| Lord Fickle 27.05.2005 16:15 |
Just a little bit of a moan, if I could. Looking at the number of downloads to the number of comments, this works out very roughly at 10:1 downloads to comments. That means that approximately 9 people out of every 10 who download our remixes don't even bother to say thanks. Come on folks, there's a lot of work going into some of these remixes (and I'm not just talking about my own), so surely it wouldn't hurt to post a short comment when you've downloaded a track? ;) |
| John S Stuart 27.05.2005 17:56 |
Lord Fickle: "...approximately 9 people out of every 10 who download our remixes don't even bother to say thanks..." Sometimes the best way to say something is direct - so here goes. This may sound rude - but it is not meant to be :-) From a personal view-point, there are a lot of mixes I do NOT like - and rather than say "sorry I DON'T like it", I would rather remain quietly diplomatic. A bit cowardly perhaps - but quietly diplomatic nevertheless. I know that these mixes are a labour of love and are very time consuming, and that some mixes are technically marvellous - but that in itself - does not necessary raise a mix beyond anything other than average. Yet, I will still download a mix in the hope that "this may be the one worth holding on to", but to be honest, even though I do listen to them all, there are many which I delete afterwards. In saying that, I do not think I (or anyone else) have the right to destroy or belittle anyone's remixing attempts, and that if you are happy in your work, then you should be encouraged to continue, but, as to your original thread, perhaps it is better for me to say nothing, than to spout forth a load of negative criticism - hence the lack of positive feedback - Sorry! (But to be honest, if your remixing provides you with many pleasurable hours - does it really matter what other people think anyway?). PS: Keep remixing! Keep "fighting" for what you believe in! |
| Lord Fickle 27.05.2005 18:20 |
Point well made, John, although I would personally have no problem with constructive criticism or comments, and I would hope others feel the same if I make comments on their work. Maybe you are in the majority, in that of the 50 people who download a mix, perhaps only the two or three who comment, actually like it! |
| John S Stuart 27.05.2005 18:37 |
Don't get me wrong. I can still appreciate what you guys are up to, and I still think that people can write in to say "downloaded the mix..." after all, hard work is still hard work! Hopefully, the more you remix - the better the remixes will become - so in a few weeks... who knows?!!! |
| Mr Mercury 27.05.2005 19:52 |
Lord Fickle wrote: Point well made, John, although I would personally have no problem with constructive criticism or comments, and I would hope others feel the same if I make comments on their work. Maybe you are in the majority, in that of the 50 people who download a mix, perhaps only the two or three who comment, actually like it!I too dont have any probs with constructive criticism as its the only way to learn. And for the most part with regards to the two mixes I have done, people like yourself Lord F and Adam B have done so. I did mines purely for the fun of it just to see how certain things worked apps wise. |
| salQF 28.05.2005 00:38 |
Not meaning to be harsh here, not knocking anyone's efforts or anything like that... However, the majority of the remixes i've heard from this site are just the original tracks, re-arranged in some way. Most (well, all that i've heard) of them have no original content and no major changes made whatsoever. Sorry, but anyone can do that. There's tonnes of software out there, a lot of it free to easily affordable & obtainable which will allow you to add some of your own touches and originality to your remixes. No remix HAS to contain any of the original sounds/samples. It doesn't HAVE to be in the same style. It doesn't HAVE to have vocals. You CAN add your own interpretations, change bits and pieces and whatever the hell you like. Use MIDI, use Fruity Loops, Reasons, anything. link - free public domain soundfonts. There's a lot of them & no, not all of them are totally useless. There's a few gems in there. link & link - both are remix communities of Video Game music but there's plenty of resources there to help anyone. |
| Lord Fickle 28.05.2005 06:06 |
