Commodore Remix

How long on average does it take you to produce a remix?
For me the first c64 remix that I did (Amaurote) took about two days. It was a simple piece to do and my skills were limited then. These days I can take anything from two weeks to a month depending on the complexity of the original sid. I tend to find any WIP's that are longer than a month's work and I get bored with it and started thinking of other remix ideas to do. The one I'm doing now I had the idea way back in June but have just started putting parts together now.

It can take from 1 day to a few years for me

It all depends on as you said complexity and finding the right sounds and if I want to do a stright cover of the sid/mod in my sence (Hardcopy) or a wierd sounding reeemix

And for me doing a remix is much like when I will try to draw a picture I have in my head and draw a line on the paper, the picture is gone and all I see is the line.
Remixing is the same, I hear in my head how the remix should sound like and ones I start playing on the keyboard the remix is gone and all I hear is the one I play

Well... if I ever finish them, It is always because I don't loose interrest before they are finished, and to loose interrest is very frequent with me unfortunately, so they HAVE to be done in max 3 days or they're usualy history

reply to Razmo:
When I decide on a remix that I want to do I commit myself to it until completion. If it takes an hour or even a year then that is my goal and i'm focused on it. I start no other remixes during that time.
Reply to trace:
I have a vague idea of what I want it to sound like - the style if you will but it's not until I start putting it all together that the remix is fully realised. Sometimes it suprises me what works and I think it's those nice surprises that makes the challange of remixing so fun!

I usually go on a all-night frenzy when I first start making a tune, and then I'll revisit it in short periods later. Then I let it sit for a few weeks/months, just listening to it every once in a while. Then I usually make small modifications, and call it done. At least this is how I've been doing it for the last year or so.

Pretty much the same as mordi for me.. inspiration hits i end up doing a 1:1 version of it and then go back and deconstruct/reconstruct over time to see what comes out the other end.

Sometimes It fails and I throw it into the ether sometimes it doesnt and I throw it at you lot ^^

trace wrote: I hear in my head how the remix should sound like and ones I start playing on the keyboard the remix is gone and all I hear is the one I play

That's exactly what happens to me.

I usually have a couple of projects, both audio and visual on the go at the same time. I jump in between them to give myself a break from one or the other.

The length of time is a different matter, I'm learning as I'm going a long and refining as I go along, and lot of re-doing things, and then add to that, real life gets in the way of long working hours.

Doddsy wrote:reply to Razmo:
When I decide on a remix that I want to do I commit myself to it until completion. If it takes an hour or even a year then that is my goal and i'm focused on it. I start no other remixes during that time.
Reply to trace:
I have a vague idea of what I want it to sound like - the style if you will but it's not until I start putting it all together that the remix is fully realised. Sometimes it suprises me what works and I think it's those nice surprises that makes the challange of remixing so fun!

Wish I could do the same... I really do... but my ADHD keep me from realising it, so I've learned to live with it

Same as Analog for me, have a few different 'testers' on the go, usually just practice tracks too ( the first few bars even ). No meat just a few chords and the style. I'm not good enough to approach the tune any other way. eventually I'll hear a SID tune that gives me that "ahaaaa' moment, but until i do i very rarely sit down and purposely write a track. I do find myself butchering parts from one tester to use in another though.. ( seeing as I've only done 2 actual remixes does it count heh )

I like the idea Trace's '20 minute challenge' though. Could benefit many of us by changing our habits? Anyone up for a monthly challenge along these lines?

AndyUK wrote: I like the idea Trace's '20 minute challenge' though. Could benefit many of us by changing our habits? Anyone up for a monthly challenge along these lines?

yeah why not set up a challenge to name a sid that is not too complex and have only 20 mins to do
a remix. nothing fancy just too see what you can do in that time.
it can be fun and will be fun to hear different take on the sid

A remix in 20minutes eh? Looks like you could do with one of these. Or even the hardware version that Vangelis uses!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDZUUOKu ... ure=relmfu

Doddsy wrote:A remix in 20minutes eh? Looks like you could do with one of these. Or even the hardware version that Vangelis uses!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDZUUOKu ... ure=relmfu

Cool thing

I don't mean a full lenght remix, just to see how much one could do in that time
If it only would be like the bassline from a sid with a really groovy bass sound

Then maybe merge them all together to one full remix

Monthly challenge I think would be a good way to stir some action in these forums.

A couple of the 3D Rendering I frequent have monthly challenges and then they get voted on by the members.

From the submissions you pick 3 artists and you give them points like this.

For example, lets say Mordi, Infamous and Trace submitted to the challenge.

and I voted something like this
1st Pick - 3 Points - Infamous
2nd Pick - 2 points - Mordi
3rd pick - 1 point - Trace

Razmo Votes
1st Pick - 3 Points - Infamous
2nd Pick - 2 points - Mordi
3rd pick - 1 point - Trace

We take all the votes and tally them up

Infamous: 6 Points
Mordi: 4 Points
Trace: 2 points

Monthly Challenge winners would be.
1st place: Infamous
2nd Place: Mordi
3rd Place: Trace

So for a month the above 3 names would have virtual Cups or awards, and next month we do it again.

For standalone tracks, it's usually a couple of hours. If the themes need some practice, a couple of days. The rakBIT album was a couple of months. The next one will be a couple of weeks. You see, couples everywhere

I need a couple of evenings, but I usually only can finish a remix on a weekend. For the basic structure a couple of hours, for the finetuning including the mastering another couple of hours, the revisiting will take place a couple of days later as well as the mastering. Especially the mastering takes some time, because I want to make the tune sound listenable on every equipment, whether on hifi-equipment, iPod, car radio or others. And I also need some time for the text, because I want to keep it as simple as possible but on-topic as well. If I decide to rap, then it naturally takes a little bit longer.