2024-APR-11 Info: Check out our current running games Mix Challenge 097 and Songwriting Competition 080.
MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Winners announced
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation
The more I mix, the more I realise the real skill is listening.
-
JeroenZuiderwijk
- Wild Card x2
- Posts: 122
- Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2022 01:09 CEST
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation
CPU friendly plugins: don't forget Jesusonic plugins that comes bundled with reaper but are also free to download. They look simple but are excellent tools for mixing.
-
Naturecord
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2020 18:34 CEST
- Location: Norway
- Contact:
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation
Hi everyone, I wanted to provide you with an update on our progress in listening to the mixes. Salige Syndere and I are nearing the completion of the mix review process, and we plan to meet early next week to compare our notes and make a final selection of the mixes that will advance to the next round.
The summer has been quite busy for both me and the band, with numerous festivals and gigs. Consequently, it has taken us some time to go through everything. However, I must say that we're thoroughly enjoying the process, and there is an abundance of fantastic mixes to explore!
Rest assured that we will promptly share the results once we have concluded our comparison. Your patience is greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I have some days off, so if you have any questions regarding the recording or the original mix, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my utmost to provide you with the best answers I can.
The summer has been quite busy for both me and the band, with numerous festivals and gigs. Consequently, it has taken us some time to go through everything. However, I must say that we're thoroughly enjoying the process, and there is an abundance of fantastic mixes to explore!
Rest assured that we will promptly share the results once we have concluded our comparison. Your patience is greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I have some days off, so if you have any questions regarding the recording or the original mix, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my utmost to provide you with the best answers I can.
Pål Isdahl Solberg
www.naturecord.no
www.naturecord.no
-
JeroenZuiderwijk
- Wild Card x2
- Posts: 122
- Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2022 01:09 CEST
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation
Hi Pål,Naturecord wrote: ↑Sat Jul 15, 2023 14:08 CESTHi everyone, I wanted to provide you with an update on our progress in listening to the mixes. Salige Syndere and I are nearing the completion of the mix review process, and we plan to meet early next week to compare our notes and make a final selection of the mixes that will advance to the next round.
The summer has been quite busy for both me and the band, with numerous festivals and gigs. Consequently, it has taken us some time to go through everything. However, I must say that we're thoroughly enjoying the process, and there is an abundance of fantastic mixes to explore!
Rest assured that we will promptly share the results once we have concluded our comparison. Your patience is greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I have some days off, so if you have any questions regarding the recording or the original mix, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my utmost to provide you with the best answers I can.
Thank you for the update. I know from personal experience (MC091) that being songprovider is not an easy task and takes a lot of your time. Being busy with the band is a good thing by the way :-) The tour sounds like a succes, thats great. Do you have material on youtube from your recent tour?
Cheers,
Jeroen
-
White Punk OD
- Posts: 252
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 23:58 CEST
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation
Regarding CPU overload, the fate of mixing engineers has wide variations.
There may be some instinct at work, in creating a mix structure, and sparing high-CPU plugins for where they are last resort.
41 vs 48 definitely exists.
But I did a hundred tracks at 48 with one or two freezes (which to compute takes 5-10 minutes each).
I use a big buffer size for mixing, and exclusive system audio access.
My ASUS TUF today is low average. But the system drive is quite fast solid state, where the mix projects are running.
the DAW is Tracktion 7 and Waveform 11. They have invested deeply into fast system code, like adding up tracks to buses, and compensating plugin latency, in an orderly way that works with AUX chains, "racks" etc.
It's not optimal for complex editing, and not for big recording projects.
But for mixing projects the size we see here, it works great. The marketing concept is for people that create music with synth plugins, and they offer some quite interesting synths.
-
Naturecord
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2020 18:34 CEST
- Location: Norway
- Contact:
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation
First and foremost, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who contributed to our recent mixing project. We've had the pleasure of listening to more than 70 unique mixes, and each one has brought something special to the table. Your creativity, technical expertise, and passion for music clearly shine through in your work.
We have an incredibly talented community out there, and witnessing such a display of skill and ingenuity has been truly inspiring. Each mix, with its own unique approach and sonic character, has provided invaluable insights into the limitless possibilities that lie within the realm of audio mixing.
In this post, we will provide constructive feedback on 15 selected mixes. Please bear in mind, our feedback is merely subjective and is intended to provide a different perspective, not to critique or diminish your efforts. Each of these mixes has its own strengths and showcases interesting choices from which we all can learn.
