MIX CHALLENGE - MC103 April 2025 - Submissions until 21-APR-2025 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

[Mister Fox]

Hello and welcome to the Mix Challenge 103 - April 2025

!

Bonus Info

With this month's game, you have the chance to work on a German "Pop (Rock)" production by Mix Challenge community regular @Strange, who kindly provided these multi-tracks. The song is called "Weg zu Dir" (The way to you). One of the bigger challenges will be finding a good balance between the percussive work and the vocals, creating an overall upbeat feeling. The vocals are another interesting aspect of this challenge, as they are not your typical "perfect on beat" type performance. It is highly recommended to consult the lyrics (incl. translation) to understand the overarching story this song is telling. Interested to work on another non-English production? Then please take special note of the attached TXT files in the Mix Pack. And please read about the details and special requirements for handling this mix further down below.

BEFORE WE GET STARTED:

• Please consult the official "Rules and Guidelines" (TL;DR version) for the Mix Challenge regarding principles of the game, upload/submission guidelines, the concept of documenting your edits, and maximum allowed loudness. The Multi-Track Mix Pack also features a "TL;DR Rules.txt" file with the game specific filename template and distribution specs.
• The focus of this game is "mixing". Try to create a mix in your own style that complements this production and can stand on it's own, no matter the playback medium. Edit/Mix in such a way, that barely any after-touches other than proper fade in/out and finalizing for distribution (incl. loudness adjustments e.g. for release on Streaming, Vinyl, Tape, CD) is needed for a possible follow-up mastering step.
• The "Mix Pack" and additional information for this months production can be found in in post #002

Read more about this month's competition further down below. And if you got any question, please also reach out on Discord.



.
MIX(ING) CHALLENGE THREAD INDEX

Post #001 -- Introduction post and index for the various stages of the Songwriting Competition. Will be updated as we progress
Post #002 -- Submission Period: General Information, Source Material, License Sponsors
Post #003 -- One Time Reminder -- general task, filename template, distribution format, off-site license distribution agreement
Post #000 -- Mix Round 1 Statistics/Data Sheet: Overview of Submissions - is your entry within given parameters?
Post #000 -- Mix Round 2: Global Feedback and Round 2 Participant Announcement
Post #000 -- Mix Round 3: <optional>/<not happening this game>
Post #000 -- Results: Winner announcement

[Mister Fox]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Tuesday, 01st April 2025 to Monday, 21th April 2025 (21 days)

Challenge submission will end on 21-APR-2025, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST (Germany) - until further notice.

Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please either consult the Global Countdown (dedicated page), or the countdown on the landing site. There will also be short reminders on Social Media and on Discord.



Song Provider: Strange (represented forum user @Strange)
Song Name and Length: Weg zu Dir, 04:13 min
Song Information: 150 BPM / Signature: 4/4
File Format: WAV, 48kHz, 24bit (source)

GENRE: (Indie) Rock


Preview of the Song (Demo Mix):





INFORMATION: This version might sound different from the provided multi-tracks.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


SOURCE FILES:

Main Mix Package - full package (656,66 MB, regular ZIP)

IMPORTANT NOTE: download window might show a smaller file size, file unavailable after 21-APR-2025
File size extracted: 1830,14 MB, packed 656,66 MB (regular ZIP)

The provided files were packed using normal ZIP compression (Deflate, Ultra). This format should work on all operating systems and does not require any special tools to extract. If you have problems extracting the files, please make sure that your OS apps are up-to-date!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A word from the song provider:

This song is about a man traveling home by car/plane and thinking about his wonderful wife. After a "philosophical song bridge", other people sitting in their cars also start singing about their partners (maybe you can see this movie play out in your head).


This is what I would like to hear in the mix.

I hope you can enhance the feeling and the meaning of the song with your mixing decisions.

I don't care about little treatments that give me some ear candy that I haven't thought about. Try to see the big picture. Don't alter the arrangement or any basic ingredients.

I'd like to hear a bouncy and soulful feeling like "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. Not exactly the sounds, more about the vibe. Don't think too much about boring German mainstream Pop/Rock if possible, please.

I'd like to hear about your monitoring situation, like MellowBrowne did when he was providing his song "Trap House" (MC101).

I would also like to know about your associations, feelings and mixing aims or mixing intentions. Because I often hear good mixes which don't fit my feeling, or my intention or maybe my taste. I would like to take that into consideration for my ranking.

