MIX CHALLENGE - MC097 April 2024 - Winners announced

[rvalle]

Hello friends!

This is my version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JjfamA ... share_link

I used Carly Simon as a reference
As Mister Fox said, this mix was straightforward.
As the stems came almost completely balanced in terms of gain, there were very few movements in this respect.
The drums were quite simple to get right, with only moderate equalization and compression. I did, however, have to adjust the position of one of the kick stems to improve the phase correlation.
The well-recorded vocal just needed some compression and saturation
On the other instruments, just a few equalization and compression movements on some. I paid a little more attention to the horns, which were a little raw for my taste and also clashed with the vocal in the mid-high range.
For ambience, I used a spring delay (PSP SpringBox), a rhythm delay (PSP Lexicon 42x), short room reverb (Eventide Tverb), long room reverb (Eventide Tverb) and an effect reverb for the bridge (Eventide H3000).
Thanks @A Future in Noise for this very nice song, with a good mood and enjoyable to mix.

[Mork]

Hey,


due to time constraints I flash mixed this one with a limited setup and basically followed my instincts on the spot. There's not even a limiter on the master bus, because no time I did this in around 45 min.
As you can guess, all I did was very basic eq, compression and effects. Nothing fancy at all. Bass and e gtr are have an amp sim on them. I used the wet solo gtr.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VX9VEx ... drive_link

Edit: DAMN, Reapers render settings don't default to the session samplerate, and I just hit render in a hurry. So this is 44.1

[ggibson1988]

Great mellow song to work with. Definitely a 60's / 70's vibe. Tried to stay true to that sound.

Thanks to the artist and as always thank to MR Fox for putting this competition together..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u1fQHJ ... sp=sharing

Kick: Slight EQ on both tracks, with additional EQ and clipper on kick bus.

Snare: Transient processing, with EQ and clipper on bus.

Toms: Split into 3 tracks with different EQ and panning on all three, clipper on bus

Bass: Split into 2 tracks with high pass on one, low pass on the other. Sans amp on high pass track.

Guitars: Duplicated all tracks with high pass and delay on depleted tracks, panned in opposite direction of original tracks.

Wah and fuzz on E-GTR with automation on mix nob of plug in

Eq and compression on all Guitar parts.

Eq on Strings

Compression on trumpets.

Vox: Ran through noise reduction to get rid of some buzz in background.
1176 to LA2A compression on all tracks along with De-Essing.

Guitars, vox, high pass bass and drums sent to Reverb.

[Mister Fox]

It is the 22nd April 2024, 00:25 UTC+1/CET - the first Mix Round has officially ended

Once more, a very warm welcome to all new participants, which was a surprising surge (I'm curious - how did you find the Mix Challenge?), nice meeting you and I hope you'll enjoy your stay. A huge thank you to everyone that is spreading the word about the Mix Challenge.

Please also help get the Songwriting Competition as popular (SWC080 is still in full swing - 7 participants so far, 3 days left).


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 90 submissions this month (88 prior to the deadline, plus 02 after the deadline, not counting re-submissions)
• the multi-tracks have been downloaded 166 times
• We have 2 submissions after the deadline (as of 22-APR-2024 00:25 UTC+2/CEST, re-checked 22-APR-2024 02:15 UTC+2/CEST)
• We have 4 submissions that could not be downloaded by the time of this post and are therefore disqualified (re-checked 22-APR-2024 02:15 UTC+2/CEST)
• We have 3 submission not submitted properly or not submitted in public (e.g. submitted via SoundCloud or via PM - see Rule Book, post #6, Upload and Submission Guidelines)
• We have 0 submissions that have been withdrawn (entry counts as "submission within the deadline")
• Overview of Submissions - is your entry within given parameters? (PDF - updated: 28-APR-2024 23:05 UTC+2/CEST, full sheet)
• Overview of Submissions (disqualifications only) (PDF - updated: 28-APR-2024 23:05 UTC+2/CEST)

INFORMATION:
Statistic Sheets have been updated (on 27-APR-2024 22:30 UTC+2/CEST)
Statistic Sheets are not available yet, please wait for the official announcement post -- sheets will arrive by mid 25-APR-2024 latest
.

⚠	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, @A Future in Noise , decided to go the "(Feedback for) Top 15" route. There might be additional feedback, but this is not a guarantee. We will keep you updated.

.


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 080 (SWC080) is still in full swing.
So far, there are 7 entries, 3 days left

Please spread the word!

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	Please note, the Song Pool is officially empty. Without new multi-tracks, there will be no more Mix(ing) Challenges in 2024. Only you can help. Please spread the word, or reach out yourself. Please read more through the following page: Mix Challenge - Song Pool Campaign

EDIT: 22-APR-2024 0:30 UTC+2/CEST - initial post
EDIT: 27-APR-2024 22:40 UTC+2/CEST - added Statistic Sheets
EDIT: 28-APR-2024 23:05 UTC+2/CEST - updated Statistic Sheets

[RayK25]

https://mega.nz/file/AjIGULoS#xfvEAU20k ... WH1pMucWKI (admin edit: updated version)

Much of the main focus for this mix evolved around the provider's request and the genre in general. The tone is set to somewhat match that of the early mid 70s era. This is apparent by letting kick & bass have presence but not dominating or overpowering. This also provides more clarity should allow greater flexibility and increased options when mastering to various medium. For me, it lends towards being perceived as a true commercial product from the era.
The context of the track calls for a lighter texture and so there is nothing that really jumps out with exception of maybe the cello and horns in their respective areas.
Emphasis was placed on making the virtual instruments come off as being true acoustic. This was probably the most challenging but strong efforts were applied nonetheless.

