Skol303

Sorted (I've deleted the faulty link). I'll check this out next chance I get - hopefully tonight.

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1372110526' post='2121875']is there a stem for that keyboard line?[/quote] ...I think xgsjx mentioned that there were some additional tracks added to the 'finished' MP3 copy, but I don't think he has them (G - please confirm this). If anybody wants to add additional instrumentation of their own then I see no reason why not. Again, provided it's fairly subtle and not too far removed from what's already there. Banjos are certainly out of the question, before anybody asks

Sorry Shep, I've had my head up my arse working on this month's [url="https://soundcloud.com/skollob/world-pass-by"]composition challenge track[/url] and am only just catching up with new music on here! Just tried the link you gave to the Scarecrow Tactics EP and it's not working - I'm getting a [i]"Server not found"[/i] message. Sort it out you big tease as I'm dying to hear it!!

^ Aye! Silvia is great at plugging stuff on Twitter. She's does a fine job of it Worth bearing in mind if anyone has any gigs, releases, etc, they'd like promoting...

Panic over! The SoundCloud link is working again. As you were. Nothing to see here, people. Move along. Move along now please...

Is anybody here having trouble accessing the SoundCloud link in the original post of this thread - the link to download the mix stems? I've just tried it and am getting the [i]"Oops, looks like we can't find that page!"[/i] message in response. Very odd. My own SoundCloud page and others seem to be working fine. If anyone has time, please test the link and let me know if you get the same error. I've never had any trouble with SoundCloud before, but there's a first time for everything Worst case I'll have to set it up again later tonight...

[quote name='Noah Deere' timestamp='1371897159' post='2119264']I have a Vox Amplug, but wouldn't recommend it because the sound on it isn't great (there's always static in the back ground).[/quote] [quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1371897362' post='2119267']+1 I think the Vox Amplugs sound terrible. As do the IOS software amps.[/quote] Really? The Amplug I have sounds great. Clean as a whistle. It is quite a cheaply made product, however, so I wonder whether you got a bum deal. I also use iRig with AmpliTube and again, it sounds good. Well, as good as I'd expect for something that runs on my phone. The signal is certainly clean and hiss-free.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1372060976' post='2121012']This is brilliant... I love your soundcloud stuff 'All your bass' is a tune I have on my running playlist.[/quote] Thanks for the kind words, Rob! Very flattered to have made your playlist. I'm looking forward to listening to everyone's entries this month. I haven't had time to do so as yet (too busy working on the track with Mike...), so that's something I plan to do one evening this week over a couple of beers

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1372011211' post='2120642']I've spent a lot of time on it (probably in the region of 20 hours), but that's probably the same as an hour or 2 from the likes of Skol or Simon or any other professional or serious amateur mixing engineer [/quote] It gets [i]a lot[/i] quicker the more you do mate, so keep at it!. After a while the basics will become close to second nature, and you can concentrate more on the 'musical' aspect of mixing (rather than just getting to grips with the 'technical' side). I once heard Andy Barlow from Lamb describe mixing as being "like learning a new language" and it's very true. You start off the with the basics, but once you gain some 'fluency' it really starts to get fun. Keep on truckin', etc

Well, what a month it's been… And great to see so many last-minute entries! Good work folks. Mike (urb) and I started out agreeing to collaborate on a 'little' project, but I don't think either of us quite imagined that it would end up where it did. I wrote a beat, Mike added a mind-boggling good bassline (as he does) and a lead synth, based on a catchy chord structure. We could have left it at that… and in a more sane and rational world, we probably would have. But instead we roped in the talents of Rebecca Romine (a singer from California) and Donnie Ozone (a rapper from New York, with whom I collaborated last month). And it just took off Rebecca came up with the theme of "watching a world passing by" (the moon in the picture), which Donnie then expanded on with his own lyrics. Mike and I worked together on producing the finished article - me handling the mix, him providing a second set of ears and ideas. Basschat's own 51m0n was kind enough to give a critique of the early mix, which I found invaluable - so big thanks to Si for that too. It was a fantastic and very creative process - and I'm hugely proud of what we achieved in only three weeks. I hope it goes to show what can be done by working with like-minded people… and putting in plenty of hard graft along the way. I know Mike won't mind me saying that on the back of this, we're now planning to form a loose 'collective' (involving Rebecca, Donnie and possibly others) with the aim of starting work on more material in autumn this year. So we'll keep you all updated on that. In the meantime, here's the fruit of our labour. I hope you dig it… https://soundcloud.com/skollob/world-pass-by PS: in the immortal words of Chris Duckenfield, [i]watch yer bass bins... I'm tellin' ya![/i]