Thank you for everyone who is interested in my song and my thoughts.

Rule Summary:

► Show Spoiler

More technical details are in the Mix Pack bundled TXTs. In there you can find the lyrics of the song (incl. a translation to English), more information about the individual files, possible changes to the time signature, and maybe even additional tips and tricks relevant to this production (by the Mix Challenge staff). Additionally a TL;DR Rule Set with the game specific filename template and distribution specs. And, depending on the song provider's approval, an available "Off-site redistribution agreement" for a possible portfolio presentation.

Please consult the official Rules and Guidelines for a more detailed set of rules, including how to document your edits, maximum loudness values and delivery formats (see Rule Book - Post #6). Please pay attention to detail. Failing to adhere to the rules will result in disqualification. There will be no additional reminders given.


Important Stats to check prior to uploading

Filename Template: MC103__Strange__WegZuDir__ForumUsername.wav

Song Length: 04:13min (edit no shorter than 04:13.000min!)

File Format: WAV, 48kHz, 24bit (export)
Loudness (min/max): anything between -24,0 LUFS to -16,0 LUFS ILk, -1,00 dBTP max

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


LICENSE SPONSORS (Bonus Prizes):

A huge thank you goes to our very generous License Sponsors for this month's game. Those being (in alphabetical order):
Acon Digital, Audified, Hornet Plugins, IK Multimedia, Kilohearts, Metric Halo, NUGEN Audio and Tone2


A detailed list of offerings can be found in the following information block.

► Show Spoiler

Available Bonus Prizes for Mix Challenge participants:

Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prizes on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.



Acon Digital is kind enough to give away either one plugin bundle, or any individual stereo plug-in of winner's choice. (exception: Application Bundles, Immersive plugins)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Acon Digital: https://acondigital.com



Audified is kind enough to give away one license of MixChecker Pro to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Audified: https://audified.com



Hornet Plugins is kind enough to give away any one license of winner's choice, alternatively any-2 licenses "Custom Bundle" with a total value less than 20 EUR MSRP
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins: https://www.hornetplugins.com



IK Multimedia is kind enough to give away one license of T-RackS Tape Machine Collection to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com



Kilohearts is kind enough to give away a "Sound Design Playground" Bundle, consisting of one license each of Snap Heap and Multipass, which supercharges all freely available Kilohearts Essentials.
License will turn into NFR
More info on Kilohearts: https://www.kilohearts.com



Metric Halo is kind enough to give away a single plugin of winner's choice (exception: SpectraFoo)
License will turn into NFR
More info about Metric Halo: https://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/



NUGEN Audio is kind enough to give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on NUGEN Audio: https://nugenaudio.com



Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Ultraspace to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



THANKS FOR THE LICENSE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!

[Mister Fox]

The following is the absolute base-line you need to cover prior to joining the Mix(ing) Challenge.

Failing to adhere to the rules will result in disqualification. There will be no additional reminders given.
INFO: You can always find everything you need to know in post #002 and the Mix Pack bundled TXT files.

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	Prior to joining this Mix(ing) Challenge You must consult and adhere to the official Rules and Guidelines (long version). Bar minimum, please consult the TL;DR Rules version (also available as "TL;DR Rules.txt" with each Mix Pack, which lists the game specific filename template and distribution specs as well) Add-on Rules / allowed mix techniques for this particular project are mentioned in the bundled "TL;DR Rules.txt" Please pay attention to details such as sampling rate, bit depth, maximum signal strength, file name template and documentation. Check this before you upload your entry. Your entry must be accessible and easy to download by the time the deadline has been reached (21th of the month, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST). Cross check with a different device and/or browser while being logged out of the file hosting service. No re-uploads - your submission is final. Important Stats to check prior to uploading Filename Template: MC103__Strange__WegZuDir__ForumUsername.wav Song Length: 04:13min (edit no shorter than 04:13.000min!) File Format: WAV, 48kHz, 24bit (export) Loudness (min/max): anything between -24,0 LUFS to -16,0 LUFS ILk, -1,00 dBTP max Off-site redistribution agreement ► Show Spoiler Our Song Provider for this month, @Strange, does allow the usage of this song as part of a personal mix portfolio. Please consult the Mix Pack bundled TXT files, and use proper crediting. Request by the Song Provider ► Show Spoiler Our Song Provider is interested in what you set to achieve with your mix. What was the mood you tried to create, and how did you get there. Please spend at least 1-2 paragraphs on this. Maybe even focus on certain instrument sections how you "shaped" that particular feeling. We (the Song Provider and I, the host) would also like to know on what on what devices you mixed his song. Please note down your used headphones and / or speakers, if they have been frequency corrected (e.g. traditional methods with 31-band EQs, or custom correction software), if you use room treatment, etc. Please keep it simple - you do not need to mention the full signal chain in this case. Answers like "mixed on Genelec 1031A, frequency corrected with Sonarworks SoundID, cross checked with Noname PC speakers, the room has been treated" or "mixed on AKG K240 Studio, no correction" will suffice. Thank you.

