Contests
REMIX CONTEST 2007 IS OVER: Remix entries sent in my December 31, 2007 are now listed on our blog. We’re no longer accepting submissions for this contest, but we’ll have more in 2008. Thanks to everyone who entered. We announced the winners of Editor’s Choice and the random draw on IHR #53 in January 2008. The Listener’s Choice winner will come in February.
At Inside Home Recording, Paul and Derek have a great time giving stuff away—and trying to think of interesting contests for listeners to enter. We’ve got a great one for the end of 2007. The latest IHR contest is…
Prizes
We have a ton of great prizes for this year’s giveaway, with more being added all the time. As of October 31, 2007, prizes include:
Samson G-Track USB mic/interface
Samson’s G-Track is the world’s first USB condenser microphone with a built-in audio interface and mixer, allowing simultaneous input of vocals and guitar, bass, or keyboard while also providing monitoring through an on board headphone output. Paul reviewed the G-Track (with an extra note) on IHR #46. Thanks to Samson for offering this mic as a giveaway, worth $200. (Sorry, shockmount not included!)
Zoom G2.1 guitar effects pedal/interface
Derek reviewed the Zoom G2.1u guitar effects box with expression pedal and USB interface back on IHR #45. Not only does it provide high-quality amp modeling and effects (as well as Zoom’s famed noise reduction) that can plug into an amp or PA system, it also acts as a USB interface to your computer. We certainly appreciate Zoom letting us give an IHR listener this tough and versatile unit, worth $280.
Digital Redux 5-DVD sample library set
NEW! Our latest prize sponsor is Digital Redux, a new, up-and-coming sample library company. The winner of this prize gets not just one, but five high-quality sample library DVDs direct from Digital Redux: Hip Hop Hotness, D&B 4 The Headz, Properly Chilled, Hacienda House, and ElectroTech, worth $200 total. Every disc contains AIFF, ACID WAV, WAV, STYLUS REMIX, REX2, and REASON REFILL formats, usable with any modern sampler, sequencer, or digital audio workstation software.
Shure E2C in-ear monitor headphones
One of the best replacements for generic MP3 player earbuds is a set of isolating, quality-sound in-ear monitors like Shure’s E2C set. Worth $110, these single-driver earphones fit snugly and comfortably in your ears (they include a wide range of rubber, foam, and silicone eartips to get the best fit), block sound leakage both in and out (great for the studio, stage, bus, or plane), and provide great sound for the money. We liked them so much that Doug, Paul, and I each bought a set too, as well as the ones we’re giving away in this contest.
More to come…
We’re talking to other manufacturers and distributors of audio gear and software about more prizes for this giveaway, so keep an eye here and on our home page for the latest.
The Great 2007 Year-End Remix Giveaway!
This year, we’re asking IHR listeners to remix a song from recording artist Boris Aeven. There will be at least two prize winners (maybe more, depending on how many prizes we can get together): one picked by Boris, with help from Derek and Paul, as his favourite; and one picked randomly from all entries. The deadline to enter this year’s big giveaway is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 31, 2007. Here are the details on how to enter.
1. Download the multitracks and rough mix MP3 files
Boris Aeven, an independent recording artist who’s appeared on IHR twice before (on episodes 2 and 26), records his original solo compositions both in his home and in tiny cruise-ship cabins (he works on the ships as an entertainer).
He’s kindly let us put up tracks for his song “And We Move On”—both his rough mix and the individual instrument and vocal tracks—for you to download. We’re asking you to grab them, remix them any way you like, and then send in your best remixes to enter the giveaway.
NOTE: Choose either the full archive or download each track individually. For the MP3 files, you should right-click (Windows) or ctrl-click (Mac) and choose “Save As…” or “Download…” to get them to your computer. The zip file should download (and maybe even unzip) automatically. Here are the files.
