KVR Audio

chiquor · Post by **chiquor** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 3:42 am

Ok, this may sound stupid, especially coming from a guy who's been producing music for a year now, but how the hell does one remix a track? I hear amatures using just the voice of major artists like Sara McLaughlin or Dido, but with completely different background music. How do they get just the voice samples?? Basically, where do you begin to start remixing? Its something I could really see myself doing in the near future, but I would like to know where to start. Thanks in advance

Shatner's Bassoon · Post by **Shatner's Bassoon** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 3:56 am

Well, a remix is just a reworking of a particular tune. It doesn't even necessarily have to include any of the same samples, but usually does. Commercial remixers will be given the original tapes/.wav files used to make the tune to work with, but most of us don't have that luxury. You may be able to find some acappellas (just the vocal track) on filesharing networks (soulseek's probably a good bet), but if not, there may be part of the original where there's only a vocal going on, or perhaps a vocal and a light pad (breakdown stylee innit) that you can sample and use to remix.

Of course, if you want to be really creative, you could just sample bits of the original and really mangle them up and make something completely different sounding...

Dan

chiquor · Post by **chiquor** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 3:59 am

ahhh, thats kinda what I thought, you need to get the accapellas. Thanks for clearing that up!

opiadream · Post by **opiadream** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:05 am

there's a few ways to go about it

the most tedious is eq'ing the original track to bring up the mids and topping and tailing individual words or phrases to cut out as much of the music track as possible
some time stretching tricks might need to be done if your going to fit them into a different tempo

an easier way,if your lucky enough
if the song is on a surround sound dvd the vox might be on it's own seperate channel

when bjork put out 'vespertine' the BRW remixers went apeshit because it was released on dvd and someone managed to isolate the channel with the vox that way

If it's any kind of club music there's a chance you might find a 12" of remixes that includes an acapella version for the DJ's

saikhuan · Post by **saikhuan** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:16 am

chiquor wrote:Ok, this may sound stupid, especially coming from a guy who's been producing music for a year now, but how the hell does one remix a track? I hear amatures using just the voice of major artists like Sara McLaughlin or Dido, but with completely different background music. How do they get just the voice samples?? Basically, where do you begin to start remixing? Its something I could really see myself doing in the near future, but I would like to know where to start. Thanks in advance

i think this tutorial might interest you

http://www.computermusic.co.uk/tutorial/remix/remix.asp

Mr. Tunes · Post by **Mr. Tunes** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:26 am

here is a new technique that i have discovered for extracting loops from released tracks. the technique is not "new" by any means, but for me it is

i always heard about remixers raving about Pro Tools and i never believed why until i have been fully immersed in that program this year.

the "Tab to Transient" function is a godsend for finding exact loops. basically you hit the tab key and it locks on the next transient, you find your loop and then you use the tempo calculator. BAM! also there is a new pro tools plugin called Syncronic which i wonder about and beat detective LE is in the new 6.7 *i think*.

but Recycle and Acid have been staples in the remixing business for ages. also phatmatik pro has been available for a while now. tons of samplers are supporting sliced info. this is the best time to get started on remixing. so many options available to us now.

Shatner's Bassoon · Post by **Shatner's Bassoon** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:29 am

the "Tab to Transient" function is a godsend for finding exact loops. basically you hit the tab key and it locks on the next transient,

Been doing this for years in Sound Forge; think it's shift-Z though rather than tab

Dan

Mr. Tunes · Post by **Mr. Tunes** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:46 am

Shatner's Bassoon wrote:
the "Tab to Transient" function is a godsend for finding exact loops. basically you hit the tab key and it locks on the next transient,
Been doing this for years in Sound Forge; think it's shift-Z though rather than tab

Dan

yep that's the thing! it's not something limited to one program. thanks for bringing that up Shatner. i bet you could even do that in goldwave?

now, the thing is that pro tools handles audio so well and therefore is great for remixing. you can zoom in so far. i have been asking people lately "what ever happened to soundforge?" and im really curious to get back into it.

has anyone read the new keyboard magazine article RE: sampling and copyrights?

