From: dcovell@hfglobe.intel.com (David Covell)
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers
Subject: Re: How good (production-quality-wise) do demos have to be?
Date: 5 Nov 92 19:27:19 GMT
Organization: Intel Corporation

gds@york.cs.ucla.edu (Greg Skinner) writes:

>In article <1992Nov2.233627.19736@news.media.mit.edu> ereidell@media.mit.edu (Evan A. Reidell) writes:
>>I have all these nightmares that a demo has to be radio-quality,
>>infinitely listenable, perfect audio-production quality.  Are there
>>people out there who have made demos for Real Studios?  Did they work?
>>What is required?  I take it that a great sung melody with chords on a
>>piano isn't enough... or is it?

>You will probably get a lot of opinions on this, depending on people's
>experience.  I have never cut a demo for a Real(tm) Studio, but I know
>people who have.  I have been told that you should NOT make a perfect
>quality demo.  Unless you have your own pro equipment, you will wind
>up spending a lot of $$$ on something that may never see the light of
>day.  It is better to put together a demo that suggests what a
>polished version would sound like.

>If you have the $$$ or you think it's a sure thing you might want to
>sink more money into it.  Just keep in mind that you might be putting
>money into something that might not go anywhere.

I believe it also depends on the purpose of your demo. If your intent is
merely to market the song itself to a publisher or artist then your demo
can be somewhat rough and with minimal arrangement/accompaniment, since
the listener will likely ignore the instrumentation anyway. In this case
you must clearly convey the melody, basic structure, lyrics, and feel;
the quality of arrangement and musicianship is less important here since
the listener will be evaluating the material on the basis of how it would
sound when performed by someone else, possibly with a different arrangement
and tempo. Not to say you should be careless, but a polished product with
full arrangement isn't expected here, and in some cases your arrangement
may obscure the basic qualities of the song itself. A good song will sell
itself even with minimal instrumentation.
  If your intent is to demonstrate musical talent in order to get gigs and/or
a recording contract you'll need to put a LOT more time and effort into your
tape. The tape represents the artist's ability to perform in a recording
environment, and when the tape is listened to you won't be there to explain
anything or make excuses; it must stand on its own. A few mistakes or a little
excess noise won't be fatal, but general sloppiness and poor material will
be the kiss of death, especially on the vocals. Nothing will cause an A+R
man to hit the eject button faster than cheesy lyrics or chronic off-key
vocals (well, I suppose in some styles of music these may be advantages...)
Perfection isn't required here, but the more listenable (i.e. good intonation,
low cheese-factor, decent mix, low noise, etc) the better. A+R people
will overlook substandard audio quality, poor mixes and flubbed notes a lot
easier than a general lack of musical ability or poor material.
  For individual performers who are looking for the right band to join, the
right demo saves a lot of time and hassle. Band auditions are a lot like
blind dates in many cases, and by exchanging tapes beforehand you can eliminate
the wasted time (and sometimes embarrassment) caused by mismatches. In this 
case you should showcase a wide variety of styles (unless you only want to
play certain styles) and try to display the full range required for your 
instrument/voice (i.e. backup, chording, screaming leads, whatever may be
called for). Audio quality is not too critical here as long as the tape isn't
painfully bad. Listeners will be focusing on your skill, style, feel, tone,
and how well you work in a group context. Don't allow any more mistakes than
you'd be comfortable with in a live situation, but certainly don't exclude
a strong, emotional solo due to a bad note or two. Feel is fundamental here.
You might also want to include a few off-the-wall type songs to demonstrate
your flexibility, like a TV show theme song or something not usually played
on your instrument.
Overall feel and appropriateness (i.e. no out-there jazz leads over country
songs, etc) are much more important here than audio quality or lack of
mistakes.
   Finally, if you can listen to a recording of yourself without frowning,
moaning, crying, rolling on the ground in hysterics, or amputating your
hands it's probably a good demo. We're our own worst critics, especially
after 20+ hours of agonizing over the recording and mixing. My best efforts
sound like crap to me for at least 24 hours after I finish a demo; every
imperfection is an aural assault an a personal indictment. I've learned to
save the go/no-go decisions until a few days later when I'm a little more
objective.
One last hint: if you want a really unbiased opinion on your demo, try to
play it for someone who hasn't heard you before and don't tell them who it is.
This might require some effort, but you're sure to get an honest evaluation.
It might sting a little...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID COVELL (dcovell@pcocd2.intel.com)|Abuser of acoustic, electric, and
INTEL FOLSOM (California)              |Midi guitars, basses, synths, CAD tools
DESIGN ENGINEERING, EPG GROUP          |and assorted other techno-beasties
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