Pros and Cons of posting unfinished/unreleased tracks on Gearslutz for comments

[drockfresh]

Do you post tracks on Gearslutz for suggestions on the arrangement/mix when you get writers/mixers block?

Why or why not?

[Keire]

gearslutz is about gear....i havent found a reason to post anything ive done for artistic input. If i was looking for a mix to do something specifically and i thought a certain piece might do it, then i might consider it...but otherwise...i dont see why.

[theblue1]

I do post some stuff for feedback in a songwriting forum elsewhere -- but that's mostly for feedback on the songwriting.

And I have posted mixes before online looking for feedback and have gotten valuable feedback, too.

But GS is not the place I would tend to do it.

Why?

Mostly because I have the perception that most GS folk (God love 'em) and I do not appreciate the same kind of music or even the same things in music production. There are exceptions, of course.

But all too often when I hear things that folks are working on I find myself thinking that it's the product of yesterday's cookie cutter.

And then, the thing that really gets me is when people put up music for shoot-out comparisons of gear -- but that music has almost no features (in my mind) that make it possible to really judge the gear. One may enjoy super-compressed rock with lots of distortion and a mush of sound -- but it's not, to my way of thinking, necessarily the best music to suss out the subtle qualities of things like preamps and compressors or especially things like converters and summing devices/software. (I'm thinking quite specifically of one very well known comparison shoot-out, here, that's been widely disseminated.)

PS... it should also be noted that, since I no longer take clients, my fussiness about sonic quality has gone way down... I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing.

[gollumsluvslave]

I do post some stuff for feedback in a songwriting forum elsewhere -- but that's mostly for feedback on the songwriting.

That's quite interesting. I'd *like* to post a couple of tracks or snippets for either comments on the mix or on the songwriting...

I've not bothered here yet because:-

1. I've only been posting for a while
2. I'm not sure what to post or for what purpose. I'm pretty clear on what I like and am generally happy on my mixes; if I need a serious critique, there are other people whose opinion (and integrity) I trust in 'real life' to let me know anything they find amiss with the mix or the song.
3. An aside to point 2, I think there is a certain amount of 'popularity contest' to posting mixes or songs on t'Internet forums - whilst I would love for people I don't know to love my songs or mixes, I think Gearslutz is not the correct forum to affect that. However if I ever get to something I find I can't get moving, I would consider it, but I would have to be very clear on what I wanted out of it.

[theblue1]

With the understanding that you should not let this cut into your Gearslutz time -- if you were interested in falling by the aforementioned forum ( Songwriting - Harmony Central Musician Community Forums ) you might find that it had something to offer. And even if you didn't, I suspect you'd have something to offer, yourself.

It's very much a forum culture created by the members (full disclosure: I'm the mod in that forum but I see my primary role as removing shoe and cell phone ad spam) and that means that each participant helps define it.

(Tip: it can be helpful to participate for a little while before asking others to comment on your latest work. There are a lot of folks who just sort of fall through, ask for song feedback/critiques on their first post -- or simply are trying to generate some plays on their MySpace or Soundclick pages. But if you let folks get to know you a little or they can see that you're offering feedback/help/critiques to others, they're usually pretty generous.)

[gollumsluvslave]

With the understanding that you should not let this cut into your Gearslutz time -- if you were interested in falling by the aforementioned forum ( Songwriting - Harmony Central Musician Community Forums ) you might find that it had something to offer. And even if you didn't, I suspect you'd have something to offer yourself.

Cheers man, much appreciate that.

[theblue1]

Well... it's clearly important to not let it cut into the time you spend at Gearslutz!

Obivously, I don't let my own participation there cut into my own time here...