MIX CHALLENGE - MC095 December 2023 - Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

Thank you for handling the evaluation, @Christoph_K.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Thursday, 11-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

As of this moment, that is 5 days (plus the hours since @Christoph_K'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)

@ari5to5
@Dodgingrain
@EmClrk
@jw_
@MartialFromentin
@Michael_K
@Mork
@njm255
@Ronson79
@rvalle
@scottfitz
@shoma
@SimaGT
@simola
@WrightAudio
.

!	Bonus Info
	Please read more about the "Wild Card" game mechanic here Mix Challenge - Addendum: Statistic Sheet and Wild Card Mechanic All Wild Card users are not only asked to apply the requested changes, but also to fix what they had at fault with Mix Round 1. Please use the following filename template: MC095__Arvo_Kim_Noah__Home__ForumUsername_R2.wav

The feedback to the productions can be found here:
Please see post #090 for individual feedback.



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. Please do pay attention to detail.

[Wyku]

@Christoph_K If you feel so inclined, would you be able to pass along some feedback on my mix please? Kinda surprised I didn't make the cut comparing to the other mixes TBH, but everyone probably thinks that heh. I'm guessing I might have pushed things too far with creative choices and missed the mark on the heart of the challenge?

[Christoph_K]

@Christoph_K If you feel so inclined, would you be able to pass along some feedback on my mix please? Kinda surprised I didn't make the cut comparing to the other mixes TBH, but everyone probably thinks that heh. I'm guessing I might have pushed things too far with creative choices and missed the mark on the heart of the challenge?

Hey @Wyku
To be honest, there are many mixes on par when it comes down to the lower places. And you still have to pick 12, how do you do that? When reviewing the mixes I started from part 3. If that part wasn’t in the ballpark I could sort out the best mixes quite easily. Your mix unfortunately just did not pass there. But to be fair, it’s hard to stay objective all the way down to the end. It’s also a matter of taste, that’s what makes mixing competitions hard and unfair, at least to me as a contestant. I have been through this too often. Sometimes the winner mix is just not my taste and I still find my mix better. So I keep on doing it. Hope that helps

[WrightAudio]

Thanks for the feedback. Can anyone clarify - is there a specific filename template to use for the mix revision for round 2? As far as I know, one cannot have identical filenames when uploading to googledrive. This would mean the original uploaded mix would need to be removed. I may be wrong though.

I have looked at the rules but I can't see a different filename template for round 2.

Many thanks

Paul

[jw_]

Thanks for the feedback. Can anyone clarify - is there a specific filename template to use for the mix revision for round 2? As far as I know, one cannot have identical filenames when uploading to googledrive. This would mean the original uploaded mix would need to be removed. I may be wrong though.

I have looked at the rules but I can't see a different filename template for round 2.

Many thanks

Paul

The filename template for round 2 is:
MC095__Arvo_Kim_Noah__Home__ForumUsername_R2.wav.

It's mentioned in the info box of post #91.

[WrightAudio]

[/quote]
The filename template for round 2 is:
MC095__Arvo_Kim_Noah__Home__ForumUsername_R2.wav.

It's mentioned in the info box of post #91.
[/quote]

Thanks very much!

[Michael_K]

Thank you @Christoph_K for advancing me to round 2.
Just a clarification if you have the time:

Leadvocals could have a little less reverb (Verse 2 ff)

Is the less reverb note for verse 2 only, or the entire LV part (not the intro)?
By verse 2 we mean the part starting at about 3:27, correct?

Thanks again!

[Ronson79]

A late happy new year to all the contestants! I listened carefully to your mixes during the last days and will now give feedback to the 15 best submissions. For a better orientation I attached a screenshots of the song markers I used so you know what I am talking about:

@Ronson79
Pretty solid mix. I like the vocal sound, maybe it's a bit muddy in part 1 (look for the resonances at 150hz). Tasty FX and good balances in general. Leadvox has way too much deesser in verse 1ff. The 909kick could cut though better. In Part 3 there seems to be some masking between bass and guitars, I hear a buildup in the lower registers. The drums sound great! Guitars in part 3 could be sitting in the mix better.

