F.....ing soundcloud, it all sounds the same GRR!

[adfielding]

Is there a quality difference between Band Camp and Soundcloud free streaming?

I may be mistaken but, to my ears - yes.

The bit-rate may (or may not) be the same, and the formats may be similar... but there is something pretty janky about either Soundcloud's encoding process or their streaming format that reduces highs (most noticeably with hats) to a mushy, watery mess. They may be using technically similar formats in terms of streaming but there is something that just doesn't sit well with me with regards to Soundcloud's streaming platform.

Disclaimer: This is speculation on my part, but I'm just going from what I hear.

[gak]

But that's just it, it's what MANY people hear.

I know nothing about bit rates or anything like that anymore. All I know is basically every time I listen to someones example it sounds like it's all mixed by the same person on soundcloud.

[gak]

Was listening to demos of "one" and "antidote" that were on soundcloud.



Thank god there are demos!

[FGL]

I don't know what you are going about skullture.

As far as the soundcloud sound (and discover is the same) it all has that lame no gloss/no polish sound.

Again, doesn't matter if it is a synth patch, a song, a beat, whatever. Once it gets onto soundcloud/discover it sounds like it's mixed/master by the same person.

So every Soundexample for Reason Instruments and every Rack Exstension and Refills also sounds the same.
Cause everyone is using Soundcloud for sound examples.

But in my Opinion it is not true: Different masters sound different, you can easy try it for yourself.

[FGL]

Much more complicated, it is actually figuring out what people hear at all. Every person has different listening environments nowadays. From iPad to $ 5000 stereo system. And each of these devices has again own EQ curves and more options to adjust the frequencies. Since it someone can hardly say, what people hear at all. And then there are most elderly people who are in this case particularly excel (Karajan). Where everybody knows, the younger you are, the better you can hear.

[freeQlow]

This is why I'm going to listen to some live blue grass this weekend!

YEEEEEHAAWWWWW

[gak]

Nope, it all sounds the same.

Looking into bandcamp. But it looks too complex for my needs.
Desire:

A place to upload sounds and ideas in WAV format where if you link it, people can simply listen (too many people use those examples here and keep making their own thing, which I don't want)

[TheGodOfRainbows]

I have another theory too. I think the generation of streaming music listeners generally are not great at delaying gratification. If the song doesn't immediately grab them, they "skip" to the next song. When you actually buy music, you have some skin in the game and it forces you to listen at least a couple of times to tracks that you might otherwise skip, since you are financially invested. That's when you appreciate the 'growers' which can continue to resonate with you for years after you've forgotten the candy tracks. And these days we are bombarded by music - some good and some bad. There is no (record company / radio station) filters - for better or worse.

Well said. I agree completely. Especially with today's onslaught of music from everyone and their mother, there is just so much content to listen to, and this encourages the impatient behavior of younger people especially, but still applies to everyone. I find myself doing exactly that: listen to first 10 seconds, then skip to the middle, then to the near end, then onto the next song. But in part it's just because I want to hear as much as possible so I can increase my likely hood of finding those special gems sooner rather than later.

But yeah, as soon as you BUY something, you appreciate it more. There have been albums I bought and liked only 3 of 10 tracks, but I MADE myself listen all the way through those songs because gosh darn it I paid money and I'm going to try to get as much enjoyment out of it as I can. And sure enough like you said, often those songs were "growers" that I would have dismissed early on if I hadn't given it a 2nd or 3rd or 4th (or 5th or 10th) listen.

[plaamook]

It doesn't matter what the creator does. Once it's uploaded it has the same awful sound.

Man, I'm so glad my ears aren't so good. Like people that batch about 320 mp3. I'm blissfully unaware. Thank the gods, one less thing to keep me up at night!

[gak]

The frequency range is identical.

If you play two soundcloud files and invert the phase? They null.