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1371893043' post='2119172'] Shhh! He's kind of insecure about it [/quote] It's all about the girth!! Mr Foreman, sir. Cheers for the comments guys. Great to see it taking shape. I'll keep y'all updated as stuff happens...

I use one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001GH4H3W/ref=redir_mdp_mobile Only has two settings: clean and overdriven, but both sound great

[b][size=6]More pictures! [/size][/b] Paul's plans for a fine looking bass. And world domination, etc. Neck splices: wenge down the centre, mahogany strips either side (x2). I [i]have[/i] got wood Might just put some strings on this sucka and call it a job done. Whatcha reckon? Body (mahogany)

[quote name='moonbass' timestamp='1371765927' post='2118011']Anyone got any tips for noise reduction without changing the tone of the vocals?[/quote] Yup. Try using the 'noise removal' tool in Audacity, which usually works a treat... and it's free! http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Here's how: 1. Open the file in Audacity and try to find a small section of the track where there's only hiss (can literally be a few milliseconds). Select this section. 2. Under 'Tools', open up Noise Removal and click the button marked 'Get Noise Profile'. The tool window will close. 3. Now go back and select all of the track (CTRL+ A). 4. Open up the Noise Removal tool again and this time clock the button marked 'Apply noise filter' (or something like that...). It will then remove the hiss you selected previously from the entire track. I'm typing this from memory while on a train so some of the details above may be sketchy, but that's the gist of it. I use Audacity a lot for this purpose and it usually works great

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1371734225' post='2117496']Pictures or it's fake [/quote] Did I not explain that we're building an air guitar!?

Obviously how to EQ a kick drum is all about context - ie. whatever fits best with the mix overall. But generally-speaking, I always approach the kick and bass together - deciding ASAP whether the kick is going to sit below or above the bass part, frequency-wise. You run into trouble when the kick and bass end up duking it out for who's king of the bottom end, and it usually ends in tears

The pace is now quickening on the build... Paul's off to cut the woods today! The neck is going to comprise a central splice of wenge, with two separate splices of mahogany on either side (separated by a walnut veneer). I'll post pics once I have them

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1371656591' post='2116697']A mix engineer takes the money and runs, however, to take the money and run again, you need to deliver the first time around. Same as being a full time muso or even a prostitute/rent boy.[/quote] Well said mate! [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1371661683' post='2116779']...why don't I put it into my signature that we are looking for stems for next month, and I will have a sift through whatever I get sent instead either of you needing to find the time for it?[/quote] Sounds like a good plan to me Milty! I'd personally be happy with that. Maybe ask people to supply MP3 copies of their tracks first, before going to the trouble of supplying individual stems. We could then host these MP3s online somewhere - e.g. set up a SoundCloud Group for the mixing challenge, akin to the existing [url="http://soundcloud.com/groups/basschat"]Basschat Group[/url] - where we can all post comments on which tracks we'd like to work with. In fact, if we set up a dedicated SoundCloud Group then people could simply add their tracks to it by 'sharing' them - i.e. no need for you or anyone else to bother uploading stuff. Anyone else got an opinion on this? [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1371720052' post='2117238']No, I can, I checked on another source. I can hear up to 18,500[/quote] Wow! That is some impressive hearing mate. My 39 year-old lug 'oles can barely manage to hear much above 14kHz with any real clarity. I have mild tinnitus at around 14kHz which makes it difficult for me to tell whether I'm hearing actual sounds at that frequency or just the background ringing in my ears! Which is why I tend to make bass-heavy music

