Jason Covenant

FL Studio Remix Gauntlet Current News: (2/10/13) This week's theme is "The Final Push". We've all been there -- that last part of completing a large mix or game when the novelty has long worn off but you still want to complete it. Tasks that were once enjoyable have gotten old and gratingly familiar. Still, you're so close to being done, you have to finish. So you load up the game/DAW for the last time, and thus begins the music of the final push. So for this week, you will be remixing those first tracks that greet you upon loading up a game, along the following criteria: -- The source must be either the intro or title music to the game. -- The name of the game must start with the same letter as your forum name. Mixes are due by 2/24/13 at 2pm ET. Oh, and Round 7 mixes are up. Round 6 results. Voting: Send your votes to me via private message using the following format: 1. Remixer Name 2. Other Remixer Name 3. The Name of A Different Remixer "1." is your first place choice, "2." is your second place choice, etc. You will get the equivalent of a first place vote for your team's mix when you vote, so be sure and vote. If your team turned in a mix this week, you are allowed to vote for your own team, due to there being only 3 entries. The rules are the same as usual for everyone else. No need to include reviews in your pm, as your votes will remain private. You are more than welcome to post reviews in the thread. Voting is live NOW. Voting ends 2/24/13 at 2pm ET. Past rounds: Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 ~~~ Introduction: I always enjoyed the challenge of using only FL Studio's most basic tools and samples in Ben Briggs' FLMC compos, not to mention the fun of flp sharing. And I loved Darkesword's Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet for the teamwork and getting to know my awesome team members. (Viva la Concrete Men!) Well, I thought it would be nice to try and bring both concept together in one compo. I think it will offer a useful challenge for experienced mixers and important learning experiences for newer remixers. Even if FL Studio isn't your primary DAW, I think there's something to be said about working within limitations and diversifying your skills. Format: Participants will organize into teams of 3. Each week, 1 person from each team will be the primary remixer while the other 2 team members are allowed to assist, so long as the primary remixer still does the majority of the remix. Flp sharing is encouraged. Only samples and plugins that come with FL Studio (without additional purchases or upgraded versions) will be allowed unless otherwise stated. I will provide a full list of allowed samples/plugins before the beginning of round 1. It is recommended that all team members use the same version of FL Studio. Sources will be announced at the beginning of each round. Teams: 1. One Hour Conquistadors 1534 points Flexstyle Ghetto Lee Lewis DDRKirby(ISQ) 2. TEAM FAUX VASECTOMY 1229 points ectogemia Phonetic Hero Ben Briggs 3. Wild Cash Dinosaurs 959 points TheRexAsaurous wildfire Cash and Change 4. Team Floaty Lizard-Bee 622 points Sir_NutS Theory of N BlackPanther 5. Team Goat Rotisserie 510 points Modus Zerothemaster ProjectSpam 6. Team GBA 144 points alfredofreak Generdyn Bleck FLP Guidelines: Only the following are allowed. If it's not on this list, don't use it. Some of these may have 'Fruity' before their name in the program. Note also that while Soundfont Player and Direct Wave are allowed, only samples/fonts on this list can be used in them. Submission Guidelines: Turn in flp's or zipped loop packages only via private message. If you use multiple flp's or need to export wav's, use a zipped loop package. Do not turn in more than one file.

Flp sharing creates many possibilities. What about an Fl Studio gauntlet, like the Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet? We'd have teams of 3 with 1 primary remixer each week, while the other 2 could still provide help with the flp. I think it would provide a lot of opportunity for growth and collaboration, as well as allowing people with little fl experience (or those with a different primary DAW) to participate. How does that sound?

We've had FL Studio oriented compos in the past. They were a lot of fun. I'd be willing to organize a new one if people are interested.