salQF wrote: Not meaning to be harsh here, not knocking anyone's efforts or anything like that... However, the majority of the remixes i've heard from this site are just the original tracks, re-arranged in some way. Most (well, all that i've heard) of them have no original content and no major changes made whatsoever. Sorry, but anyone can do that. There's tonnes of software out there, a lot of it free to easily affordable & obtainable which will allow you to add some of your own touches and originality to your remixes. No remix HAS to contain any of the original sounds/samples. It doesn't HAVE to be in the same style. It doesn't HAVE to have vocals. You CAN add your own interpretations, change bits and pieces and whatever the hell you like. Use MIDI, use Fruity Loops, Reasons, anything. link - free public domain soundfonts. There's a lot of them & no, not all of them are totally useless. There's a few gems in there. link & link - both are remix communities of Video Game music but there's plenty of resources there to help anyone.Hi and thanks for your comments, salQF! Well, speaking purely from my own prospective, my mixes are exactly what I wanted to do. I didn't want to bury the songs in the 'remix'. I wanted to retain the main body of the songs, but just add a little embellishment here and there, and perhaps try to enhance, or reinterpret parts of the song, in my own way. I think if we like what we do, and if other people like what we do, that's all that matters. I can knock out one of my 'reworkings' in an evening, but my admiration goes to those who spend days perfecting their visions, many of which are far technically superior to mine. Oh, and just to add, one of the 'rules' I made for myself is that none of my versions contain anything which wasn't originally recorded by the band, or part of the original version of the song. That's why I, personally, don't wish to use midi sequences, but I'm not saying in any way that it's wrong to do so. It's just my preference not to. |
| Adam Baboolal 28.05.2005 12:45 |
I like what I'm hearing in this thread. The comments made are the kind of thing I like to listen and take on-board. Cool stuff, guys! Personally, I'm with LordF on how I'd want my mix to sound, i.e. pretty faithful to the original with some nice extra pieces. But as SalQF said, midi sequences are always a welcome addition. I'm sure people loved and loathed the New York remix from mashed up. I personally liked what was done. It certainly makes me think more about what I 'could' do. I've started using Reason for my coursework and it's pretty cool. And remixes shouldn't be too difficult with that software. Whatever works is cool by me! And I'll always try to comment with ideas and helpful critique. Peace, Adam. |
| salQF 29.05.2005 16:50 |
Well, i'm suprised with the somewhat 'welcoming' comments :) I was expecting worse for some reason. I know too damn well that whether you've just started mixing or that you've been doing it for a while, you'll always want your mixes to sound as 'professional' as possible. Sometimes, you just gotta bite the bullet and accept that it's just not going to work out that way. Accept that some people won't like your work, but take in any contructive critisism you may recieve to improve your work. The emphasis being on the word 'constructive' here. Please do post comments on peoples' efforts - negative or positve but PLEASE post why you like or dislike something and what you think can be done to improve something. There's nothing more irritating & frustrating to someone who's spent hours/days/weeks working on something they feel proud of than to have some moron come along and say, "That sucks," and nothing more. You're perfectly entitled to your own opinion but as I say, please be contructive. To stick even more importance on this to non-mixers; there really is nothing more gratifying than someone saying WHY they like or dislike a mix. The more you post the reasons WHY, the more time they'll spend on their next mix - trying to find a 'middle ground' of sorts that satisfies themselves and the listeners. And once again to the mixers, don't be afraid to experiment. Sure MIDI doesn't sound the bee's knees but you gotta learn to crawl before you can walk. Or is it walk before you can run? Hell knows but you get the picture. |
| Adam Baboolal 30.05.2005 15:28 |
Actually, midi doesn't have to sound any particular way. Case-in-hand, I'm sticking my vocals in a synth patch and it will play those vocals at particular points. When referring to midi, I guess you may be talking of GeneralMidi which is what comes with practically every keyboard, beginner or professional. The general midi stuff is pretty basic and is only there as a standard. But mixing up those sounds and playing about with how they sound (filters, etc.) - it can sound very good. But needs to be used properly to make things sound good! How do you think Queen came up with some of their synth sounds? Tweaked! Peace, Adam. |