MIX CHALLENGE - MC102 February 2025 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation

[doobop]

Hi everyone!

Many rough mixes first to get the feeling.
Then proceed with the processing, dynamic, eq, fx etc..
Pretty casual stuff and wanted to pump it up a little bit to move me.

Hope you like it.
Thanks to the provider for giving such a nice rock song.

Link:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/123l9izz ... ntnaq&dl=0

Bye,
Doobop

[jules666]

Hi All,

Great tune for this challenge thank you @Edling for providing the tracks, and @Mister Fox for running these challenges.

I am using Reaper, with Kali In-5 speakers with Sonarworks and also DT770 Pro headphones.
Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_9BP-M ... sp=sharing

Tried to give the drums a more real/live feel to them. So started with my usual subtle saturation across all tracks.
Snare: Duplicated both top track, and compessed one of the duplicates really hard, with transient designer on the lowend,EQ and limiter. Similar with the snare down tracks. These went to a Snare bus where I processed further with EQ/COmpression/Limiter and transient designer.
Kick: Decapitator to get some more life into the kick, transeint designer on lowend and really just EQ and a limiter.
Toms: Saturation/EQ
Rooms/OH: Pretty much saturationa and eq and some compression. I did duplicate the OH tracks and treat with verb to create a fake "Room" track, aim was to give the kit a bigger sound.
Parallel channels were: Compression/Distrotion and a few different verbs. Sends from the kit tracks sent to these in varing amounts.

Bass: Did my usual split it for High/Low, just saturation/eq/compresison. Blended in with the fuzz (just a limiter here) and the amp track (used extra saturation to get a little more from it).

Guitars: they sounded good though I did use some extra saturation to help sit the tone in the mix. Tremlo guitar had some panning automation, and also did some volume/panning in places on the other guitar tracks to help them fit.

Keys/Pads: satuation/EQ/verbs and delays in places as well.
Vocals: Approached with my normal chain which into a Desser, then compressor, EQ another compressor and limiter

Vocals were sent to a some different verbs (Plate/Hall), slap delay 1/4note delay and a distortion bus all blened, and automated to taste. Was a telephone effect put in near the end.

All my tracks sum at the relevant bus i.e
ALL Drums
All Bass
etc
These buses have Waves NLS on to give it some anlogue colour, some EQ/Compression/clipper etc where I felt was needed.
Used Rear Bus technique.

Master bus has: SSL Bus compressor which i mix into, also Pultec style EQ, again i mixed into. I used a multiband compressor and another compressor (1:5 ration) to keept all together.

As mentioned lots of automation.
Hope you enjoy

[Miłosz]

Hi,
Here is my mix:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pi86j98p ... jrnfe&dl=0

I tired to achieve sound similar to HIM. I listened to "Dark Lights". They established their sound on this album.
The chorus of The Person that you see remainds me of HIM very much.

First thing I did was dynamic split kick and snare track and normalize every hit using Lufs short term algorythm. I controled this hits with dynamic EQ.
I used EQ on every channel. I used parrallel commpresion on drum bus.
Bass guitar is EQ and stereo chorus.
Rhythm gtrs eq and reverb
Crunch guitar is pseudo stereo and eq.
Tremolo clean guitar is eq and fet compression.
Vocal is eq, fet compression, saturation, dynamic eq as deesser. sent to reverb and delay
MIX bus is:
SSL type compression 4:1, slow attack, auto release. 2-3 db reduction,
low end enhancement
stereo widening
saturation
dynamic eq to control high frequencies.
If I were doing mastering I would add clipping and limmiting.

I hope you like it.

[Strange]

