MIX CHALLENGE - MC093 August 2023 - Winners announced

[Punchipum]

Hi! Here is my mix, I can't detail the process at the moment, I have a fever (I think it's Covid). As soon as I can I will!! Sorry



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

[alan_mix]

Here is my mix: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16_E0ez ... sp=sharing

I mostly used SSL plugins: DrumpStrip, EQ, Comp, FlexVerb, BusComp, Saturator

Focus of the mix was to have the main vocal clearly heard through out the song.

- Kick, Snare: SSL Drumstrip to shape the transient and add more power to the hits, FlexVerb on the snare

- Bass: blending all three tracks with EQ, Comp

- Vocals: EQ, Comp, Verb
- BG Vocal: EQ, Comp, Verb (used a different verb from lead with less reverb effect)

- Keys: EQ, Saturation
- Guitar: EQ, HG-MS2 to add bit more character and used just cabinet from GTR3 Amps

- SSL Bus Comp and on the main bus

[Michael_K]

What a challenge! Great song well recorded! Big fun of this style!
I tried to make it sound more modern but I may have achieved to opposite! Can't tell!
I mixed it with Loud mastering in mind.
I used a combination of DBX style compression, EQ, and a short slap-back delay on all instruments.
The Bass tracks were treated individually and as a group.
The lead vocal goes through eq-1176-dbx parallel compression.
The backing vocals were compressed with a fast attack and de-essed in two groups (Frank and Sion).
The mixbus has a Faichild style compressor with the neadles barely moving.
Here is the mix:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16zB7p1 ... 1xDO1/view

Good luck to everyone.

[Piranha]

I didn't expect to find a prog-rock piece here and here we are. Fun but challenging job.
DRUMS: kick and snare gating, otherwise Focusrite channel strip on each track used for color and eq, 1176 and dbx-160 emulations used for compression
BASS: mostly shaping and compression via LA-2A emulation
GUITARS: Lindell 50 on electrics for shaping, nothing on acoustics
KEYS: eq only on the Leslie, eq + 1176 on the piano
VOCALS: Eq and stacked compressors A-2A + 1176 or R-Vox on main vocal and backing vocals

My mix

[Piotr]

Hi! I followed the suggestion that It would be interesting to hear a much more modern approach to this song. I tried to achieve it in the choice of tools for the mix as well as the work on the sound itself, using bolder movements and more intensive processing. My mix:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T6Lj9o ... sp=sharing

The main assumptions and most important actions:
• For the mix, I chose to work on the Neve by Lindell Series 80 console emulation and it is on every track. And groups. Each group of instruments/microphone shots has its own group.
• I've used three reverb FX tracks that work together for a common effect, but the amount of sends from given tracks/groups changes dynamically depending on where you are in the track. It is: Classic Plate EMT from Arturia REV Plate-140, stock reverb from Cubase with room mode settings and Guitar Reverb with long shimmering mode.
• The track has beautiful live dynamic changes as well as a lot of elements, so I did a lot of written automation to not only control the proper volume levels but also to reveal all the details and additions.
• In the tambourine, I changed the left-right sides so that it was on the opposite side to the hihat and the balance played in stereo
• On the Drums Bus I used a Lindell SBC compressor
• On the bass conderser mic I reduced the bass but used tape saturation and on the bass group I additionally used an Opto compressor and Looptrotter Sa2rate to ensure the presence in midrange of the bass on both large and small speakers. Low bass is provided by the direct and dynamic mic
• Leslie and Prophet and guitars - only volume and EQ (but also with automation)
• Vocals - Shadow hills compressor (Opto mode) + Looptrotter Sa2rate + Tape emulation
• Sum bus – (a lot of glue with )Looptrotter Sa2rate + EQ + Townhouse compressor

It was a pleasure to work on this mix. Really good song, starting with the composition, through the performance, and ending with the contained message.

[Mister Fox]

A friendly reminder:
Including today, 3 days left to submit your mix.


As of this moment, we have about 50 entries.

However:
I can't download 2 mixes (one link needs a login, another link does work but "owner does not allow download").
Plus 2 additional ones that do not use the correct filename template.


If you've been sitting on your mix, now is the time to get everything sorted out, post both your link and documentation. Do not forget the deadline. And please triple check that everything is in order (file format, signal strength, accessibility -- your entry is final!).

Please also consult the TL;DR Rules.txt - this is why they are there for!

