Well, wait! There is a lot here in the folder on my end. I'll upload it again. Maybe all this switching around caused and issue.

Hmm, as soon as I dropped it into Dropbox again, it looks to be the same size. I think thats what it is Don. As I recall, I did load them into Sequoia but they appeared empty too. Its another reason why I wanted my own drum tracks. John had the Snare , Kick and hats in there but toms didn't look to be in there.

Hope that helps explain things from my understanding. The drums are very straight forward. Adding your own might be better. As soon as I did , the track sound improved but I haven't been able to sync the song to them well. Which is where I'm at right now with it all. :)

Something I just discovered about with DropBox. If we use the invite method, and the files are larger than your amount, everyone needs the same space amount to play ( which is how they get you to sign up and/or buy more space yes?). If we use the public folder, "my account" I have 4.75 gig available. No one would need the same amount of space then correct? But then its out of control to the public.

Is this how you both understand how DB works?

Well all I have as far as the drum wav files is 3.
There were 9 files in the zip but like I said nothing there on 6 of them.
So I thought maybe something happened with the zip.
It's possible something at John's end.
I would like to have all the tracks before I try to do anything.
I don't know about the different DB sizes. But I have 2.5Gb and I only have 15% used according to DB and the bulk of that is 323Mb I'm sharing with my friend already.....so that doesn't seem like a problem.
The zip file you posted was only 76Mb so that shouldn't have filled any of our spaces.
I think your space size is how much you can upload and store but nothing to do with what someone else could download. Don't forget you can take any file you've uploaded and then send anyone the public link and they don't need a DB account.
It's only the shared private folders that each member would need an account.

3 full tracks was the same for me Don,

The rest of the tracks are pretty large, especially at 24/96, and there are 30 of them. If John can zip them, we are clear sailing.

So far I've had to remove all my examples so I have room for this. And I can see how that isn't going to be a positive thing if we want some examples online of what we are all learning here over time.
Oh well, people snooze they loose! :tongue:

The "average" track wav for approx 4 minutes would not be larger than 50Mb each. Some will be much smaller and maybe a couple might be larger than that.
So 20 tracks would be approx 1Gb and 40 tracks would be about 2Gb.
That would be John's exported wav files, not the size of John's project folder which could easily be 4Gb with all the backups, undo, image and peak files he has in Cubase.
The other method to try is just drag each wav file into your dropbox folder.
Then I can tell you I have them and you can delete them and drag in a new set.
I don't think the zip makes much sense if your just doing 300-500Mb at a time.
And there's no reason to keep them on DB once we've downloaded them.

PS
I just shared 7 tracks of 6 minutes with my friend who also uses Cubase and the entire project folder was only 400Mb.

Each one of the .wav files of mine averages 130MB.

;)

;)

Zip is a good idea but I would have stayed with zip, not .rar. More stuff to install.

Don, John is on very slow upload. Had he not zipped it, way longer for him.

DJ: I rendered each drum track just by soloing it out (and killing any FX). I dont think there are any toms in this song! Might be some other blank tracks, too!

Lordie! What a waste of electrons!

duh

Thats OK...were all learning something...I know I am....I always say it's good to learn something new everyday...LOL
I just hope you don't mind my questions or get mad at my replies.
I have the guitars and drums and I'm hearing the song now....I'm singing the vocal to myself...haha
I also had to go get 7zip (which is a good program to have anyway) to extract the .rar file, but I'm all set for either type now.

[quote=JohnTodd, post: 387042]Each one of the .wav files of mine averages 130MB.

;)

;)

3 hours!!!...LOL
I'm sorry

Wow! I am doing cartwheels here right now. I just uninstalled and reinstalled my codemeter software because there were two older version I found that didn't get removed during an upgrade. Its the software key that authorizes my DAW's 64 bit system, and this thing is now running like a clock now! The drums are no longer out of time like they were. So John, it is not your system, it was mine having some weird clock issue with the midi and your tracks. I still see the other latency issues on the tracks but its not even close to a concern in respect to timing. I'm so sorry for thinking it was on your end but how could I know this would effect something like that. I'm so happy I found this and to tell you such good news. What ever it was is gone and everything is lining up.

