CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION
Time Frame: Wednesday, 01st August 2018 to Saturday, 21st August 2018 (21 days)
Challenge submission will end on 21-08-2018, 11:59pm CEST/GMT+2 (Germany) - until further notice.
Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please consult the following options:
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Song Provider: Danny & the Deadbeats (Richard Clarke)
Song Name and Length: Margarita, 2:43min
Song Information: roughly 167 BPM / Signature: 4/4, E min (according to Hornet Sonkey mk2)
File Format: WAV, 44kHz, 24bit
GENRE: Punk Rock
Preview of the Song:
A word from the song provider:
Richard Clarke wrote:This track is called Margarita by Danny & the Deadbeats, its my old band in the UK and the recording is about 13 years old. It was recorded at Subway Studios on an old ADAT on 16bit, through a Soundcraft Ghost desk onto Logic 5. Last year I ended up finding the original logic files and rerendering the files from .aif to.wav as 24bit 44.1k in the vain hope I might try and do a better mix of them if only for practice.
Here's the low down on what happened and what I would like to be done.
Drums:
At the time i didn't do room mics very often and so there is just a pair of stereo overheads in an XY config. The toms are not actually hit during the recording however I left the files in just in case someone wants to have it as alternative room noise. Obviously they do not need to be included if you see no use for them, i probably wouldn't have but maybe some has some wizard tricks i don't.
I have not checked phasing on the kick and snare on the overheads, it might be ok, but bear that in mind!
I have included a triggered kick sample and Snare sample. You can use your own samples, but do not completely replace the original snare and kick, just use the samples as a supplement.
Bass:
Was recorded with a Pod, should reamp ok and you are free to do this.
Guitars:
There are 4 tracks, you are free to use any combination you want and edit them however you want.
2 are recorded during tracking, SM57 & Ambient C3000. The ambient C3000 was further in away to create a less direct sound. However its a quite dead room.
Guitar Extra and Guitar Extra warm are overdubs done with a Pod.
Vocals:
Disclaimer First! We had the ethos that as no one in the band could sing, so we all sang and shared the humiliation and joy!...its punk, etc. Please don't auto tune, or chop them up, etc. We were a punk band, see it as part of the challenge (maybe enduring it that is!).
There are some bits I would like cut however. At the end Rich Vox 2 and Mark Vox carry on past the song end, you can cut these off. Listen to the reference track for how it needs to be cut (its around 2:31). There is also a bit in the bridge were I mumble on and on and on in Rich Vox 2 (1:56). It can be cut out, I was just bored waiting for the next part to come in.
Overall comment...
Basically its punk music with stupid lyrics, that clearly does not take itself seriously, but loved rocking out and the power of punk music. We want a that weird duality of frivolous, silly / power, energy to come through in some way.
Included is a rough version of a mix I recently banged out as a guide for this competition. I could not find one from the time that I knew would be the same version. To be honest I also always suffered that issue of being the artist and recording/mixing engineer. I was never happy with my own versions and would have been happy to have another engineer do it (we just didn't have the cash or willing people with the know how to mix half decently).
So see this as just a very rough guide and I look forward to hearing what you all do with it!
A few words by the Mix Challenge staff:
Staff (Mister Fox) wrote:Yes, this is definitely Punk Rock... step on the Gas pedal, have a screaming crowd and Pogo in front of the stage, enjoy the evening.
As you'll find out self, there are a lot of tracks from the drum recording that can be ignored. Or as mentioned, used for "dirt tracks" for additional effect (like a fake room). Then again, this track offer you to demo de-bleeding tools that are all the rage as of late. Maybe this is worth a shot
There are two "Trigger Tracks" provided, that I think work perfectly as supplement already. Although you can use your own drum sample material.
The guitars might look/sound limiting at first, but they're actually very good recordings to begin with. The right EQ / room effect, and you should be good to go. During integrity checks, I ran the Bass guitar through an amp - just to see how well this would work. The provided track can definitely be further edited (hint), if you want to do so.
Work with what you have, make something great out of it. But most important, enjoy yourself while doing so.
Please also consult the TXT files that are bundled in the source files package below. There you can find more information about the individual files and changes to the time signature.
Special Add-On Rules:
- try to create a mix that complements this production (in your own style)
- Clean / Alternative versions can be used if you need more flexibility over a certain sound (if present in this production)
- No rearrangement or pitch shifting of the song structure, with the exception of the following add-on rules
- PRODUCTION RELATED: drum sample triggering is allowed, but only as supplement - no full replacement
- summing bus processing is allowed, as long as the dynamic range (average signal strength to maximum signal strength) doesn't suffer - use of this method is artistically!
- try to not(!) pre-master the track (please no overuse of mix bus treatment, no loudness adjustments / limiting) - read: NO MASTERING
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Source Files:
Main Mix Package - Mirror on the Mix Challenge Homepage (158,73 MB, LZMA compressed, zip)
The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression.
File size extracted: 440,51 MB, packed 158,73 MB (ZIP, LZMA)
In order to extract the files, we can recommend these programs:
Macintosh:
The Unarchiver -
get it here
Keka (open source) -
get it here
Windows:
7zip -
Installation /
Portable
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Please
take note of the official rules - they can be found at the following thread:
Mix Challenge - Official Rules and Guidelines
Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
Mix Challenge - Gossip and Discussion
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SPONSORS (Prizes):
Prizes for Mix Challenge participants:
Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prices on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.
Acon Digital is kind enough give away a single plugin of winner's choice.
License will turn into NFR
More info on Acon Digital:
http://acondigital.com
Black Rooster Audio is kind enough to give away one bundle of all currently available plugins to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Black Rooster Audio:
http://blackroosteraudio.com/
Hornet Plugins is kind enough give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins:
http://www.hornetplugins.com
Metric Halo is kind enough to give away a single plugin of winner's choice.
License will turn into NFR
More info about Metric Halo:
http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/
MuTools is kind enough give away one license of MUX Modular 7 of winner's choice (until End of 2018)
License will turn into NFR
More info on MuTools:
http://www.mutools.com/
NOS Audio is kind enough give away one license of NOS Roomer to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on NOS Audio:
http://www.nosaudio.com/
Nyrv Systems offers AGENT incl. all currently available NyrvDevices and free update to at least v1.5 of winner's choice (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info about Nyrv Systems:
http://www.nyrvsystems.com/
Tone2 is kind enough to donate either a bundle consisting of
AkustiX Enhancer and WarmVerb, or a license of
Ultraspace to the winner (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2:
https://tone2.com
Two Notes Audio Engineering is kind enough to donate one license of
Torpedo Wall of Sound III to the winner, loaded with 57 cabinets (equivalent to "Torpedo WoS II")
License will not turn into NFR
More info on Two Notes:
http://www.two-notes.com/en/
THANKS FOR THE LICENSE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.
If you want to sponsor content (please have a focus on mix plugins, bundles and the likes), please get in touch with the Mix Challenge staff.
Please spread the word of the challenge on social media.
For example with our dedicated
Twitter Account or
Facebook Page
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Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!
I will definitely try and preserve that, so maybe no samples are needed, only beer.