[rvalle]

First of all, I want to say that it was a huge pleasure mixing this song. So many layers and musical moments that permeate the exciting lyrics and make it a great work. Kudos to the band for the beautiful work.

I didn't follow any esthetics and just mixed it according to my taste and as the sound became more cohesive.

As I always do, I grouped the elements according to their similarities. Despite liking the idea offered by Lewitt, I chose not to use the Polarizer plugin. But I used both recordings made by the LCT 640 TS.

My DAW for mixing is Reaper. Whenever I don't specify the plugin in the description, I'm referring to native plugins.

MIX: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BAq4Yw ... sp=sharing

DRUMS

—Kick:
Condenser: EQ for cleaning sub-bass and also around 200hz; the excellent Unfiltered Audio G8 for bleeding control;
Dynamic: just eq for a little cut at 225hz.
Kick sub-group: plus an eq cutting at 125 and 215hz; Lindell 50 for a bit of character, compression and EQ; I opted for a slightly fuller kick and, for that, I used bx_subfilter to boost the low-end; -8db of gain;
—Snare Lewitt 440: As always, it was a challenge; in the first eq, small cuts in the mid-bass and resonance control at 5khz and 6.8khz, in addition to a boost in the high-end; a second eq, the Eventide EQ45 for a small boost at 220hz and at 8.3k, plus a cut at 500hz; for the snare to grow a little, I put Eventide SP2016 (insert), program ROOM, short decay and mix at 100%; Eventide H910 to help with stereo imaging (Vocals preset - 01 - 0.99 Chorus Drift); compressed and saturated with Soundevice Digital Automformer; finally, a bit of peak control with softclipping (Apogee SoftLimit); -4.7db of gain;
—Overheads drums: eq cutting a bit at 200hz and cleaning up resonances at 4.7 and 8.9 kHz; Lindell 50 cutting a little in the mid-bass region and compressing a lot; soothe2 controlling the resonances in the 8k region and surroundings a little more; Eventide SplitEQ smoothing out transients between 1 and 5khz; Tone Empire Neural Q v2 putting some harmonic saturation and a little boost in the highs; -7.8 dB of gain;
—Floor tone: only eq cutting severely in the region between 340 and 450hz, plus a boost at 4.7khz; -6.2db fader gain;
—Rack tone: eq cutting a lot at 300hz and giving a small boost at 3khz; -4.8db of gain;
—Tambourine: eq with highpass at 850hz and cut at 5.5khz; Lindell 50 with a bit of gain in the 8khz region and compression; -2.6db gain;
—Cymbal scrapes: only high pass at 140hz; -3db of gain;
—Group channel: PSP E27 for slight cut at 14khz, small boost at 120hz; Lindell 50 giving gain at 8khz and 40hz (shelf), plus a cut at 500hz, and moderate compression; SPL Vitalizer to round out the bottom-end and bring some extra sparkle in the highs, as well as a bit of harmonic saturation; the excellent PSP Impressor for that glue; and the also excellent Neold U17a, for a little more compression and a very special harmonic saturation;

BASS:
—Condenser: eq cutting (low shelf curve) at 240hz, plus gain at 1khz; moderate compression; -5.4db of gain;
—DI: eq for low-end control (high pass at 80hz and low shelf cut at 400hz); a bit of chorus with the very good Acon Digital Multiply (free plugin), to insert a slight spatialization; -0.8db gain;
—Dynamic red: EQ cut at 1.4khz; dynamics control on fundamentals with soothe2 (emphasis on 125hz); -1.7db of gain;
—Group channel: Kirchhoff eq for dynamic control of side signal (112hz cutoff with wideband - low Q); cut at 540hz, high pass at 37 and low pass at 6khz; moderate compression with bx_townhouse; soothe2 for dynamics control in the fundamentals; Wavesfactory Trackspacer triggered by kick on external sidechain, to improve the kick/bass interaction, suddenly; -3.6db of gain;

