MIX CHALLENGE - MC088 October 2022 - Winners announced

[zajus]

Hi All,

Here’s my mix: MC088__EatMe__Shift__Zajus

The description below is only a part of the entire mix as automation also played a great role in my mix, mostly panning and volume, but also specific effects like EQ, Haas effect and reverb.

Drums:
Kick: I have inverted the phase on the second KD and EQs them slighly differently, both to remove some mids and to bring up more high end from the second kick. On bus I have then used bx_subfilter to add some low-end rumble (only active during certain sections of the song), transient shaper to get slighly more aggressive attack and again EQ to remove some mi
Snare: EQ to reduce resonance at ~ 300Hz and boost low-mids. Transient shaper to sharpen attack.
Hi Hat: Autopan to very slighly let the noise “dance” around center, and a very subtle ping-pong for both hi-hat and hi-hat noise.
SnapFinger: Haas trick for a stereo efect

Bass
Bass1: Chorus effect, Bass Professor and regular EQ to shape the low end and limiter.
Bass2: This is the only case where I used the dry version of a track. I have used limiter and a flanger to add some movement.
Both bass tracks are then routed together and EQd to fit in well, and then compressed with side chain from the kick

Synths
MauSynth_Lead: A lot of compression and limiting to control the volume of the track, saturation plugin to help it stand out.
Superwave: Strong panning effect, staturation and EQ to remove low-end rumble and hi-end hiss
Synth1: I have tried Rotor to add a little movement, and then narrowed the stereo field to sit more in the center. EQ to match the other tracks better.

Keys and others
SY77 Piano: Only slighy widening
E-Piano: Volume modulation to add some rhythmical tremolo effect
Piano fortissimo & Harp&Flute: Nothing at all

Some of these are bussed together and then further EQd to remove rumble or just fit with other sections better.

Thanks for the opportunity to mix this song!

[White Punk OD]

Hi everyone,

here my mix: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PKzzPG ... sp=sharing

plz switch file access to public

[diegoneryproducoes]

I had a lot of fun with this mix, I hope you like it. I felt like I needed more pressure on the drums, bass, so I used a lot of parallel compression. The second kick needed to reverse the phase. I tried to be creative in the intro with filters and automations for the transitions. Reverb, equalizer, compressors I'm using the native ones from REAPER, in the TUKAN plugin package. I'm using a compressor, equalizer and saturator on the master bus to control the peaks. I used a lot of Kick/bass and Bass/harmony side-chain compression. Hi-hat has automatic plugin for panning around. I don't know if it was the proposal, but I considered it a central melody because I thought it deserved to be highlighted.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_uaJ3Z ... p=drivesdk

[Davias]

Hello everyone,

excellent track ^^ I love the old school trance, I wish I had more time to polish it a bit more.
I tried to glue the many layers, and to have punchy drums. I also added a small buildup to introduce the second kick.
very few automations beside that.

I tried to mix with SSL-style elements for this mix :
- every channels got Satson as pre-amp, goes through channel strip (either bx SSL 4K G or T-Racks British Channel, or both), MEqualizer for surgical EQ, then output to SKnote Strip SSL B mode. Busses have Satson Buss
- Shadow Hills comp on the mixbus for some SSL glue and saturation (I hope lol)

I added some subs to the kicks, some sidechaining to the basses, some compression and saturations here and there on some of the instruments or busses, reverb on the clap, and some harmonics on the open hihat to make it less white noise with a comb filter.

Here is the link to the track : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wtd2YL ... sp=sharing
(hope this time it will work !)

Best of luck to all !

[VolTheProducer]

Hi All,

Thanks for putting these together - it's great to get to mix completely different genres to what I usually make. This is the 1st one I've been able to enter (despite pro tools best efforts to stop me!), so GL everyone.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n9xrcb8ko88nk ... r.wav?dl=0

Piano (L), Fortisimo(R), Harp/Fplute(R) & Epiano (L) : Panned left & right. Stereo width adjusted to reduce phase issues.

EQ and sent to synth group

Superwave & Synth 1: EQ'd and sent to group

Synth Group: Small amount of compression to smooth out peaks

Lead: EQ, compression & some additional multiband compression to remove harshness. Send to delay

Basses - EQ to create room for each other + kicks. Compression and Saturation - Sent to bass buss for parallel comp.

Bass2 - low pass to remove clickyness from midrange/high. cut at around 80hz to remove resonance.

Kicks - EQ, compression, saturation, sent to Kick group & drum buss for parallel comp.

Kick Group - comp & limiter

Snare noise, Hats & Snap - EQ & sent to drum buss for parallel comp. Snare noise also sent to snare group.

Snare - EQ, Comp, Saturation & Sent to snare group.

Snare Group. Comp and limiter.

Reverb on all tracks.

Mix Buss: EQ, Saturation, Comp.

[EDIT] Also reversed Phase on kick 2!

[Mister Fox]

It is the 22nd October 2022, 00:20 UTC+2/CEST - the first Mix Round has officially ended

Another very warm welcome to all new participants, nice meeting you and I hope you'll enjoy your stay. As usual, a huge thank you to everyone that is spreading the word about the Mix Challenge. Please help get the Songwriting Competition as popular (less than 3 days left).


