to install and test the reverbs yet, but looking forward to it

2 minutes ago, husker said:

I left Loopcloud when they stopped allowing user content to be included in libraries (I think version 6).  It was a nice product until then. 

I actually sent them a message about how much I thought it was a bad decision.  They actually had the gall to respond to tell me it was a "requested feature" to remove the ability to have content outside of Loopcloud in the app.  I told them they were full of crap, and that I would never buy from Loopcloud becuase of it.  (Get off my lawn!!!) 

I bought Sononym instead. 

That is hilarious!!! Nobody is ever going to fall for an excuse like that from them... I bought Atlas as I didn't want to be dependent on Loopcloud in case they did something like this. I've got enough samples really now. Vocals are still handy, but I have been wanting to work with a vocalist instead anyway, as it allows a lot more freedom in the lyrics and story, etc. Sononym does look good as well.

The free ADSR sounds one is another free option for people as an alternative.

I did find the earlier versions a little prone to crashing, but I was throwing a lot of samples at it, so maybe it's normally OK  ?

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5 hours ago, Brian Lawler said:

Loopcloud has updated to version 7 BUT apparently if you are a free user, the desktop app no longer works at all.  See below.  I let my sub lapse in October because I didn't use it enough.  The app is pretty great if you are heavily into loops and samples, and don't mind paying a subscription.  If I recall correctly, version 5 was completely free and version 6 kept the good features behind a paywall. Now V 7 is subscription only.  They say you can still access your owned content from a web page.

Following is a snip from the Loopcloud update notes.  Update with caution if you still use the desktop app.  In the past they deleted older versions from their download offers, so if you don't already have the V6 installer, you might never get it back. Note bold line (emphasis mine, and they conveniently leave this out of their blog announcement) at the end.

 

Important: Read about the major changes in Loopcloud 7 in our blog article

Version 7

Loopcloud 7 features a major visual overhaul and many performance enhancements.

Users now start on a search landing page, showing them instrument categories they can start their search with, or buttons to see all packs or collections. Users can click on one of the circle buttons to start their search, or use the search bar.

The home page is now Explore. This is where users can go to discover new releases, the current bestsellers, curated label and genre packs, and packs for DRUM and PLAY.

The Explore page now features two new rows - What's Hot, and Label Focus.

The search results experience, including Tag Suggestions for instruments, to help the user filter down their search to a more specific tag, content types to prompt the user to choose either Loops or One Shots, and genres. The genres shown in the tag suggestions are based on what the user commonly searches for, to help personalise their search.

Search results are now separated by tabs, so users can decide whether they want to see results from the Store, content from their Library, whole packs, or collections containing content they've searched for. If users want to see all the tags available to them, they can click on the Tags Sidebar, which will show all tags in a tree view.

We've introduced the mini editor, which will be the default for all users until they decide they need the additional functionality of the full editor. This allow users to reclaim valuable screen real estate, while still being able to preview their single file or full mix with the core functionality of Loopcloud.

The full editor has had a visual overhaul. We've moved some options to the menus in the top-left of the app, nested tools that don't all need to be seen at once, and removed some visual elements that aren't necessary.

The Loopcloud desktop app is no longer available to use for non-subscribers. Purchased sounds and packs will still be available to download from sounds.loopcloud.com/library/, however all in-app features will be disabled for free users.

Removed the legacy 'blue' theme, and set the 'Neutral Dark' theme as the default.

Thanks for sharing and that's a crap move on their part. I could be wrong, but I could've sworn I read somewhere in the past they said the app would always be free..

I didn't trust that though and so I never used their instruments in Loopcloud, or made anything through it. I just use it as a glorified loop browser and the bulk of my stuff is only vocals and one shots.

Either way, if that's their stance, I won't renew again and probably look elsewhere for samples and they have lost a customer.

I will drop them a message on their support page and provide some feedback on it... hopefully they get enough people doing the same and they see sense before too many people given up on them.

8 hours ago, PavlovsCat said:

You're completely right.

Theoretically, someone could create the most exceptional song ever written and produced and with the sheer quantity of releases on Spotify the odds of it going viral without serious promotion and resonating with an audience would still be small. The sheer quantity of songs on Spotify and other music streaming platforms makes getting a song noticed very difficult-- especially without a  significant promotional effort. So, I think you have very good reason to celebrate this accomplishment and I love how the community is celebrating with you. 

The beauty of it all is that even if nobody heard my music, or I didn't share any of my music ever, I'd still be doing it just for the love and the fun, so everything else is always a bonus. It was definitely a really nice surprise and bonus on top though.