You have much more to be happy about! I feel Like I just got a new mix of this!!

Don, it should be much tighter for you than what I was dealing with here all week. Who would even think this could cause something like that. wow,

I'm going to upload the same track that I finished a few days ago. Its so tight now.

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EDIT: Files removed , onto another mix fest.

I need to mix it better ( snar is a bit hot ) but I'm getting closer now. What do you think now?

and after a few mixes,

Crank it up! smoke

EDIT: Files removed , onto another mix fest.

Nice...I don't have any of those drums!...

And I don't have the main vocal!
Can someone dropbox that for me to download?!

How is the quality on the zipped tracks?

audiokid; glad you fixed it. I was straining my brain to figure it out over here. LOL!

Love mix 7! Everything except the fuzz guitar.

I'm re-upping the lead Vox into the JohnTodd folder.

I'll be out most of the day today. We've got band practice from 11AM-8PM. Also includes a free steak. Who could say no?

UPDATE:
Why didnt I u/l it to the Ill Be There folder? Because of a lack of coffee. Sorry.

djmukilteo, post: 387059 wrote: Nice...I don't have any of those drums!...

And I don't have the main vocal!
Can someone dropbox that for me to download?!

Don, the Drums on my mix, are mine.

audiokid, post: 387083 wrote: Don, the Drums on my mix, are mine.

OK I thought maybe that was the case.
I take it audiokid is using that drum MIDI track and replaced the sound samples with his own?

I still don't have your vocal track...

I have the VOX Partial...but I believe that is all the BGV?
Maybe audiokid has the main vocal track he can post if your busy?

Don, I removed John's drum tracks and wrote my own

Here are my final mix's prior to Mastering ( I think smoke ). You know how that goes...

1) using the A Designs Nail
2) using the Crane Song STC-8
3) using the STC-8 and the SPL Kultube on the 2-bus's

Original Version:

EDIT: Files removed , onto another mix fest.

STC is definitely clearer. Sounds like I could squeeze it a bit more with the STC to get is closer to the NAIL for a better comparison. I'll do that now...

Both are sweet...nice drums
I think I like the 8-Nail best..!

Do you have John's main vocal track?

Interesting, I was thinking about selling the STC-8 for a Bricasti but not sure now. Here it is sweetened up a bit and I added an SPL Kultube on the guitar bus.

EDIT: Files removed , onto another mix fest.

djmukilteo, post: 387090 wrote:

Do you have John's main vocal track?

I have it but its in Sequoia and has been altered. It won't line up. What a drag, you are just sitting there waiting eh. duh

Well no big deal...it's not coming along that well anyway...I can wait for John...no hurry.
It will give me time to sort things out better, but I would like to get the main vocal to get the whole feel of the song.
I have all these instrumental parts and dead spots, and I'm singing the lead vocal in my head. But once I get that in there it will probably make a lot more sense.

I don't have a lot of drums either, (kick, snare, hihat) so I might look at that drum MIDI track and see what that does. A few of those BGV tracks are so off I haven't even looked into them yet...as well as some other misc stuff.

Thirty tracks is more tracks than I've ever tried to mix...so it's taking a lot of time switching views ITB.
Too many to look at on one screen, but I'm learning more about mixing an actual song, which is why this is fun for me.

I don't have any good plugins other than Cubase presets, so I'm pretty limited there and not that knowledgeable on how to use most of them properly anyway...so it's all by ear, trial and error and what I think sounds good to me...LOL

There is no comparison to your mixes though...that's for sure! A mix off would pick your brilliant mix every time!.
Mine is very bland, muddy not very clear, but listening to yours helps me try to mimic you.

