Should I set up a Sound Cloud account or is there something better out there?

Soundcloud is one of the better, if not the best, music delivery/posting methods for getting your music up online.

Right on. Thanks, guys. I'll probably set up an account today and hopefully have some sonic atrocities for you all to pick apart in the next couple of days... maybe even tonight if I can get focused enough. Cheers.

Naw... I said I'd start a thread about my complete n00b experience with X1 so it'll be the first edition. I'd be going into details of what I did with just the very basic elements included in the package... like really rudimentary. Mostly workflow type stuff. I'm working on it right now.

Guitarhacker
The players from the different sites do sound different but I have found that using 320kbs files where you can will generally sound pretty good regardless of what player/site you use. 

Soundclick I believe only supports up to 128kbs files, and if you do import a 320kbs file it will just dither it down to 128kbs anyways. I do know Soundclick will support up to 320kbs if you pay for their services. 

And I am almost certain that Sound Cloud allows you to import up to 320kbs files for free, but may limit the number of tracks at this quality that you can upload. 

Reverbnation is good for bands that have a SOLID fan base and is geared to more of the "Get your name out there" attitude offering TONNES of services. I believe you will need IE 9 or better to even use the site lol. Read up on them. 

My experiences with Sound Cloud have been varied.Uploading in mp3 and lower bitrates will cost you some quality.Uploading higher quality files like 24 bit has been one way that some users have gotten better results. So far I haven't decided to go to the paid version of SC so my uploads have been in mp3 format to save space. Playing in a higher bitrate will give better results if the players on the receiving end can play the files back correctly. I just noticed that Ableton is now offering a SC feature. SC seems to be the wave of the future or at least, seems to have the most momentum behind it right now.

I believe Sound click does encode the free accounts down to 128kbs.... but I still upload 320kbs to the site.  They have a 10mb file size limit regardless of the Kbs, but unless the song is well past 4 minutes in length, that isn't a factor.

The quality of the track going up does make a difference even after it is throttled back to 128.  I used to upload 128's and noticed artifacts and other noise/garbage in the files.....since I started uploading 320's that doesn't happen.


I also believe Reverbnation allows 320 right from the start with free accounts but IIRC they limit file size to 8mb so that kinda kills using 320 for longer songs. 

The Q/A section of the site normally tells you what they allow for free. Of course, if you buy the site plan, you get to use 320kbs and size limits are usually not an issue. 

The way I look at it is this...... since most of what I post for people to hear is not going to be a major chart buster.....it will probably get a few hundred listens at best.... I'm not too worried about the quality as long as it sounds respectable to those who do listen.....AND...... even at 128kbs which soundclick uses, you can hear all sorts of nuances in the music and the tonal qualities and EQ irregularities with ease.