MIX CHALLENGE - MC059 October 2019 - Winners announced

[Marc Rapture]

What's up everyone!

What a mix challenge we had this month!

I tried to not over process and focus on a huge balance and keep all layers. I kept all tracks including fx, (I felt the fx track were good enough.)

DAW: Mixbus

Plug-ins used:
Harrison Built in Compressors, De-Esser, and EQs
Manley Voxbox
Plutec -EPQ- 1A
Scheps Omni Channel
SSl E-Channel
SSl G-master Buss compressor
Teletronix LA-2A

MY MIX:

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6zysq2k98qfyc ... e.wav?dl=0
MP3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/92lk2a2we3lwk ... e.mp3?dl=0

Hope you enjoy my mix, and thanks for listening!

Good Luck Everyone!

[Piranha]

Well arranged song, just needed balancing, a little shaping and glue.
DRUMS: Mainly balancing tracks and make space for bass guitar. Compression and saturation on the buss, cleaning eq, compression and lows boosting on kick. Shaping eq and compression/clipping on snare. Hi pass and sweetening on cymbals.
BASS: just hi-pass and a bit of limiting, great tracks.
GUITARS: Mids forwarding eq and a bit of shaping in the intro guitar and on the ebow.
Keys, pads, strings: a bit of shaping and saturation on almost every track.
BG VOCALS: Eq shaping, compression and de-essing.
MAIN VOCALS: gating, compression, brightning, de-essing.
Many tracks have ambience, verb and delays.

WAV:
https://cloud.degoo.com/e/drive-cgwdvxh_2btm
MP3:
https://cloud.degoo.com/e/drive-bxkrdbibuuwf

[Lewshwa Music]

NLS on all channels. Native EQ. Some Fairchild and LA 2a here and there. more details to available.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nnho4pgzjgqfj ... e.mp3?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7e0camfgkccdk ... e.wav?dl=0

[Mister Fox]

It is the 22nd October 2019, 01:00am GMT+2/CEST - the first Mix Round has officially ended

Once more, a very warm welcome to all new participants. A huge thank you to everyone that is spreading the word about the Mix Challenge. Although, I'd love to see just as many for the monthly recurring Songwriting Competition - which is still running and we sadly only have 1 entry as of the timestamp of this post.


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 39 submissions this month (40, if one user wouldn't have re-uploaded his mix several times)
• We have 0 submission after the deadline

Please check all if your links again, make them downloadable(!). Those that uploaded MP3s only, please take note: providing a WAV file is mandatory. Please also update your posts with documentation for others to learn from (see Rules & Guidelines).


I now open the field for everyone to give each other feedback (highly encouraged). This will be independent to the client feedback however.


Please watch this spot for the client feedback and Mix Round 2 participant announcement.

Good luck to all participants.






The Songwriting Competition 26 (SWC26) is still in full swing.
The deadline is 24th October 2019, 11:59pm GMT+2/CEST.

Those that reached out with a production for a future Mix Challenge:
I've yet to get any response to the integrity checks I've been finished. Please get back to me at a timely manner, help me finish/prepare the Mix Package. The Song Pool is dry! No more games after November 2019

Please spread the word!

[Lewshwa Music]

NLS on all channels. Native EQ. Some Fairchild and LA 2a here and there. more details to available.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nnho4pgzjgqfj ... e.mp3?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7e0camfgkccdk ... e.wav?dl=0

Screenshots ---> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mn9gf7urvrif ... Zpg0a?dl=0

[Green-Dog]

Hello everyone,

First of all, I would like to thank all participants! This is my first experience as I perform as a jury. It was a very interesting and at the same time very difficult experience. There are so many good and different mixes that I got!

I would like to tell you a bit how I evaluated your works. First of all, I listened to the mixes on the monitors and took quick notes of the most obvious weak points of the mix. Then, after compiling the top of the best works, I listened these on the budget speakers and watched how the mix behaved under the “normal conditions”. After that, I selected on my top 10.

Unfortunately, I could not download the work of two participants: Piranha and marvinbastos. Sorry, folks!

Thanks again to all participants and see you in the final round!

[Green-Dog]

ManuC
The mix sounds too boomy (bad frequency balance), bad vocals balance, the vocal needs stronger de-essing and the vocal is too much in the front

JulienMeirone
The instruments sound separately very nice, but are not well balanced. Namely, the vocals and the drums are too loud and I don't like the double vocal panning. Have a look at the rearrangement- the guitars start earlier in your mix.
Excellent drum sound, although the outro center guitar could be louder.

GmfSongs
I don't like FX’s ( too many), the bass is a bit too loud, but overall good balance. The male double could be a little bit louder.

Paperthin
The vocal is too dry and too loud. It has too much of 10 kHz and I don't like the delay that you applied to thee vocal. If there were some delay sometimes, it might have been good. The double male vocal is too quiet. The snare is too loud and close in the intro.
Overall, the balance is good. The back vocals sound weird, some FX modulation on the male double vocal sound also weird to me. The vocal is too loud for me in the intro. The instrumental part of the mix sounds almost perfect 

Franz
I like how the vocal is set in the mix. I don't like the instrument balance except the intro. The clicking percussions are too loud and there is some unpleasant frequency in the female vocals. The Intro sounds very good. The drums and the mix do have generally enough punch. The sibilants in the vocal are absolutely out of control ( 10-12 kHz ).

