just been thinking about this after i responded to a question basicly saying play about until it sounds good.
Then i realized, would i even know what sounded good and if so, how?
So my question is what is “sounding good” and how can you tell if wat your doing sounds good?
The word “subjective” springs to mind. What sounds good to one my not to another.
So I think, it’ll sound good when it fits your mood and the direction of your track.
I remember hearing a good quote from one of the guys from Swedish House Mafia say “Goosebumps don’t lie”.
You’ll know when it sounds good but it won’t necessarily be your ears that will tell you.
In terms of sound, I as well go for the goosebump theory. However, its not all there is.
Well you could be scientific about it or emotive or a mix of the two.
(a) Scientific
A/B it against a sound/track/artist you like. Or similar kind of approach.
(b) Emotive
Goosebumps or that little smile or that shiver, etc
I also go for the goosebumps theory, but I don’t call it that.
I call it the “OH SH*T!!!:” theory for tracks.
If the track doesn’t make you go “OH ****!” then its not good.
but I guess good & done are also not the same thing.
to me a track is DONE when it’s mixed down properly.
but the mixdown doesn’t make it GOOD. it’s not good until everything is fixed & flawless.
so technically its not DONE until it’s good.
call it the circle of life.
You know Something sounds good when you’ve been paid the royalties! 
[quote]howiegroove (07/01/2011)[hr]In terms of sound, I as well go for the goosebump theory. However, its not all there is.[/quote]
100000000000000% this,i need to have this for live sets or the track dont make it intoi the set
a track can sound funky Groovy , and make you feel goosebumps , butterfly’s or whatever. but that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have a Sonic Impact.
i mean a well rounded production
. i struggle to make tracks sound as clean and punchy, brighter ETC. wich makes me ask the same question. :pinch:
It sounds good when you’re ready to play it out. If you’re only ready to play it to your friends but you don’t want to mix it with BIG tracks, it’s not ready. No one buys a record that kind of sounds good unless its Trance. lol
[quote]phil johnston (07/01/2011)[hr]just been thinking about this after i responded to a question basicly saying play about until it sounds good.
Then i realized, would i even know what sounded good and if so, how?
So my question is what is “sounding good” and how can you tell if wat your doing sounds good?[/quote]
surely this could depend on your age back ground up bringing and preferred music, what one person hears as warm another will hear as dull the same as someone saying something sounds clean, another person may hear it as being harsh.
Older people listen listen to mostly music recorded using real instruments and vocals and mainly find modern music or even remastered CD’s harsh to listen to, where as my son would describe older music as muffled.
Most of us aged between 20-40 + like the sounds of music recorded through valve amps and such because we where growing up with music recorded in such a way.
My son and my sons kids will enjoy digital recordings and possible in the future find the over mastered productions of todays music less fatiguing than i do.
thats just my opinion and something that i did a little research into when i was at college, obviously nothing scientific about it.
this also applies to why we put reverb on digital recording, because we are used to hearing it on other recordings and with out it the music sounds strange.
as we are artists all that matters is your making stuff you think is good, and that you enjoy making. if your not pleasing other people but your still sounding good to yourself. then **** em 
[quote]krisroberts (07/01/2011)[hr]as we are artists all that matters is your making stuff you think is good, and that you enjoy making. if your not pleasing other people but your still sounding good to yourself. then **** em :P[/quote]
I agree and disagree to that statement. I could care less what people think about my music and I will be making music till the day I die. However, I really enjoy when I make people happy or excited because of something I made…
When it’s not sung by Rhianna
There has to be areas in the frequency range that sound better than others, right?
[quote]Mussi81 (07/01/2011)[hr]There has to be areas in the frequency range that sound better than others, right?[/quote]
yeah of course there are much the same that frequencies are considered warm, cold, harsh, bright and such
i once read about the use of frequencies experimented with by the army that caused different effects like sickness and depression so I’m sure there are others that cause other feelings. I mean we all know that some scales or chords are considered happy while others moody or even sad and these are just frequencies or combinations of frequencies.
i don’t know what sounds good to others but i do know what i like.
maybe this scale could work… or could be added to.
we could create the official soundgoodometer a way to scientifically calculate the effectiveness of production
bokefest—indifference—smiles—goosebumps—paycheque
[quote]phil johnston (07/01/2011)[hr]bokefest—indifference—smiles—goosebumps—paycheque[/quote]
That’s a great name for a plug-in!
Nowadays it seems that anything that has a LFO’d bassline and an offbeat kick is enough to keep the kids happy.