MIX CHALLENGE - MC074 March 2021 - Winners announced

[tgerginov]

Here's the feedback on the individual mixes, again, thanks for working on this one!

Тhank you man

[SuC76]

Hello everyone,


@Dodgingrain thanks for your guidance.


Here's my R2:


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R_mIsO ... sp=sharing



(Transition at 1:35 isn't quite right)
Added sub harmonic to transition , little bit of short and long delay at the end

(Background Arp staring around 1:31 is to loud and not filtered correctly)
Lowered 3dB, filtered some top

(drums could hit harder after 1:35 transition)
Added some saturation on main Kick and Snare track
Raise Kick and Snare parallel comp few dB

(vocals around 2:25 are a little to wet or it’s the wrong reverb)
Lowered vocal reverb send few dB

(low end doesn't sound quite right after 3:50)
HPF on flanger return track

(shakers are to loud after 3:50)
Lowered 6dB



Bye.

[elroms]

Thanks @Dodgingrain for your explanations

Here is my new version :

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ty7uTp ... sp=sharing


Hat starting at 0:15 is a little loud -> lowered it around 3dB


background noise sound at 0:42 is to loud -> you told me to listen to the rough mix to know how to get the right level for this track. Thing is I couldn't even hear it on the rough mix, so I decided to lower it by something like 8 or 9 db, so that it remains subtle in the back

Background Arp at 1:35 is to loud and not filtered right - > lowered it a few dbs, and added a low pass filter at 15000kHz

transition at 1:35 needs more impact -> I automated the main synth sound to make it lower, and then get back to its level just at the moment of the drop

love background sounds around 2:30 -> thanks!

kick needs more impact in general -> I put a bx sub filter on the Snare track to get more impact on that kick, added a bit of analogical EQ at around 60hZ, and then set up my compressor differently to get even more impact

vocals are a touch to try at 3:35 -> added some delay, and put more reverb on it (I increased by around 4dB the send to the reverb aux track)

shakers after 3:50 are to loud -> lowered by a few dB these two drum tracks that appear at the end of the song, which were both indeed a bit loud in my opinion

[studjo]

Background noise effect starting at 0:42 is to loud
lowered it by 10 dB - I loved the movement I did with the panner so I thought why not show it to the world - looks like it's been a bad idea


Background Arp starting around 1:30ish is to loud and not filtered enough
I put the UAD Studer Tape with the "Old Tape" setting on it and cranked it even a bit. After that I lowered the level by 3dB


transition at 1:35 isn't quite there
raised the Jam Leadin track by 8dB and loved it


vocals are lost starting at 2:25 and to dry
I raised the level of em by 4dB and put some 480L on that RHall Preset on the Harmony 3 and 4 tracks


transition at 2:50 is very interesting but the hats are to loud and overall the track is a little to loud until 3:20
Looks like I messed this one up since I forgot to lower the level - on the other hand it didn't bother me so... I put some Deessing on the drum track to keep the hats in shape. After that I smoothed the track out with a touch of Soothe2. I never really liked the Drum track to start with so I also fiddled around with the low end a bit more. I also made a drum aux where I isolated the kick drum a bit and eq-ed that one back in ... I'd much prefer having the individual drum tracks but I tried my best

Background Arp is again to loud in the ending, shakers are to loud
The Percussion track got some dVR Micro to change the timbre spectrally and because I really like what it did with the panning and I lowered it by 3dB.

It's awesome to have made it into round 2 - thanks guys for putting this up!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NLsTpz ... sp=sharing

[maxovrdrive]

Thank you @Dodgingrain for your list of revisions.

Here's my revised mix:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rww9d_ ... sp=sharing

Requested Revisions:
- Background noise effect starting around 0:42 is to loud,
>>> brought down level

- not crazy about the bass tone starting around 1:12,
>>> removed EQ while leaving dynamic eq to control fundamental

- Background Arp that starts aournd 1:31 is to loud and not filtered enough,
>>> adjusted levels accordingly while filtering lows and top-end

- transition at 1:35 is close noise riser isn't quite right,
>>> automated riser volume to make the transition work better

- vocals starting at 2:25 are to loud and up front,
>>> adjusted levels accordingly, increased fx a little

- transition at 2:50 works well,
>>> I took inspiration from this to match other transitions

- vocals at 3:35 are a little to loud,
>>> adjusted levels accordingly

- transition at 3:50 needs to hit harder,
>>> automated levels to increase the impact

- Background Arp is again to loud
>>> adjusted levels accordingly

[dadomachado]

