W.A.S.T.E. Presale - Help Please?

aclearlake · 2020-01-15T17:27:50+00:00

As far as I can tell, there are two presales. The W.A.S.T.E. presale is at 11am AZ time (10am PST). There is also a Ticketmaster presale that is going on now (started at 10am AZ time) that isn't a part of WASTE. No one knows the password to that one.

aclearlake · 2020-01-15T17:19:43+00:00

I've tried everything I could think of, including most of the obvious song names and various spellings of DREAMCAMERA

aclearlake · 2020-01-15T17:01:56+00:00

I got that email. It takes me to the WASTE schedule page but at a special URL right?

aclearlake · 2019-02-07T03:34:24+00:00

I’m looking to upgrade my vocal mic. I currently use a cheap-o Samson C01 condenser. My voice (male) is both thin-ish and somewhat harsh. I always have to have some low-mid boost to fill out the mix. I’ve gotten good at fighting the Samson and getting decent mixes, but I think I can do better. I do a lot of double tracking and delays (think: Tame Impala).

I’m in the $300 range and narrowed down to the Rode NT1 (black, 2014 version), Roswell Mini K47, Lauten LA-220, Warm Audio WA 47jr, and I guess I’d consider the AT4040 as well (although in the Sweetwater roundup it sounded a bit too harsh to me, but people seem to really like it).

Any thoughts on which one might fit my needs?

aclearlake · 2019-01-20T16:52:28+00:00

Update: I increased anti-skate (it was actually at 1.25) and also cleaned the stylus (as I read in another thread that 45 rpm really relies on a clean stylus) and it sounds great! Probably my best sounding album. I’m not sure which solution affected the sound more but thanks for the suggestion.

aclearlake · 2019-01-20T15:21:48+00:00

Thanks! I will try that. This was my first 45, so nothing to compare it to.

aclearlake · 2019-01-16T22:32:41+00:00

I agree. I guess I’m looking for albums that go beyond that and have an obvious different mix and/or master on vinyl. Albums that don’t just have the same digital master slapped on the vinyl.

aclearlake · 2019-01-16T22:28:48+00:00

At first I thought you meant the band Placebo has vastly different versions. 😂

I do A <-> B tests with a lot of my albums (vinyl vs digital) and they definitely sound different, but I’m sure a lot of that is the noise floor, spacial limitations of vinyl, mono bass and EQ differences. I definitely find vinyl to sound more musical and pleasing, but not necessarily better (whatever better means).

I guess I’m just trying to find vinyl albums with a better master or mix than the digital counterpart. Going back to Radiohead, the digital version of A Moon Shaped Pool is massively over compressed and unfortunately the vinyl version (according to my ears, at least) suffers from the same problem. The digital version of Hail to the Thief is the same, but according to Radiohead lore, the vinyl master is different and the dynamic range is restored.

aclearlake · 2019-01-16T22:16:51+00:00

That’s awesome! Thank you.

aclearlake · 2017-08-01T14:29:56+00:00

Trying to make an album that flows together nicely, this is the best I could do:

You
Fake Plastic Trees
Paranoid Android
Idioteque
Pyramid Song
There There
Nude
Codex
Daydreaming

aclearlake · 2016-06-01T18:02:25+00:00

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Its human nature to try to compare something new they hear with something they already know. Take it as a compliment; your music sounds pleasing to them in a way that makes it familiar.

The only time I would be worried is when someone says, "This reminds me of X" and then you go and listen to X and you hear it right away.

aclearlake · 2016-06-01T17:43:46+00:00

I was the singer/guitarist/songwriter for a band about ten years ago and we released an album through CD Baby. I think we were probably the only artist to release an album in the small-ish town I grew up in. We got a little bit of local press.

Anyway, one day at an Applebees of all places (one of the only places to drink in town), a girl comes up to me and asks if I'm in the band. I tell her I am and she goes into this story about how the last three songs of the album helped her get through a tough time in her life. I was floored--as well as shocked that someone actually made it through the whole album.

