Skol303

Bloody 'ell Shep, now THAT is what I call bass! Cranked up it's more of a feeling than a sound - practically made my eyeballs vibrate, let alone my ears. Good work mate ;-) I'm constantly in awe of what you guys get up to. I'm a big fan of UK bass music anyway, and it's great how you manage to perform it live so damn convincingly. I remember seeing Roni Size many years ago and being disappointed by the (then) week sounding upright they had on stage, but this is just something else... And to my knowledge there aren't many people doing this live. In fact I'm struggling to name more than yourselves and Chris Hargreaves (Fatty Bass Man) both obviously on Basschat. So I reckon you're in a very strong niche with it; be interesting to see where it takes you in time. Really dig the beatboxing too. That man has talent - definitely something that would translate well to a live performance. Great work. Keep us posted mate.

^ Definitely agree with all the sentiments above. There's not a person among us who wouldn't want to win a custom bass. But hand on heart I can honestly say I don't enter these challenges set on victory - I mean it'd be nice, sure! - but if I started thinking like that I probably wouldn't bother as the skills on display here are [i]way[/i] out of my league. I'm amazed I've had such support during the past few challenges to be honest, which has been a massive boost to my musical confidence (a bigger prize than any). What I really like is the attitude we're all approaching it with. I've taken part in various remix competitions in the past, and they tend to attract nastiness and big egos. No sign of that here, which is truly is a rare thing on the Interweb! Or maybe a common thing among bass players...

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1353576442' post='1876136'] Thanks mate! I had a blast doing it. This competition has got me writing and recording again after a long hiatus. I learned a hell of a lot doing this, I REALLY enjoyed it. It's so nice to just be yourself without any commercial concerns. [/quote] Well I reckon you could make your stuff a commercial concern if you wanted to Nige, sounds very polished to me. For me the freedom in these challenges is being able to do something different to my usual electronic stuff... messing about with real (and toy!) instruments, having a crack at singing, etc. I'd never have done that sort of thing otherwise. You could even call it a "musical journey"! (if you were, like, a tw@t or something). Can't thank Charic enough for kick-starting all this. Basschat Medal of Honour for that one, I reckon. Can't blame him enough for my new blisters either. Swings and roundabouts. Uploading mine tonight when I get home. It's nowhere near the skill level of you guys but heh, simple things for simple minds

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1353541212' post='1875983'] Ok! here is my effort. It's been a slog having to do it in small snatches (oo-er). I may possibly remix it if when my ears have settled down tomorrow if i don't like the mix, but might not get time. Its in two parts. It's called Scooby (voo)doo! [url="http://soundcloud.com/dreaded-ted/scooby-voo-doo"]http://soundcloud.co.../scooby-voo-doo[/url][/quote] Wow, very clean production on this! Sounds awesome. Really like this ska intro… and the second half just plain rocks! Great guitar chops and some cool FX going on. It definitely has a showtime/soundtrack feel to it that captures the Scooby pic especially well. Good work, M'Lud! [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1353543979' post='1876008'] Ok here's mine. It was FUN![url="http://soundcloud.com/silddx/you-cant-touch-me-now-the-day"] http://soundcloud.co...-me-now-the-day[/url][/quote] Frickin' heck this is good, Nige! You've packed loads of ideas into it and they fit together very well indeed. Your bass playing on this track is just superb - completely blew me away in places. Sounds great too - nice and loud but with plenty of dynamics. Truly awesome music guys! The standard is very high this month and no wonder.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1353518412' post='1875547'] Cheers. Very kind of you, but there's no need as the geetar side of things wasn't working, so I've abandoned it (though I'm gonna make the song eventually for my own pleasure). The guitars sounded good on their own but the minute you added anything it just went to noise. Even with just drums! [/quote] No worries! I've never attempted anything Latin myself so sounds like an interesting project. I used to play a few Brazilian instruments (very badly!) many years ago - berimbau and timba drum, when I used to practice capoeira. Love the rhythms that come out of that country and elsewhere in Latin America. It's a culture that just oozes groove.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1353513433' post='1875466']My original idea was to have a rocking 1st 1/2 with guitars & some screaming vocals & then going into some Latin American drumming... But I haven't got the tools or samples for the percussion that I wanted to do [/quote] ^ I might have some Latin percussion samples that I could happily bundle over to you on email, or whatever. Can't promise anything but I really don't mind having a look on my 'puter when I get home tonight, if that's any help. PM me if so and I'll see if I can dig out something useful. [quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1353514656' post='1875486']Hollowed out Mallard, brilliant! Gotta nick that one [/quote] Yeah, made me p1ss my sides that did! Thing is, I can weirdly imagine what a hollowed out mallard would sound like. Very expressive term there Nige! PS: I think the lead singer from The Darkness did in fact swap his crown jewels for a 'singing voice', and look what happened. I'd keep those particular assets safely tucked in your trousers if I were you mate (might not be the first time you've heard that said...??)