As for the community, it's things like this that make me really appreciate it even more. You're all a great bunch of people and have such interesting stories and experiences to share. Easily my favourite forum! ? 

23 hours ago, pseudopop said:

Congratulations and thanks for sharing! It's not exactly my style but I like it. In the 90s I had (briefly) in my playlist artists/bands like Unkle, Senser, Sneaker Pimps,  etc. and this gave me some positive flashbacks.

Good job!

And yes, please tell us what gear you used.

Thanks Pseudo and albeit not your style, I'm glad you could appreciate it in a way too ?

On 12/4/2022 at 2:31 PM, Starship Krupa said:

And of course, because we're plug-in hags, wanna know what goodies you used. As for FX, there's a nice sparkle on there, and of course we need to know what VSTi's were not harmed in the making of this tune.

23 hours ago, pseudopop said:

And yes, please tell us what gear you used.

It turned out there were quite a few to make a note of! For the production side it was:

Drums:

• A whole heap of oneshot samples!
• SoundToys Decapitator
• V-Clip
• Acustica Audio Viridian2 EQ
• RC-20 by XLN Audio
• Hornet Tape
• Softube Tape
• Kilohearts Pitch Shifter
• Softube FET Compressor
• AMEK EQ200
• SPL Transient Designer Plus
• K-Clip 3
• Lindell Audio 80 Series Channel Strip by Plugin Alliance

Bass:

• Vital and Subdivine synths
• Fabfilter Saturn 2
• Fabfilter Pro MB
• AMEK EQ200

Lead:

• Vital Synth
• BX Opto compressor
• Acustica Audio Viridian2 EQ
• Softube Tape

Vocals:

• BRA VPRE73
• Maag EQ4
• Acme Opticom XLA3 compressor
• Acustica Audio Viridian2 EQ
• kazrog Synth Warmer

FX / rev:

• Valhalla Room
• Valhalla Delay
• Audio Damage Dubstation 2
• SoundToys Decapitator

Fabfilter ProQ3 was everywhere, so I didn't list that separately.

Also funny to think that with lots of expensive synths I went with a free one for the bulk of it! Although technically I did pay for it and get the plus version to lend some support to his project ?

Mixdown

Mixdown was done in Harrison Consoles Mixbus32C with some of the same plugins mentioned and then:

• SPL Iron
• Amethyst4 by Acustica Audio
• SPL Vitalizer
• Cream2 by Acustica Audio
• BX 9000J SSL console
• IK T-Racks Master EQ 432
• XT-CC Console Compressor

I somewhat found it interesting reflecting back on what options I chose for the various parts as I hadn't done that since finishing it ?

17 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

It's great! Yeah, upbeat funky vibe. Something about the vocal production and the bass tone reminds me of Eddy Grant.

Even people on here who aren't much into EDM, I'm sure they'll appreciate the performances, mixing, and cool production flourishes.

And of course, because we're plug-in hags, wanna know what goodies you used. As for FX, there's a nice sparkle on there, and of course we need to know what VSTi's were not harmed in the making of this tune.

Thanks heaps Erik, I really appreciate the nice comments about the track! Also for the gentle nudge towards sharing a link ?

That's funny about the plugins and instruments and it seems you're not alone there which makes perfect sense for this forum, so I'll definitely open up the project and make a note of them and share here too! Haha...

20 hours ago, Patrick Wichrowski said:

Congratulations

Thanks Patrick! ?

6 hours ago, kevin H said:

As someone that shared one of my PA vouchers with you id like to take full credit for your success. I’d  also like a cut from your sales also please ?. In all seriousness congrat

I seriously laughed loudly reading this one ? Well played Kevin, well played! Haha...  and thanks, I really do appreciate it ?

7 hours ago, Marc Cormier said:

Congrats, MM—thanks for sharing the goodness!  This is really nice to hear.  A buddy of mine is a DJ here in Detroit and I hear stories about how hard it is to even get that far.  Enjoy the buzz!!!

Thanks Marc and it was a really nice surprise!

I read somewhere that 40,000 to 50,000 songs are released on Spotify every day, so it makes me wonder how that can leave space for any of use newbies... so to hear the track played anywhere is already way more than I expected ?

1 hour ago, Starship Krupa said:

Congratulations! And for heaven's sake, post a link to where we can listen to the song. I guarantee everyone in this thread is dying to hear it. You can't be shy any more, it's been on the radio! Not a popular genre? We're musicians, we can hear the quality in any kind of music.