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 42 submissions this month (42 prior to the deadline, 00 after the deadline)
• We have 0 submissions after the deadline (as of 22-OCT-2022 0:20 UTC+2/CEST)
• We have 2 submission that could not be downloaded by the time of this post and is therefore disqualified (@Locrais, @againstpower - login to Google Drive needed)
• We have 0 submissions not submitted in public, but via PM (see Rule Book, post #6, Upload and Submission Guidelines)
• We have 0 submissions that have been withdrawn (but counts as entry within the deadline)
• Overview of Submissions - is your entry within given parameters? (PDF - updated: 23-OCT-2022 21:46 UTC+2/CEST, full sheet)
• Overview of Submissions (disqualifications only) (PDF - updated: 23-OCT-2022 21:46 UTC+2/CEST, full sheet)

INFORMATION:
Statistic Sheets have been updated (on 23-OCT-2022 21:46 UTC+2/CEST)
Statistic Sheets are not available yet, please wait for the official announcement post -- sheets will arrive by mid 25-OCT-2022 latest
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⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	Important Update: As of MC081, the Song Providers can now decide from the start, or once the Statistics Sheet has been provided, which route to go in terms of providing feedback. You can read more about this in the Mix Challenge - changes to main game (October 2021) thread. Our Song Provider for this month, @EatMe, decided to go the "(Feedback for) Top 15" route. We will keep you updated.

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I now open the field for everyone to give each other feedback (highly encouraged). This will be independent to the client feedback however.


Please watch this spot for the statistics sheet, client feedback and Mix Round 2 participant announcement.

Good luck to all participants.





The Songwriting Competition 062 (SWC062) is still in full swing.
The deadline is 24-OCT-2022, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST. The genre is "Pop (Indie Pop)" (Theme: "Change of Colors"). So far we have 2 entries, with barely any interaction.

Please spread the word!

[againstpower]

[EatMe]

This is exciting..

First of all, thanks to all the participants for sending in their mixes.
I am very happy with the results that came in for mixing Round 1.
The effort you all have done is greatly appreciated.

I have been able to download (and listen to) 40 mixes.

I'm sorry to see 2 disqualifications because of the (login protected) links. Bummer!

I have already been listening on mediocre and loud volume on monitor speakers.
I will also do headphone listening and am waiting for the statistics that I will get from Mister Fox.
I will, after that, make the top 15, then announced in this forum topic to continue into Round 2.

Stay tuned.. Thank you so much!

EatMe
song provider for the October MC088 Mix Challenge.

[Mister Fox]

The "Overview of Submissions" PDFs have been uploaded.
You can check them through the upper post (post #56).



The Statistic Sheet is used to give an overview of all entries, and whether or not they are within given parameters (loudness, sampling rate, bitrate). This is adding to the overall learning process of the "Mix(ing) Challenge". Please take note that creating this sheet is not a fully automated process. I am using Wavelab 10's "Batch Analysis" tool (EBU R-128 specs / equivalent to ITU-R BS.1770-4), but the overall layout and highlighting issues/mishaps, is time consuming. If you do not find yourself on this list, please let me know.

Please keep in mind, your mix being "tagged disqualified", does not mean "you're out of the game" (exceptions do apply). For more information on the Statistic Sheet and the "Wild Card" Mechanic, please consult the following addendum thread:

Mix Challenge - Addendum: Statistic Sheet and Wild Card Mechanic



Statistics Addendum:

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	We have a disqualification rate of 28,57% for October 2022 (42 entries, 12 disqualifications, 0 "Out of Competition" submissions). On average (22 months of tracking), we currently have a disqualification rate of 25,39% (compared to last month's 25,23% avg), the rate is on a slight increase. The disqualification rate over the course of the last 12 games (June 2021 to October 2022) is about 22,08% (previously 21,47%), and is on an increase.

A commentary on this month's entries:

Once more, welcome to all new participants. I assume they come from other audio communities where @EatMe is also a part of. I do hope you enjoy your stay, had fun, and could/will learn something from this experience.

Regarding this month's slightly stronger disqualification rate, which is also linked to the lower participation overall. Most of the time, it has been careless mistakes - like checking the final mix if it's within loudness specs (as in -16,0 LUFS max, and -1,00 dBTP max). Surprisingly enough, there was no entry this time that was rendered in 16bit, but two entries that had the wrong sampling rate. Either way - this is merely a "tagged disqualified" scenario, you can still advance into the next round through the use of a Wild Card, if your entry has been selected for Mix Round 2.


In the Statistic Sheet, I am also pointing out users for not adhering to the given filename template. In fact, some users even completely omitted mandatory information. Like the song title. I have made myself clear during the "Summary for MC087" and also with this news blog why it is imperative to pay attention to detail. In fact, I had to triple check for filenames yet again, and I still had one user listed wrong since the user name was cut off during automated data scraping. I even reminded everyone several times in this current game thread.

As of MC089 / December 2022, this will be a criteria for "tagged disqualified".


Overall, 42 entries isn't a bad value. However, it saddens me a bit that the participation has been a bit on the low side. I initially thought this was due to the genre. But from statistics from recent years, it shows that October seems to be a low-participation month in general. Exception being "COVID-19 - Year One".

I hope you all enjoyed this month's game - fingers crossed for a Mix(ing) Challenge in December 2022.
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I now (re-)open the field for everyone to give each other feedback (highly encouraged). This will be independent to the client feedback however. Though please note - criticism on the rule set and angry posts will be deleted without further notice.


Please watch this spot for the client feedback and Mix Round 2 participant announcement.
This will ideally happen sometime within the next 14 days (starting tomorrow).

[VolTheProducer]

Ahh man, sucks to be disqualified on a technicality, but the rules were clear from the start - I'll be more careful next time! Either way, I enjoyed working on the track (Thanks @EatMe & @Mister Fox) and have learned a fair amount from the process. Good luck to everyone that makes it into the next round!