Welcome to R.O.

As long as this is a legitimate request for scholastic advancement, and not a solicitation for business, your post is acceptable.

It is not uncommon for audio engineering students to be required to do projects like these in order to complete their courses. We are here to help those who are just starting out, and to all learn from each other.

You might have some trouble getting files from engineers who are working with clients that might be a bit hesitant to let their projects go out to someone they don't know; there's an ethical boundary that engineers need to adhere to, to protect their clients and to do what the client wants... there's a certain element of trust between pro engineers and their clients, that the songs won't end up being released to the outside world unless the client okays it.

That being said, I might have a track or two of my own lying around that hasn't been mastered, and which hasn't had any serious amounts of limiting during the mix on the 2-Bus, either, although you're always likely to get some mixes with a few db of limiting added for "glue".
Any files I would send you would already be protected by international copyright, so I'm not hesitant about it, although any use of the material other than its intended use would be a no-no; meaning you can use it for your course, and whatever that would entail to get your grade on the project exam, but not for any other purpose... you can't upload it to youtube and make your own video and call it your own. (I'm sure you're already aware of this but I needed to mention it anyway).

Let me take a look and see what I can find. Anything I would give you would be at an RMS/LUFS of around -18db to -20db or so, and the dynamic range would be extensive; while that's the preference of most M.E.'s, because it gives them lots of room in which to work, it might not be what you are after.

In the meantime, you need to tell us what delivery method you want to use for candidates to get you the files; as you know, 44/24 .wavs are much larger in size than MP3's are - assuming that you'd want the highest res .wav files to work from, so they aren't something you can attach to an email. DropBox might be a good option, you'd need to provide info for your account on where the files could be uploaded. Or, if you are planning on using an FTP, you need to provide the proper link/URL for that, along with any user names or passwords required to get the files in for transfer.

Provide all the details you can: Format, SR/BR, time limitations, if there are fades involved, do you want to handle them as part of your class criteria, or do you want the mixes as they are intended to sound in final form. Also, upload info, RMS/LUFS, etc.

The more info you can provide, the less hassle it will be for all parties involved.

-d.

David Beatty, post: 435749, member: 49713 wrote: It would be a big help for me as i am struggling to find any that have not been limited.

Donny has given you good advice there, but I would like to clear up one point. When you say "limited", are you talking about hard limiting (as used, for example, in radio broadcasts) or are you covering general compression, where signals above a threshold value are reduced in amplitude but still have recognisable dynamics? Limiting is a special case of compression.

I have a couple of unmastered mixes from a cover band I recorded a few years back. In fact it be fun to hear your take on it, as I put an ssl bus compression pluggin, and an l2 on the 'mastered' version. They're cover songs so stealing them isn't gonna make anyone famous lol

Boswell, post: 435764, member: 29034 wrote: Donny has given you good advice there, but I would like to clear up one point. When you say "limited", are you talking about hard limiting (as used, for example, in radio broadcasts) or are you covering general compression, where signals above a threshold value are reduced in amplitude but still have recognisable dynamics? Limiting is a special case of compression.

Spot-on ( as usual) Bos ... I was assuming that he meant that he didn't want to use commercially released recordings that had already been mastered and likely limited to commercial RMS levels. I probably shouldn't have done that, LOL.

I'll wait for the OP to return here and answer the replies he's received thus far. I'm not gonna take the time to go digging through my files to find anything for him until he comes back. ;)

d.

Hello and thank you for the warm welcome and advice :) This would all be entirely confidential and much appreciated. -18 - -20 luffs would be perfect, but it does not have to be. Im fine with different sample rates but could you please send me files that are 24 bit wavs? Im after full res files that have not been hard limited, I am fine with some master bus compression however i would prefer it without.

My deadline is in around 2 months, and i will need around 15 - 20 mins of material so send whatever your willing to. I don't mind what they are or who they are from, anyone that see's this feel free to send them, I am unlikely to do more than the 15-20 mins however. I will be doing fades, so its preferable to have the full tails on the end of songs and such, but not required. Im unsure what SR/BR is, but is there any more information you need me to provide?

Once again thank you, this will be a big help for me, and I am sure you will be satisfied with the results. I after they are mastered I will we transfer, or drop box it back to you in around 2 - 3 months. If you send me some files make sure to email me so i know who to send the mastered fils back to.

Here is a dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/request/o3oDeV1vD0Nijm0AuoG3
If this does not work perhaps you could use we transfer? Here is my email - davidbeattyaudio@gmail.com

Cheers

David

I'm not exactly sure if mine are 24 bit. I'm pretty sure they are because they are in the mix file not the mastered one.

These would be too big to email, so I'll try Dropbox. I don't have a computer set up yet, so I'll try it with my iPhone.

Also mine are only 2 1/2 min songs because the band was just doing a quick demo to get gigs and didn't do the whole song.

I'm also not sure if they are -18 but I would imagine they are somewhere in the -12-10 range as I did t mix real hot. They probably don't have any bus compression, or very little (1-3db) of i remember I used the ssl bus comp and l2 at the mastering phase. Sorry I'm vague here but my memory from a few years ago is quite blurry on some things.

I sent 3 over Dropbox. The other 2 were having errors, they might be to big to for my phone to transfer, or maybe it's just a bandwidth issue. I'll try another time but those should get you started at least. 3 tracks by the same band, covers, recorded live at traid recording, in 2013. Vocals overdubbed. Mixed in digital performer in about 15 hours for the 5 tunes.

Let me know if you got them. It'd also be cool to hear some of your progress/rough drafts.