About six months ago I posted to let people know about an on-line library of free multitrack downloads I'd put together for people use for mixing practice. Since then, there've been quite a few developments, so I figured it might be time to post an update, so here's a quick summary of where things are:
There are now more 50 projects listed, covering a wide range of musical styles -- including more than 20 of the songs I've remixed for the 'Mix Rescue' column.
Almost all the projects are now provided in full-length versions -- previously most of the projects were only 30-second excerpts on account of web-space restrictions.
All of the files are in uncompressed WAV format at 44.1kHz, without any mix processing or effects -- just the raw multitracks, in other words.
There are MP3 previews provided alongside each listing so that you can get an idea of what to expect before downloading.
Many thanks again to everyone who's contributed to this resource. I'm continuing to add further projects on a rolling basis (so far about five a month), and further contributions/links are always welcome. Have fun with them!
Just a quick heads-up to say that the raw multitracks for October 2011's Mix Rescue are now available if you fancy trying your hand at a remix of your own. Here's the link:
Thought it was worth posting another update here, because there's been another big increase in the number of multitracks listed -- we're up to about 85 full-length multitrack projects now! These include:
The November issue's Mix Rescue candidate, a song called 'Run Run Run' by the roots reggae band Arise.
Also, if you want to stay up to date with continuing additions to the library, but don't fancy keeping your eye on this thread, I've also set up a dedicated mailing list for this purpose.
No rules broken, I don't think, and that whole forum is quite a good resource for multitracks -- www.mixoff.org is also a good one, and more genre-neutral. The main problem I have with surfing either of those forums for multitracks is that the download links so often seem to be broken or timed out, and even when they're live they're often hosted on sendspace or megaupload so the download takes ages. This is why I often approach people who post stuff for mixoffs about hosting their tracks more permanently on my site -- in fact, two of the metal multitracks in my listings were originally ultimate metal mixoffs. We're still a bit low on metal productions, so it might be time for me to do another trawl there!
your absolutely right regarding the reliability of the downloads. The guys on there try to encourage everyone to use Dropbox, but yeah, some of the older stuff can have dead links etc.
The other issue is the technical ability of the musicians. Some of the tracks realistically would need parts re-recording. The 2 you have uploaded here where very popular on the ultimate metal forum, and where good quality recordings.
Thanks again for putting this together. Its great for those of us that don't have bands to work with at the minute.