Just getting started with the headaches I see.
Alright, first, lets dispose of some of the politics.
One major thing I learned was that everyone was going to have a different interpretation and taste for not only the song and direction to take it, but everyone is going to have an opinionated idea of how to handle the project. And the project originator/director/producer is guaranteed to have a headache trying to wrangle even a few participants into his idea of how the project should go, and how the song should go. Then some strong willed person is going to jump in and tell you how it should all be done, just as you are starting to iron things out. Absolute sure thing.
So the first thing I want to let you know is that any experience or opinion I share is just that. Take it for what its worth. I am not going to be "that guy."
Hurt feelings/stepping on toes: Its really not likely to be as big a problem as you fear. Your project, your song, your baby. As long as it was made clear up front that participation is for the purpose of learning/fun, its likely all going to be fine in that regard. And really, if anyone contributes and feels bad their content was cut, should be fine in knowing they learned something, got practice and interacted. If they still feel it was a loss they will know that doing this kind of thing doesn't suit them and pass on participating next time. I wouldn't worry about it at all.
BUT! I would suggest you let people have some free reign and play around with this thing a bit, be open minded about the contributions and allow that in the end, you get to choose whether to keep/use ANY of it. One problem I see here is that you are using a song that is a little too dear to you for a first attempt at this. And this is why in my attempt I used a generic backing track and said "hey, play along with it and see what you come up with." And my intent was that in the end we would have a collection of tracks to mix and match and create some crazy mixed up songs from it. Free for all! Just fun and learning right? Ouch. Immediately ran into issues, starting with synching/timing. First up to bat Mr ambitious redid the backing tracks, added his own tracks and added a change to the intro and in what seemed like 30 seconds flat, threw the whole thing out of whack. But it was a wonderful shot right out of the park. I just had to go rearrange the whole thing to fit together again.......
And that was just the start of the headaches.
So general suggestions to start with:
Forget MP3's. Doesnt work and I am not going to write a long paragraph on why. Just trust me, forget it.
Clear instructions- there are two tracks. If you are going to work on them,
make copies and work on them. Mute the original tracks if appropriate but otherwise
leave them be!
I am still not 100% sure, are you looking more for performance collaboration or mixing collaboration?
As you are discovering, collaboration as an open project creates more problems by at least ten fold. Its a great idea untill you run smack into the reality of it.
If looking to add performance/tracks, I would suggest that having people just drop stems as .wav files into a Dropbox folder eliminates tons of issues. Just one caveat: The track
must start at the beginning of the project so you can drag and drop it into the project with no timing issues. This eliminates much of the issues with plug ins to start with. If you really like something and want to peak under the hood, it would be easier to have them drop a small project with just that work, instead of an ever growing big project file.
Markus and anyone else affected by the compatibility of different versions:
This one is easy, I simply posted a copy of the backing tracks on soundcloud, where anyone with any version can download them and drag them into
any DAW as .wav files. The same thing happens if there is a folder of .wav stems in the Dropbox. And then anyone can post their demo of their idea into the Soundcloud group. In my case nearly no one did that, and I am still unsure why, but it is a really easy solution.
When you posted reaching out for mixing help. I read it and immediately began my chant: No Mark, you dont have time to consider it. Over and over.
But my other thoughts might give you some insight, so I will share them in that vein.
First, the only way I would consider it would go like this- You post or share your demo and a description of what your vision of the song/style etc. is, and then if I were interested, share with me only the raw stems, as recorded.
I have been mixing a lot of other peoples projects (as practice and learning tools) over the last 2 plus years, and the number one thing I have learned is that I have to have a certain amount of a good feeling for the project from the start. The fact that it takes listening over and over until I am sick of even the greatest songs means I will not bother with songs I don't get that feeling for upon first exposure. And also, hopefully I am getting to the point where I can work more on my own projects and ideas.
With time and practice you get more efficient and it goes faster, but it still takes me a long time and I frequently find I have to walk away from a project for a while, at least until I quit hearing it constantly in my head.
(Thank goodness) I don't do this for work or income, I don't know how people work in styles/genres they don't care for. I have broad and eclectic tastes, but If I had to mix EDM, Hip hop, rap, trance, whatever....... Even most Pop, or current music in general.......
I would literally rather mow the grass. This is something I do for fun. I just take my fun more seriously than some I think.
Is that all? I think thats all for the moment.
Play nice. Oh, and hand me the Banjo.
but that may have something to do with it...just saying. About to turn fifty this summer so it's time to get my ass in gear and this is almost like therapy for me.