Mr. Tunes · Post by **Mr. Tunes** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:49 am

mystahr · Post by **mystahr** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:56 am

I kinda stuck with Cubase 5.1 and lately been using that for remixing as well. Maybe it's not the way to use it but it makes it so incredibly easy to cut in audio-tracks and drag them to other audio-tracks. I've been cutting my loops/parts straight in Cubase without bothering to use an audio-editor. And rather succesful at it too.

o'malley · Post by **o'malley** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:37 am

I too have just discovered the many wonders of remixing.

I have been doing the contests at acidplanet.com. I never realized how much fun it is. It is also a good creative outlet when you don't have any inpiration to make an original song.

mauseoleum · Post by **mauseoleum** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 12:09 pm

how-to remix?

you take a *mixer*, mishmash the letters and - et voila - you got yourself a *remix*.

stylish und simpel.

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 12:13 pm

As mentioned, the best thing to start with would be getting the a capellas. There's several sites dedicated to them, one being:
http://www.acapella-heaven.tk/
(you need to register and login to download things).
I've downloaded some of them back when you didn't need to register andthe quality of quite some of them has been at least questionable, but there's been some good ones too.

Maybe for a start it'd be a better idea to ask some of the singing folks over here to remix their stuff.
Just ask kindly for the vocals only (or further soloed tracks).

As far as remixing techniques go, I'm sure there's a load of ways to start things - and while I'm not an expert at all, here's some of the things I may do (for now considering I only got the vocals only, plus the full mix in addition):

- Load the original in my sequencer.

- Adjust the timing, so the sequencer bars equal those from the track.

- Sometimes (in case a tune was recorded without a click, read: a steady tempo all througout) I may remap my tempo list. Sequencers such as Logic and Cubase for instance are quite useable for such tasks.

- Load the vocal track and line it up properly against the original.

Now, at this point any further steps may depend on a) the material and b) the stuff I would like to do with it.

- Sometimes I may just not care about the original any longer once the vocals are lined up properly against my tempo map but throw it away instantly to only work along the vocals.

- At other times I may not even load the original track at all but start with lining up the vocals straight from the start, which sometimes can become a bit difficult as you got no reference regarding the original phrasing and timing of the vocals. But it helps to "forget" about the original track (defenitely useful in case you want something rather different to the original).

- In case I want to start with something relatively close to the original, I am rebuilding the original track in some sort of "lead sheet" arrangement. I'm usually setting up a very basic groove and rebuild the main chords and bass tracks. I won't be using any rhythmic gizmos at all until now.
Usually I just play all chords and bass notes as full notes, starting on beat one.
All this is only to keep the original harmonic and rhythmic (phrasing of vocals) context intact.

From this point on, anything else is fun and there's no more guidelines/tips at all I could think off.
It all just depends.
I do of course try to get some sort of picture where I might be going to.
I may for example sit down with my acc. guitar and do some chord strumming, just to see whether such an approach might fit the mood of the song. Or I may use some heavyly overdriven sound to check whether things should become more "rocky".
Alternatively I may use any interesting drum and percussion loops in all sorts of styles, just to give me an idea about where to go to. Or I may replace the basic chord track that I did with some heavy modulating synth patch, should I want to try the more "soundscape-ish" approach.

Actually, the possibilities are rather endless, but personally I love to get some rough picture about where I'll be taking things to at first - that's why I try out all sorts of different "trademark style" sounds (acc. strumming, heavy riffs, a hiphop loop, a deep modulating pad, a string section, a sequencer style bassline, whatever...).

Oh, something I'm doing almost all the time (has got nothing to do with remixing especially) when working with vocals: I load them into my sampler of choice and put the most important phrases or syllables onto individual keys.
Very nice thing for "manual" delays and all sorts of weird effects.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 12:14 pm

do a google for how to remix by tim prochak
cheap book few handy hints and a cd of loops to give you excercises

Dumb question, but how do you REMIX??