MIX CHALLENGE - MC053 April 2019 - Winners announced

[Slickster716]

Hi

I am very excited about this challenge - this is actually a super great song to use for this. One question though - it seems like there are processed guitar tracks for every part except for the intro- guitar left. I was just wondering if that is intentional - or was it left out by accident. I guess at this point it is up to us shape the tone of the guitar part - but that would have been a helpful addition.

[Mister Fox]

I just checked the files. There are no processed version of Intro Guitar L/R/Fill. Guitar L/R Intro has been processed with LoFi tools though, while Guitar Fill Intro is a DI track.

If you check the demo mix, you'll notice that these signals have been run through a hi-gain amp for boost the effect even further. What tools were used, have been mentioned in the attached TXT file. So yes, your assumption is right - it is up to the participant to shape the tone of the guitar part.

It's part of the challenge to work with "what has been given".

[policarpo_r]

Hi guys!

Sorry for my bad english, i'm from Brazil and I sending my mix for this MC053.

MP3 Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13yMk1k ... sp=sharing
WAV Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Pyffe ... sp=sharing
Screenshots: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Thanks!

[davidpaulpaige]

Hard Rock!
Had a lot of fun mixing this track. I took a bit of a left turn compared to the original mix. I was looking for a polished but not over cooked production that still had much of the raw power of the original mix. Getting big sounding guitars and space around the drum kit was the most challenging element.

Drums:
Parallel compression & Drum buss limiting and a bit of eq to bring out the focus of snare and hats/oh's.
Sn top boosts 2K and a bit of 100 for the bottom
Sn bottom a bit of 200 and a lot of cutting. I used the API because it sounded warmer & dirtier.
Those then buss over to a Snare buss and get a bit of easy compression and eq to keep the point around 2K.
OH:
I removed the low end because it really messed with the kick drum's phasing. A couple of cuts around 400 & 800 to keep the cymbals happening and the "snare lane" clean.
There is also a compressor to elongate the release of the crashes.
Guitar buss:
Some eq to keep the edge and also to cut below 170ish. The cut was a decision I made really late in the mix. It helped to keep the bass alive during the quieter passages.
Bass:
There are several things going on here.
I bussed to an ssl channel strip > an eq to boost some 300 for small speakers > MaxxBass to get that low end started > a hiPass filter > LoAir to finish off that sub 100 stuff.

Thanks for sharing your tracks!

mp3:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tpy6zrmx8jdbq ... e.mp3?dl=0

wav:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4a28j1gk9dupk ... e.wav?dl=0

Screenshots:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6a36ow070jme ... R5qua?dl=0

[guiZgui]

Hi everyone !
Really enjoyed working on this mix, I’m a big fan of Rage Against the Machine so.. I tried my best to give this energy and make it sound like a record as much as possible

My Mix: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bsHk5T ... sp=sharing

I started by mixing the drums, get a big but tight sound. I layered a kick sample for room ambiance and another snare « gun shot » style sample for punch and room as well.
Adding the bass, I used a plug in to emulate the sans amp pedal to give it more bite, more drive and more presence. I added later on even more distortion and Eq to make it pop and work with the guitars.
For the guitars I used the processed guitars tracks but I added more distortion and Eq, looking for this agressive tone.
Finally adding the vocals, I really struggled with the tracks, I decided to not use all of the tracks . It was fighting with the guitars but I managed to give it some space with eq and multiband compression.
I used the Api 2500 compressor on the master to really makes everything work together (around 3db of compression), a touch of Eq and some stereo enhancement
I hope you will like it as much as me !
Good luck everyone

[Al B.]

For the intro the processed guitars are missing. The DI guitars have too much noise, so I can't amplify them well. Can you help?

[Mister Fox]

I hate to do this, but I'm now stating an official warning and give you one(!) chance to edit your entry.

I started by mixing the drums, get a big but tight sound. I layered a kick sample for room ambiance and another snare « gun shot » style sample for punch and room as well.

...

I hope you will like it as much as me !
Good luck everyone

The important part is marked in bold red letters. You've been a part of the community since November 2018.


Please let me quote the following:

... The song, called "We Fly", offers plenty of DI tracks and two drum kits to blend (Drum Sample Replacement is not a thing as of MC050 anymore), and it has originally been recorded on an Allen & Heath ZED-10 (the ADC is 16bit). ...

Special Add-On Rules:

• ...
• PRODUCTION RELATED: make the best out of the provided audio material (EQ, compression, transient tools, etc), no "drum sample replacement"!
• ...

Rule set for mix participants

• ...
• Drum Sample Triggering is not allowed (as of MC051)
• Drum Sample "Enhancement" on the other hand - like "sub bass enhancement tricks" (MaxxBass technology, subharmonic synthesizer, gated sine/white noise) and transient designers are however allowed
• It is allowed to use plugins on the summing bus, as long as they are for broad/general sound shaping (e.g. console emulation, "print to tape" sound, "mix through a compressor" trick, etc) or metering tools, but not for mastering purposes (see thread Rules and Guidelines Addendum: Summing Bus Treatment)
• ...

I've sent out a newsletter on 01-APR-2019, informing everyone of the updated Rules and Guidelines. You've been ignoring them several times up until this point.

I can't hold you folks off from just "failing to mention" that you used drum sample enhancement/triggering/replacement, true. But if I see anyone mentioning/hear anyone using "drum samples" in the future without explicitly stating in the introduction posts that this is allowed, I will straight up disqualify your entry. We have rules for a reason!

[Mister Fox]

For the intro the processed guitars are missing. The DI guitars have too much noise, so I can't amplify them well. Can you help?

There are no files missing. The material is provided "as is" - please work with what has been given. This has been a deliberate sound design choice. Listen to the provided demo mix again, the signals have been re-amped. If you listen closely, with a very over-driven hi-gain amp (read the provided TXT file on the setup), maybe even an additional fuzz distortion pedal. Doesn't mean that you have to go this route.

This is one of our more simpler challenges (IMO and all that), but I'm surprised that one essential feature of pretty much any major DAW has been ignored: automation.




I don't do this often - as in, give way more tips and tricks than necessary,
However, our community is all about education - so here goes:

phpBB [media]

This is a quick edit of the song, created on 2" speakers. I used Line6's HELIX Native for this particular snippet for every guitar. As hi-gain amp I opted for a "Bogner Überschall" (HELIX Native sadly doesn't have a Peavy).

Again, this is but a demo with barely any additional EQ, compression or a specific console/tape sound (I find the drums a bit too harsh for example, a suitable tape effect might "tame" that), no good gain staging (faders are al over the place) and "mixed" on small speakers. So if I join myself this month (which might or might not happen, depending on how much time I'll have at my disposal - I haven't done this since MC014), changes are still possible.

Screenshots to get an idea of what I did:
Mix Console (Intro Guitar view)
Re-Amp settings (Line6 HELIX) (I purposely do not show more settings)


Now be creative, everyone!

[Al B.]

Thanks for the help! I try my best to do this.

[guiZgui]

Sorry I think I missed that one.. My goal every time I'm mixing is to provide the best of the music, I used samples to enhance the drum sound, no replacement. Anyway if it's not allowed.. too bad


[quote="Mister Fox" post_id=4520 time=1554581802 user_id=2]
I hate to do this, but I'm now stating an official warning and give you one(!) chance to edit your entry.