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

[keyhengchan]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on here and my first submission! Still finding my way around mixing so feel free to give me feedback, both positive and especially negative ones!

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

My approach is to emphasise the state of mind that you don’t want and need the “help” from the person who broke you, and it is reflected in the chorus where I intended to not pull back the strings and various other elements, rather rich in texture.

Imagine driving on a twisty country lane midnight with windows shut, with scenery just rolling by. I wanted to create a rolling, continuous vibe which corresponds to the fade out of the song, therefore sections are not too distinguished processing wise. During the fade out, the automated HPF on vocals and master implies a sense of literally fading away from reality

Overview of what I have done:
Everything is sub-grouped, with guitars and pads eq side chained to vocal for that extra space

Drums are with usual eq compression but decided to keep it laid back a bit overall

Quite a bit of stereo ADT on guitars for extra width but blended with mono so it won’t sound too phasy when played in mono

Vocals are quite processed as there are some room tone in the lead track, and the dynamic range needs to be tamed a bit.

I didn’t get the chance to automate as much as I wanted due to a late start, so overall it could be much more dynamic but I guess I will keep that in mind for next time.

Equipment used: Logic pro on macbook pro, Unbranded in ear monitors as I am away from home, and with macbook pro built in speakers as quick reference. Not ideal but that is all I’ve got with me

[loft productions]

Hello Everyone;

What a great song! Kudos to the writers/ band.

My approach was to stay true to the band's vision. Basically used there mix as my main reference.

Tracks were all great, and the balance mix I did to start was really good.

That being said, listed below are some of my procedures on this mix.

Started off with an SSL 4000E on every channel to handle EQ and compression.

Lead vocals were treated with delay and reverb, which was ducked to keep things out of the way

Drums were compressed with a Kush AR1 followed by a Korneff Level Loc. Additionally, I used a parallel bus for kick and snare. Drop of verb on the snare, otherwise the room mics handled the drum ambience.

Guitars were EQ'd and compressed a bit, but also had a bit of automation to keep everything present .

Strings were grouped and also automated.

Pretty much everything was automated to some extent.

Mix buss was simple, bx townhouse compressing 1-2 db, finally passing through an Arturia J-37 tape machine.

That's it! Good luck everyone!

Best

Tony
Loft Productions


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oK1km8 ... share_link

[Vongluck]

Hello,

One more time, I thank you for all yours challenges.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NB0eE6 ... sp=sharing

Great song with a good voice. For this challenge, the difficulty was the chorus with too many sounds to manage in a same time.


Bye Vongluck.

[crispy]

hey guys, really nice song!

I took this as an opportunity to train myself on mixing and mastering, so I just mixed it many, many (many) times using different approaches/techniques/plugins and at the end I keeped the one I liked the most.

here is the link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VCxD3Q ... sp=sharing

I think I never mixed a track so many times like on this one.

[Piranha]

My entry

Let's start with the basics: I mixed the song with Reaper. Most of the tracks have a instance of MAutoDynamicEq.
The project is divided into a busses: drums, bass, guitars, keys vocals and effect. All busses go inside the master buss.
On the master bus there are an Acustica Celestial for saturation, a Brainworx Townhouse buss compressor, and an Oxford Inflator. All these are just doing a little bit of work.

DRUMS
On the drum bus I've used a TDR Limiter as a clipper, a Lindell 80 bus used as a saturator, a Lindell SBC for compression, an TRacks5 VC 670 for additional compression, and a UAD Oxide Tape for again saturation.
For the kick, I cut the mid-lows at 320 Hz and boosted at 5600 Hz. There are also slight high-pass and low-pass filters. The kick goes through two parallel processing chains with a DBX-160 and a Devil-Loc.
The two snare tracks are routed to a bus that contains an equalizer with high and low-pass filters and boosts at 200 Hz and 2300 Hz, followed by a Purple Audio MC77 compressor and an NS Channel for saturation. For the toms, which are also routed to a bus, I used high and low-pass filters and boosts on the mid-highs around 2000-3000 Hz, followed by a limiter and saturation.
For the hi-hat, there is just high-pass. On the overhead bus, frequencies around 730 Hz and 5500 Hz are cut. The shaker has a high-pass filter around 1200 Hz. The tambourine has a high-pass filter around 700 Hz and a low-pass filter around 10,000 Hz. On the room mic, there are high and low-pass filters and a Devil-Loc for compression, while on the mono room mic, only high and low-pass filters are applied.

BASS
For the bass amp I used just high and low-pass, and a dynamic low-end boost on the bass line. Additionally, both tracks have a Smooth Operator that manage frequencies around 600 Hz. Both tracks, together with the bass fuzz, are routed into a bus that contains a Lindell-80 with a boost on the highs and mid-highs, saturation, and a Universal Audio LA-2A for light compression.