[Ahornberg]

Is there a quality difference between Band Camp and Soundcloud free streaming?

for my ears: yes

[The_G]

You mean the compression algorithm sucks? If so, then yeah. It does.

Or do you mean that the actual music uploaded to soundcloud all sounds the same musically? Because to me that would be a ridiculous statement.

[chimp_spanner]

I mean...I just did a quick 10 second A/B. Can't say I noticed a huge difference. Actually I didn't notice any, but I'm only testing casually/quickly. I just naturally assume that streams aren't the real thing. Maybe I could do a test using my aux outs and compare it to the original file some time.

[gak]

It doesn't matter what the creator does. Once it's uploaded it has the same awful sound.

Man, I'm so glad my ears aren't so good. Like people that batch about 320 mp3. I'm blissfully unaware. Thank the gods, one less thing to keep me up at night!

Come on now, I'm not saying my ears are golden! I'm just saying that there is this weird "same-y" thing going one regardless of who posts a clip.

Oddly, and I know youtube is not "the best" I don't feel that way with it anymore.



"This is not a troll, this is truth by gak.........."

[gak]

You mean the compression algorithm sucks? If so, then yeah. It does.

Or do you mean that the actual music uploaded to soundcloud all sounds the same musically? Because to me that would be a ridiculous statement.

If you can't hear it, ignorance is bliss (nothing personal)

I'm not fucking around people, I'm not just being the "funny" guy like I have in the past with some things, I really do not like listening to soundcloud. Sounds ass to me 100% of the time.

Wish I was wrong. It would be easier if I was wrong.

[davidhyno]

Spotify and other similar streaming music service just offering what people want : more music, instant play (no-time to wait- for listen) on the cell phone, where ever you are....they don't need quality ma quantity!

[The_G]

You mean the compression algorithm sucks? If so, then yeah. It does.

Or do you mean that the actual music uploaded to soundcloud all sounds the same musically? Because to me that would be a ridiculous statement.

If you can't hear it, ignorance is bliss (nothing personal)

I'm not fucking around people, I'm not just being the "funny" guy like I have in the past with some things, I really do not like listening to soundcloud. Sounds ass to me 100% of the time.

Wish I was wrong. It would be easier if I was wrong.

Or maybe it's *you.*

[gak]

Nope.

I listen to stuff all the time. The soundcloud stuff? The same. Other things (including..........wait for it.......youtube) not so much.

[The_G]

I dunno, man. I hear a lot of very different kinds of things on soundcloud. So either something's going on inside your head or you just aren't looking very hard.

[gak]

You are not paying attention:

It all SOUNDS the same. Not that there are not different things to listen to.



You can't convince people that were born listening to really crappy ipods/buds that there are sonic differences. It's a pisser. People will OBSESS TO NO END over analog/digital (and are almost always wrong, either way) but something as obvious as the bad sound of soundcloud gets argued in the complete 180.

[Soft Enerji]

This to me represents what is wrong with most post-Nirvana music as the artists have forgotten that art is about telling a story which contains a place, action, reaction and resolution.

Spot on bro!! Edit: I should add though that for a few years prior to Nirvana (and this is when I was still living in the UK) pop music in general really sucked! Nirvana were to me a breath of fresh air and a return to the values that punk gave us back in 77.

Then after a few years we all got complacent again and ended up with fecking oasis...........

[Soft Enerji]

Is there a quality difference between Band Camp and Soundcloud free streaming?

Yes there is. There is something in the high end that SC doesn't do well but Bandcamp seems to handle. Neither is perfect but what the hey! It used to be a common thing on the old PUF that you'd post a track and say "SC for comments, Bandcamp for quality".

SC have been on the nose for me for a couple of years now and I'm at the point that they won't be getting any more cash out of me next year. Time to get back into using Bandcamp.

[The_G]

Soundcloud sounds like hot garbage.

All the synth vox and bell sounds on my EP are garbled on SC, but sound perfectly fine on literally every other digital platform (bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc.).