Hi All,

I'm thrilled to have made it to the second round. Follows my revision below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FQ_8rT ... sp=sharing

- vocal at 0:07 is to quiet
Added a few DBs

- first sound starting at the beginning is to loud compared to other elements in the intro
Lowered down around 2DBs

- mix feels a bit narrow
Reviewed the panning of some elements and added a light widener on the master buss (bx_solo)

- Background Arp at 1:35 is to loud and not filtered correctly
Lowered it down a couple DBs and filtered the top end (12KHz)

- drums lack impact - OK
Made some EQ changes and added a harmonic distortion (Black Box)

- transition at 2:50 is well blended
Nice !

- vocals at 3:25 are a little dry
Added more delay to them

- shakers after 3:50 are to loud
Took out some DBs

Thanks for @Dogingrain for the awesone track and great feedback !

Cheers,
dadomachado

[pabloAT]

Dear all,
Please find below the Dropbox link for the R2 of my mix.
Many thanks to the song provider for the feedback and to Mr. Fox for taking care of this pedagogical game.

[Dropbox link to R2]

1. To much effect right at the beginning
Done. I’ve cleaned up the FXs at the beginning of the song to make it clearer and not so busy.

2. Noise effect track starting at 0:42 is too loud
Yes, you’re right. Done.

3. Noise riser doesn't quite work in the transition at 1:37
Done, this riser was completely buried in the first version of the mix. Thanks.

4. Background Arp at 1:38 is too loud and not filtered enough
Done. Effectively, now this track has more control and focus in the mix. Thanks.

5. Vocals starting around 2:25 are to dry and probably could use more reverb
Done, I’ve reworked the sends of the vocals, increasing the reverb's amount.

6. Shakers are to loud in the ending
Yes, you’re right. Done.

7. Overall the kick doesn't feel like it hits hard enough in the song
I’ve reworked the kick’s compressor A/R (FET-76) to make it punchier.

Best wishes,
Pablo

[dnlptn]

Thank you DodgingRain for choosing my mix and for the feedback.
Since your comment about my mix being slightly muddy and thin, I’ve been trying to figure out how to fix it (and prevent it for next time). Hope this mix is more under control.

The thinness was likely from misusing EQ plugins for air (like UAD pultec).
The main source of the muddiness was from a couple of things - reverb buildup, too much saturation warmth (dark knob on decapitator).

I’ve taken off the eqs on the busses, adjusted or taken off saturation plugins. Instruments like the organ, keys synth are now fuller and less boomy.

I took off some auto-pan and imager plugins which added back some fullness back to some sounds (like the intro bass).

Adjusted reverbs - set the high pass much higher, more up to ~600,1000, generally trying to focus more on the upper mids. Also automated in the between the sections.

Vocals
Reset saturation settings (decapitator), which ended up making it brighter.
Added multi band compression to control harshness
Volume/reverb automation
Low pass filter on the delays (~600hz)

Bass
Increased the volume and added VSM-3 for saturation

Drums
I had removed UAD pultec, used EQ to restore some kick low end. Reset decapitator which brightened the sound. Pulled down shaker at the end.
Enhanced the clap in the end with plate reverb

Noise
low cut on the eq, devil loc, delay/reverb
Verb automation

Drive Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XVHJzV ... sp=sharing

Cheers,

[Christoph_K]

Thanks @Dodgingrain for choosing my mix for the second round. Here’s the R2 Version:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y85m8brtobfri ... 2.wav?dl=0

Changes according to your feedback:

Backgrounder Arp is to loud and not filtered enough around 1:30
- lowered by 3.5db
- highpass filter is set to 160hz, lowpass is set to 8k (didn’t know exactly what was meant by „filtered enough“)

transition at 1:35 is close noise riser doesn't quite work
- added colored echo effect to the riser

drums have to much reverb after 1:35
- lowered the amount of plate reverb

vocals are a little to wet at 2:25 and the reverb might need to be changed
- the monks are gone

they is a percussive delay at 3:23 that doesn't quite work
- filtered and tweaked the delay

need more feeling of isolation at 3:25-3:30
- lowered the hall in the melody synth
- less echo on the pulse synth
- less reverb and echo on the vocals

shaker after 3:50 is to loud
- lowered level by 11db

clap doesn't hit hard enough after 3:50
- raised level by 3db

Good luck for round 2 everyone!

[Mister Fox]

A friendly reminder:
We're in the final 24 hours to submit your edit for Mix Round 2