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Brooklyn NY US

Natty, I'm sure you're fine, and I didn't mean to turn a thread simply announcing your release into an unsolicited critique session. Detecting & correcting subtle pitch differences can be really tricky, and that's no indicator of tone deafness. And headphones can really exacerbate that (and I'm sure that most of us are primarily making music using headphones). Not sure if this is just me or if this is the case with everybody, but in some cases, music I've made that sounds perfectly fine in headphones will sound surprisingly different when later heard through proper speakers, which can reveal problems (mix levels, renegade volumes, pitch issues) that get concealed by headphones. Not sure why this is, scientifically. The impression I get is that headphones can impart what's almost a "virtual compression" effect (which becomes more pronounced as headphone volume increases), wherein elements of a track are perceived as "sitting" well together, and this can mask pitch/volume/mix issues.

Anyway I think it's abundantly clear from your music in general that you've got a good ear and a good sense of melody, consonance, and dissonance. Wrangling samples & getting them to play well together is just tricky, no matter what. Plus if you've got a natural ear for it (and I'm sure you do), it's an easy problem to fix, and then voila -- SILENCE BEFALLS THE COMPLAINERS.   8X

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Cambridge, MA

It's scary and unpleasant and all I can do is recommend that people wear earplugs in loud places and not be stupid like me. Otherwise you might find yourself on a forum being dressed-down by 8GB, Pseudo, Peter Swimm, and Bit Shifter for being tone-deaf.

Oh snap! No way we're slanting you man! You need to learn to accept criticism.

But DEFINITELY you have to wear earplugs. Sometimes I wear them when I play too, certain audio systems are fucked, specially booth monitors. Don't be ashamed to take care of your ears, specially if you are a musician.

Haha, I wasn't slanting you man, just trying to offer some advice IF it was the case. wink To be honest, I haven't even listened to the tracks yet as I'm on a computer with no speakers right now.

Man, I should wear earplugs with my rock band. Tiny room + Energetic drummer means everyone else turns WAAAAYYYY up. I'll regret it when I'm 40 for sure...

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Unsubscribe

Hey I was just stating my a440 trick.. i havent even heard the release yet big_smile

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New York City

Damn, you need a beer. If I was close, I'd solve it in a minute.
Chillax, and don't be depressed or I'll be forced to slap you big_smile

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FlashHeart

Thanks chums. I do appreciate the advice. I'm just a bit overwhelmed with other work and despite Josh's assurance that I'm fine, I must insist that my left ear is, in fact, pretty fucked up. But it's not that big a deal and I'll know more once all the tests are done. In any case, I'm glad you guys are listening to the collection (or at least planning on it.)

If you'll notice I'm not calling it an album because I really don't think of it as one. The only uniting theme apart from my authorship is the fact that its a chronology of stuff I've done that I never thought fit anywhere else - some of it not-quite-successful experiments and some of it things that I'd put on other websites for people to enjoy.

In any case, if you prefer my Game Boy stuff I insist that "The Greased Cartridge" is the best thing I've ever done and may very well be the best thing I ever will do. I don't know what other people think of it, but it is something of a concept record about modern India. I'm tempted to write something explaining it a bit more because I'm sure most people don't want to spend their time looking up the references. But who knows!

Thanks guys!

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FlashHeart

To quote the replacements:

"I hate music
sometimes I don't
I hate music
it's got too many notes."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBh5ZtATqOY