Constructive Critisism

I have just been browsing through the feedback forum and noticed the lack of proper proffesional feedback/critisism from most of the producers off here, who used to use the forum themselves when they 1st started out..  I would like to leave proper constructive feedback myself on most tracks but dont feel qualified or techincally able enough to give critisism..

Im sure that if some noob to producing or even someone who has been at it a while but just hasnt hit the zone yet would benefit greatly from your expertise and bring some more new life into the scene.

Most people will listen to a track and if they dont like it they dont even reply to say that.. Or give ideas to improve it or scrap it..  Which is what we all need...   If you have to be blunt and say its shit..  So be it... Be harsh and truthful. This is BT after all..  

 

So please if any of you guys who know your shit and have had stuff released, just listen to 1 track a week or more and leave some proper technical/musical feedback it would be much appreciated.. 

 

 

PS, im thinking of organizing a comp, seeing as we have not had a BT comp in a while...  So ideas please....  Maybe a Banging Tunes EP on one of the digi labels?? 

yea i agree with you in a sense mate. There seems to be a lot of views compared to replies in the feedback forum lately. Opeum is great for leaving feedback. Need more people like that guy in feedback forums

There was a guy on here once who was called "The Critic" and he gave some of the best feedback, very well explained and defo knew a lot about music/tech knowledge.

He would give fairly indepth feedback, and leave a percentage..


I still wonder to this day who he was???   

Percentage ratings along with feedback would be helpful for people. Can gauge strengths and weaknesses easier.

I agree completely.  BT is one of the worst forums for genuine feedback.  The established producers get big upped in a continual circle jerk and people who haven't had releases either get no comments at all or "I like that" or "I don't like that".

WHY?

If you're good enough to give an opinion you're good enough to justify it in a way that will actually be beneficial to the producer.

Random but raw - Cheers for the mention mate, im glad my feedback is appreciated... I have to admit i have been a little slck recently though but thats just cos i have been too busy to really give stuff a good listen... AMH usually leaves some well written and concise feedback, also Flymo has left some good feedback before but i havnt seen much from him in a while...

I used to try and give detailed feedback, but gave up bothering. When I post up my own stuff the favours dont get returned!

I know what you mean mate, but the way i see it is if everyone thinks like that then its all gonna grind to a halt... Might as well try and leave feedback when you can and gradually people who are thinking the same way as you might start leaving feedback too...

This has been a problem on here for ages!! There needs to be some sort of system where your not allowed to post a tune for feedback unless you have given feedback on 2 or 3 othes first! But that will never happen!

 

 

 

I dont think its just that Robbie, We have an unbelievable amount of pro/semi pro producers on here who hardly ever give any feedback.  And TBH when it comes to giving/receiving feedback I feel most of the time it goes out of the window when some unknown give you feedback... 

If it was a pro saying the same thing it would most probably took on board straight away..

I used to leave feedback/advice a long while ago until someone took offense and then on came their mates biggin themselves up and name dropping (yawn). I've noticed it happened a few times on there so, it's one of the reasons why some just won't put themselves forward for.

to be fair most of the trax in the feedback section are shit.

Like most of yours when you started posting in there.

Yeah I remember that Jay, and all I can say to that is if you post something up expect to be told its shit if it is shit...

If you dont want to feel like your putting someone down in public, send them a PM..  Same goes with good feedback..

 

PS.....   NOTE TO ALL up and coming producers, just coz your mate says its great doesnt mean jack shit..

Stick it up for feedback and if is shit we will tell ya..   (dont be scared)

 

 

Well why not comment on them billy big balls...  

Otherwise.. Fuck off..

 

Edit to add TBH Tom I dont rate your work in the slightest..  

sorry did I upset someone ?

No...  Just telling it as it is 

oh ok sound

haha...best feedback evar! Have you thought about getting a job at future music or mixmag?

 

haha yeah I'm sure I'd fit in a treat

thats was tom parr right?

 

probably

i used to say whether i liked something (out of courtesy, to offer encouragement if i liked something) until i realised that's not what people are after. i don't produce and my musical tastes have veered off even more from centre with this stuff now, so there's not much point bothering on my part. (if there's worth in posting a non tech opinion please let me know. i piss about on here for enough time so it's no skin off my nose taking a dip into the feedback section)

lol the ""hard dance 2 section wud be even shorter.

Track 1 - Shit
Track 2 - Not Bad
Track 3 - Good
Track 4 - Average
Track 5 - Mediocre
Track 6 - Wicked

etc

Quote "thats was tom parr right?"