I found it, I think?!! Its uploading right now.

You are very kind, thank you! If you need any help, I'll help you as you go, okay? But maybe some in PM. We may use this for a mix contest if John approves.

djmukilteo, post: 387093 wrote: Well no big deal...it's not coming along that well anyway...I can wait for John...no hurry.
It will give me time to sort things out better, but I would like to get the main vocal to get the whole feel of the song.
I have all these instrumental parts and dead spots, and I'm singing the lead vocal in my head. But once I get that in there it will probably make a lot more sense.

I don't have a lot of drums either, (kick, snare, hihat) so I might look at that drum MIDI track and see what that does. A few of those BGV tracks are so off I haven't even looked into them yet...as well as some other misc stuff.

Thirty tracks is more tracks than I've ever tried to mix...so it's taking a lot of time switching views ITB.
Too many to look at on one screen, but I'm learning more about mixing an actual song, which is why this is fun for me.

I don't have any good plugins other than Cubase presets, so I'm pretty limited there and not that knowledgeable on how to use most of them properly anyway...so it's all by ear, trial and error and what I think sounds good to me...LOL

There is no comparison to your mixes though...that's for sure! A mix off would pick your brilliant mix every time!.
Mine is very bland, muddy not very clear, but listening to yours helps me try to mimic you.

Ya.. FUN!

The tracks are muddy and noisy, VOX are dark. I'm wondering how much better he would sound through an SM58. Definitely wouldn't hear the walls and ceiling as much and it would sound clearer too. The Nady ribbon helped tame the converter zzz but it definitely made the VOX sound like cotton.

IMHO, the sound is expected for any project studio. I can only imagine what John would sound like with better gear and a bit of help. The Lavry AD11 USB converter/pre-amp combo would be a killer combo for him. He only needs 2 tracks at a time. (Like many project studios). So many people invest in 8 channel gear that sounds like mud when they could invest in a great 2 channel system like the AD11 and ROCK! But its always a trade off. He also needs monitoring too so the FireStudio covers the essentials.

Never the less, It makes this damn fun and challenging and shows us how great someone can sound with pretty basic gear!

I'm not using much for plug-ins ( just the basics). Example: EQ/ HPF, Reverb, Delay and mild Compression > That's it. And then a few outboard goodies mentioned.

audiokid, post: 387094 wrote: I found it, I think?!! Its uploading right now.

Ok

OK...so be as brutal as you like....good, bad, ugly.....this is just the basic stuff I can do with what I have...!! Not all the tracks John provided are in here either...
I rendered this down to MP3 just to see how it sounded...there are two lead vocal parts that would be nice to fix. (pitchy). If I can find another line that I can replace them with I think I could fix that!

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OK, Back, What'd I miss?

:wink:

You have a ways to go. Its not an easy task.

I suggest 3 things to start with.

HPF
Remove the reverb until you get the tracks tight.
Remove the compression until you get the tracks tight.

and FWIW, although I have melodyne and love it ! I used no pitch correction for this.

JohnTodd, post: 387099 wrote: OK, Back, What'd I miss?

:wink:

Forget about us, how was the practice and steak! I haven't eaten today.

I just finished tweaking your tracks as of right now. So if you listend to them tem minutes ago, they are slightly refined. Next step is mastering.

Don is up next!

audiokid, post: 387102 wrote: You have a ways to go. Its not an easy task.

I suggest 3 things to start with.

HPF
Remove the reverb until you get the tracks tight.
Remove the compression until you get the tracks tight.

and FWIW, although I have melodyne and love it ! I used no pitch correction for this.

No it's not!...LOL
OK so HPF on...?...the vocals?....
I didn't use any pitch correction. I heard something in one of the vocals and checked it in Cubase pitch warp but it didn't fix what I heard so I didn't bother....
And I will take the reverb and compression off and try and tighten things up!
Take 23..

