6400 -
I think this is the perfect place to have these defined.
1.
A dub, as defined by DevoManiac101, is "usually considered an instrumental but with more of an edge to it, for example ... in a dub mix of a song sometimes the song will be rearranged also parts of the lyrics will be added in..." For a little more information and history on this, ApolloZero was kind enough to post <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dub_music" target="blank">this</a> link for Wikipedia's definition of dub.
A remix is defined very nicely (รก la Wikipedia) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remix" target="blank">here</a>.
Compared with a dub version, an instrumental version of a song is, simply, the song without any vocals (or just the backing vocals in some cases).
Ambient is something which I've not encountered--aside from the Art of Noise album "The Ambient Collection," wherein the remixer just added sounds of chirping birds and babbling brooks between the songs.
2.
A 7" mix of a song is, usually, what was pressed for the radio stations to play. Oftentimes, these 7" versions were altered from what was available on an album so as to enhance their marketability.
A 12" mix is an extension of the 7" version, the album version, or a combination thereof.
3.
An official mix is something commissioned by the artist/producer and not, rather, a bootleg or DJ service mix (such as Razormaid or Ultimix).
4.
The remix name really has no definite boundaries. In the 80s, Dead or Alive named one of their remixes after a horse which was in their video. Other remix names were to differentiate the versions among the slew of others on the same 12". Nowadays, it seems as if the remix name is inclusive of the remixer/producer/software/whatever used to make the song.
5.
I don't know about Maxi vs. Multimix. However, I think that Multimix is/was the name of a remixing service (or, am I thinking of Ultimix?).
Here's hoping that I didn't flub much up. Hope this helps!
Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 12:06 pm