Dwic
The double could be louder and the lead vocal has some hi frequency. Some synth is too loud in the second part.

EchoOread
The mix us over saturated and the vocal is too much in the front. There is not enough bottom end in the mix. Anyway, a good lead and double vocal balance!

gloukin
The intro vocal sounds strange, but good balance! The second bass (the answering one)can be more remarkable and the male double could be louder. There is too much of 11 kHz in the vocal and the drums/percussions. In the outro, the center guitar is to be more emphasized altheough some things too loud.

mixedbynicolas
The male double could be louder. The the lead vocal sounds too dry and is a bit too loud being place too much in the front. The vocal sibilance needs more control. The snare drum is too loud, while the bass in the bridge could sound more powerful and expressing. The guitar can be louder in the second verse. The central guitar could be louder in the outro, as well as the piano in the first chorus.

Wizzo
In general, the mix is a good balanced, although the pad sounds too wide (it is getting more quiet in mono). Little too much chorus on the guitar. There is a good balance between the bass and the drums. Still, it may seem that the bass is a little bit too loud. The vocal needs to be more controlled on the sibilants and the male double could be somewhat louder. The vocals sound a bit too dry and too loud.



KrissK
Good mono capability! The bass and guitar could be though louder, while the snare drum is too loud in the intro. I don’t like that much the balance of the vocals. The drums are too much emphasized.

UprightJoe
The snare drum is very good placed in the mix! I like the instrument balance in the bridges, guitars could be a little bit more quiet and the bass a bit louder.
Still, the vocals sibilants seem to need a better controlling. In general, there is something that is disturbing the vocal to sit good in the mix and the vocal FX in the intro does not really my vision of the sound.

maxovrdrive
Finally, I can hear the center guitar in the outro! Overall good instrument balance, but the guitar could be louder. Still, I don't really like the vocal sound ( too much high end, vocal FXs, voices balance).

Matik
Nice mix, but there are a few things to improve in the track! The bass has an unpleasant clanking sound and is a bit to loud. The guitar sound is too sharp ( a lot of 2-3 kHz )and the the vocal is too dry.

Kirurg
I really like the instrument balance. Nevertheless, to my opinion, there are still a few issues to be improved: the vocal does not sit good in the mix and the second guitar in the verse could be louder. The lead vocal sounds tiny and too dry, especially in the first part of the song. The male back vocal could be louder.

ICMix
What I like about the mix: the bridge is good balanced and a pretty good sound of the outro (a bit automation and it would be perfect!).
Issues to be improved: The intro pad FX sounds weird to me and it adds some artifacts at the low end. I can't hear the male double and don't like the hi frequency on the percussions and the vocal (needs a stronger de-esser). The transition FX’s is neither really my cup of tea.

Esvsound
Thanks a lot for your mix! Still, there are still a few issues to make somewhat different …The intro guitar has a lot of 4 kHz and the overall guitar sound is not really to my taste ( some resonance on 3,5 kHz! ). There is a lot of low end in the mix. The vocal is a bit moody and too dry. I think, it needs more presence and the overall mix could sound be wider.

hjchjc
I really like the guitar, vocal and drums balance!
Nevertheless, the bass sounds too tiny throughout the track and needs some changes especially in the intro. The vocal spaces are not quite to my taste and the male double sounds too quiet to me. The bass melody is not readable in the bridges and a lot of things happening in low end.

Guizgui
The balance is really good! Still, the details seem to disappear. About the vocal... well, the wide double vocal is not really my cup of tea and it seems to me that the sibilants need a better controlling.

WhitePunkOD
The intro sound is good balanced, although the synth delay is not really to my taste.
The bass (answering) could be a bit louder. There is a good balance of the vocals, but in general, the vocals sound really weird. This may be due to reverb and need for a better controlling of sibilants. Finally, the center guitar needs to be better emphasized in the outro.


Mork
A good balanced mix! Still, there are unpleasant bursts at high frequencies in the voice (needs stronger de-essing ). The vocals are pushed back a little bit more than it is necessary (perhaps, too much reverb). Maybe, it also needs some more automation in the outro.

Snarowitz
Thank you a lot for your efforts! There are still some issues to work on, to my mind. The high ones do not sound pleasant to me… The drums seem to sound small due to the cutoff of the fundamental frequency and the sandy top. The percussion reverb is not quite my cup of tea. Finally, the tempo of the song was changed and there are a lot of sub bass and too less of the low mids.

Slickster716
First of all, thanks a lot for your mix! Some issues could be a bit different though…
I would have changed the reverb on the snare drum in second bridge and verse - it's too big and the snare sounds too far! The tremolo FX on the bass is too obvious in the intro. The vocals could a bit quieter throughout the whole mix. Still, the male double could be a bit louder.
The center guitar could be louder in the outro and the overall guitar sound could have had less reverb.
Your mix needs a stronger de-essing on vocal and a more dynamic vocal control. The whole mix sounds a bit muddy and the intro soundscape automations is not my taste.