FULL FILE ARCHIVE: The zip archive contains all the MP3 files below, including the rough mix and all multitracks:
- Boris_Aeven-AndWeMoveOn.zip (34 MB zip archive)
——OR——
INDIVIDUAL MP3 FILES: Each MP3 file is about 5 MB in size:
- BA-And_We_Move_On-Rough_Mix (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Bass (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Drums (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Electric_Piano (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Guitar_12-String (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Guitar_Acoustic (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Guitar_FX (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Guitar_Sample_Bits (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Strings (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Vocal_Harmony (256 kbps MP3)
- BA-Vocal_Lead (256 kbps MP3)
2. Go remix crazy!
Remix the song however you like. Add tracks, remove tracks, duplicate sounds, slice-and-dice, reprocess, make it longer or shorter, or turn “And We Move On” into a techno dance tune, a country number, a moody instrumental, a swingin’ big-band jazz performance, or whatever you prefer.
Depending on which DAW software you use, you may be able to import the MP3 files (which we used to save bandwidth) straight in, or you may need to convert them to WAV or AIFF format first. If you want a quick batch conversion and only need 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio, iTunes will do the job. For higher bitrates, try the free Audacity sound editor or another program of your choice.
IMPORTANT RULES: Feel free to add your own sounds or royalty-free samples and loops, but please don’t use commercial copyrighted samples in your remix—we’re not authorized by record companies to play those, no matter how short they are. (Sorry, no John Bonham or Dave Grohl drums!) Also, while your remix work is your own, the song remains Boris’s composition and recording. By entering the contest, you’re authorizing people to download, listen to, and share your remixes. For the winners, your prizes will be your only compensation—Boris might like to put the remix on an album someday (with credit to you, of course), and we’d rather avoid things getting all complicated. Okay?
3. Send us your remixes
We want high-quality compressed final-mix audio files from you, such as 128 kbps or better MP3 or AAC. Uncompressed or lossless formats like AIFF, WAV, FLAC, and Apple Lossless simply take up too much space for email or uploading. Yes, we know there will be some further degradation of the sound quality for true audiophiles, but we’ll live with that. Remember, the deadline is December 31, 2007.
The simplest way to send your remix in is an email your final audio file to contests {at} insidehomerecording {dot} com (replace the words in the email address with the appropriate characters—we write it weird like that to avoid spam, not that it’s helping much). Please tell us your name, the name you’ve given your remix, your city and country, and anything else about the remix you’d like to share. We’ll email you back within a day or two to confirm that we got the file. If you don’t hear from us, send a reminder via our contact form to make sure we got it.
——OR——
Some email providers might not like big attachments. Not to worry. If you’re running a Mac or Windows machine, you can upload your files to Derek’s .Mac Public folder. Simply connect to the public folder dkmiller using Apple’s Windows instructions, or by choosing Go > iDisk > Other User’s Public Folder from the menu bar in your Mac’s Finder. Then upload your file (please behave yourselves and don’t mess with any other files there). Also, don’t forget to email us or use the contact form with your name, city, etc. so we know you’ve sent it and can confirm everything.
——OR——
If neither of those options work for you, a service like You Send It might be of help. Make sure you email us or use the contact form separately, with your name, city, etc. so we know how you’ve sent your file and can confirm everything.
4. Discuss in the forums, and listen for updates and winners
We’ll post links to remixes as they come in, so you can listen to them, and we’ll also play excerpts on upcoming shows. Over in the forums, you can talk about remix techniques and ideas, or about the remixes you’ve already heard.
We’ll have regular updates on prizes, draw rules, and such on the home page and upcoming episodes, and we’ll draw the prizes on our first show in 2008. Unless prohibited where you live, this giveaway is open to anyone in the world. Have fun, and good luck.
REMIX CONTEST 2007 IS OVER: Remix entries sent in my December 31, 2007 are now listed on our blog. We’re no longer accepting submissions for this contest, but we’ll have more in 2008. Thanks to everyone who entered. We announced the winners of Editor’s Choice and the random draw on IHR #53 in January 2008. The Listener’s Choice winner will come in February.