GLL came over last night and improv'd some solo melodies for me. I was amazed at how much emotion he was able to get into Volt Catfish's main melody. I wanted to get some vocals from Robbie, but by the time I was able to get a hold of him, it was too late to ask for something like that. Ahh well. I plan on making a little EP by completing/polishing my past remixes from this compo. Hopefully that means GLL+Robbie goodness. As for this current mix, I've decided to concede instead of turning in a mix, despite having a complete song. My reasons are simple: The mix as it stands, isn't much different from my last mix of the same sources and doesn't do GLL's finger skills justice. It takes finesse and effort to make piano rubato work in an otherwise strict-rhythm track, and I may have lacked the enthusiasm to achieve that in the time frame. I admit, I have difficulty revisiting old tracks previously released -- it feels defeatist somehow. But I knew that would be a factor when Darkesword announced the rule changes -- rule changes which were entirely fair. In addition, my schedule makes it seem increasingly unlikely I'd be able to create another track for the compo, in the event I should make it to the final. Sorry PH, I know that none of this is how you wanted to advance to the final, but I hope you not let that bother you and bring your A game to the last bout. I'm glad there was a rule extension even if I'm not turning something in. I get to hear 3 tracks more polished than they would have been before, and I think it's important as a mixer to confront your hangups, even if you are initially unsuccessful. I got a lot out of this compo. I'm appreciably faster when working towards a short deadline after this gauntlet, and I got to play around with vocals in ways I don't usually get a chance nor the inspiration to. Thanks guys for competing with me. It was a lot of fun.

Oh man that sounds good right now. Don't tempt me. I'm still hungry too...must. have. more. carbs.

Yea, I'm about to start my remixed remix right after this bagel...

Yea, exactly. I think we avoided drama this time, though it was certainly an awkward situation. I'm glad PH is such a nice and understanding guy. Not everyone remains calm when the possibility of disqualifying them comes up. So let this be a fresh start, and I look forward to hearing the most complete version of your mix come Nov. 4, PH.

I was writing a really long post exploring different ideas, but then saw that Darke decided something. Btw Darke, that works for me. Sir Nuts + vox? Link please...

I'm not a fan of either option. PH didn't know collabbing wasn't allowed, so it'd suck if he got disqualified for it, especially considering the mix is something of a milestone for him. On the other hand, it doesn't seem fair for one to play by the rules and not collab, while the opponent does. Had I been allowed to collab as well, I would've asked GLL to lay down one of those sweet piano solos he treated us with in the Street Fighter compo, or asked Robbie for some of his angelic vocal goodness. I think the end result would've been a funner, and much better mix. So how about a suggestion for a third option: A do-over. We'd go again after Sir Nuts and Theory of N. The week after that could be the final round. Remixing the two themes together again might be redundant, so perhaps we could switch it up and only remix our opponent's themes. There's plenty I didn't use in Shieldner Sheldon, so it shouldn't be a problem for me. I know PH was having trouble with Volt Catfish earlier, but he says he was able to use it throughout his current mix, so it shouldn't be a problem for him either. Darkesword could also pick different themes for us to remix if he wants. Basically, a do-over with some changes for a fresh start. I think that's the fairest approach, although it would mean more work for myself PH, and Darkesword. If you guys are up for it, I am. (Besides, more muzak 4 da pplz.) Right, that's what I thought too. Err, why? I don't think Sir Nuts' and Theory Of N's bout was affected by this, and the final certainly doesn't need to be. The only round affected was last week's mixing, and it's too late to allow everyone to collab, since obviously I didn't.

So.....we're allowed to collab in these compos? Would it be ok, say, if I asked Robbie to supply some vocals for a track in a future compo, or maybe a group of people? How many people can we have on a team? Sir Nuts and Theory of N, if either of you want a quick master for your tracks, I can turn around a track in 2 hours tops. Would be my pleasure to help out. (Assuming that this is allowed.) I really dug the arrangement PH, and Omni those horns sound phenomenal. I think this is easily your best work to date PH. It reminds me of the AOE3 ost. Although, honestly, I couldn't really hear Volt Catfish in it at all. I've heard Volt Catfish hundreds of times, so you'd think I would. You said it was in the chords, so I paid close attention to them and still couldn't find it. Perhaps part of the problem with using most of the chords in Volt Catfish is that they're very simple and undistinguished, so if you make even one change, they can quickly become unrecognizable. I don't have the best ears for this sort of thing, so I showed it to someone I know that has very good ears, Willrock. He couldn't find any source either, except for the subtle arp that comes in at 3:37 and fades out shortly after. After he pointed it out to me, I could definitely hear that it was Volt Catfish. I guess I didn't check the very end to see if source was being introduced there. I believe you when you say that Volt Catfish is used throughout the song, but you're going to have to have to point it out to me. I'm sure that once you do, I'll be able to hear it. So yea, a source breakdown would be good. In case anyone is having similar trouble with my mix, here's a source breakdown: Source: Volt Catfish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hln_pyBFFiA The bassline at the beginning of my track is the same as the bassline from the beginning of Volt Catfish. The melody at :07 in my mix is from the melody at the beginning of Volt Catfish as well. And the triplet-arp that fades in from a reverb wash, starting at 1:03, is from the triplet-arp at :23 in Volt Catfish. Source: Shieldner Sheldon: Like always, I used my opponent's source to create most of the dominant themes of my mix. The string melody that comes in at 2:01 in my mix is from the bells at the very beginning of Shieldner Sheldon. The melody at :33 in my mix is from :58 in Shieldner Sheldon. P.S. Sir Nuts, sorry to hear about your sickness. I'm glad you're getting better in time to finish something. It would suck to have to drop out due to an illness.