GUITARS
On the guitar bus, we have an NLS in Mike mode. The two distorted tracks are panned and routed into a bus with high-pass filters and a Smooth Operator. Guitar Tremolo uses an Acustica Audio Eminence for saturation and to boost 1300 Hz, and is also sent to a delay. Guitar wah is compressed with an LA-3A. Acoustic Guitar has a high-pass filter and a cut at 360 Hz, compressed with an LA-2A. Guitar Solo is compressed with an LA-3A and has a boost at 700 Hz.

KEYS
On the keyboard bus, we have a T-RackS Precision Comp Limiter. High and low-pass filters are done with a Waves VEQ4, a cut at 390 Hz, another at 4700 Hz, and a shelf boost at 6800 Hz. On the keypad, there is a significant cut at 700 Hz and a significant boost at 4200 Hz. On the keypad dub, there is a cut at 500 Hz and a boost at 3000 Hz. All string tracks have been equalized, mainly with high and low-pass filters, and grouped into a bus with TrackSpacer in sidechain with the vocals.

VOX
The vocal tracks are grouped into a bus with an Acustica Fire The Bus compressor in it. Each track has been equalized, compressed, and reverberated. I've also used some saturation and limiting here and there.

[Emily Freudenfeld]

For my mix of The Prison That You See, I used a custom technique inspired by the Brauerizing method. I structured the processing into separate buses for precise control over parallel compression, saturation, and modulation effects, allowing maximum depth and dynamic control.

Mix Approach & Sound Design
My goal was to create a strong contrast between the verses and the hook:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10YIKmM ... drive_link

Verse: A light, airy, and almost healing sound with gentle parallel compression, subtle Mid/Side EQ adjustments, and a soft reverb tail, creating an open and spacious atmosphere.
Hook: A heavy, fat, and almost suffocating sound. To achieve this, I used saturating distortion processing on parallel drum and guitar buses, enhanced low-end density through targeted EQ adjustments, and aggressive reverb settings to maximize size and impact.
Technical Setup
Monitoring: Mixed and referenced on TD-880Pro for maximum detail.
Room Correction: Realphones 2.0 to ensure an accurate and neutral listening environment.
Drums: Transient shaping with SSL Channel Strip for added punch and clarity.
Vocals: Automated space & delay processing for emotion, with FabFilter Pro-Q3 for surgical corrections and Soundtoys Decapitator for harmonic saturation.
Bass: Neve-style EQ for midrange enhancement, with R-Bass adding subtle subharmonics for a fuller low-end.
I’m particularly proud of how the fragile transparency of the verses contrasts with the massive, almost overwhelming energy of the hook. This dynamic shift enhances the emotional depth and meaning of the song.

Looking forward to feedback and discussion with the community!

[Davias]

Hello everyone,

another great track to mix this month, very catchy, solid and epic pop rock song, a pleasure to mix.

My biggest issues were the noise present on many tracks, and some stereo discrepancy, which I spotted too late, my bad, should have used headphones from the beginning. So the mix might be a bit harsh in the mid-mids if u see what I mean. No time to fix it now, hope the groove and feel will speak for itself. If I ever reach the second round, I'll try to soften things a bit. Beside that, tracks were very well recorded, and it was a joy to mix overall.

Here is my mix https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ftmmkg8aMOwKz7fUmZUpKzJL--KgWP0t/view?usp=sharing

About the mix :

Using Reaper as usual.
EQ, gating, compression, SSL channel, on every track when needed as usual.
Some multiband noise gate on a lot of tracks

Beat is smashed in parallel with DBX style comp and further compressed with API style comp

Voices are levelled with TOMO on the bus, each one compressed with ThrillseekerLA

Shadow Hills Mastering comp and IK tape on the master bus

Multiband compression on the bass for consistency.

I used saturation on some tracks to beef them up a bit.
I did add a bit of reverb to the main voice and some tracks, and a quiet delay on the main guitars.

Good luck to everyone !

[Pitta]

Hello good people!

Here's my mix:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vIjvlx ... sp=sharing

Thanks for the opportunity. Great song, good arrangement.
In relation to the reference, I wanted to make it punchier, with some more clarity but still retain the intimate and, at the same time, disconnected and dreamy feeling. I hope I’ve achieved my intents and hope you like it.
Tracks sound pretty good and the arrangement has good spread of instrument frequency ranges so, I haven´t done that much.
Individual drums were brightened and compressed, slow attack, fast release.
Two parallel compression tracks on snare for some separate control of attack and sustain.
Parallel compression on all skins, with Waves DBX160, for some more point and interplay.
Also on skins, parallel distortion, just a touch, that feels to me , brightens, elongates and smears the attack.
Mid/side compression on drum bus with Waves puigtec 670.

Low passed bass DI and high passed the bass amp. Both were compressed separately, DI track more then the amp one. A bit of uniband compression on subs with Waves C4 to even out the feeling of the low end.
High passed at around 55Hz, still giving kick drum some space below that. Frequencies below 70Hz are being slightly ducked by the kick.
Some parallel compression and just a touch of sub harmonics with Waves Rbass.