KEYS:
—Piano near: no processing;
—Piano far: emphasis on transients at 2.5khz (wideband) with SplitEQ; AudioThing Type A to bring out a brighter glow;
—Piano far overdub: high pass at 100hz; -4.6db gain:
—Piano near overdub: -4.6db gain;
—Piano subgroup: Kirchhoff eq with a slight cut at 430hz on the mid signal and a small boost at 3.7khz on the side signal; Kazrog True Iron (1166A algorithm) for harmonic saturation; light compression with TDR Molot;
—No processing on individual Leslie channels, only -3db gain on bottom condenser channel;
—Leslie subgroup: high pass at 90hz; -6.5db of gain;
—Prophet 1: eq with high pass at 130hz, cut at 280hz and high shelf at 13.6khz; Eventide H910 for extra movement:
—Prophet 2: eq with high pass at 100hz and a wideband boost (low Q) at 1.5khz;
—Keys group channel; eq for a small cut at 680hz with broadband; BlackBox HG-2 with AIR function turned on for harmonic saturation;

GTRs:
—Electric has no processing on the individual channels, only on the subgroup;
—Electric guitar subgroup: Soothe2 controlling resonances around 3.8khz; eq with high pass at 140hz and low pass at 11.4khz; bx_saturatorV2 for independent harmonic saturation of mid/side signals; PSP Audioware SpringBox for a bit of ambience;
—Acoustic: processing also occurred only in the subgroup;
—Acoustic guitar subgroup: eq with low shelf at 880hz and a small boost at 5.8khz with wideband; Millennia NSEQ-2 with boost at 1.8khz and 16khz (high shelf); Vertigo VSM-3 for harmonic saturation; Native Instruments' excellent Raum reverb for ambience (Airy algorithm, mid-to-short decay, no feedback); Millennia TCL-2 for light compression (fast attack and release);
—Guitar group channel: no processing;

VOICES:
—I've split Gaz's voice channel into two, to treat the quieter and louder parts differently:
—Gaz lead vox Soft: UAD LA-2A Gray for moderate compression; in the part where Gaz sings the
'shots", I automated the pan control to give the impression that the shots were coming from several places;
—Gaz lead vox: UAD LA-2A Gray for moderate compression; the compressor setting varies between the two parts;
—Gaz lead vox (mic rear): I took advantage of this channel to insert some texture with the RC-20, from XLN Audio (crunch distortion, low bit rate effect in the Digital module, a little reverb and a little modulation wear in the module magnetic);
—Gaz voice subgroup: Accusonus ERA 6 De-esser;
—Radio FX: I created a channel just for processing the radio simulation: Soundtoys FilterFreak with low cut at 600hz and high cut at 2khz, with medium resonance; smashing compression with the Klanghelm MJUCjr;
—Radio FX backing vocals response: I also separated the vocals that respond to the radio's voice for dedicated processing, which were grouped into a single channel; eq with low cut at 120hz; Eventide Omnipressor for moderate compression; a little more compression with TDR Molot, now with faster attack and decay; Eventide Blackhole for apparent ambience;
—Backing vocals: both Frank's and Sion's voices have been grouped into specific channels; there was no processing on the individual channels; on both group channels, eq for sub-bass cleanup and strong compression with the Klanghelm MJUCjr;
—Group channel backing: the two sub-groups were routed to a main group, which received more compression with the Neold U17; the idea was to try to reduce dynamic variations in these voices as much as possible;
—Sion middle session yelps: trying to simulate a battlefield, in which screams of pain echoes, I applied a unique ambience, using Melda MConvolutionEZ (IR Small 1 from the Chambers folder) and Blackhoule (Dreamscape preset);

AMBIENCE:
—Five channels with ambience effects were used as send FX:
—Room: Eventide TVerb (preset 04 - Medium Chambers 06 - A Short Diffuse), which received sends from all group channels;
—Slapback: Soundtoys Echoboy (Classic Tape Slap preset 30 ips), which received the Radio FX subgroup;
—Long: Eventide Ultrareverb (preset 03 - Chambers - Diffuse Chamber), which received only Gaz's voice at a certain point in the song;
—Ping Pong: UAD Cooper Time Cube (Muted Echo preset), who received the Keys and Voices;
—Glue: Acon Digital Verberate 2 (Drum Room preset), which received the Drums, Bass, Gtrs and Vocals groups.

AUTOMATIONS:
—A few effect sends, the panorama and the gains of some elements were automated;

MIXDOWN PROJECT:
—I opened a new project in which I processed the mixdown of the initial project, to the final cohesion of the mix; UAD Oxide Tape; AMEK 200 to hold the bass and top end a bit; UAD SSL G Buss Comp Legacy for that final glue.

Thanks again for the opportunity and good luck to everybody!