Technically, nothing really outstanding. Re-amped the 'acoustic_guitar_sampled' for an improved blend. Placed enough air underneath the vocal to feel the breathes of the vocalist so some low mids were increased for a better balance.
Preserving important dynamics (creating in some instances) were important for this one.

Good luck to others in the contest and good luck to the provider!
As always, thanks to the folks that maintain this forum.

- Ray K

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	After talking to the participant, this post has been restored on 23-APR-2024 for everyone to access, listen and give feedback to the entry, even if it was submitted after the deadline. Due to me editing this post, and due to the nature how the forum works, this post can no longer be edited otherwise. Apologies for the inconvenience.

[malene]

Solid mix, listening on my macbook and if feels good. The vocal sounds good, but feels a little much 3k, but that's minor

Hi all,
As usual, thanks to the artist, A Future in Noise and to Mister Fox, I loved working on this pop song. I found the existing version of the song to be a well executed modern sounding version, but I felt that the track was more suited to being a natural 60s/70s style track, so that's what I've gone for.

Heres' the link to my entry
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BZKUq5 ... sp=sharing

I always wanted to submit an entry on the day the Mix Challenge was opened. This month I was forced to do this as I've got lot's on. After what I said in the previous entry about mixbus plugins, on this track I have used 0, yes zero plugins on the mixbus. I only have time to give minimal notes, so I will talk about the bass processing which I spent a fair amount of the time on.

[scottfitz]

Thanks very much malene, I notice that you didn't submit an entry for this challenge, but I hope that you have given it a go because it's an ideal project for learning mixing as we all are here.

Listening back to my mix which I had to do in a rush due to other commitments, I would say the bass is too high, not way off, but just to the point where the other sounds are a little bit engulfed into it. This would be hard to detect when listening on a laptop

The weird thing to say about this one if you like my mix is that I really didn't do that much at all and I think this perhaps a key realisation. The easiest way to get a bad mix is to do lots of things, if you have like 6 plugins on every channel, it's probably going to sound awful. Sure, there's great mixers out there who can do incredible things with lots of plugins used to create something innovative and new, but it needs to be noted that these kinds of people would have got to that level because to them it was too easy to do a normal mix - to do what we are doing here. They did a normal mix like the first time they ever tried and then they became advanced overnight and began to explore amazing things. For us mere mortals, we need to concentrate on learning the basic things and then progress later. The reason less is more in mixing is that every recorded piece of audio is a perfect thing in a way, the frequencies of a persons voice for example, if it's well enough recorded it will be a beautifully balanced sound just as it is. We can easily destroy it by making a 3dB cut almost anywhere. We can easily destroy it by compressing it by much more than 5dB or with bad release time. Because it's so easy to make something worse and hard to make it better, the rule I have is I must always be sure something is better and not convinced into it by some bias of mine. Unfortunately this means that you have to spend your life gain matching everything. If on every step you take you can make something a tiny bit better then the sum of all the tiny bits becomes a nice mix. Sadly, just one bad mistake will destroy everything. So these days I think of it as a very delicate process in which we are cautious to take steps and require a lot of testing to 'prove' that a move was indeed good or called for.

And of course you didn't ask for any of this But I think it could be useful for anyone here to read these thoughts.

[LCM!]

Solid mix, listening on my macbook and if feels good. The vocal sounds good, but feels a little much 3k, but that's minor

Heres' the link to my entry
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BZKUq5 ... sp=sharing

Sounds nice. Two things: a little mono feeling and the level of the crash (excessive?).

[scottfitz]

Hi,
Yeah I've been told my mixes are too mono a number of times before and I am trying to address this but it's very hard to get a better stereo spread without it being at the expense of other aspects. If you have any help for me in how to achieve it then please explain ideas....
The crash - yeah you're probably right.
Thanks for your feedback, this Is what the mix challenge is all about. I will try to listen to your mix later but I still have a bit of a time shortage.

[scottfitz]

Solid mix, listening on my macbook and if feels good. The vocal sounds good, but feels a little much 3k, but that's minor

Heres' the link to my entry
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BZKUq5 ... sp=sharing

Sounds nice. Two things: a little mono feeling and the level of the crash (excessive?).

Just listened to your mix, it's nice, you've done loads of things very well. I think your intro sounds better than mine for a start with a good balance and good separation between the 3 sounds. Then onto the verse I think you've handled this well and have dealt effectively with that tricky electric guitar part which I recall just putting lower in the mix (probably too low). You also have a much better set bass level than I did. Something you could improve upon is listening to how all the settings can become an issue when the section changes. Listen to the beginning of Chorus 1, the song should at this point spring to life, like moving up a gear maybe, or having panned instruments get wider, or the overall level jumping up a bit, or just the density of sound giving an apparent impression of a loudness increase. But on your mix I hear the overall level duck a bit, it's something I've done many times before. The compressors are set well for one section, but when the part changes on the second section, suddenly the compressors are doing much more GR than they were, so instead of hearing the song open out naturally with the performances, the compressors react by doing like twice as much as they were, over the chorus you can hear the mixbus compressor is doing too much. Despite this it still manages to sound very pleasant with all the good things you've done. I think your balance is better than mine overall as I put the bass too high! whoops. Anyway good luck and thanks for the feedback