Let's continue to share, learn, and grow together as a community. Here's to many more collaborative projects in the future!
Special thanks to Mr. Fox for organizing this site. We know it involves a lot of work, but your efforts are greatly appreciated!
Me and Magnus from Salige Syndere has made the first selection, so without further ado, let's dive into the feedback...
Alex Van mixland: In general, the mix is nice and tight. The reverb on the main vocals seems a little too much, but the backing vocals have a nice reverb. The banjo is nicely isolated and the guitar could be brought forward. The fiddle fits nicely, but could use a dip at 12k. The drums are nicely placed, albeit with a bit too much overhead for my taste. The choir creates good chaos, and the accordion sounds okay. The bass could be more isolated and should gain a bit more low frequency to compete with the bass drum.
BenjiRage: In general, the mix is nice with just the right amount of reverb. The vocals sound good, and the banjo, with what sounds like smart parallel compression, is good too. The decision to duplicate the guitar track is smart. The fiddle sounds good, and the drums are dynamic and nice. The choir is great, and the accordion has a nice spread.
Christoph_K: The mix is very nice, maybe a bit too nice. The reverb is clean-sounding, and the vocals are nice, but perhaps a bit too clean, not gritty enough. The banjo is way too low - it should be more in your face. The fiddle should blend more with the banjo. Drums sound okay. The choir is nice and large. The accordion could be grittier. The bass is nicely balanced with the bass drum.
cpsmusi: In general, the mix is good. There's something strange at 1:28 in the vocals, and from there on, it's a bit high. The guitar could use some more low-end work. The fiddle sounds very good (maybe 2 dB down at 12k). The bass has a very good release.
DarlRarl: In general, the mix punches well. It could use more separation between instruments, and also a check on the stereo image. The main vocals are a bit anonymous. The banjo could be louder. There's too little guitar. The fiddle is well placed in the pan. The drums sound nice. The choir is good. The accordion is very good but could maybe come down 1 dB for a better blend. The bass is almost perfect.
DavidB: The mix is nice and transparent. The main vocals are a bit too far back and have some strange frequencies. The banjo could be more dynamically aligned with the fiddle. The guitar sound is nice. The fiddle is good, could be a little louder. The mix between the drum instruments ratio is nice. The choir and backing vocals could be louder. The bass could be more massive.
dstra: In general, it's a clean mix, and we enjoyed the reverb in the ending. The approach to the vocals is a bit different, but it punches through. The work on the guitar is admirable. The fiddle is a bit anonymous. The drums are nicely placed. The choir sounds good. The accordion has cool grit. The bass is good, but could use a tiny bit more top.
FixInTheMix: In general, the mix is very snappy and well aligned. We liked the length of the reverb. The vocals have a good low end and balance, and could benefit from some more saturation or presence. The banjo could pan more to the center and be automated when it carries fills. The guitar seems to be missing. The drums are snappy but a bit too loud for the rest of the instruments. The accordion sounds good and gritty, but there are some missing frequencies in the bass.
MartialFromentin: The mix is okay, but could use more separation. It seems a little wet. The vocals sound good with the right amount of grit and nice tube saturation. The banjo could be more present. The guitar disappears behind the drums. The fiddle seems like it's not laying in the right place in the mix. The drums seem very mushed together. The accordion sounds good with nice grit. The bass could use a bit more compression and makeup gain.
monjeco: In general, the mix is good but could use more automation on fiddle/banjo. It's commendable that you kept it dry. The main vocals are well-treated, but the backing vocals could use more work. The banjo is a bit low and could use some grit/saturation. The guitar placement is good. The fiddle is a little low and could use some saturation. The bass drum could be more and the snare less. The choir is low, and the accordion seems to be missing.
O'MIX: The mix is nicely in phase and good overall, but could use some automation. The bass and bass drum sound good, but are a little loud in the mix. The reverb is not too much. The main vocals and backing vocals are well panned. The banjo is audible. The guitar and fiddle are nice. The bass drum is the main driver of the drum sounds, which we like. The choir is clean and nice. The accordion is well blended. The bass sound is very good.