Hi Edling,
Thank you very much, here are my thoughts and my Mix.
To understand the song, I looked at the lyrics:
In the verses, the lyrical ego asks his counterpart for help and shows how badly he is doing.
In the second verse, the lyrical ego complains about his hopeless situation and the attempt to eliminate the suffering through pain.
In the refrain, the lyrical ego shows strength and defines his self-destruction as autonomy and self-determination.
Only the last sentence offers a glimpse of a way out through something like personality development or personality denial. That remains open. Further thoughts are slowly faded out.
My mix would like to follow these thoughts. The verses are intended to show a quiet helplessness, a voice that sticks close to the listener.
The refrain shows the strength and rebellion of the lyrical ego and becomes louder and more outcry and ends in the even louder extatic bridge.
The quiet acoustic break poses the final question, which ends in the outro and fades out.
I have routed an instrument bus for this, the volume of which I automate.
I also automated the parallel snare compressor to follow the feelings.
I stretched many instruments outwards to emphasize the loneliness of the voice in the middle. In the chorus, the vocals become stronger and broader due to the polyphony.
With the noise intro, I wondered what that was all about. When I found this swirling sound while trying it out, it was the sound that drew me into this world of thoughts like a whirlpool.
My aim when mixing is always to support the song and the message. I hope that worked a little.
Thank you for this opportunity and the great song!!!!

MY MIX

Kick: EQ, KSHMR Essential Kick, Kramer Pie, Spicerack
Snare: EQ, dbx 160, UADx 1176 Rev E parallel
HH: EQ LowCut
Toms: dbx 160
OH: Model N, Neve Channel, Split EQ to lower the room
Amb: EQ, very quite
Shaker/Tamb: NI Raum
DRM Bus: Chandler Limiter Germanium, Neve 33609 C, EQ
Bass Line: API 30Hz, Distressor (slatedigital)
Bass Amp: RBASS, EQ
BASS Bus: EQ, Split EQ more bass transients
Git Acoustic: TubeTech CL 1B, EQ, TC 8210 Club-reverb
Git Dist: EQ, Korneff Amplified Instrument Processor, PawnShop parallel, TC 8210 reverb
Git Solo: True Iron, EQ
Git Tremolo re: True Iron, EQ, SoftubeSpring Reverb, Aurora reverb cathedral
Git Tremolo li: True Iron, EQ, , Aurora reverb cathedral more Predelay
Git Wha: EQ, Aurora reverb ambience
Git Bus: Magma BB Tubes, Pultec EQ, Neutron 4 unmask the Bass
Key Noise: EQ, Harrison Tremoöo Panner, ADA Flanger, Valhalla shimmer, Storch Filter
Key Pad: EQ
Key Strings: EQ, Kiive Tape Face
Instrument Bus: EQ, Curve Equator, IDX Intelligent Dynamic
Vox Lead: Silk Vocal, 1176 Rev A, LA 2A silver, EQ, Pultec EQ, smart desser
Vox Lead double: EQ, automated Ripple Delay
Vox reverb: UAD 480 L, 1,925ms, 70ms predelay, EQ, stock Compressor
Delay: Echoboy slapDelay
BGV Bus: Silk Vocal, Aurora reverb
Reference: BenjiRage, Acoustic Spaces, jw,HIM, edling
MixBus: omnipressor, Ampex ATR-102 Master Tape, Ozone Low End Focus, bx refinement, ManleyMassivPassive MST, SSL G3 Multiband Comp, Ozone Clarity, ElJuan Limiter
Monitor: KSD Digital C8, avantone, Audeze LCD XC, small treated room with IK ARC Studio

Maybe you like it,
Peter

[javipablos]

Hello Everyone,
Here my mix: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6fuywoh8 ... 61c3u&dl=0

Thanks again to @MisterFox and @Edling for preparing this for mixing.

My thoughts about the mix:
- Create a dense mix full of "weight". Each part should be denser than the one before. Contrast comes from widening and space the elements on the choruses.

The Mix:
- Voices: clear and forward. Processed with Neve 1073, 1176 Compressor and DeEsser (emulations). Short plate + longer hall reverbs.
- Drums&Perc: moving forward the song. Kck&Snare processed with SSL E channel + DBX160 + PultecEQP1. Rest of elements, just EQ,
- Bass: DI for lows and Amp/Fuzz for upper harmonics. EQ + Fairchild emulator for compression
- Guitars: Pointing clearly the riff and creating some "dirtiness" and "mess" at the choruses. Processed with LA-3A and SSL E channel strip.
- Acoustic guitar: Just Neve 1073 and UAD1176 blue
- Synths: Creating some background and helping to achieve the fullness and density. Just EQ and some compression on the strings.
- All the instruments are sent to a Room verb and solo guitar through a stereo delay.

[Rockincher]

Hello everyone,

I'm sharing my entry for this month's challenge along with a video to present my session. The video is unlisted and will be available for the duration of the challenge.