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1353505477' post='1875314']I can sing quite well but my voice sounds like a 12 year old girl's ffs Appropriate to the subject matter, but horrible to hear [/quote] [quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1353505799' post='1875320'] I sound like some choir boy waiting for his b...ls to drop when I am trying to rock...[/quote] ^ Made me laugh there fellas [i][note to self - add a shedload of bass boost to help drop those b*****ks...!].[/i] I played mine to Mrs Skol and she thought I sounded "like Jarvis Cocker on a bad day". She has a way of telling it like it is, that's for sure

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1353482693' post='1875001']I've abandoned what I was trying to do & gonna start afresh. It was going to incorporate both pics, but some things just aren't working. :(I can't sing a jot, so expect an instrumental again.[/quote] Yeah, it's a tough one this month for sure. I wouldn't worry about the lack of vocals too much. It certainly hasn't influenced my previous votes in these challenges, but I guess everyone has their own way of making that decision. Most of the music I listen to at home is instrumental electronica, although I'm [i]trying[/i] to sing myself on the tracks I'm submitting for these challanges - only because I have an old condenser mic that's gathering dust (a Behringer C-1) and I'm keen to use it for something! [quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1353489794' post='1875053'] Hi, reloaded my entry. Please ensure you link to the right one as I'm off-line for several days from Friday. You can compare the two versions on my account but its the one with "bc" at the end that I want to enter. The reverb, vocal and echoes are better.[/quote] Sounds good to me. Should have mine uploaded tonight or tomorrow... just need a spare minute to render the final mix. [quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1353401658' post='1874538']it is exactly that dude, tape deck being set up then play being pressed before the tune starts. i thought it was quirky[/quote] Ha ha, nice one! I like it - very inventive. Definitely caught my attention when I first heard the track.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1353243626' post='1872877'] New Blog Post up on [url="http://blog.basschat.co.uk/equalisation/"]Equalisation[/url] Enjoy.... [/quote] Cheers Si! VERY useful. Thanks as always You should compile all this info into a book one day - seriously - I'd buy it and I'm sure many others would too.

Nice track. Crazy video! The music itself is a good mix of styles - very progressive. It's got metal, rap, a touch of electronica… I like it. Difficult to pigeonhole which is always a good sign. Very entertaining

Sounds good! Crunchy. Thick. I need to eat something before I type any more... but I like it Nice vocal FX too. Good job.

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1353357046' post='1874230'] made a couple of changes to mine [url="http://soundcloud.com/rockfordstone/waiting-for-a-hero-2nd-mix"]http://soundcloud.co...-a-hero-2nd-mix[/url] [/quote] Nice one. Just did a quick comparison with the original and it is a tad brighter as you mention. The start of the track has me perplexed - in a good way! - as I'm a fan of found sounds and field recordings... so what is that at the start?? Sounds like a tape deck being set up.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1353339151' post='1873809']Skol, I'd definitely favour keeping the dynamics over compressing for loudness.[/quote] Yeah I agree. It's a tricky balance as you say, but I think I've [i]nearly[/i] got there... just a few more tweaks and then I'll abandon it and upload! [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1353339731' post='1873828'] singer- "24 years, just waiting for a chance, to tell her how i feel and maybe get a second glance, now i got to get used to not living next door to alice" crowd- "ALICE! who the f*** is alice!?" hope your song is that cheery and singalongy that everybody happens to know the right words to fit into the course. [/quote] Goddammit, how did you know those were my lyrics??