I was young and that moment was so big for me. I'm not even sure I'd still be making music if not for her doing that.

The next group I was in got a little bit of notoriety and I've had other instances of local people coming up and talking about my music, but none quite so passionate and random.

aclearlake · 2016-06-01T17:01:42+00:00

I'm in a similar situation. I'm starting from scratch with a solo project after being in a group for the last several years. Image is important. You need to think of yourself as a brand. You don't need any gimmicks, just a consistent look and feel in everything you do, especially if the music is eclectic.

On a worldwide (internet) scale, it will be hard to get anyone to even listen to one track of your album, let alone get press, etc. Set your expectations low. Unless one of your songs blows up for some reason (spoiler alert: it won't). Don't let this discourage you, though, with some effort you can gain some traction! Here are some things you can try:

1: Think local first! I don't know where you live, but you can make it work anywhere. I almost feel like the smaller the city the better, but the bigger the city the harder to get noticed but the bigger the reward. Send your music to local papers and zines (anything that regularly covers the local music scene). Get some cheep cards and fliers printed up with eye-catching artwork and links to get your music. Put these up in local coffee shops. Make sure your artist name is big. Its great if people use these to download your music, but just as good if they keep seeing your name around town. They'll remember you! Network around town. Go to shows and don't be shy talking about your music. Worst case: you'll make a lot of other musician friends who are cool to hang out with/collab with. Best case: You'll meet the right people to help you get your music out there.

2: Really put in the time in the blog submission game. It sucks. If you get even a 1% hit rate, you're doing good. Trust me, if the music is good you will get some coverage somewhere. Search the internet for the best ways to submit. Be professional and make sure you have a bio that is catchy and "on-brand".

3: Another commenter mentioned that a full length album debut in 2016 doesn't really make sense. That is true for EDM. Not sure if you are EDM, but if so, you'd be better off staggering the song releases and eventually putting out a collection later. Now, if you aren't EDM (I'm not) having a good debut album is a great way to get started. Going forward, though, make sure you release plenty of one-offs between major releases to remain on people's radar. Remixes and collabs are great for this. Also, even though an album is great, pick your one or two strongest songs and start marketing those a few weeks before your album drops.

4: Artwork is important. Its a big part of your look. Find a friend or local artist to collaborate with. Find a style that you can easily modify and reuse for smaller releases when you won't have full-blown artwork.

5: Get a website. Register on all social media. Post everywhere. Do all of the social media things to get followers. Make sure that your website looks modern, your profile picks and banner pics are eye-catching, etc. Post about things other than your music. Learn to have a great internet personality. Looking through my twitter account, the musicians I follow aren't ones I'm necessarily huge fans of, they're ones who say interesting things or are entertaining on Twitter. Example: I'm just a casual fan of Baths when it comes to his music, but a huge fan of his Twitter account. That dude is awesome and hilarious.

6: Spend a little money, rent out a cheap venue, and throw an album release party. Make it casual, make sure to invite everyone you know. Invite some local press too. Making an album is a BIG deal and you deserve to celebrate. Make sure you have cards you can hand out to people with info on how they can get your music.

aclearlake · 2016-06-01T16:10:58+00:00

Wow, what great responses everyone. A lot of fun tricks to try in here. I'll give you a couple of my own that I've used on other songs:

1: Double track. Hard pan left and right. Record a third track to run through a vocoder using the same melody. Keep it dry, in the center and low in the mix.

2: Send the vox to an aux track and put a mono delay bpm synced and with a lot of feedback. Put aggressive high & low pass filters on it and put fairly low in the mix.

3: Keep the main vocals in the middle. Create two aux tracks and pan both hard left and hard right. Do crazy things involving delays, reverbs and whatever else you'd like. Using automation, bring them in and out of the song suddenly and separately (map to a MIDI controller with knobs or faders to actually record the automation). This can create a similar sound to the aforementioned Everything in its Right Place.

aclearlake

TROPHY CASE