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1371650569' post='2116618']don't get me wrong - I am going to do this...[/quote] Good on you I haven't started yet myself... I just gave the stems an initial listen and thought: "hmmm, this is going to be a challenge!" I'm probably going to try squeezing what I can out of the original drum track, rather than using replacement, but it's great that folks are approaching this in different ways. Anything goes. I don't own Melodyne myself but I've been working with MIDI lines produced by it as part of this month's composition competition (in collaboration with Mike / urb who has a copy). Very impressive and useful software... when it works

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1371630513' post='2116294'] did i not email you an eq recently? people might like that? [/quote] Indeed you did, Rob! Good call As I remember you sent me the VST attached to an email (but I could be wrong...). If poss, please could you post a link here to where folks can find it online. Thanks mate.

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1371633836' post='2116348']don't expect much from me this month - my ears can't handle the aural assault - this track is horrid - what possessed you?[/quote] Let's try to keep it positive here, Twig' The purpose of these challenges is for us all to improve our mixing skills by practicing on a wide range of material: some of it professionally-recorded, some of it most definitely not. It might also mean working on material that you don't enjoy listening to yourself. Only you can be the judge of that, as you've already expressed. That's the joy of personal opinion. I chose this month's track for three reasons:[list] [*]Firstly because it throws up a bunch of challenges that we haven't encountered before. [*]Secondly because the stems were offered by a fellow Basschat member and I think it right that we should use 'local' material for these challenges when it's offered. [*]And thirdly because I thought it would make a suitable contrast to the previous session, where we got to work with lots of high quality stems (this being an exercise in working with far fewer and more challenging raw material). [/list] Rest assured I'm not 'telling you off' here! That's not my role and besides, I don't have the authority [i][cue Eric Cartman impression].[/i] I just wanted to pick up on your statement that "this track is horrid - what possessed you?" and how that might be interpreted by the person who went to the trouble of supplying the stems (in fact the [i]only[/i] person who offered up stems of their own this time round). I think Mike Senior set a fantastic example with his critiques of our last session, in terms of how to share constructive criticism. I'm guilty of jumping in with both feet myself when it comes to giving feedback on other people's work... so it's something I think we can all learn from. If the quality of the stems proves to be a recurring issue, then we might be better off using Mike's online library as a basis for these challenges. I'm personally keen to use material of all sorts from all sources, but it's obviously something for us to decide as a group next time round. Peace, etc. Paul

NEWSFLASH: Just heard from Charic and the word from on high is that the [b]deadline for entries this month is Monday 24th[/b] (next week). So if you're still frantically working on something - like Mike and I are! - then make sure you get it finished and uploaded that evening or before

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1371559487' post='2115475']Can I re-do the bass line entirely..?[/quote] I don't see why not... all's fair in love and mixing. Within reason, of course Clearly xgsjx (above) isn't offended by your intentions - and rightly so - hence if you want to record a new take then go for it. There's risk of extensive overdubs straying into the territory of remixing, but let's not split hairs over it. I personally think it's great that you're prepared to put in this sort of effort!

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1371558692' post='2115454']F*** off, I'm Stuffed!!![/quote]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1371554120' post='2115339']Maybe a bad idea, so stop me now before I waste quite a lot of time, please. I was considering duplicating the drum track and cutting out all but the snare, so as to isolate it as much as possible, then deal with separately. I would duplicate the original again, and 'rub out' the snare as much as possible. Maybe 'rinse and repeat' for toms, etc..?[/quote] Nice idea, Douglas! A good way of thinking round of the problem Go for it... it's certainly an approach that could work well in this instance. Some useful advice in the video above posted by Si. [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1371555605' post='2115375']Wish I had time to do this one now [/quote] I knew you'd be tempted mate... maybe just room for a wafer-thin mint??