Unpolished or not, I look forward to hearing it. Yea, I wanted to have vox on every entry this compo. Unfortunately I just didn't have time for it this entry, but I still like what I came up with.

Oh crap I overslept. Thank goodness for the deadline being later. Not as polished as I'd like -- I hope it doesn't sound too much like an OHC entry, lol, but at least I got something in. Fantastic, can't wait to hear it. I'm glad you were able to get inspired and have fun with it.

No need to apologize, all you did was ask about a sample. I know people have been asking about the vocals in some of my earlier mixes -- I've been meaning to put together a post explaining the methods.

No..........and I thought he sang his own ethnic voices.

Well my mix is in. I was going to claim to be dropping out, then say just kidding...but PH beat me to the punch. And like PH, I also ended up doing mine at the last minute. I think this may be some sort of personal record for most-last-minute-entry. That's probably why it came out so weird...lulz. Looking forward to hearing everyone's entries.

He won't...

Right. The arp that begins at about :49 in the remix is from the section at :40 in Volt Catfish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hln_pyBFFiA The main change being that it's now 16th notes, while everything else in the remix has been slowed down. I can see how that could be counter intuitive.

I can't sleep, so I might as well give a source-breakdown for my mix. The chord progression in my remix is made from combining elements of the chords in both songs where they share the same bassline. The main melody is the melody (both part A and from Magna Centipede which comes in at 00:05 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYvQ8pDTseQ It's slower and slightly modified, but it should be very easy to spot in my mix. The elements from Volt Catfish mostly play supporting roles and are less obvious. The arp at :49 in my remix is from :40 in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hln_pyBFFiA. The melody at 1:22 in the remix is the very first melody in Volt Catfish, adjusted for the chord progression. I think that covers it. I shall now test the sleep inducing powers of beer.

Just turned mine in a few minutes before the deadline. Can't wait to hear yours. You and me both, lol. I ended up doing 80-90% of my remix this morning. I spent all week writing notation but never got enough in any particular direction to make a song out of it. But I had to turn in something, so late Saturday night/early this morning I decided to take whatever random fragments that seemed to sort of go together and cobbled them into something. Can't guarantee it's musically coherent, but at least it's longer than a minute this time.

Hard to believe another week is almost over. Time sure flies. I'm really looking forward to hearing the Zero Bracket mixes this Sunday. I can't wait to see who I'll be remixing against next and what I'll be remixing, too.

Yeah, I'm definitely finishing mine and subbing it. I did some more work on it last night in fact. It's just gonna take a while to cut all of these opera vocals. I must've been crazy to ever think I could finish it before the deadline, lol. I've got to second what people are saying about the first round: Lot of good mixes! (Especially on the arrangement side of things.) I listened to them all last night and jeez voting is going to be hard. I think I've only been able to make up my mind on 1 matchup so far, and even that one was close.

=( I really hope you're able to get your music comp up and running again soon. I know how much it sucks to not have a working music comp. Like a lot of people, this week didn't go quite as planned for me in terms of time. I wrote a 4 minute arrangement, but only had time to produce/mix a rough wip of the first minute, which is what I've turned in. I really enjoyed working with your theme, Prophetik. What little work I did accomplish was a joy and I have every intention of submitting the final version of this mix.

Noooooooooooooo. I was really looking forward to the battle of the prophs. It's not quite the same now, but I'll still be sure to finish my opera breakbeat track. Hope you get your comp fixed soon.

I wouldn't worry too much, I haven't started yet either. (But I will today!) Let the battle of the Prophs commence. P.S. I like your theme and think it combines well with mine. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

1. Volt Catfish - X3 2. Bubble Crab - X2 3. Neon Tiger - X3 4. Flame Mammoth - X 5. Wheel Gator - X2