MIX CHALLENGE - MC050 December 2018 - Winners announced

[Henrik Hjortnaes]

Gary, thanks for the precise and detailed feedback and for providing this challenge. The song is a joy to listen to, no matter what mix.

wav
mp3

Changes:
I made the pads louder and changed their automation completely, to add more atmosphere.
I changed the character of the pads to better fit the now increased level.
I added more spaciousness to the lead guitar by increasing the existing 4 sends I have going.
I changed the compressor on the lead vocal from Slate FG-Stress to EPI Arouser and gained a more "lively" midrange by doing so.
I added a little harmonic grit to the bass guitar to help it on small speakers.
I toned down the high treble on the distorted guitars, just a hair, to have them behave better when listening on headphones. Added a bit of midrange to them also.
I put the new Fuse tube limiter 864U on the mix bus, with zero gain reduction, to hear what it does (box tone), and I liked it and kept it. It seemed to clean up the low end, strengthen the center image and made the mix slightly clearer.

[Tapwater]

Thank you for the comments. Here is my round 2 mix with corrections.

Mp3: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gzdBQ ... IEDZsHwYK0
Wav: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RRHeb ... 7YNRkUHK0N

[FixInTheMix]

Thank you for choosing my mix for this round Gary!
I gave the lead vocal a small bump in volume as requested and tamed some of the strongest sibilances, I also changed a little bit the balance of the guitar tracks during the chorus : raised up the distorted guitar and lowered the tremolo one.
Not much to change other than that, I hope you like this version better!

WAV: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1feg0_ ... ysoEuK3T5U
MP3: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-5AwD ... 5AlLgRGbkm

[Drumwizard]

Delicate?..

[Mister Fox]

It's the 23rd January 2019, 0:30am - the 2nd Mix Round has officially ended.

Sadly not all participants were able to send in their edits. (if I'm not mistaken, Delicate's entry is missing, and OctopusOnFire stepped down due to technical issues)
We have no submissions after the deadline.
Please check your upload links again, and have an eye on this thread for the final results.



I'm now opening up the room (again) for Q&A's and giving each other feedback (which is highly encouraged)
The Songwriting Competition 17 is still in full swing and has been extended until the 27th January. Please spread the word as much as you can.

See you on the flipside.

[delicate]

Hey guys.

I've missed the submission deadline due to technical issues I encountered and was not able to fix on time.
That is very unfortunate as this was my first time here being chosen for the second round.

Anyways, I've really enjoyed working on this song.
Hence, a special thanks to Gary for an inspiring material and detailed feedback to all of the participants.

Have fun and see you in the next challenge
I learn a lot (to say the least) from all of you!

[GGermaine]

Wow - these are great submissions!!!
Thanks to all who competed in this "mix-off". I know it had to be challenging to get something good from these lackluster tracks. You guys did GREAT!

Although OctopusOnFire and Delicate weren't able to send in round 2 submissions, I did use their 1st submissions in this final round to judge from.
It was SUPER hard to pick a winner. I was really torn between the top 3.

so....With that said, here is my completely personal/subjective top 3 winners list.

1. HenrikHjortnaes:
The drum tones you achieved (without replacement by the way) are stellar. I like the creative touch on the pads with the stutter effect ending. The extra "oomph" you put into the rocking guitars in the chorus really help to give this song that extra dynamic range. Yet, despite the wash of guitars, everything remains clear. This has a great stereo field and the eq balance was right on. Acoustic guitar shines here. REALLY GREAT JOB!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

2. MOA22:
Another great job done with my crappy drums. Nice snappy snare. There is absolutely nothing to complain about with this mix. It was great all the way around. I liked your blend of BG vox better than any other submission. I just felt that Henrik just barely edged you out with the acoustic tones and the overall song dynamics he achieved.

3. ThePresent:
I LOVE the chorus guitar you manipulated. The EQ differentiation between the guitars is really well done. The redo of the lead guitar delay is way better on this take, as well as the bass. Excellent job. I just felt that Henrik and MOA22 had the edge with their drum and vocal tones.

To all those that competed, I am working on sending my feedback to each and every one of you. You deserve feedback, and I will make sure you get it. I will private message you when I get it posted. Sorry for the delay in getting to that. I really do appreciate all the work everyone put into this. If you haven't been on this side of the competition, I suggest you give it a go. It's truly amazing to hear all the different renditions.

THANKS AGAIN and congrats to Henrik !!!
Gary

[kevin gobin]

I used a 2 mix busses technique (one clean one compressed) to stay clean but still dense and excited.

Then I tried to add entertainment with automation.

I can explain further if anyone asks.

Kevin, please, could you explain this technique?

Hello Drumwizard,

I set up two busses, each one going into a final master track with just a limiter and my metering.

One was a classic 2bus with a compression chain to glue and excite most of the tracks except the bass.

The second bus was nearly virgin plugin wise, in order to be available for the bass (so that it does not pump my 2bus) and some of the elements I wanted to retain sonic purity.

Now congrats to Henrik, David and ThePresent !!!

Thank you Gary being so fast with the results.
I also really appreciate your « feedback to everyone » idea.

I am sorry for you Delicate, but I know you enjoy learning about mixing whatever the results, as much as I do.

Winning is just the cherry on the cake, and Henrik should stop eating all of them before he gets too fat!

See you soon everybody!

[MOA22]

Congrats to Henrik ! Good job man !
I would have chosen your mix too !
Really happy, first "second place" there for me !
It works !


Thank you once again for the feedback !

And guys, yes it is a nice experience to be the provider, it is so pleasant to have so
many visions of a mix. I will probably do it once again in the future, come on, don't be shy (or lazy).
M Fox needs more songs to mix !!!!!

[Henrik Hjortnaes]

Thank you, Gary, that was fast! I agree with you; the difference of the mixes is compelling. It always is.

Winning is just the cherry on the cake, and Henrik should stop eating all of them before he gets too fat!

I might do just that!