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Post by steveb on Mar 22, 2013 23:16:14 GMT
Hi Everyone, Professional MP3's with or without backing vocals have now been around a long time and are a hell of lot cheaper than a MIDI and they sound 100 times better. I was paying around $16.00 for a MIDI and I now pay anything from $0.50 to $2.00 for a professional MP3 with backing vocals. Not sure why MIDI's are still being used. Any comments? Have a look at this web site and listen to the difference. www.ameritz.co.uk/ |
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Post by frankie on Mar 23, 2013 0:27:35 GMT
Hi Everyone, Professional MP3's with or without backing vocals have now been around a long time and are a hell of lot cheaper than a MIDI and they sound 100 times better. I was paying around $16.00 for a MIDI and I now pay anything from $0.50 to $2.00 for a professional MP3 with backing vocals. Not sure why MIDI's are still being used. Any comments? Have a look at this web site and listen to the difference. www.ameritz.co.uk/Because they are flexible and can have key changes,be able to be extended,can be played via a keyboards and sound more "keyboardy".Can be cut and pasted into medleys. |
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Post by shanless on Mar 23, 2013 1:19:23 GMT
mp3's are karaoke without the screen....with using midis you can take out the instrument that you are playing and play it 'LIVE'....mp3's in my opinion are only used when the person is not competent in playing their choosen instrument. I was one of the first people to introduce karaoke into N Ireland some 25 years ago and it gauls me when people stand up and 'pretend' to play along to ,,,but mime to a karaoke track and get away with it....it's even worse when there is female backing vocals to a male singer.
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Post by weeo on Mar 23, 2013 10:51:10 GMT
I Have to agree with Frank and Shanless.
If you want to use mp3 , you have no flexibility, you cant change key ( without it sounding awful ) you cant take out the guitar or balance the tracks as you wish
In my opinion, they dont sound better than midi.They normally lack bottom end.
Just my opinion
Eddie
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Post by freeway on Mar 23, 2013 11:21:20 GMT
Hi Guys  I suppose on both sides there's for and against...... Custom mp3's can now be got for musicians who want to add their own guitars etc and they sound pretty good and mp3's can be edited as well to a certain degree copy/paste adding reverb /eq etc. But thats about as far as it goes really once any sort of transpoing is involved the sound usually deteriorates. On the other hand with midis (and don't be fooled there are some great files out there) they're so much more flexible as regards editing notes/patch changing/panning muting insruments the list is endless. Soundwise I think there are some great mp3's out there that actually sound like the originals and some real crappy sounding ones as well. Likewise with the midis so for the foreseeable future I think midi will hold their own for a good few years yet. I use both formats so Im not relying on one or the other . I don't neccessarily agree that people who use mp3s are not competent musicians in their own right they probably haven't come across any decent midis to use. I know a few excellent guitar players who use mp3s all the time and just play along with the trax. Probably sign of the times pubs not paying enough for full bands anymore , I notice though there are more and more acts actually just standing up there with just trax not even using a prop and playing for half nothing maybe we're just getting ould and thats the future.  Most of us all use some sort of backing so whether its mp3s or midi laptops/ keyboards/mini disk ipads or ipods really makes no difference each to his own. Once we're making a few bob and enjoy what we're doing thats the main thing Although I have to agree I hate backing vocals especailly female ones... have enough screechin in my ears at home (sorry ladies) ;D Cheerz Barry  |
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Post by Jacqui on Mar 23, 2013 12:41:34 GMT
Barryyyyyyyyy ;D
We don't screech.....
I think there is for and against both types, some MP3's do sound very good, and you are normally getting all live instruments, which don't always sound good on some not all midis, but you can do so much more with a midi, so if you need to change key or edit/cut instruments then the midi wins hands down.
I read the other day that some places won't book acts who have backing vocals on their tracks, and also talent shows, which I can understand.
But don't you think you could say the same about effects pedals on guitars, to make it sound like a steel or whatever, keyboards that play the song while you put your hands in your pockets lol I've seen that many times, or those harmonizers that add backing vocals.
I think there is room for all of them, and I guess the club or audience makes up it's own mind if they like what you do.
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Post by freeway on Mar 23, 2013 13:28:13 GMT
I'll take your word on that Jacqui !! ;D
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Post by doricvision on Mar 23, 2013 21:57:07 GMT
Ok guys ,I have read all the above pros and cons regards mp3s and midis and I can see where you are all coming from.As a rough rule of thumb I usually say mp3s for vocalists and midi for the professional musician, ie guitarist,keyboard player,bassist etc.
Lets further correct some misconceptions regarding mp3s, ie can't key change,can't delete instruments.There are several sites that will allow you to delete whichever instrument you play from your chosen mp3 as well as change the key and also delete the backing vocals before you purchase and if you want to change the key at a later date there is always the facility on Karafun to do this although I have to agree with previous comments that a change up or down of MORE than one or two semitones bastardises the song. I personally use both formats,midi if I play rhythm guitar[badly,!!!,no lead guitarist me] and mp3 for solo singing.Again, this is a personal point of view,but I have no problem with backing vocals,[male or female] whether bought with the initial track or ones I have recorded on to the track myself although the female screeching backing vocals you guys seem to hate I have found quite easy to do by tying a piece of piano wire round my nether regions and the other end to foot pedal.This can add further complications as watering eyes make it hard to read the lyrics.
