Tuned Logic Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Just a question for remixers: if you were arranging a song that you really liked, and then ended up making multiple mixes for the same song (all about 80-85% done), and you like certain aspects of all of them, do you pick certain pieces out for a sort of "final" mix or do you start yet another from scratch? I want to submit a song to OCR, and I've made multiple mixes of a certain song, but I like all of the ones I've made (4 of them total right now). The thing is, I recognize they all have their flaws. I'm afraid if I develop one to completion I'll lose aspects of the others (they are not exactly the same genre -- not too different though). How should I approach this? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Well, the natural tendency is to be your own biggest fan. Be willing to distance yourself from your work, and ESPECIALLY be willing to accept that not every single thing you do is golden. If you feel like you have several scattered ideas that are all good, then cherry pick them and put them in the same bowl, but only use your VERY best ideas. Be willing and mature enough to realize that sometimes, you just can't squeeze everything into one track. Typically when people try to do that (squeeze too much in that is), it ends up being detrimental to the track's overall quality; the pace/consistency falters, the flow looses effectiveness, the length plods, etc. That's why it's so important to seek outside opinions. People who are honest, and not going to automatically like your work or give you false/obligatory praise just because it's your work and you like it. Obviously, in the end, everyone's opinion is subjective to their own personal tastes, but at the very least they'll be able to tell you if they think your track works. Spend my $0.02 wisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Case in point. My first submission to ocr, reworked, but not submitted because there's so much in it that I like, but it's too much and not all of it works together as it should. Haven't gotten around to make those drastic cuts I think it needs. There's probably four parts that would work as endings, several pieces that would work as intros, a few different climaxes, breaks of different sorts... Too much for one song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuned Logic Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thanks for the commentary; I know none of my stuff is perfect -- I realized that a year or two ago, but I'm starting to think it's better just to start off with a fresh slate until you have something you like the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 And (hopefully) you're always getting better too, so sometimes you'll listen to something you did a month ago and be like "Hmm, I thought this sounded pretty good back then but, meh, I dunno now..." That's why you should only keep your very best ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuned Logic Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Yeah, that's definitely been happening, which is great. That way, I know I'm improving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hy Bound Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Actually, my Mark of the Beatsmith mix was a bunch of ideas mashed together... Its incredibly blaring (at least to me) and I really wish I could go back and make the entire thing a bit more cohesive instead of cutting and pasting different parts together and then trying to blend them. I would say that my mix is a huge reason you SHOULDN'T try and do that. I worked on the thing for 7 months; going back and trying to revamp it every couple months. As a result it ended up sounding like the aforementioned four songs mashed together. Each piece has its pros and cons, but overall, the feel is nowhere near the cohesive whole I'd like. However, I would say that if the pieces you have from four songs are in the same musical style/feel, it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to blend them together. Switching out choruses and verses with what you like from each song shouldn't be too difficult, but I would suggest keeping a mainstay throughout the song. For instance, if you have a drum beat or melody instrument you like, keep that throughout the song instead of switching out totally. From experience, its a lot easier to accept a major change in a song if there is a small constant to keep your bearings. That's my opinion for ya, i hope i didn't ramble too far out of the topic area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Honestly, unless they're all really similar, just pick one and perfect it. There's no rule that says you can't submit multiple remixes of the same source tune. As long as they're all very different from each other, we have no problem posting them. I mean honestly, if you really wanted to, you could submit 10 different takes on a source tune, and if they're all great and all different from each other, we'd post 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Except for Ice Cap. We'll probably kill you if you submit 10 different remixes of Ice Cap. And by kill you I mean laugh at you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sadorf Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I mean honestly, if you really wanted to, you could submit 10 different takes on a source tune, and if they're all great and all different from each other, we'd post 'em. djp yelled at me and said no more medusa mixes.... but yeah, i am proof u can have same song mixed more than once and both be allowed on ocr. there are others as well i think, like thewingless and prolly more people. but yeah, just pick one so you are focused on just one mix. take ideas you like from the other 3 and incorporate them into the best one. having one great mix is better than 4 not so great mixes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuned Logic Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Okay, thanks everyone. I'll see what I can churn out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strike911 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Yeah, definitely. I swear, I did like four or five Corneria remixes for the original starfox and they all kind of sucked. When I took the parts that worked from all the songs and combined them (and adapted them to fit) into one mix, it was a much stronger remix than any of the originals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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