Music Files

lfoo6952

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Messages
677
Reaction score
8
Location
Irvine and San Jose, CA
I don't see an icon for attaching an audio file. Wouldn't it be nice if we could do this, especially since this forum is music-related?
 
I don't see an icon for attaching an audio file. Wouldn't it be nice if we could do this, especially since this forum is music-related?

An expensive proposition.
 
You can include a link to your music within a post. Most people do it this way. :)
Were it not for SoundCloud going to be bankrupt in a few months (several sources say they've burned thru 3 rounds of venture capital and failed to turn a profit at all, and have also fired 2/3+ of their employees in the past month), I might have recommended them...but not know, in a short while they will likely be no more...

in lieu of another option, you can make a video, with a static image and the music playing and put it on YT....

the forum has a button in the editor window that looks like a filmstrip, and you click that and post the YT url...

works well and folks in the Seasons are putting up hundreds of videos per week with no tax on the limited resources of UU...

videos EMBEDDED to forum posts can PLAY in the forum post without leaving UU...

oh, almost forgot, lots of folks put their audio on Dropbox or Google drive and offer a link to that

for UU to allow audio uploads directly there is a MASSIVE requirement for storage of the files, which costs lots of $$$$ and they will also need an attorney on retainer to fight DMCA claims and defend fair use against copyright trolls, also costs lots of $$$$

YT can do it because they are owned by Google, and Google almost 'owns' the internet and has gazillions of dollars in cash and equity so they can afford the lawyers if needed, but mostly the MPAA & RIAA are either lax with YT or business partners with YT and get 'hush money' so we hear less about this now than we used to...
 
Thanks Booli. The reason I wanted to upload my music file (using Soundcloud, by the way) was to demo the Blue Yeti mic you recommended a couple of weeks ago. I am quite happy with it, so thanks for the recommendation!

Your right about Soundcloud. It's not working well for me.
 
Thanks Booli. The reason I wanted to upload my music file (using Soundcloud, by the way) was to demo the Blue Yeti mic you recommended a couple of weeks ago. I am quite happy with it, so thanks for the recommendation!

Your right about Soundcloud. It's not working well for me.

Aside from the social-linking and playlist features, IMHO SoundCloud has little advantage over DropBox or Google Drive, both of which offer the ability to play audio files within their interface...and YOU control the audio quality of the file, YouTube is notorious for mangling the audio quality unless you are a paid user.

I have often thought about establising 'a presence' on SoundCloud, but that seems like a hassle to me to add to YT, and eventually Bandcamp or CD Baby, etc. I have a SC account, but have used it very little, and will not miss it.

I also have my own web site (under revision and offline at the moment) which is likely where I would host media, because in all the other cases, you have no control if the services drop off and close shop tomorrow, and there are major privacy concerns for me as well...which is why I've not put my original music online anywhere until I can file for copyright, otherwise you are literally 'just giving it away', but for a simple sound demo or cover tunes, the above mentioned should be just fine.

I am looking forward to hearing your demo. Please report back once you have it online somewhere...:)

I am glad the Yeti is working well for you...
 
Didn't know SoundCloud was on the way out, but it doesn't really surprise me, how long can anything remain free in this day & age.

(Personally, I use YT, with pictures, & not video, mostly.)
 
OK, I uploaded my song (La Vie En Rose) into Google Drive. Hope it works. I'm not too savvy with technology. Let me know if this link works:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4EwRaVURabbNWZwb2dIV3hCdTA/view?usp=sharing

Sounds great Luke!

However, if I may offer some advice - if you move the mic a little bit farther away, the recording will sound less boomy and have a more flat, even frequency response.

It sounds like either the mic is about 6-8" away from the sound hole (or the gain on the mic is higher than it needs to be), and if you move it 12-18" away and have it inline with the 12th fret, you will get a more balanced tone...and more similar to what your ear drums hear...

This is a common issue, but knowing about good and proper mic placement techniques can yield better recordings without requiring fussing with things like EQ and compression in your recording program after the fact...

Keep going brother! MOAR! Like everything else, it will sound better and improve in use with more practice...

-

Incidentally, SoundCloud may not be going down the tubes just yet, read here:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/11/soundcloud-saved/

and discussion here (205 comments):

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14990911

However, I'd still want to be aware of alternatives and have a backup path ready for anything important. :)
 
Thanks uke1950 and Booli for your kind words.

Booli: you are correct again. I was within a foot from the mic, and the gain was at the 12 o'clock position. I will try backing off the next time.
 
Thanks uke1950 and Booli for your kind words.

Booli: you are correct again. I was within a foot from the mic, and the gain was at the 12 o'clock position. I will try backing off the next time.

Sounds like a plan. :)

What recording program are you using?

Most programs also have an INPUT GAIN, and when you get the mic in the right place, your gain settings should be that your volume peaks are less than 0 db (zero decibels) as anything higher than that is going to give distortion or clipping, and common wisdom is to have the loudest playing, i.e. very hard strumming to peak at about -3db, which gives you a bit of headroom, so that you do not clip or distort.

Even in the free program Audacity, there is a function called NORMALIZE under the effects section, and if your recording sounds too low in volume, you can NORMALIZE to 0db, and it will raise the overall level, without creating distortion. Using compression is a slippery slope, and generally I recommend against it unless it is for percussion (conga, cajon, timbales or full drum set) or high-energy vocals, OR if the singer has bad 'mic technique'...and even so, a little compression goes a long way (2:1 ratio=good, 8:1 ratio=bad, except in rare exceptions), otherwise you lose the dynamic range and musicality of the recording.
 
Great advice. I am using GarageBand, which has the normalize button.

GarageBand is a good program and I've been using it since it was first released.

I use that for multi-tracking, but for single-track recordings or to fix audio for a video, I find Audacity to work well too, However, most audio programs nowadays have things like compression, eq, reverb, and normalization at a minimum, so it is easy to use them in another program once you understand how it works.

The normalization in GarageBand really has no settings, and is just a checkbox for when you export, to enable or disable it...but with Audacity, or if you use it as a channel effect in other programs, you have more control, but for most folks, that auto-function for exporting in GB works fine. :)
 
You can also get a free Dropbox account and provide a public link to your own specific videos or mp3s.

Only caveat is that they can then be easily download it unlike SoundCloud or YouTube
 
Top Bottom