Thanks to the artists for this track, which was a pleasure to work on, and to the organizers of Mix-challenge.

Enjoy listening and happy mixing to all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_3ro1i7A_U

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mEl3Zt ... sp=sharing

[Xuan]

This is my first to to be part of this event. Thanks @MisterFox and @Edling for hosting this event and providing this song .I like the unqiue tone of it.

Here is what I did:
Overall Goal:
Maintain the song's energy while keeping it clean and ensuring the vocals are prominently featured throughout the mix. Adjust the balance between guitars and keys to offer different colors for each section.

General Approach
Utilized gain automation and compression on individual tracks, subgroups, and buses to manage dynamics.

Drums
Kick and Snare: Enhanced punch and presence to cut through the mix.

Tambourine, Hats, and Overhead: Added brightness to improve the overall groove of the drum set.

Room Tracks: Cracked more room tone to achieve a wider sound.

Bass
Low End: Tightened and made fuller.

Saturation: Applied around 1-3 kHz to better “glue” with guitars and keys.

Guitars
Frequency Control: Reduced muddiness and harsh tones by controlling the low-mid and certain spikes in the high-frequency range.

Saturation: Added excitement, particularly for the chorus.

Keys
Frequency Control: Reduced muddiness in the low-mid range.

Imaging and Effects: Used imager, low amount of reverb, and chorus to avoid clashes with guitars and vocals.

Vocals
Processing: Used EQ, saturation, and compression to make the vocals more prominent and central. Applied additional control with Pro-Q 4.


Last, about the fading out part, I aimed for a more multilayered and delicate fade-out rather than just turning everything down simultaneously.

So I tried to decrease the volume of each track at slightly different timings through various processes.

Hats: First to fade out, using gain automation.

Guitars: Faded out with gain automation, increased reverb, and a high-cut filter to create a sense of distance.

Key_Pads: Became more prominent as other elements faded, providing a sustained line for a credential feeling.

Kick, Snare amd Bass: Gradually faded out last, maintaining overall balance with volume adjustments.

Here's the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QLLcuI ... sp=sharing

[Mister Fox]

Two simple questions for the following entries.

...

Guits 1 and 2 were duplicated (verse/chorus) because they have different purposes on each place.
Chorus send for guits. For more width as well.

...

Can you please explain what you meant with "douplicated" in that regard?

Unless I understand it, that you basically "cloned" the tracks, processed them differently and then mixed them alongside the existing ones to add some more flavor?

...

First thing I did was dynamic split kick and snare track and normalize every hit using Lufs short term algorythm. I controled this hits with dynamic EQ.

...

Just for understanding purposes... what are you doing here exactly? And why did you "normalize" every drum hit? Doesn't that basically make the drum kit more robotic? Keep in mind, these aren't inconsistently played real drums. These are already processed recordings (samples).



We're all here to learn - please go a bit more into detail.

Thank you.

[LCM!]

...

Guits 1 and 2 were duplicated (verse/chorus) because they have different purposes on each place.
Chorus send for guits. For more width as well.

...

Can you please explain what you meant with "douplicated" in that regard?

Unless I understand it, that you basically "cloned" the tracks, processed them differently and then mixed them alongside the existing ones to add some more flavor?

It's not a big thing: duplicate a track, one for each section (verse/chorus) and delete the part you don't need in each duplicated track.

[ConcreteMixer]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dBdL7M ... sp=sharing

Thanks to @Edling for providing this lovely track for mixing and @MisterFox for hosting the competition.

I really enjoyed mixing this song because of the mid 20's indie/alt feel for this track. I love the melancholic emotion and despite never hearing this song before, it actually felt very nostalgic for me.

The mixing was nothing too crazy but here are a couple notes:

• Used uHe Presswerk on the drum bus for parallel compression (4:1 ratio, 65:35 dry/wet)
• Nearly all tracks have HPF somewhere between 30hz and 250hz
• Sparingly used a large room reverb in Vahlhalla DSP Room for the vocals and snare
• Vocals have a 1176 emulation through uHe Presswerk for compression, threshold to taste
• Lots of 10k+ high shelf added to tons of the tracks using PSP NobleQex
• Lastly, some volume, panning, and send automation on mostly the drums, guitars, and vocals
• Mixed in Cubase 13