Nope, can't remember the guys name now. I just pointed out the vocal was in the wrong key haha

Why dont you just write a book on how to make tunes Jay then we'll be fine, were sick of waiting to be honest.

you are a dick!!

everyone starts somewhere. we cant all be "talented" like you and get a really fit missus

to be honest ive stopped putting stuff in feedback. just make what i make and let myself rip it to bits. want to just come out with stuff after no one hearing what ive been doing for quite a while. no influence from anyone else. hopefully should help make my own style. thats the logic anyway

Very similar approach as myself but every now and again stick a track up just to gauge how im getting along. But without getting any feedback/critisism I just seem to be going nowhere fast.. 

best way is to criticise yourself mate. i dont want my music to be made in others opinion. get it how i want it and to a good production standard. then if the content is shit i will listen

i dont even know what genre im making at the minute. a mix of prog,electro,house,hard house,techno. cant get one specific solid sound. quite annoying really.

would any of the recognised producers on here be up for being nominated as specific people for giving feedback.???Agreed the style wont be to everyone's taste but good positve or negative feedback on technical aspects would be really beneficial..

I often listen to peoples tunes and if i feel i can give worthwhile feedback i will but sadly not having really had hardly any production experience myself i think my comments would be pretty worthless atm.

I'm so glad I don't buy tunes anymore, I would hate to think I was supporting pricks like this on the scene.  Plus its all been done before so if I dug around deep enough I know I'd be able to find some Parrish tunes somewhere. 

Id leave some feedback but no one would read my essays... lol

go for it. im sure people would

I would too.  More so than your hardware essays!

would too si... TBH tho i dont think im ready for the feedback section haha

 

But surely any feedback is good, whether its from some1 technically minded or not.. its good to know whether people like or dislike the tune/idea

Do it Si.

We need more feedback from producers who know what a melody is.

There's more to music than NRG people.  (Nothing wrong with NRG either) It seems to be the only style given any attention on here.

Please do Si, last time I asked you for some feedback you helped loads..  

 

I dont see why you need to know about producing to give a decent opinion on why a track is good or not, especially if you buy a lot of music - it makes no diffference if you know why you like the tracks you like and dont like the tracks you dont. Its not like people need to be really specific and say "you need to turn the flux capacitor dial up to 7.5 and go easy on th dylethium bass machine" just it lacks bass or highs, and gets boring after the break would probably be sufficient

you have some truth in what you say.

I have released tracks i hated only to sell loads of them and told it was one of my best , I have also heard tracks i thought shit but DJ mates laughing at me saying NO WAY, this is a great track and so popular!! just watch when i play it!! made eh?! and fuckin confusing when trying to compose your best for the public only to get nowhere with it as they hate it?!

There is no right or wrong way to produce or mixdown....but like with what i have been going through with lack of bass or bad monitoring, there can be improvements on what you actually hear in the studio and get as close as you can to a succesful commercial recording.

One track may be boring but DJ's need fillers to enhance their Anthems, if we all done anthems then the DJ sets would be too rich.

what i think we all want is an anthem as this is the one track that will hopefully drag you out of the 'same old' and into some sort of fame. This together with Filler tracks will make a good balance for your demo selection. We dont want 10 tracks of the same otherwise it just seems one neverending track (like some hardhouse sets these days )

Mixdown is an art in itself and can make your anthem stand out but practice makes perfect and tough critisism is the key as there aint no prisoners when trying to sell your track to the public or when its played out live at your gig!! Best to at least try to get it right before emptying the dance floor!!

I say it as it is....if its shit to me then i will just say it aint my cup of tea...if its a bad mixdown then i will say why i think its a bad mixdown. I know i aint put anything out myself for a while but that doesnt mean i dont know what im talking about with dance music, i too want perfect...even more so as i have a higher threashold to meet....my speakers aint been right either so this issue had to be sorted....plus ive been getting to grips with my new setup and softsynths. I have a policy to be totally compitent with my setup before even trying to push anything further....so its learn as much as i can first......then i dont look a dick in front of clients or co-producers.

i did it. I provoked the essay monster :o) only kidding simon. Its true though, ive read a few posts about people not thinking they are qualified to give feedback because they havent had tunes out, but they are probably the kind of people the tunes are made for, people who react to them on the dancefloor. I havent left much feedback for years as i dont really go out and listen to harder music anymore so i dont really know whats been happening since about 2001

Im off work for 2wks so i dont see why i cant leave some decent feedback.

Its the reason i have only posted 1 tune in there in the last 6 months, i dont need people to tell me they like it or dont, i need people to tell me if the kick sounds good on there system, if kick/bass work well together, is there enough percussion is something to loud etc.