EDIT: Initial Post on 20-MAR-2025 08:05

[elements]

@Strange Thank you for posting a lighter, happy song for this round. It’s all been so heavy for months. I am looking forward to exploring this track.

[DSBotez]

Hello, very nice and groovy song,

So, here is my mix of the song:
Mix

My monitoring set up is a Sennhieser HD560s headphone and I sometimes use a room emulator with EQ correction for my headphones.

I made the kick deeper, blended the bass with both DI and Amp signals and made it deeper as well to try and get a phat low end.
I put some bland/dry room reverb on the snare to thicken it up.. I struggled with the claps so they might not sound as great .. but I just placed them in the same room reverb as the snare but panned their reverb sends out wider. I also put on some amp tones for the guitars ..not much else.. the high note picking guitar has some reverb and chorus for vibez but the other ones are kept somewhat the same. The guitar in the bridge does have wider stereo amp set up to help it come out stronger/larger. The lead vocal has some slapback and delay, de essing, 1176, LA2A, and reverb. might be too much but It does help the character come through and stand out IMO . I put a compressor on the OH that bring out the mids of the drum sound, and there is some compression on the drum bus to glue it with groove . I did clip editing for the backing vocals to make them softer in the verse and make them come out more in the chorus.. I also did clip editing to lower the volume of those effects that the synth/pad makes. the whistle and the synth were sounding nice already, the synth was just lowered and the whistle boosted. Well that is about all I did, I also put a limiter on the overall mix.

[christianthomas]

Hi! This is my first time submitting to any of these mix contests but the source material did not disappoint! I've been in between projects and looking for something to keep me practicing and too tormented to keep working on my own stuff lol.Thanks to @Strange for putting up such a great song.

Listen On Google Drive

Thought Process

Having traveled alot for work long (trips and commuting) I wanted to enhance that feeling of where your work reality starts to fade and merge into the feelings you get when you think about home and more importantly are coming home. Funny enough, the most I ever traveled for work was when I worked for the German company SAP so the song definitely hit home with the lyrics being in German. The song and production choices already communicate the feeling of a journey quite well so nothing much to do there. I focused on bringing warmth and highlight some of the elements that add levity and happiness adding a few subtle fx like light vocal doubling on the main vox. I brought some warmth and weight to the bass and drums with some nice tape / saturation plugins and otherwise just tried to balance things out and let the sections of the song shine. I added a few trippy fx here and there to kind of bring out the other feelings I used to have when I thought of home in that it was far away and kind of a grainy picture sometimes.

My monitoring setup is not bad but not great. My project studio is in the corner of a concrete basement with a low ceiling. I've made the room as dead as possible which isn't ideal but there's just too much wrong with it. I'm using Focal Shape 50's for near field monitors and Beyerdynamic DT770 (closed back) for checking bass. I have a Drawmer monitor controller that can go mono or dim for checking phase issues and mix dynamics. It has made a huge difference. I also run Sonarworks monitor adjustment plugin inserted on my UAD Apollo which surprisingly doesn't change a whole lot. Just a little extra clarity around what the mids are doing.

Thanks for listening, and thanks to the mods and the songwriter for making this competition possible. Good luck everyone! For a detailed mix layout see below:

Mix Setup

Lead Vox

Light pitch correction from Logic (and I mean light), McDSP Analog Processing Box Chicken Head Comp (Altec clone), UAD UA 1176 AE with medium attack and release, Helios EQ, McDSP Retro Limiter

Vox FX Bus

Eventide H949 vocal doubler with some compression and Roland RE20 for the bridge

BGV's

EQ, McDSP Ultracomp, Valhalla Plate

Bass

Sidechain Compressor keyed to kick, EQ, McDSP UltraComp, UAD LA3A

Guitars

Lots of stuff going on here with different compressors and EQ but the biggest thing was taking the DI signal and running it through amps from Logic and hard panning left / right the two different amps (original and Logic's)

Percussion / Sound FX

Not much to mention here other than some compression and EQ. For the drum loop I ran it through Logic's auto filter for some movement.