PauPeu: In general, it's a good mix that took us to the right place. The bass could be more dominant. The vocals have a nice bottom end but could perhaps blend better with the band. The banjo could be automated more in some parts to fill the space. Love the guitar - it's where I'd like it to be. The fiddle is good. The snare could have some more punch.
rvalle: The mix has potential, but the main vocals are not in time and have been moved behind. In general, the mix could be more glued together. The reverb is tight and nice. The vocals are good and with some more clean up, they would be perfect. The banjo is very dominant. The guitar is too far behind. The fiddle should duel more with the banjo dynamically. The drums sound good from start to end. The choir could "overwhelm" more. The accordion is okay but a bit too low. The bass could use some more top.
scottfitz: In general, it's a nice mix. After the banjo intro, the band could be a bit punchier. There could be more separation between instruments. The main vocals sound good except for the word "priest". The banjo needs more low mids and is generally too low. Is the fiddle a bit too nice? The drums are nice. The backing vocals are good but the choir could be panned a bit differently. The accordion needs more low end. There's a bit too much top in the bass.
unclesnuggles: The mix could be punchier and has a cool, dark punch. It sounds more metal than bluegrass. The mix might be slightly unbalanced and dark. The main vocals could use more work, but the backing vocals are good. The banjo could use some top and maybe some more saturation, perhaps tape or something? The guitar seems to be missing.
We have made additional comments on most mixes, and after the last round we will open for giving feedback on PM to other mixes also. (This will be done by Magnus, but we need to make him an account here first
)
We have an incredibly talented community out there, and witnessing such a display of skill and ingenuity has been truly inspiring. Each mix, with its own unique approach and sonic character, has provided invaluable insights into the limitless possibilities that lie within the realm of audio mixing.
In this post, we will provide constructive feedback on 15 selected mixes. Please bear in mind, our feedback is merely subjective and is intended to provide a different perspective, not to critique or diminish your efforts. Each of these mixes has its own strengths and showcases interesting choices from which we all can learn.
Let's continue to share, learn, and grow together as a community. Here's to many more collaborative projects in the future!
Special thanks to Mr. Fox for organizing this site. We know it involves a lot of work, but your efforts are greatly appreciated!
Me and Magnus from Salige Syndere has made the first selection, so without further ado, let's dive into the feedback...
Alex Van mixland: In general, the mix is nice and tight. The reverb on the main vocals seems a little too much, but the backing vocals have a nice reverb. The banjo is nicely isolated and the guitar could be brought forward. The fiddle fits nicely, but could use a dip at 12k. The drums are nicely placed, albeit with a bit too much overhead for my taste. The choir creates good chaos, and the accordion sounds okay. The bass could be more isolated and should gain a bit more low frequency to compete with the bass drum.
BenjiRage: In general, the mix is nice with just the right amount of reverb. The vocals sound good, and the banjo, with what sounds like smart parallel compression, is good too. The decision to duplicate the guitar track is smart. The fiddle sounds good, and the drums are dynamic and nice. The choir is great, and the accordion has a nice spread.
Christoph_K: The mix is very nice, maybe a bit too nice. The reverb is clean-sounding, and the vocals are nice, but perhaps a bit too clean, not gritty enough. The banjo is way too low - it should be more in your face. The fiddle should blend more with the banjo. Drums sound okay. The choir is nice and large. The accordion could be grittier. The bass is nicely balanced with the bass drum.
cpsmusi: In general, the mix is good. There's something strange at 1:28 in the vocals, and from there on, it's a bit high. The guitar could use some more low-end work. The fiddle sounds very good (maybe 2 dB down at 12k). The bass has a very good release.
DarlRarl: In general, the mix punches well. It could use more separation between instruments, and also a check on the stereo image. The main vocals are a bit anonymous. The banjo could be louder. There's too little guitar. The fiddle is well placed in the pan. The drums sound nice. The choir is good. The accordion is very good but could maybe come down 1 dB for a better blend. The bass is almost perfect.
DavidB: The mix is nice and transparent. The main vocals are a bit too far back and have some strange frequencies. The banjo could be more dynamically aligned with the fiddle. The guitar sound is nice. The fiddle is good, could be a little louder. The mix between the drum instruments ratio is nice. The choir and backing vocals could be louder. The bass could be more massive.
dstra: In general, it's a clean mix, and we enjoyed the reverb in the ending. The approach to the vocals is a bit different, but it punches through. The work on the guitar is admirable. The fiddle is a bit anonymous. The drums are nicely placed. The choir sounds good. The accordion has cool grit. The bass is good, but could use a tiny bit more top.