If we all do 1 reply a day the Feedback forum would be excellent.

hi guys, i've just joined these forums for some advice on production. I've just poseted a link in the feedback forum to a track i've attempted. I'll also download and give feedback on others tracks too. Unfortunately i don't have sound at work and no net at home, so i can only download files and give my thoughts that way (i won't be able to hear tracks that are streamed via the net)

 

When i posted looking for feedback it was more for technical stuff as im confident my stuff is good but im not happy with the sound!! I was assured that this was the website for honest constructive feedback with which i could use to better my skills and while i did get some feedback (which i was delighted to get) i got no feedback which i could have used to make it better!! I have picked up a few tips from here as well as some good tutorials (again which i am delighted with) and quite like the site in general but the thing i hoped for most the feedback on tunes from names i knew giving there prized opinion has never happened!! While it has been a bit of a downer for me i shall plough on anyway!! I gave a cd of 6 tracks mixed over a year ago to Mark Kavanagh and a few days later he replyed to me saying he liked it but maybe some more work on the beats, i knew what he ment they were not defined enough but that comment was enough for me to go back to the drawin board with an boost to keep going!!

I've been posting feedback for years. The amount I type varies on who is posting it.

EG: If NICK the Greek posts a track he's been working on, he hardly needs me to give him advice on how to get a phat bass sound or whether his EQing needs work. If it is a new producer and his song structure is out of the window I will comment on that, I wont break down the track into segments if there is one huge flaw in my eyes..

I know this is a terrible example but its like giving change to a bum; sometimes you're in the mood, sometimes you're not

i suggest getting feedback from real live people... someone you know?

 

heh

 

keep posting your material on here though, someone may have a great bit of advise for you, but don't hold your breath

 

david

there's always been prick djs and producers though, hasn't there?

aint that the truth... they act that way cuz they hate themselves though

We didnt have the net back then and relied on just playing the track out....but it DID have to pass the test of the DJ playing it, if they were behind it then it stood out when played as they were proud of it.

We also had hard nosed dicks called A&R too...or ,ore like failed composers.... not all were though as they too were DJ's and knew what worked and what didnt.

The flow of the arrangement was just as important.... that break that lasted just right so when the punters antisipated that big drop into the main riff...it actually happened....and when the melody was supposed to come in...it actually did. some just over produce and ruin the raw basics of a track and its natural flow.

Having too much going on at any one time can be just as bad as bad mixdown levels, so sometimes you may not need several drum layers, bass layers or synths or some tracks that are ment to be anthems just dont have the right melody so the track becaomes a 'filler' but too busy to be a filler

As i said, no right or wrong but the balance has to be right if you want to shine out past the usual and the 'safe' tracks or genres....

If you find you or someone else cant remember your track after just one night of play then you aint gonna sell very many and the punters will forget too.

agreed. less can be more in tracks. Something catchy in there in order to sell.

It's Constructive criticism.

Constructive enough?

The soundest suggestion in the entire thread  Am going to be mindful to stick to this one.

also repling to the feedback posts that  everyone else has skip is something im going to try to start doing

Im glad to see this thread has raised some proper discussion...

I will try to give feedback myself a lot more..   

Excellent thread Pik.

allthough i agree on alot of your point's, most people can't take the harsh comment's! most comment's that are left in the feedback section are from none producer's and they just put...........' oh that's fat' or something along those line's! so when someone with production knowledge come's along and say's 'ya mix is all to cock' they get offended! That's why, imo, the well known producer's on the board don't comment on the feedback section cos they can't be arsed with the crap they'll get from tellin the truth!

Exactly what pat said.

I understand what your saying Pat and agree, and all I can say to that is...

If you are willing to put a track on a public forum for feedback you cant expect everybody to love it, and if you cant take any criticism DONT put tracks up...

 

Just because one or two kiddies who threw the toys out of the pram because they couldnt take the criticism has spoiled it for the ones who do want serious feedback..

BT tells it straight and wont sugar coat it and if some people expect otherwise then fuck off to a diff forum for your arse kissing..  

In sayin that, am not sayin am well known lol! my mix's are all to cock! just think if people can't take criticism without gettin mardy, then why bother commenting? it just end's up in a bitch fight

I also agree, if you want feed back be prepared for harsh comments as well as the pat on the back.

I much prefer harsh comments as this is what makes my tracks better and correct otherwise ignored flaws in my recordings. I aint perfect in mastering and mixdown so i know i will either be too lazy in correcting flaws or just didnt hear it at the time.

Im learning all the time as technology advances together with newer techniques...and not afraid to ask a fellow composer how they created a specific technique.

all that said, i also know when not to post up a track as i know it aint finished...so if i know that then i dont need feedback, some still dont understand that all you have to do is compare your track alongside a decent commercial track...if its nowhere near then it aint finished, if you dont know how to get it the same then ask a specific question on how to acheive it, link to a snippet of the track production you want to create.

My very first efforts in 1988 got played on local radio and within a Pub/club in brum and though not quite top commercial quality were good enough to shine through the other commercial tracks played around it (it was played off cassette and the gear used to create it wasnt anywhere near what we have now)

So, if you can mix in and out of your track surrounding it with commercial tracks and it sounds ok then its ready for the public to hear and comment, even get signed there and then