Drum Kit

Tamed some highs here and there and added a sub octave to the snare2 for depth to match more closely with the regular snare. UAD oxide and McDSP Analog Processing Box KD1 Kinetic Drive on the bus.

E-Piano

Compression, EQ, and SketchCassette to create a more warbly lofi sound.

Synths

McDSP Futzbox for getting rid of lows and highs covered in other areas and gentle compression. Whistle synth got more SketchCasette and Logic Autofilter

Master Bus

This is the only analog part of my signal chain other than the McDSP APB. I run 16 channels out into my Neve orbit summing device (with red silk enabled). Bass and LV are summed mono and not as a pair. That runs into an IGS Tubecore stereo compressor and I'll admit I got a little more heavy handed with it for this track. It just kept sounding better. Wet / dry mix was around 90%. Just enough for more natural transients to peek through. That goes into an SSL Fusion with vintage drive turned on, light bump around 12k for some air, and a little widening of the stereo image. That's it!

Of course sections of the song had a good bit of volume automation along with some automated bus sends. The way the song was produced though in sections made it much easier to set and forget certain instruments instead of having to actively manage volume. Very nice production.

The Goods

Listen On Google Drive

[jules666]

Hi
Here is my entry for this month’s challenge.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QZba7f ... sp=sharing

I mixed this track primarily on DT770 Pro’s with Sonarworks correction during an evening session and later verified the mix on my Kali IN-5’speakers, again using Sonarworks.

I applied the Lindell 69 channel strip on nearly every track throughout the mix, starting with a rough mix to lay the foundation and determine my overall approach. I deliberately scaled back the parallel processing on the drums compared to my usual method,using less dirt and compression, to achieve (hopefully) a large, round, warm and bouncy drum sound, with the bass and kick filling out the low end effectively.
The funky crunch guitar received additional processing through a combination of reverb, chorus, and slap effects, with the Wow Thing applied during the verse and bridge sections.

On the bridge, I experimented with the synth by using a phaser and Reel ADT2V to create movement. A chorus effect was applied to the synth pad to maintain a dynamic feel, while the electric pianos were enhanced with reverb—including a spring reverb effect on the reverse and riser sound effects.
Vocals - i layered a few compressors each taking a db or so off, and again used the Lindell 69 channel, and further EQ and desser. This was sent to plate verb, slap delay and a 1/4 delay.

Most instruments were summed to a bus featuring tape emulation, a rear-level technique, and a parallel mix bus that allowed for hard compression on select elements before blending them back in. I then processed the mix through both tape emulation and an SSL mix bus, followed by the Oxford Inflator, EQ, and multiband compression. Extensive automation on panning, volume, and effects added further depth and dynamic interest.

I aimed to capture the initial energy of the track by working quickly, avoiding the temptation to over-tweak (which I normally do).

I hope you enjoy the mix!

Jules

[Swiv_In_Da_Mix]

Hello Everyone,

1st time posting on this site, hopefully my mix is uploaded .
The song is energetic and I enjoyed the process, I'm not going to bore you with all the mixing steps I took none the less I'm learning how to mix and this was a good file to practice on . Thank you to the producer who is very talented to produce and play all the instruments etc, I'm looking forward to your future release.

Swiv_in_Da_Mix
NYC, USA

Listen MC103__Strange__WegZuDir__SwivindaMix@gmail

Notes
Love the transition at the 2 minute mark
Mix Buss:
UAD SSL E 4000_added some 12Khz and 50HZ
Black Box_Saturation
SSL Bus compressor 2_Glue the mix, release @100 and attack @ 10, gain reduction around -3db

[Strange]

Hello Everyone,

1st time posting on this site, hopefully my mix is uploaded .
The song is energetic and I enjoyed the process, I'm not going to bore you with all the mixing steps I took none the less I'm learning how to mix and this was a good file to practice on . Thank you to the producer who is very talented to produce and play all the instruments etc, I'm looking forward to your future release.