^ Nah, 'twas a tag-team effort! Credit to you for the tip on checking an mp3 render for artefacts. I don't normally do that myself - I typically just bang it on SoundCloud as a .wav and hope for the best - so I'm going to try that from now on. Cheers mate

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1353336155' post='1873750'] OK I'll check that out. I spent a lot of time EQ'ing this time and didn't really notice benefits. Is thee are argument for keeping it simple to keep the file sizes down? [/quote] The effects you apply to your mix have no impact on the size/Mb of the file you choose to finally output. It could be a 5 minute recording of radio static, or a 5 minute recording of the Halle Orchestra recorded at Abbey Road... if you output the final mix using the same bitrate and sample size, then the file size will be exactly the same. The compression artefacts that Discreet is talking about are caused when your file is 'compressed' down to mp3 format - e.g. by the SoundCloud player (confusingly this 'squashing' of the file by the SoundCloud player is called compression, like the dynamic effect of the same name). This is why he recommends exporting your mix as an mp3 - and checking it for 'artefacts', such as odd noises and volume changes - and then once you're happy with it, producing a final version in .wav format for uploading to SoundCloud. Hope that helps. It made my head hurt the first time I tried to understand this stuff!

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1353333948' post='1873713']Not had a hope in hell of doing something this month - the pictures kind of put me off a bit this month...[/quote] That's a shame Mike but I know you've had a busy few weeks with the London Jazz Fest being on (wish I could have made it down this year). You can - ahem - [i]'thank'[/i] Nigel and I for the inspiration this month. Must admit I've really struggled with it myself. Ended up penning a song about a former failed relationship, dealing with deceit and the death of happy memories... so y'know, a chirpy and lighthearted singalong number on its way from me!

PS: I've also read that it helps to leave some headroom in your mix - a few decibels before 0db peak output - when uploading to SoundCloud. Trouble is, this can make your mix seem quiet when compared to others. Not an issue when sharing your music generally, but it can be a factor when people are comparing your music to that of others, because the louder something sounds the 'better' we perceive it to be (this isn't just 'Spinal tap' logic... there's actually some science behind it!). I normally opt for a compromise - I use tools like a compressor and/or maximizer to squish the dynamic range of my music (making it appear louder), but not so much that it loses all sense of dynamic range. If I end up with a flat sausage shape then it's usually a sign that I've gone too far - but it's all subjective and matters more to some types of music than others. This is where I'm at with my mix right now - deciding how much dynamic range to sacrifice for the sake of loudness.

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1353329492' post='1873636'] Hmm that's interesting, I'm not entirely happy with my track because I seemed to loose some of the atmosphere when uploaded to itunes/soundloud-by that I mean stereo effects of the echoes and the balance between vocals don't stand out as well as they do in the masters. Any advice on that?[/quote] Good question. SoundCloud (and Bandcamp) uses 128kbps mp3 for streaming. No matter what sort of file you upload to it, when you hit 'play' the site automatically converts your uploaded track to 128kbps (although it lets you share/download tracks in their original format). From what I've read on other forums, the best advice is to upload the highest quality file you can and make sure it's an uncompressed format like .wav. .aif, .flac, etc. An mp3 is a compressed file, so if you upload an mp3 to SoundCloud it will get compressed again when someone plays it - which reduces the sound quality quite a lot. The best advice I can offer is to output your final mix at 24-bit resolution (if available). A high sample rate might also help - I normally use 48,000kHz but I've been experimenting with 96,000kHz and it seems to make a difference - or maybe I'm just kidding myself!? A 24 bit, 96,000kHz track lasting 3 minutes is roughly 100Mb in file size, as compared to a 5Mb or so mp3 equivalent. This gives a much better quality file for the SoundCloud converter to work with, so theoretically it should improve the final sound. At least that's what people far more knowledgeable than me seem to think... As a golden rule: use 24-bit, use .wav format and keep your fingers crossed!

Nearly finished... it's been a monumental slog this month. Bit off more than I could really chew skills-wise (I've had to learn guitar for one thing!), but hopefully it's paid off - hard to tell as I'm too close to it. If it sucks then at least I've learnt loads of new things, so it's all good regardless. Just working on a final mix. Unsure how loud to make it - some of the entries so far look like they've been squished for every ounce of volume, and the devil on my shoulder says do the same... while the angel on my other is pleading for me to preserve the dynamics and not squish it down to a flat sausage shape. I hate this last stage of making a track! Decisions, decisions... Should have something uploaded tonight or failing that on Wednesday.