There were a lot of interesting approaches to the song. Especially when it comes to fx choices, there was a lot to play with. Not everyone got this right and each mix has its strong and weak elements. I encourage you guys to listen to the top 15 mixes, some of them are already really great! I hope my feedback guides you in the right direction and I am looking forward to round 2!

Hi Christoph, thanks for the feedback which is on point imo.

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

-I addressed the 150Hz region in the vocals with dynamic eq which really was too prominent.
-Recovered the esses
-pushed the punch of the 909 with a dynamic transient eq boost in the 8kHz range
-injected some more energy in the guitars and controlled the bass
-overall parallel energy lift of the whole song as it was a bit on the dark side

Have a great 2024!

Best regards

Ronson

[Dodgingrain]

@Dodgingrain
Part 1 is good, vocals are a bit sibilant though and the accordion could play a more important role to make it more interesting. Good transition to part 2. I’m not a big fan of the room the guitar sits in but I like the placement of the bouzouki. The leadvox in part 2 and 3 is too loud sometimes. The dynamics could be more controlled. 909kick could be a tiny bit more cutting though. The saturation on the synthbass makes it too obvious, it should sound more gentle. Revisit the balances in part 3, the tracks don’t sound connected and don't play tougher really well. GTR solo is too quiet. BGV have to much deessing and could be louder.

Thanks for the great notes.

Changes:
- adjusted the vocal sibilance in part1
- boosted the level of the accordian and added some panning, reduced panning on one of the guitar intro tracks to create more contrast between the guitar and accordian
- changed the reverb on the guitar
- adjusted the levels on some of the vocals in parts 2 and 3 to even out the vocals overall
- added an eq boost to the 909 at around 6k
- reduced the saturation on the bass and boosted the level to compensate
- adjusted the balances a bit in part 3, mainly on the guitar parts, adjusted the eq slightly
- boosted the levels of the BGV's in part 3 and adjusted the sibilance control.
- adjusted sibilance control on BGV's in part 2 and added a dynamic compressor on the high mids to try and even them out.
- boosted overall level of the track by .1db

Next rev of the mix is here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqpB-RLndYJrlZcBQ3t ... A?e=kDtei4

[Dodgingrain]

@Christoph_K If you feel so inclined, would you be able to pass along some feedback on my mix please? Kinda surprised I didn't make the cut comparing to the other mixes TBH, but everyone probably thinks that heh. I'm guessing I might have pushed things too far with creative choices and missed the mark on the heart of the challenge?

Hey @Wyku
To be honest, there are many mixes on par when it comes down to the lower places. And you still have to pick 12, how do you do that? When reviewing the mixes I started from part 3. If that part wasn’t in the ballpark I could sort out the best mixes quite easily. Your mix unfortunately just did not pass there. But to be fair, it’s hard to stay objective all the way down to the end. It’s also a matter of taste, that’s what makes mixing competitions hard and unfair, at least to me as a contestant. I have been through this too often. Sometimes the winner mix is just not my taste and I still find my mix better. So I keep on doing it. Hope that helps

So true. So many factors are even out of the mixer's control. It can come down to what styles of music the mixer listened to growing up vs the artist. I find what works best is to mix as many different projects as I can and not worry about what does ok and what doesn't. I forget about a mix as soon as its submitted and move on to the next one. Its then a nice surprise later on if I hear back from the artist and they want to move forward but honestly by that point I've totally forgot about it and if its rejected/doesn't do well I'm busy on something new anyway. Get used to rejection, try to understand why a mix didn't do well, try to figure out if its technical and you can adjust or if its just a difference in taste, take anything you can learn and move to the next one.

lol, its also common to get an accepted mix, go through revisions, and feel like the artist had you make it worse, lol. Sometimes to the point that you don't want your name on it anymore.