FixInTheMix: In general, the mix is very snappy and well aligned. We liked the length of the reverb. The vocals have a good low end and balance, and could benefit from some more saturation or presence. The banjo could pan more to the center and be automated when it carries fills. The guitar seems to be missing. The drums are snappy but a bit too loud for the rest of the instruments. The accordion sounds good and gritty, but there are some missing frequencies in the bass.
MartialFromentin: The mix is okay, but could use more separation. It seems a little wet. The vocals sound good with the right amount of grit and nice tube saturation. The banjo could be more present. The guitar disappears behind the drums. The fiddle seems like it's not laying in the right place in the mix. The drums seem very mushed together. The accordion sounds good with nice grit. The bass could use a bit more compression and makeup gain.
monjeco: In general, the mix is good but could use more automation on fiddle/banjo. It's commendable that you kept it dry. The main vocals are well-treated, but the backing vocals could use more work. The banjo is a bit low and could use some grit/saturation. The guitar placement is good. The fiddle is a little low and could use some saturation. The bass drum could be more and the snare less. The choir is low, and the accordion seems to be missing.
O'MIX: The mix is nicely in phase and good overall, but could use some automation. The bass and bass drum sound good, but are a little loud in the mix. The reverb is not too much. The main vocals and backing vocals are well panned. The banjo is audible. The guitar and fiddle are nice. The bass drum is the main driver of the drum sounds, which we like. The choir is clean and nice. The accordion is well blended. The bass sound is very good.
PauPeu: In general, it's a good mix that took us to the right place. The bass could be more dominant. The vocals have a nice bottom end but could perhaps blend better with the band. The banjo could be automated more in some parts to fill the space. Love the guitar - it's where I'd like it to be. The fiddle is good. The snare could have some more punch.
rvalle: The mix has potential, but the main vocals are not in time and have been moved behind. In general, the mix could be more glued together. The reverb is tight and nice. The vocals are good and with some more clean up, they would be perfect. The banjo is very dominant. The guitar is too far behind. The fiddle should duel more with the banjo dynamically. The drums sound good from start to end. The choir could "overwhelm" more. The accordion is okay but a bit too low. The bass could use some more top.
scottfitz: In general, it's a nice mix. After the banjo intro, the band could be a bit punchier. There could be more separation between instruments. The main vocals sound good except for the word "priest". The banjo needs more low mids and is generally too low. Is the fiddle a bit too nice? The drums are nice. The backing vocals are good but the choir could be panned a bit differently. The accordion needs more low end. There's a bit too much top in the bass.
unclesnuggles: The mix could be punchier and has a cool, dark punch. It sounds more metal than bluegrass. The mix might be slightly unbalanced and dark. The main vocals could use more work, but the backing vocals are good. The banjo could use some top and maybe some more saturation, perhaps tape or something? The guitar seems to be missing.
We have made additional comments on most mixes, and after the last round we will open for giving feedback on PM to other mixes also. (This will be done by Magnus, but we need to make him an account here first
)Pål Isdahl Solberg
www.naturecord.no
www.naturecord.no
-
Mister Fox
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3107
- Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 16:15 CEST
- Location: Berlin, Germany
MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 25-JUL-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST
Thank you for handling the evaluation, @Naturecord
Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Tuesday, 25-JUL-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST
As of this moment, that is 5 days (plus the hours since @Naturecord's announcement, and I've updated the post). All Mix Round 2 participants will be sent a reminder via mail shortly.
There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN available to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)
The following 15 participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order), with "wild-cards" being pointed out (if present this month).
(all Mix Round 2 participants should have been pinged)
@Alex Van mixland
@BenjiRage
@Christoph_K
@cpsmusic
@DarlRarl
@DavidB
@dstra
@FixInTheMix
@MartialFromentin
@monjeco
@O'MIX
@PauPeu
@rvalle
@scottfitz
@unclesnuggles
.
The feedback to the productions can be found here:
Please see post #146
If you are unsure what to do exactly with your mix, reach out to the song provider and engage in a conversation here on the forum.
And please keep the Rules and Guidelines (post #6) in mind regarding submitting your entry.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Tuesday, 25-JUL-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST
As of this moment, that is 5 days (plus the hours since @Naturecord's announcement, and I've updated the post). All Mix Round 2 participants will be sent a reminder via mail shortly.
