The Music Lounge Mix Exchange

[Originalbob]

you should try checking your email again, cutter

[koryp]

I have found my muse and I'm in, email sent. Thanks for organizing this. Happy mixing to all.

[cutterbutter]

Sweet, Originalbob makes 25. Super pleased.

[TomAz]

I might be going overboard in my enthusiasm for my chosen theme. Whoever gets this is going to be one very lucky individual.

[insbordnat]

oh fuck it, I'm in.

[DirtyPistol]

So you guys haven't been around here much, which matters not at all, but be aware of expectations: If you sign up for the mix exchange you should expect -- i.e., make concrete plans -- to send your mix on time, and to give the mix you receive a complete listen (or two), and then post comments about the mix you receive. If you don't send your mix you will be depriving someone. If you don't listen to or acknowledge a mix you receive, you're spoiling the fun. So this means even if you are a saharatard and receive a mix of nothing but 19th century appalachian yodels, you are expected to listen to it and report on it. capeche?

No worries Hoss, I'm not a flake. I may not have 5 digit postings but I religously read music sites and this message board (especially music lounge) daily, been a music nerd my whole life. I'm definitely looking forward to this and plan on shedding my knickers and diving head first into this mix exchange. I really hope my lucky person likes rare Jimmy Buffett demos...

[Mugwog]

Expert djs/sound mixers: I'd like to actually mix my mix a little bit, any apps that would suffice on a mac?

I have audacity N final cut (was going to just do it in final cut)

Not really feeling like downloading (and of course purchasing) pro tools

[cutterbutter]

What do you want to do? Just crossfades and volume adjustments?

[Mugwog]

yeah pretty much just that. may cut some tracks to transition into another similar beat/bpm for the next track, but not like crazy equalizer stuff

[cutterbutter]

Audacity should be just fine for you. Garageband is also extremely user friendly and use can download it without being hassled by drm since apple doesnt give much of a fuck.

If you search "mixing with audacity" you can find tutorials on google or even walkthrough on youtube.

If you trying to mix two songs together you may end up getting pretty frustrated. But just having the end of one song segue into the beginning of another will be easy enough. Obviously you will export this thing made up of 20 something songs as one long wav file. Just dont be saving and recompressing and extracting all of it too often as the audio quality could go out the window real quick.



You probably dont want to use Final Cut for it, but if you meant that you have Final Cut Studio then Soundtrack/Logic would be superb if you know what you are doing in it.

[Mugwog]

I'll use audacity - thanks!

[TomAz]

fwiw I use MixMeister Express and I mostly like it though I don't know if there is a mac version. It's intuitive but the one drawback is DRM issues. It can't even handle unprotected AAC (m4a) files, which means if you have those you need to convert them to mp3 first.

[TomAz]

Also here's a tangential but somewhat related question. I have a draft mix I am working with, with simple crossfades from one track to the next. It plays on my PC fine, and burned to CD it plays fine in my car too, just as intended. But on my iPhone, it sticks gaps in there which are annoying and ruin many of the transitions. I enabled gapless playback in iTunes but for some reason the iPhone isn't dealing with it right. It could just be that this is because the iPhone music player pretty much just sucks, it's worse than an iPod. Any ideas?

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

yeah pretty much just that. may cut some tracks to transition into another similar beat/bpm for the next track, but not like crazy equalizer stuff

Just set up 2 stereo tracks in audacity, then start laying your audio tracks in them and do whatever you need to to make the transitions. Then export or mix down all as one track, and then you can re-import into audacity and cut the big track up as needed if you want to supply individual tracks, and then take care of tags in iTunes

[TomAz]

So I think I'm done, except maybe for some additions to the packaging. I wanted do this without knowing who I was making my mix for.

[greghead]

Just set up 2 stereo tracks in audacity, then start laying your audio tracks in them and do whatever you need to to make the transitions. Then export or mix down all as one track, and then you can re-import into audacity and cut the big track up as needed if you want to supply individual tracks, and then take care of tags in iTunes

Maybe I'm just an exceptionally lazy person, but this sounds like a lot of work. My recipient will just have to deal with gaps between songs.

[guedita]

I hope Tom gets my mix because he'll have to listen to it.

[Spooks]

Damnit, I want my person's name. I know we're not supposed to adapt it what we think the person might want to hear, but I really don't want to get TomAZ due to musical tastes hardly compatible. Then, he'll return the thanks by a c4 package labeled "Kiss me Deadly"
I'm not sure what I'm compiling entirely (thumbing through ideas as we speak) but certain it won't consist of classic rock selections for the old man.

[TomAz]

I hope Tom gets my mix because he'll have to listen to it.

I would welcome that. You gave my mix a thoughtful listen a while back.

[TomAz]

I'm not sure what I'm compiling entirely (thumbing through ideas as we speak) but certain it won't consist of classic rock selections for the old man.

You get more and more brokendollesque every day.

[guedita]

It's true; I went on a Whiskeytown binge after one of their songs was included on the mix that Tom sent me. Part of why these exchanges are great.

[greghead]

I wasn't aware the old man even listens to "classic rock."

[buddy]

I always thought Tom listened to music via a Gramophone.

[greghead]

What's your area of specialty? I don't think I've ever paid attention to what you're into.

[buddy]

Guess just nervous it going to a "rock" audiophile--not my area of specialty

For that statement Tom, I hope you get mine and choke on it.

One of the benefits of this is to expose people to music they don't ordinarily listen to, so whoever gets my mix of obsure Hall & Oates covers will most likely never heard them before.

[greghead]

That actually sounds really awesome.

[buddy]

If i'm being honest, they're all from the same singer. Me.

[amyzzz]

hahaha

[TomAz]

I wasn't aware the old man even listens to "classic rock."

Depends on your definition. But my new mix is full of classic new wave and classic post punk.

[TomAz]

It's true; I went on a Whiskeytown binge after one of their songs was included on the mix that Tom sent me. Part of why these exchanges are great.

I don't think I knew this. I'm tickled.

I would be very interested in getting EDM from a person whose intellect I already respect, cuz then I'd know it was on me to figure out and not just some brain dead oontzhead dreck.