The track, bus, and pre-dub counts are starting to add up, but using Audition 3.0.1 on a quad core with 24 GB of RAM doesn’t slow it down, even with heavy use of effects and VST/DirectX plug-ins.

The next pass will be strings…that is to say, I will be adding some incidental strings along with a solo.  I will probably go with the baritone violin, since I need something edgy and harsh to punch through.  The fog of war (“density”) of this track is already starting to get into the 90th percentile.

Let me know what you think.

Once this track is finished, I will post it in its entirety, along with a podcast of me walking you through how it came to be, and “breaking down” what individual elements have gone into making the final product.

Echoplex LP (Front)

Heavily modified vocals in Melodyne, a pounding breakbeat, and speaker-bending textures and sound design.  My typical NIN remix.

Start to finish, this remix took about three weeks to take shape, and is the largest project I’ve ever worked on to date (in terms of track/bus count).  I did my usual workflow on this one: sequence the parts in Live, fix & manipulate the vocals in Melodyne, then mix, tinker, and master in Audition.

Ultimately, it came down to 42 individual tracks routed through 10 busses.  When it was “stemmed” out to let other remixers remix my remix, the smallest stem count I could get was 30, plus the vocal comp.  Suffice to say, this was an enormous project.  As usual, even with an absolute murder of Waves plug-ins, reverb sends/returns, sidechain compressors, and the overall size, Audition never flinched.  The final master was done with the L2.

Echoplex LP (Back)

If you really want to geek out, here’s a list of the stems:  synth-o-plex, fuzzy synth, bass digs, super funky bass, bass strikes down, bass stabs with echo, female soprano vocals, guitar swells, female solo vocals, piano ostenato, storm drum, hats 1, hats 2, hats 3, misc percussion 1, misc percussion 2, 18 violions and 10 violas, piano through guitar rig, cymbal splashes, cymbal crescendos, bass drum and kicks, snare 1, share 2, stomped drum kit, clean piano ender, funky guitar, piano riffs and loops, vocal comp dry, vocal comp main, vocal comp echo only, vocal comp harmony only.

That should give you a good idea how much crap is going on in this remix.  Download these FLAC files at will below, and share if you like.  Just bear in mind the Creative Commons License, which you can read at the footer of this and every page.  (You can also click the album art above for the full size for front/back, if you keep those as well).

Enjoy!

Track List:

1.  NIN – Echoplex (Grim Trigger’s Mercury Vapor Mix) [6:23, 38 MB]
2.  NIN – Echoplex (Grim Trigger’s Mercury Vapor Instrumental Mix) [6:23, 38 MB]
3.  NIN – Echoplex (Grim Trigger’s Mercury Vapor Radio Edit) [4:24, 28 MB]

There is the main version and a dub version.  The dub version, until now, has never been made available to the public.  Now, after being asked to remaster both, I’m allowed and excited to offer them to the public.  There’s little in terms of “story” behind this remix beyond a dozen hours sitting in front of a wide screen monitor in 2006 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The first master back then didn’t pass the “Jeep test”, and it took a few days to get the first version finalized.

Both remasters I completed today in about 3 hours.  I’ve gotten better at mastering over the years.  (It helps to have studio monitors and no distractions.)

I have uploaded FLAC versions, and you’re welcome to download a copy for yourself via the Creative Commons License mentioned in the footer of this page.

Track Listing:

1. NIN – Only (Grim Trigger’s Halfway To Andromeda Mix) [10:48, 70 MB]
2. NIN – Only (Grim Trigger’s Halfway To Andromeda Dub Mix) [10:48, 68 MB]

How confident are you that it can maintain sonic integrity when there are infrasonic standing waves under massive subwoofer-only bass drones stacked on top of low-midrange textures?  Do you think it will sound good or just distort like crap?

Let’s find out!

Mackie MR-8

Here is some random sound design I have done today out of boredom.  It’s about four minutes worth, and it’s designed to push sound systems to their limits.  I designed these sounds in Absynth 4 and Omnisphere to calibrate my studio reference monitors and their bass response, but I’ve re-purposed it as a challenge.

If you’re a real audiophile, grab the FLAC version, burn it to a CD or whatever, and play it on your best sound system as loud as you can without breaking it.  Tell me if your subwoofer could take the punishment and if your other speakers put out anything but distortion during more than half of the demonstration.

My sound system (Mackie MR-8 studio reference monitors) can handle it.  The ice in my drink next to the speaker vibrated and made an interesting noise, but they correctly reproduced it (i.e., no distortion).  I’m interested to “hear” your results.  There’s the 320Kbps MP3 below, but grab the FLAC file as mentioned earlier for true sonic integrity.

At the very least, you’re about to find out what your subwoofer can do (and quite possible the resonant frequency of the room you listen in).

Notes: I don’t recommend playing this if you live in an apartment or have close neighbors, as the infrasonic bass YOU can’t hear they most likely WILL.  Also, do NOT listen to this with headphones.  It will only give you tired ears and probably a headache.