Remixing. How do you do it?

[Flinckie]

I've been fooling around with FL Studio 10 for about a month now, and I finally decided to try and get something done. I started wondering; when you do a remix, do you download the song and modify it, or do you simply listen to it and build a new version of it from the ground up?

I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to replace certain elements of a song with another, since it's all in just one audio file, so I went with the latter option. Then I figured out that I need the vocals in a separate file. I tried to isolate them, but nothing worked well enough.

I've watched tutorials and I've searched this website. I don't know if I'm overlooking some really obvious method, but I've hit a dead end as to what I can do on my own.

[Freewave]

Well there's TWO methods there's a remix and a re-edit.

If you're taking a full track and editing it (relooping, adding on top, extending) its a re-edit. There's certainly nothing wrong with re-edits but they aren't widely done and they don't add as much variety as a remix can.

For a remix you'll need one of several things to make them easier to do.

A midi file can have all the notes of the different instruments that were used but won't have any of the effects, automation, samples, or vst's assigned but they make it a great starting place for any remix. You would open one up and start assigning a good choice of vst's so they can sound good and different.

If you both use Fl studio you could use an flp project file and keep any assigned vsts's or automation the same. which is a step up from starting with a midi file.

Stems is a term for the isolated tracks from a track. So lead synth1, synth2, pad1, drums, etc in wavs or hq mp3 can be given by the original artist. These work great in combination with a midi or a project file. So you could keep a guitar or synth the same but change everything around it.

I use ACID a lot for changing tempos of stems as it does a good job of keeping the pitch but changing to a new tempo so you can change a 124 bpm house track to a 132 trance track.

There's a lot of different reason to remix a track but have a clear concept before you start. Making a club mix of a track is something I've done to a few people's tracks that were too short and weren't dj friendly (missing lead in and lead out's that are essential for mixing in a dj set), made orchestral or rock pieces into dance tracks, ponified a few songs with samples when i though they could use them, and done style changes (making something more uptempo or more downtempo), genre changes (house to trance, etc), or expanded a track concept to where it was addressing something bigger or different. So I think part of what you'll want to do if you decide to remix a track is get an idea WHAT you want that track to be.

You can find something on the sharing is magic ready to go you that might hold interest or you can likely contact an artist and they'll get you a midi, flp, or stems of a track you'd liek to try. I will say that doing a 2nd remix of a track that's never been remixed before is a better idea than the 20th remix of Rainbow Factory as you'll have a lot more freedom not to retread on what's been done before and people may be more inclined to listen.

[natsukashi]

I do re-edits. So I just take the whole goddamn mp3 and slap shit on it and chop that bastard up.

[Freewave]

yeah i think re-edits and stems can be underutilized tbh. there's nothing wrong with not doing massive changes and keeping a lot of what you see is good and trimming off and rearranging what you don't like as much. the 20% cooler method of remixing i call it.

[Sugarholik]

I was going to write something but I wasn't fast enough...
But the problem at hand:
Isolating vocals is based on extracting center panned audio from a song. That's where the vocals mostly are. Everything else tends to be panned a bit left or right. However, this will never give you perfectly clean vocals. Mostly you end up having bass in there too which can be filtered of course, but sometimes it's completely impossible to isolate vocals decently.

So... How can we do it?
For pony acapellas (vocal only) you can go to 'Sharing Is Magic' forum. All the acapellas from the show should be there.
If you're going for something else you can try googling, or http://www.acapellas4u.co.uk/ or try using Kn0ckout VST plugin.