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1353315114' post='1873416']...ive been using reason over the weekend and believe it to be a good easy one to start with.[/quote] Yeah I use Reason almost exclusively. Love it. I used Cubase for a little while before that and going back further I used to use tracker software. Ended up taking a ten year break from music and when I came back I opted for Reason. It just suits my workflow perfectly and I got to grips with it very quickly, which was a big draw for me at the time. Every music software offers a demo version you can test out, so best advice is to try them all and pick which is right for you.

Hey Lurks. Don't give up just yet mate! All music-making software has a fairly steep learning curve the first time you try using… but it does get a lot easier fairly quickly. You just need to persevere past the initial mind-bogglingness of it all My advice: 1. Grab a beverage of your choice and try watching some 'beginners' [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAUwDhtEono"]YouTube tutorials[/url] (there are plenty available for just about any software you choose). They're a lot easier to follow than wiki pages and instruction manuals. 2. Don't try doing everything at once. Work out the very basics… such as how to import and arrange audio files; how to plug in an instrument and record… before delving deeper. You probably won't use half of the buttons and functions you see on screen at first, so don't bother learning about them until you need them (tutorials will guide you on what's important at first). 3. Get help from a mate who knows their way around the software. Even just an hour can make all the difference. If you have a Mac (or an iPad) check out [url="http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/"]GarageBand[/url] which is very easy to use and a great place to start out. I'm sure there are PC equivalents too - maybe someone else here can offer some pointers. …and feel free to ask here! Plenty of helpful folk about

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1353243929' post='1872884'] That will do it yup. Nice one [/quote] Great! Easy peasy Looking forward to this project...

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1353171838' post='1872408'] haahaa yes thanks, It was fun to make... I was wondering why it sounded retro and two things came to mind: 1. The selection of Drum kit in EZ Drummer (in the past I often used electronic kits) 2. Because I use (often prefer) passive driven guitars rather than actives.[/quote] No probs, happy to give some feedback! I used to review music [i]years[/i] ago (mainly electronic stuff) during a brief stint in journalism, so I genuinely enjoy listening to everyone's different compositions. I can't quite put my finger on where I got the 70s vibe from, but the passive driven sound might well have something to do with it. It really works anyway, whatever it is, so might be worth trying the same set up / plug-ins if you ever want the same sound in future. [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1353173398' post='1872434']As long as you submit your remix before the closing date, I don't see there being any probs. Last month I entered & then decided it needed something else, so re done it.[/quote] Yeah that's how I understand it too. You can change and re-upload your mix any number of times in the run up to the deadline. Just bear in mind that if you do so after the voting starts, there's a chance it'll mess up the link to your track meaning people won't be able to hear it. But in the meantime it's all fair game!

Ok, I think I've sussed this K-meter business (made interesting reading!). Si: I'm assuming here that it's as simple as... 1. Produce my mix in Reason as standard 2. Render and output it as a wav, or whatever 3. Load it up into Reaper with the SPAN plug-in enabled 4. Select 'K-14' under 'metering' in the plug-in 5. Turn down the master fader of the mix until it's peaking at 0db ... hopefully that's it (?). If so, I'm sorted. If not, please help! Paul

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1353139403' post='1871925']Here's my entry. Hope you like it.[url="http://soundcloud.com/mole-music-1/love-rat"] http://soundcloud.co...usic-1/love-rat[/url][/quote] Interesting opener! [i]"Hey girls, keep your manholes covered"[/i]. Nice playing and groove throughout. It's got a kind of 70s feel that I really like. Cool backing vox too - you sing a great falsetto [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1353147904' post='1872021']Thank you, sir... it was mastered using PSP VintageWarmer2, and I'm very pleased with the sound of it.[url="http://www.pspaudioware.com/plugins/dynamic_processors/psp_vintagewarmer2/"] http://www.pspaudiow...vintagewarmer2/[/url][/quote] Just checked out the link you gave. Looks like a very nice plug-in! I'm a big fan of analogue replicas. I use one of these a lot myself (luckily got it much cheaper than the normal asking price!): http://www.softube.com/fet_compressor.php