VasDim
The lead and back vocal have a good balance, though the vocal has so much hi end, to my mind. So, it sounds too dry and too loud.
Some snare drums don't have anymore the fundamental frequency and the guitars are too dark for me.

stu b
The soundscape is wide and the tone changes in mono. The vocals need a stronger de-essing and the overall mix sounds kind of muddy. There is a lot off sub bass in the mix and the most important thing-the mix is too hot and have clipping.

GB Real
I like the voices balance! Ebow guitar is too loud. The guitars have too much hi mids (about 4 kHz). The drums are oversaturated and the snare doesn’t have its initial frequency.

Marc Rapture
The mix has problems with the phase (the soundscape is too wide). The vocals need a stronger de-essing. The drums do not sound that straight (too much reverb) and so the punch is lacking. There’s no hierarchy of plans and it sounds as if everything were in one big room.

Arthur_Labus
The mix has problems with the phase (soundscapes). The balance of the mix is shifted too far towards the bass. The guitars are too quiet and the vocals sound is not my taste. To my mind, there is too much upper mids and some more de-essing is needed.

LewshwaOne
I would have done the balance different: the guitars sound too quiet and the bass is too loud. There is too much of 4-5 kHz in the vocal and the drums do not have punch, especially in the end of the mix.

loupi
The mix has too much emphasis on the bass. The sibilants of the vocals need more control. There are some clicks in the second verse (maybe vocals).

Jerze
The balance between the vocals is good, though overall sound of the vocals can be improved and the vocals could be sit a bit more to the front. To my mind, it needs more de-essing and you can play with frequencies.
There are some clicks in the second verse. Both your links are mp3

OAKDAVE
The mix balance is too experimental for me and the drums are too cut off the top.

spafles
In general, a well balanced mix! Really good balance between the lead and the back vocal. Still, the vocals need a bit more high/presence and a stronger de-essing.
The FX on the snare drum in the chorus and in the outro are not really to my taste. I would have changed the intro delay on the bass guitar. In the first verse, the E-bow guitar could be not that loud or requires more delay.

Samonov
The intro sounds almost perfect and in general, it is a well-balanced mix! The tone of the gui tars is not really my thing - 2 kHz is too much for me… In the bridge, the bass needs more readability, while the vocals need some more brilliance. To my taste, the drums are not punchy enough and the track clips!

ArneB
Thanks a lot for your efforts! There are still some issues I would have preferred to hear different…The mix sounds muddy the balance of the drums is not my thing. Some further issues could be somewhat different, to my taste: the percussion clicks sound a bit unpleasant and the vocals are pushed back too far (too many effects). I can’t hear the male double and the bass guitar cannot be read. The punch is missing in the drums.

FUS
Thank you very much for the mix. To my taste, I would have suggested some improvements to sound it perfect. The snare drum does not have body in the introduction. The bass guitar is poorly readable, and there is something not that pleasant in the frequency processing of the drums. The snare sounds too much high and the kick sounds muddy.

artdreamer272
Many thanks for the your mix! There are still a few issues that do not make me happy about the mix. To my mind, the voices balance could be somewhat improved: the backs are in the front, while the main vocals are pushed too far. The mix balance could be a bit better and the bass guitar could have been better readable.

[Green-Dog]

So, the following participants go to the final:

1. Gloukin
2. ICMix
3. Kirurg
4. Slickster716
5. WhitePunkOD
6. Spafles
7. Mixedbynicolas
8. Paperthin
9. Mork
10. Wizzo

[Mister Fox]

Thank you for handling the evaluation, Green-Dog.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Wednesday, 30-OCT-2019 11:59pm GMT+1/CET


There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN available to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)



The following 10 participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order)

Gloukin
ICMix
Kirurg
Mixedbynicolas
Mork
Paperthin
Slickster716
Spafles
WhitePunkOD
Wizzo


Wildcard-Entry:

<not available>


The feedback to the productions can be found here:
viewtopic.php?p=6349#p6349


If you are unsure what to do exactly with your mix, reach out to the song provider and engage in a conversation here on the forum.



A thank you to everyone, and good luck for Round 2

[paperthin]

Hi everyone! Voila my entry for Round 2:

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sn7gze4ya0rry ... 2.wav?dl=0

MP3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ultxdn0qkuzgk ... 2.mp3?dl=0

Following the feedback tips I lowered the snare and main vocal levels, killed most of my delays and brought reverbs up a bit instead. The weird modulation effect on the male vocal was the Waves Doubler, it’s also gone. A lot of harshness was taken out of the vocals and some of the instruments (or so my Auratones tell me). Overall I managed to make the mix more coherent and clean, at least to my ear, and that makes me happy.

I’ve enjoyed working on the song, it definitely presented a challenge or two. Thank you Green-Dog for picking my entry for Round 2, I’m glad you dig my instrumental mix. Good luck everyone!