Just my tuppence worth guys ,but its a great emotive thread
Bigmike
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Post by weegeo on Mar 24, 2013 19:29:23 GMT
Like Mike i have read with interest the above comments and when it comes to using `files`either Mp3 or Midi it is really down to each indivual `act`let me ask this `hands up` who first though using `midi`s`was actually cheating i know i did but then i accepted the technology of it all AND then along came MP3 and because we had previously accepted midi we generally speaking all accepted this new format. I think some of the tracks sound well with the backing vocals in,i think it depends on the quality of the track bought.I use a key changer from Galaxy and it works quite well.
I think to say that some folks are not competent to play their instruments is just a little harsh,i know quite a few really excellent musicians that use their tracks to `bounce off`and it works very well.
This debate could run on and on exploring the `pros and cons`would be an excellent follow on from this thread.
Just a few wee thoughts
weegeo
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Post by simmo123 on Mar 25, 2013 2:00:40 GMT
The current discussion on the hangout re, midi or mp3s for backing I am in favour of the midi’s,firstly because I am only a strummer with just a little bit of fingerstyle & sometimes some simple melody lead I am able to customise the midi backing to suit, plus I sometimes add an extra verse or chorus, also I never have the backing vocals. Once I am happy with the midi I then put it into firstly Wav then into Mp3 format I know someone locally who uses some cheap mp3 he got online in a duo but when I heard the backing it was over the top with a full big band sound plus to many oohs & aahs. I am using my midi made Mp3's at my gigs playing through the PA via an mp3 player & I am happy with the results,I guess at the end of the day whatever works for you, just keep on using it
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Post by frankie on Mar 25, 2013 4:41:39 GMT
Mp3 sound great for home recording with backing vocals,must have a go soon with some tracks I've recieved over the last couple of years.
I think you could go overboard a bit gigging with the full monty.It is like a chello player sounding like the Philharmonic Orchestra or a 1 man band sounding like the Luton Girls Choir.
Re the screaming chicks I have no comment lol.
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Post by JohnG on Mar 26, 2013 10:17:27 GMT
The current discussion on the hangout re, midi or mp3s for backing I am in favour of the midi’s,firstly because I am only a strummer with just a little bit of fingerstyle & sometimes some simple melody lead I am able to customise the midi backing to suit, plus I sometimes add an extra verse or chorus, also I never have the backing vocals. Once I am happy with the midi I then put it into firstly Wav then into Mp3 format I know someone locally who uses some cheap mp3 he got online in a duo but when I heard the backing it was over the top with a full big band sound plus to many oohs & aahs. I am using my midi made Mp3's at my gigs playing through the PA via an mp3 player & I am happy with the results,I guess at the end of the day whatever works for you, just keep on using it I'm with you on this one, Terry. Start with a MIDI which you can modify to your own style with and without certain parts and adjust the tempo to suit, then record to wav or mp3 for playback, if that makes for ease of use. Of course, having a decent sound module or sound font to convert to a realistic backing is a prerequisite. I wouldn't think of using the GS thingy provided in Windows. JohnG. |
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Post by oliver101 on Mar 26, 2013 15:27:32 GMT
Further to JohnG's last thread about sound modules, i am going to start a new thread for those members that use Midi files asking what sound modules everyone uses, for no other reason than I am interested.
Ian
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Post by simmo123 on Mar 27, 2013 0:31:41 GMT
Hi Ian,good subject mate,I use a sonic cell module when I am editing my midis on Sonar le as I find that in most cases the instrument sounds are not only a better quality sound but also I have more choice of instruments as well,because I convert my edited midis to mp3 format I have the option of putting them on a memory stick & then playing them at my gigs through the Sonic cell module but I have found that the viewing window is way to small which means I have problems actually reading the song titles, plus it is difficult to scroll through the list if you need to find another song quickly. ( it is probably a bit of an age thing with Ole Simmo  ).What I find is a lot easier for me is a mp3 player, I have an Mblaster mp3/midifile player which I have been using for about 4 years,it is capable of playing all midifiles up to 3600 approx, but I find that the sound quality is not to special so I have opted to playing mp3's which have edited and captured the sonic cell's goody instrument sounds.It accepts a memory card with all the songs on ( midi or mp3s) Another feature is that the display screen is bigger than the sonic cell,the screen size of the mblaster is 10cm x 4cm displaying six titles plus I can scroll through the list of songs in seconds,it is easy to load the mp3s from the computer also if you number the songs it will put them in whatever order you require.The Mblaster has never let me down,if you wanted to go for the option of playing midifiles on it everthing is just the same.It would be interesting to find out what other systems the members are using, Bet wishes to all ,Simmo
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).What I find is a lot easier for me is a mp3 player, I have an Mblaster mp3/midifile player which I have been using for about 4 years,it is capable of playing all midifiles up to 3600 approx, but I find that the sound quality is not to special so I have opted to playing mp3's which have edited and captured the sonic cell's goody instrument sounds.It accepts a memory card with all the songs on ( midi or mp3s) Another feature is that the display screen is bigger than the sonic cell,the screen size of the mblaster is 10cm x 4cm displaying six titles plus I can scroll through the list of songs in seconds,it is easy to load the mp3s from the computer also if you number the songs it will put them in whatever order you require.The Mblaster has never let me down,if you wanted to go for the option of playing midifiles on it everthing is just the same.It would be interesting to find out what other systems the members are using,