And I'll chime in with saying that the times I heard my band on the radio (or being played by the DJ in my favorite bar) were very special ones. And I hope to do it again, as indie rocker turned electronica guy. Soma.FM here we come (I hope).

Thanks Erik! You have touched on an interesting point for me too.. I think part of the reluctance to share on here, is partially because of all the experience and knowledge everyone else has and that there are a lot of accomplished musicians here as well.

I do understand a lot of the techniques and can easily hear what I like when it comes to all of the tools, instruments and everything, but I'm still very much green and just starting out with production, so I just tend to feel it's not good enough to share if I'm being fully open.

But maybe this is one of those growth moments where I just need to push myself out of my comfort zone and rip the bandaid off!

Here's my Linktree if anyone did want to give it a listen on whichever streaming platform they prefer. It has socials too if anyone wanted to follow along as well ?

https://linktr.ee/disorderlyconductor

I love your story too Erik and I really hope that happens for you too!

2 hours ago, PavlovsCat said:

Larry, we're in the deals forum in a thread that has nothing  to do with deals in a place where we all go on tangents -- me being a major offender. But why is actually not a bad thing? Why is actually a really good thing?

Because it reveals how we connect. We understand. We relate. We care. We're celebrating MusicMan's success and remembering our own fond moments. I'd put money on it that @MusicMan enjoys all of it, because he knows that we're happy for him and it resonates (please chime in and share your thoughts!). I love seeing you and others share your stories and it's fun to share my old stories that my kids have already heard (whenever a Pumpkins song is on the radio, so Im sure it inspires them to  want to quickly change the channel before I tell the story again!). All of this camaraderie is what I makes me so fond of this community. I'm not just here for the deals. It's my outlet to geek out on all things music related. 

You're completely on the money Peter and I'd almost have to check that I was logged in to the right forum if there wasn't at least a tangent, or two!! ?

And sometimes those random tangents from everyone have so awesome pearls of wisdom, or get us all thinking, so I love them too ?

11 hours ago, cclarry said:

FWIW...I didn't mean to hijack this thread, but just wanted to point out what an incredible feeling it
is to be "on the radio" for the first time, so much so in fact that it's still one of the highlights of life 42
years later

Love that Lars and glad you shared it and how much it still means all these years later.

I didn't take it as a hijack, or mind at all and it was completely related, so it's 100%  all good by me ?

12 hours ago, husker said:

Its so nice to hear stories like this.  I really struggle to even finish a song.  Its been awhile since that actually happened.

This is totally me too! Haha.. that's why I just picked the one I was working on at the time and went with it. Otherwise another year would've passed and I still wouldn't have released one. I seem to learn more in that final push as well and having to complete it, so I'm just trying to do that now.

But a lot of songs just grow out of jamming with a new synth, or testing out a plugin and then I end up making half a track and thinking I better save it for later, so I'm certain I'm not going to completely solve it! ?

13 hours ago, Spice3d said:

Big congrats dude. With all the algos and stuff these days, it’s quite an accomplishment. 

My band’s self-released 45 from the 80s is more popular today than it ever was when we first made it. I think a copy went for $2k recently. ? Collectors are crazy. 
 

Thanks Spice! And I do think the algos kill the creativity a little these days, in that they seem to favour people staying in a very narrow lane, which is definitely not what I want to do! I just love music.. all sorts and so I'll probably end up with a mix of genres anyway ? I don't have many followers on Spotify yet and this was only my first song, so at this stage it doesn't matter too much! Haha..

Love that about yours going for $2K, that's epic! Well done ?

10 minutes ago, cclarry said:

Not ONE single Mix Engineer is EVER happy with their mix...even after it's done and released.  They always have "second thoughts" LOL!

I am aware of some technical flaws in the mix, but you know what, I do take some comfort hearing that ?

2 minutes ago, PavlovsCat said:

That's awesome! Can you share a link? I want to listen too! 

I can, although I had to mix the entire thing in headphones, so I'm not happy with the mix and it's probably not a popular genre, but I'll  PM you with a link anyway ?

27 minutes ago, cclarry said:

Just for giggles I did a google search....and THERE THEY WERE! Crazy
https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=Mark Barrett And Rocks&title=I'm Back

Recorded at K&R Records here in Detroit!

Love that! Can't wait to listen to it ?

40 minutes ago, Toffo said:

Congratulations. It would have been quite the buzz!

It was!it's not much for most people and I get that, but it's the first track that I released so it was pretty novel hearing it on the radio ?