On guitars, nothing much, some high passing and gentle carving here and there. Some compression on tremolo guitar to put it more steady and behind in the sound stage (contrary to the reference mix that is more in front, I wanted it to, still have the conversation with the vocal, but to had a bit more depth and the force the listener to lean into it).
Some compression on solo guitar and some tape delay.
Strings were brightened and compressed in mid/side, compressing just the center and raising the volume a bit on the sides, widening it up.
Nothing to the pads and lead, just some high passing, some gentle eq to acomodate.
Vocals were clip gained a bit and are compressed in several stages trying to bring out emotion, details and clarity, and some parallel compression too with Soundtoys Devil Lock.
Going to a plate, an 8th note delay, some slap delay. Also a ping pong delay on chorus. All these are automated throughout the song. There some throws to a hall and a ping pong tape delay.
Used a whisper track using Waves Morphoder and put that into some throws too.
A couple db of compression with Waves SSLComp on the Master Bus.

[White Punk OD]

Hello Edling, kind greetings to everyone!

My mix:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k3WIgI ... sp=sharing

I always loved this type of music, but had so far not the pleasure to mix it.
I'd like it to sound very mellow, with a lot of dark tones.
Keyboards should come forward at some places.

Main reverb is via AUX, uses OrilRiver with long decay time, and at the input of the reverb there is an insert multiband comp, that nukes all high frequencies, but does not entirely cut them. So, the sound is still quite brilliant, but has no sibilance.

Kick:
mainly KSHMR Essential, which is like a special channel strip with all usual kick parameters.
snare:
snare top is multed in 3 tracks that are grouped one below the other.
basically, each has a resonant hipass filter, that catches one of the relevant tones or modes,
and then an inline reverb with strong modulation, that makes every hit a bit different.
Channel strip for these 3 is each Lindell X, with slightky different settings.
These 3 and snare bottom use also gates (unfiltered G8) to make the sound tighter and the ringing shorter, because the ringing is emphasized for 3 different tones with the hipass filters.
I can adjust the reverb and compression per tone. It becomes quite fat this way.

snare bottom uses a transient designer, to soften the attack (anti-robotic) and prolong the sustain (sounds a little bit like "gate reverb".
This also has a "Nebula" plugin which is basically a multi-modulation system plus delay. I used subtle settings.

Overheads > SPL vitalizer

Kick and sn are grouped to a but that uses Crystalline reverb.

Bass uses Ampeg SVT3Pro for the DI signal. The amp track uses a hipass and a chorus effect.

It wasn't required to do much with the guitars, great recording!
Acc git uses Nova GE to soothe resonances, then it gets boosted with Lindell 354E Multiband comp. There is also a Haas delay. This trk feeds into the general Aux reverb.

Keyboard bus has a dub delay, to make it sound more complex and darker.

vocals:
compression is through 2 different comps in parallel (they have no latency) plus a direct line is crossing them.
This is like the comp mix knob but there are 2 comps.
I'm using a valve saturation plugin to brighten up a bit.
One effect track is set one octave lower, it is not audible but fattens up the voice (described by Warren Huart).

Background voc uses an elliptic sharp hipass and SPL Vitalizer.

Some tracks and all buses use one of several channel strips, with usual compressor and EQ work.

Master bus has an EQ and IRON compressor.

Thanks for listening, and good luck everyone!

[pjsmixedit]

Hey all! This is my first Mix Challenge, and I'm excited to be a part of this! Here is my submission: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16C2uZu ... sp=sharing

I mixed this on a pair of VSX Slate modeling headphones (in the NRG room if anyone else uses this software) and used Pro Tools as my DAW. I tried to keep this one simple, especially since everything had been recorded well and the tones were already there.

I used the Slate Virtual Mix Rack on most of the tracks that I did processing on. Generally, I do bus processing on the instrument groups but I did directly process the kick, snare, acoustic guitar, and lead vocals.

Drums - I was trying to get the drums and rhythm guitars to match the energy of the lyrics and convey the anguish that the singer is conveying. For the drum bus, I used Slate's FG-Grey compressor, as well as the Decapitator from SoundToys to give it an extra smack.

Bass - I loved the tone of the bass given and just wanted to cut a little bit out of the low end to make room for the kick.

Acoustic Guitar - Nothing more than some light EQ and compression.

Electric Guitars - I bussed the rhythm guitars and the FX guitars separately, with the rhythm guitars getting slightly more shaping. Again, just some compression and EQ.

Synths - These I actually left unprocessed and did more panning and leveling to get them to sit and blend in the mix.

Vocals - All of the background and harmony vocals got a variation on the Lead Vox processing, with slightly more compression. I also have them sending to a delay/reverb combo and have those send levels automated up in the choruses.

Master Bus - I have the mix running through a Slate FG-MU (Fairchild emulator) and have the Ozone 11 Exciter after to give slight tape saturation to the whole thing.

Overall, I had a great time mixing this song and I appreciate the band for letting us use it!