There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN available to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)
The following 15 participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order), with "wild-cards" being pointed out (if present this month).
(all Mix Round 2 participants should have been pinged)
@Alex Van mixland
@BenjiRage
@Christoph_K
@cpsmusic
@DarlRarl
@DavidB
@dstra
@FixInTheMix
@MartialFromentin
@monjeco
@O'MIX
@PauPeu
@rvalle
@scottfitz
@unclesnuggles
.
The feedback to the productions can be found here:
Please see post #146
If you are unsure what to do exactly with your mix, reach out to the song provider and engage in a conversation here on the forum.
And please keep the Rules and Guidelines (post #6) in mind regarding submitting your entry.
-
Christoph_K
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 07:57 CET
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 25-JUL-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST
First of all thanks to the provider to going through all this!
Reading the feedbacks I got the impression that nobody really nailed it: „Very Nice“ seemed to be the limit here, at least for my feedback. But in Germany we have the saying „Nice is the little sister of shitty“
Here’s what I tried to give the mix more awesome- and coolness instead of being nice:
Following the feedback I
- pulled up the banjo
- added a parallel bus for the lead vocals with a distorted 1073 to get a little bit more grit
- saturated the input for the reverb
- Added some midrange to the accordion
But the main character of the whole mix changed more in the right direction by using a different tape on the mixbus (ATR102) to get a dirtier flavor (more forward, more defined midrange)
Hope that helps
https://www.dropbox.com/s/875ydo6u6uyy7 ... 2.wav?dl=0
Reading the feedbacks I got the impression that nobody really nailed it: „Very Nice“ seemed to be the limit here, at least for my feedback. But in Germany we have the saying „Nice is the little sister of shitty“
Here’s what I tried to give the mix more awesome- and coolness instead of being nice:
Following the feedback I
- pulled up the banjo
- added a parallel bus for the lead vocals with a distorted 1073 to get a little bit more grit
- saturated the input for the reverb
- Added some midrange to the accordion
But the main character of the whole mix changed more in the right direction by using a different tape on the mixbus (ATR102) to get a dirtier flavor (more forward, more defined midrange)
Hope that helps
https://www.dropbox.com/s/875ydo6u6uyy7 ... 2.wav?dl=0
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 25-JUL-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST
Hi! I made some adjustments to the mix according to the feedback and the overall character of the mix has changed quite drastically, even though the dynamics of the original mix are still present.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hJKEhS ... sp=sharing.
Added more reverb to the main vocal and some eq (top end).
deleted the U87 Guitar track, and used only the AKG, it seem to have a more cleaner top end (then boosted this top end)
The Banjo is now automated, and with a more transparent dynamics.
Changed the transient shaping of the bass, now is more punchy and present.
The reverb sends of all tracks, are now more adjusted.
The snare and the drum buss have now a little more aggressive attack.
And the accordion is now stereo expanded.
Finally a little more bus processing, transformer saturation, a little more air, vari-mu compression, a little clipping, and a touch of limiting, overall I think is more "Master ready".
Thanx for the opportunity, good luck!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hJKEhS ... sp=sharing.
Added more reverb to the main vocal and some eq (top end).
deleted the U87 Guitar track, and used only the AKG, it seem to have a more cleaner top end (then boosted this top end)
The Banjo is now automated, and with a more transparent dynamics.
Changed the transient shaping of the bass, now is more punchy and present.
The reverb sends of all tracks, are now more adjusted.
The snare and the drum buss have now a little more aggressive attack.
And the accordion is now stereo expanded.
Finally a little more bus processing, transformer saturation, a little more air, vari-mu compression, a little clipping, and a touch of limiting, overall I think is more "Master ready".
Thanx for the opportunity, good luck!
-
unclesnuggles
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2021 17:42 CEST
- Location: France
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC092 June 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 25-JUL-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST
Hello everyone
I'm very happy that my mix is taken for round2...but unfortunately for me I couldn't participate. My PC has just failed me at the beginning of the week, after 14 years of good and loyal service...
Thanks again for the valuable feedback on the mix. I take note of it with great interest.
good luck to the participants for this round2!
I'm very happy that my mix is taken for round2...but unfortunately for me I couldn't participate. My PC has just failed me at the beginning of the week, after 14 years of good and loyal service...
Thanks again for the valuable feedback on the mix. I take note of it with great interest.
good luck to the participants for this round2!