[scottfitz]

Hi all,

What an incredible song, such a pleasure to mix, it's been the soundtrack for my life the last 3 weeks Thanks to the band and to Mister Fox for continuing to host this and finding amazing music.

Here's the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1siItwy ... drive_link

General Notes
-------------------

With such great performances I was trying to go for a fairly light touch, mainly get the piano + voice sounding good and try to get a clear sound and natural dynamics above trying to get it to be loud or silky smooth.

Specific Notes
_____________

All vocals use the front and rear tracks.

LEAD VOCALS

soothe2
HPF @60Hz
UAD 176, "vocal quick and smooth" preset - doing most of the work
UAD Fairchild 660 - contributing only a few dB GR max
HG-2 Black Box (saturation)
Maag EQ4
HPF @50Hz

FX
ValhallaVintageVerb Vocal Hall
EchoBoy Classic AnalogDelay into Valhalla Room
Waves Manny Marroquin Distortion


BASS

I discarded the DI and used the amp tracks

HPF @53Hz
Softube FET II compressor
HG-2 Black Box
FabFilter C2 sidechained to kick taking about 2.5dB with each kick
HPF @70Hz

MIXBUS

SSL Bus Compressor 2 attack 30ms, release 0.1s, ratio 2:1, s/c hpf 133Hz
Germanium compressor set to dirty about 40% wet doing around 5db maximum and generally less.
The God Particle on 100% - I'm still not sure about this plugin since I don't trust units that do so much behind the scenes with only a couple of knobs to tweak, but it seemed to work here.

____________________________________________________________

If anyone is interested in more detailed notes I can go into them. Thanks all and good luck.

[Manii]

Hi! I followed the suggestion that It would be interesting to hear a much more modern approach to this song. I tried to achieve it in the choice of tools for the mix as well as the work on the sound itself, using bolder movements and more intensive processing. My mix:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T6Lj9o ... sp=sharing

[...]
It was a pleasure to work on this mix. Really good song, starting with the composition, through the performance, and ending with the contained message.

Hello,

Congrats for your mix! It's one of my personal favorites (I didn't listen to all of them). Good luck!

[FallenAngel]

Hey guys, here is my mix hope you all like it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Di8VFI ... drive_link

Drums: All go into the "drums" channel and then into the "percussion" channel with the addition of the tambourine. "Drums" channel has distortion and reverb sends. Toms were eqed, and both kick channels were sent to "kick" bus where they had a gate, eq, compressor, and additional parallel compression. Snare had gate compressor, eq and parallel compression. Overheads were eqed and the tambourine had compression.

Vocals: All vocals from each singer were sent to their own individual bus, which was all sent to the "vox" bus. All vocals but Gaz's FX vocal had plate reverb. Frank had compression and eq, Sion had compression, Gaz had compression EQ, a bit of distortion and delay. Near the end of the song, I put a bit more reverb on Gaz's vocal then dialled it down again. Gaz's FX vocal had compression, EQ, distortion and room reverb.

Piano and Organ: All of Leslie's organ channels were panned and sent to one channel named "Organ". All piano channels were sent to one channel named "piano". "Pian" and "organ" were sent to a "pianos" bus. Initially, the organ had loads of plate reverb and was eqed, later in the song the reverb was turned down. piano was eqed with plate reverb. At the start of the song, the near piano was faded in. At around bar 51 i made the piano go from right to left during the piano solo.

Guitars: Acoustic Guitars were sent to the "A gtr" channel and electrics were sent to a "e gtr" channel after being slightly panned. a gtr and egtr were sent to "Gtrs" channel. A gtr had EQ, spring reverb, plate reverb and a small bit of room reverb. e gtr had a pre amp, compressor, eq, spring reverb, plate reverb and delay. I spent ages trying to mix this guitar right, I'm still not sure if I am completely satisfied with it.

Bass: Bass guitar channels sent to "Bass Gtrs" buss. "Bass gtrs" and "Bass sub oct" sent to "Bass" buss. Bass gtrs had pre amp, compressor EQ, spring reverb and plate reverb.

Sound FX: All sound FX were sent to "Sound FX". Prophet 1 had delay and room reverb, prophet 2 had EQ, Radio had distortion.

FX channels: All FX channels had high pass filter at 200Hz to stop "muddy" reverb. For spring reverb "Devil spring" free plugin was used.

MIXED ON STUDIO ONE 5