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Very nice
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I have come across some multitracks and seeking support/recommendations on what type of software to play around.
Looking at you @BAAKKEERRRR @mrjez @Doggatron
@Maxx
If youāve got access to a Mac and donāt want to splash any $$ on DAW software, use Garageband, import the multitracks into it, and play around with them there.
Logic Pro is the pimped-up version of GB (again, for a Mac), but youāll have to pay for it. Itās what I use for playing around with multitracks, but then I also use it for recording my own stuff (and friendsā stuff) so I could justify the expense.
Audacity is free software (itās limited, but itās ok enough if you just want to balance levels and apply some basic FX) for PCās. I guess they have it for Macs too, but Iām not sure Iād bother when you have Garagebandā¦
Thereās plenty of more souped-up DAWās for PCās (Ableton, Cubase, ProTools etc.) but all serious $$.
What form are the multitracks in - the actual spools of tape or have they been digitised to individual audio files?
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Iāve got a Mac so Iāll keep it simple for now with GarageBand and rekordbox.
Not entirely sure what the multitracks are as I havenāt had a chance but I believe wav or flac of some 80s music. Pretty sure the first two that I saw were fade to grey and relax.
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Ive been using Reaper. Not a mac user. Its pretty user friendly.
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I wouldnāt mind getting a copy of them myself, if youāre willing and able to share.
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Been revisiting some 2000s indie tracks and their electronic remixes. Here are two faves from lesser known bands where the original song is cool, but the remix is chefās kiss.
Mobius Band
Ikara Colt
Soā¦ inspired by @Maxx 's acquisition of multitracks, I went down a rabbit-hole yesterday searching for multitracks/stems. Most of what I found wasnāt particularly useful - mainly stuff where someone had used one of these AI programs to roughly split a song into 6 or 7 reasonably lo-resolution stems.
The good stuff I did manage to find was gold thoughā¦ a full suite of stems for things like Depeche Modeās Personal Jesus and Enjoy The Silence, The Carsā Drive and Talk Talkās Itās My Life. And they are absolutely, genuinely lifted from the original multi-tracks - there are recordings that are either almost imperceptible or unused in the final mix, the tracks have hard-stops or just peter out, where the final mix had a fade-out. Thereās no AI program out there that has the ability to do that.
I spent last night uploading the multi-tracks for Itās My Life into Logic Pro and playing around with them - as a starting point, trying to reconstruct the songās mix as we know it. You might think (as I did) that itās a reasonably simple mid-80ās synth-pop songā¦ drums, a few synths, bass, vocals, maybe some acoustic guitar. Not quiteā¦ Iāve found 29 distinct tracks so far. I suspect they may have been working on a 24-track system, because a few of the tracks had different things recorded on them (e.g. a synth pad during the verses, but BU vocals during the chorus), presumably as they ran out of track space.
Thereās all sorts of different keyboards and synth pads whirring away, coming in and out of the song (including a squiggly synth line that sits behind the vocals in the chorus). Thereās several tracks of percussion - some wooden blocks, a djembe, some sort of wooden glockenspiel thingy. It amused me to find that a professionally recorded song, when pulled apart, has all the same things that my own inadequate recordings do - an 8-beat count-in from a dinky drum machine, various drop-ins, ringing frequencies on the acoustic guitar, instrumental spill-through from the headphones on the vocals. Also of note was that, other than a few unused lines here and there, the vocals are EXACTLY as they are in the final mix - shock, horrorā¦ no note correction was applied whatsoever.
Itās unquestionably for music nerds, but Iāve found it fascinating. Once Iāve had a bash at reconstructing the album mix, the next step will be to do a total remix (maybe something along the lines of āwhat would it have sounded like had the Colour of Spring or Spirit of Eden era Talk Talk recorded it?ā). Then Iāll move on to the DMode songsā¦
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That sounds fascinating. You could even pick up tips on filling out a sound with textures you donāt really hear in a final mix. I struggle with that, my own recordings are too thin and transparent.
To my disappointment I got AI ones too from my friend but they were just to play and stuff.
But I did find them for a price
It really is fascinating - Iāll happily fess up to being a music nerd. I was really surprised to find just how much is going on in the mix. Once you know a recorded track is in there, youāll hear it forever more, but itās really not obvious itās there. Iām looking forward to seeing just how much detail is in the DM tracks.
If anyoneās interested, the links to the files can be found in the Description of YT clips found hereā¦
Theyāre not always useable - some are blocked (incl. Everybody Wants To Rule The World, which is a bummer), some are those crappy AI-generated separations.
But, I mean, who hasnāt wanted to create their own mix (say, a proper 7" edit without all the burps and farts that Quincy Jones added) of Blue Monday?..
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@Maxx @mrjez
Had a look at the two sets of Depeche Mode stems last night, and was disappointed to find that they are not the true, raw & separated multi-tracks. The stems are from the multi-tracks, but they look like those kind of partly pulled apart mixes that got created for things like Guitar Hero.
Using Enjoy The Silence as an example, it has been separated into around 14 stems. All the vocals (lead and back-up) though have been sub-mixed on the one stereo stem, and have got processing (compression, EQ, FX) applied. The ābass synthā stem is likewise sub-mixed with multiple layers on the one stereo stem, with processing applied. Same with the ālead synthā. The drums are about the only thing truly separated (kick, snare, 2 or 3 different cymbal programs, percussion).
So, yes, you can isolate bits and pieces of the song, but only to a point. Really, if you play around with track levels and the panning only, you can reasonably quickly get to something pretty well approximating the final song. Itās a helluva lot less challenging when some of the individual tracks have been balanced against each other already and had processing applied.
Personal Jesus is the same sadly.
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Ah, thatās too bad. I wonder under what circumstances artists allow this stuff to get release in separate tracks in the first place.
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Heard this shoegazer recently and thought @mrjez would like.
I was listening to same artist name for more so dance music so not really sure if itās him or someone with same name. Either way ripper song.
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I canāt think of a more remixed band than depeche mode. Must be some out there.
Iāll wait patiently the day you mix a depeche mode song and put FranƧois K to shame.
A āpersonalā favourite of mine.
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Yeah, very nice. Only a handful of listens for a good tune. I clicked on the artist topic/channel on YouTube and flicked through the other few songs there. Some hit, some miss. A little Death Cab For Cutie and Chapterhouse feel at times. Only one was dancey, kind of an EBM or electro clash tune.
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