HOW TO... create a mash up?

[makesmiles]

Hey guys, I've been creating mixes since December 2010 now (couple months) and I feel like it might be time that I expand my creative horizons. I know my stuff, imo, so you guys don't hafta talk like i'm a noob

I feel like I might be ready to make a mash up... just need a couple pointers in the right direction.

I guess what I'm asking is does anybody know a good website with a tut. for mash ups or is anybody able to give me some tips and pointers from their own experiences.

If I take the acapella of a song and then play that against a track with no lyrics would that be considered a mash up? Of course I wouldn't just be playing the two together and let it run the whole way through.

I'm thinking cue point juggling and sampler are important for a mash up?

Any help is appreciated!

[tyfurious]

Follow the tuts Ean posted on his YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/eangolden

Practice some of the routines he did and gave instructions on, then take what you learned to develop your own style of mashups.

[makesmiles]

Follow the tuts Ean posted on his YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/eangolden

Practice some of the routines he did and gave instructions on, then take what you learned to develop your own style of mashups.

Not sure if I'm blind or not, but which tutorials are you talking about specifically?

[B-Naut]

I usually get my inspiration for mashups by listening to DJs who are known for it and reverse-engineer what it sounded like they did. Of course, never copy exactly what they mixed, but pay more attention to how they mixed the tracks together. Some techniques are more obvious than others.

Some of the DJs I have tried this with include:

1. DJ Z-Trip
2. Lobsterdust
3. A+D (and anybody on their monthly Top 10 on BootieBlogUSA)
4. GirlTalk
5. WaxAudio

I would start with some mismatched instrumentals and accapellas, otherwise called an "A+B mashup". www.acapellas4u.co.uk is a good resource for vocals. A good example of this is "Sad But Superstitious" by WaxAudio which is "Sad But True" by Metallica vs. an accapella of "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. In this example, a loop of the Metallica intro is used with the horn section from Stevie to create the beginning, then the Metallica intro is looped to provide background for Stevie. The rest seems to fall in place from there for the exception of a few extra samples here and there.

Lobsterdust has great pre-produced multi-mashes - mashups of 3 or more songs - to mix out at a live gig later. A great example is his "United States of Pop" versions 1 and 2. Each version takes 14+ pop hits from that year and crams them into 4 minutes or less.

Z-Trip is a better example of live mashups. Google him to grab a copy of any of his mixes on his website.


That should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Wanna know more? Feel free to ask or message me.

[looneygeorge]

You should start out simple with lyrics over a track or the famous "Seven nation army" intro by White Stripes :-)

Just cue juggle around and get comfy, and soon you'll learn techniques to use with other songs!

[makesmiles]

I usually get my inspiration for mashups by listening to DJs who are known for it and reverse-engineer what it sounded like they did. Of course, never copy exactly what they mixed, but pay more attention to how they mixed the tracks together. Some techniques are more obvious than others.

Some of the DJs I have tried this with include:

1. DJ Z-Trip
2. Lobsterdust
3. A+D (and anybody on their monthly Top 10 on BootieBlogUSA)
4. GirlTalk
5. WaxAudio

I would start with some mismatched instrumentals and accapellas, otherwise called an "A+B mashup". www.acapellas4u.co.uk is a good resource for vocals. A good example of this is "Sad But Superstitious" by WaxAudio which is "Sad But True" by Metallica vs. an accapella of "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. In this example, a loop of the Metallica intro is used with the horn section from Stevie to create the beginning, then the Metallica intro is looped to provide background for Stevie. The rest seems to fall in place from there for the exception of a few extra samples here and there.

Lobsterdust has great pre-produced multi-mashes - mashups of 3 or more songs - to mix out at a live gig later. A great example is his "United States of Pop" versions 1 and 2. Each version takes 14+ pop hits from that year and crams them into 4 minutes or less.

Z-Trip is a better example of live mashups. Google him to grab a copy of any of his mixes on his website.


That should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Wanna know more? Feel free to ask or message me.

Wow, you just made my Sunday that much better.

Just went above and beyond in my books. Thanks so much, be expecting some inboxing from me in the near future!

Have a great day!

[makesmiles]

You should start out simple with lyrics over a track or the famous "Seven nation army" intro by White Stripes :-)

Just cue juggle around and get comfy, and soon you'll learn techniques to use with other songs!

Thanks for the track suggestion! Will try this out for sure!

[djchriswoods.co.uk]

here is a mashup i did last year, i used both the original and instrumental versions of Yeah, and added other acapellas

[IznremiX]

I do a lot of live mash ups. One thing ive been messing around with lately is taking house remixes of songs and then mashing em up with other house tracks > . >. Remember harmonic mixing is your friend, and try to stay away from mashing up 2 top 40 tracks, it almost always sounds like ass and tends to ruin both tracks (imo anyways).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB2VfTZHm4E

[makesmiles]

Great stuff from everybody! I feel like I'm really gonna be able to have something to shoot for other than my mixing skills now.

You guys have been a seriously huge help.

For anybody else who has been using this thread as a way to gain some knowledge in their own mash up skills... I also found these 2 videos done by a guy on youtube to be really helpful.

Part 1 is a short explanation. Part 2 is his mashup. They're both really well done. He's got great vids for any beginners. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLkfj5Ixn44