Create bus' for each group and leave them at zero for now. No effects.

Pan the Vox and bus them to your group.
Solo each vocal pair, track by track. HPF eack one until they aren't thick sounding. Then, while using your EQ ( hopefully you can adjust the curve to a notch filter, while boosting like 6 db, sweep across the lower mids and listen for all the low end that just sounds in your face and pull that out too with a good size curve so they sound natural. You will soon see a common area they are all hot around. Thus, the sound of the mic, room and proximity all part of the VOX sound. Imagine hearing John's speaking voice. Does it sound like him when you are done?

Adjust the levels until all the harmonies sound right.

Do the same for all the tracks.

Bass is pretty good as is, but HPF it a bit.

Once you have everything understandable, then you can start the whole process over but this time start mixing and comparing the tracks with the Bass and Guitars, drums etc until everything has its place. This song is mid and low mid heavy. Good for bass but not the rest of the tracks. Right now you have a lot of that going.

Hope that helps.

OK....I had a group bus for the drums, BGV, ACGtr and EGtr.
Bass, EGtrlead part and main vocal were all on there own tracks, so I don't know if those are OK or should be a group.
I'll do the HPF and EQ like you said ( i didn't get that far before) and work on that.
Might be a while to sort that all out.
Great tips...thanks.
See...you need a real ITB mixing guru who knows what there doing for a proper mix off!....LOL.

Okay, I'm done. Here is my Master: I know I know... I'm not a mastering Guy but I tried duh

EDIT: Files removed , onto another mix fest.

(Expired Link Removed)

Thanks John, you ROCK and it was right on sharing these tracks. Thank you thank you thank you!
----------------------------------------------

I pass the baton to Don!

Cheers!

audiokid: Sensational!

DJ: You are having some kind of sync-up issue. My vocals are not that far off. Sounds almost like an echo.

The steak was great! Rehearsal was great! I need ear plugs because my left ear came home 'soft'. Any recommends?

For the record, my voice is pitchy in this because I planned ahead to use autotune. I wanted the autotune pop sound, so I wasn't as worried about pitch. To me, my version sounds better on vocals because of that. But BT's version rocks on clarity, depth, punch, vibrance, and all the other ways it can rock!

"Sensational" I'm blushing, Thank you!

For future mix contest reference. What ever mix contest we have in the future, I will mix it first (not participate) as a testimonial that it can be done and that there are no problems that can't be overcome.

-------------

Re autotune: I have a version using autotune ( do you want to hear it?) I used the Cher effect. It sounded cool for what I did but out of place for the song. I actually like the Effect in some Pop music but in my best experience, songs without electronic flavors are best left organic.

Publishing: I've mentioned this before, don't let time pass you by. If I was planning to have my songs published, I would keep this song close to your original and definitely leave out the vocodor.
Get this published. I would contact various record companies publishing dept. A&R are always looking for fresh songs that fit their artists. The cream in this business is in the publishing. And that doesn't mean you still can't be a ROCK Star!

I'm hoping others might give me a run for my money here and do a better mix for you. I would take the best mix and save that for your future record/ publishing contract! Don't let time pass you by.

JohnTodd, post: 387149 wrote: audiokid: Sensational!

DJ: You are having some kind of sync-up issue. My vocals are not that far off. Sounds almost like an echo.

The steak was great! Rehearsal was great! I need ear plugs because my left ear came home 'soft'. Any recommends?

For the record, my voice is pitchy in this because I planned ahead to use autotune. I wanted the autotune pop sound, so I wasn't as worried about pitch. To me, my version sounds better on vocals because of that. But BT's version rocks on clarity, depth, punch, vibrance, and all the other ways it can rock!

Sorry John...I'm just not that good at doing this and my experience and system are marginal at best...but it was fun trying to have a go and thanks for posting your tracks and doing this. It's nice to do something and hear something rather than just talk about it.