Swiv_in_Da_Mix
NYC, USA

Listen MC103__Strange__WegZuDir__SwivindaMix@gmail

Notes
Love the transition at the 2 minute mark
Mix Buss:
UAD SSL E 4000_added some 12Khz and 50HZ
Black Box_Saturation
SSL Bus compressor 2_Glue the mix, release @100 and attack @ 10, gain reduction around -3db

Hi Swiv_in_Da_Mix,
Thank you for your interest in my music, but I can’t get a public access to your upload, perhaps you have to change some options for sharing…good luck!

[Swiv_In_Da_Mix]

Love the Mix it's closer to the rough compared to what i did,
my gut wanted to make this round and heavy but I really like the emotions from Christian mix!!!.
The fact this as some outboard gear is good to know as my mix is all in the box via protools and listneing back on some little Adam audio t4...............

Hi! This is my first time submitting to any of these mix contests but the source material did not disappoint! I've been in between projects and looking for something to keep me practicing and too tormented to keep working on my own stuff lol.Thanks to @Strange for putting up such a great song.

Listen On Google Drive

Thought Process

Having traveled alot for work long (trips and commuting) I wanted to enhance that feeling of where your work reality starts to fade and merge into the feelings you get when you think about home and more importantly are coming home. Funny enough, the most I ever traveled for work was when I worked for the German company SAP so the song definitely hit home with the lyrics being in German. The song and production choices already communicate the feeling of a journey quite well so nothing much to do there. I focused on bringing warmth and highlight some of the elements that add levity and happiness adding a few subtle fx like light vocal doubling on the main vox. I brought some warmth and weight to the bass and drums with some nice tape / saturation plugins and otherwise just tried to balance things out and let the sections of the song shine. I added a few trippy fx here and there to kind of bring out the other feelings I used to have when I thought of home in that it was far away and kind of a grainy picture sometimes.

My monitoring setup is not bad but not great. My project studio is in the corner of a concrete basement with a low ceiling. I've made the room as dead as possible which isn't ideal but there's just too much wrong with it. I'm using Focal Shape 50's for near field monitors and Beyerdynamic DT770 (closed back) for checking bass. I have a Drawmer monitor controller that can go mono or dim for checking phase issues and mix dynamics. It has made a huge difference. I also run Sonarworks monitor adjustment plugin inserted on my UAD Apollo which surprisingly doesn't change a whole lot. Just a little extra clarity around what the mids are doing.

Thanks for listening, and thanks to the mods and the songwriter for making this competition possible. Good luck everyone! For a detailed mix layout see below:

Mix Setup

Lead Vox

Light pitch correction from Logic (and I mean light), McDSP Analog Processing Box Chicken Head Comp (Altec clone), UAD UA 1176 AE with medium attack and release, Helios EQ, McDSP Retro Limiter

Vox FX Bus

Eventide H949 vocal doubler with some compression and Roland RE20 for the bridge

BGV's

EQ, McDSP Ultracomp, Valhalla Plate

Bass

Sidechain Compressor keyed to kick, EQ, McDSP UltraComp, UAD LA3A

Guitars

Lots of stuff going on here with different compressors and EQ but the biggest thing was taking the DI signal and running it through amps from Logic and hard panning left / right the two different amps (original and Logic's)

Percussion / Sound FX

Not much to mention here other than some compression and EQ. For the drum loop I ran it through Logic's auto filter for some movement.

Drum Kit

Tamed some highs here and there and added a sub octave to the snare2 for depth to match more closely with the regular snare. UAD oxide and McDSP Analog Processing Box KD1 Kinetic Drive on the bus.

E-Piano

Compression, EQ, and SketchCassette to create a more warbly lofi sound.

Synths

McDSP Futzbox for getting rid of lows and highs covered in other areas and gentle compression. Whistle synth got more SketchCasette and Logic Autofilter

Master Bus

This is the only analog part of my signal chain other than the McDSP APB. I run 16 channels out into my Neve orbit summing device (with red silk enabled). Bass and LV are summed mono and not as a pair. That runs into an IGS Tubecore stereo compressor and I'll admit I got a little more heavy handed with it for this track. It just kept sounding better. Wet / dry mix was around 90%. Just enough for more natural transients to peek through. That goes into an SSL Fusion with vintage drive turned on, light bump around 12k for some air, and a little widening of the stereo image. That's it!

Of course sections of the song had a good bit of volume automation along with some automated bus sends. The way the song was produced though in sections made it much easier to set and forget certain instruments instead of having to actively manage volume. Very nice production.

The Goods

Listen On Google Drive