Mix Challenge

And finally - tadah - the contestants for round two:

Jerze
- well balanced in every dimension
- warm and round and cozy
- I tried a little cut on the mix at 7K and I found the cymbals in the chorus got a little bit rounder and less annoying
- both the solo guitar and accordion on the center feels suboptimal, I'd prefer them both a bit panned. solo guitar could be a tiny bit louder and less thin/high midsy
- this seems like a rather strict LCR-panning, true to the "vintage" thought, yes, but I am not a massive fan of that. Especially all the female vocals in the center don't make sense to me, Susan's main vocals should be slightly left, the others more to the right.
- chorus could have some more impact compared to the verse (e.g. volume automation, panning automation, electric guitars and accordion are very quiet)
- Susan's main vocals gets a bit lost in the chorus, compared to the verses
- echo on my vocals especially in the first verse is too much

franz
- overall good sounds, both instruments and vocals
- frequency balance is very good
- drums are too loud and dominant, expecially in the intro/verses
- Hihat panned too much to the right IMHO, sticks out a bit
- the muxicbox needs to get rid of the ultra clicky attacks
- dynamic contrast verse/chorus needs attention
- Synth pad in the final chorus needs a bit hi end taming
- Accordion and solo lead guitar are maybe too close together panning-wise?
- Susan's main vocals should not be too much in the background
- bit less reverb on the acoustic solo, more in front

davidbrkd
- mix is tender and tasteful
- chorus comes in nicely
- both male and female vocals have some boxy resonances left and need work
- Susan Main vocal is maybe a bit too loud. also, I'd prefer it be panned a bit left
- EGuitar though is a bit too hidden - barely audible
- bass, especially when it sets in until the first chorus, is too tame and quiet
- a bit more use of the stereo field, especially in the chorus there's a lot going on in the center

ollih
- great song dynamics
- has space and depth without being too obvious
- Don't like the acoustic guitar on the right. I want it left!
- SusanVocHarm1 in the chorus: pan it slightly to the right?
- overall it seems to me that you chose a rather strict LCR-Panning, which might be vintage, but I am not too much a fan of. Just loosen it up a little, escpecially the Vocal Harmonies shoudl be spread.
- I am not sure that the "Eguitar finale" in the center is the right place
- male vocals in final chorus sound a bit harsh

Ben-on-the-Board
- pleasant natural sound, I especially like the solo acoustic guitar sound
- like Susan's Vocal sound.
- the level difference between the final chorus is too much, I get the idea behind it, push the final chorus, but it is just too much. the first two verses are too quiet in comparison
- main vocals level jumps between from verse 2 to 3 and back again in 4-5. Level in verse 3 is the best actually
- male vocals still feel slightly boxy. 400k-ish
- bass is a bit too timid and low in level
- electric guitars are not really there

Kelson
- everything sounds round, balanced and natural
- great depth and dynamics
- Susan's main vocals have a little bit honkiness/nasalness left in the lower register. Not much. Also, could you move them a bit to the center? and a teensy-weensy bit quieter.
- the phosphor hi pad has something piercing in the hi end that I find needs some taming (10k upwards)
- Music box is to click-y, please soften the attacks a bit.

vintage
- nice natural sound
- I think you got the level balance of the vocals pretty right
- the Zebra piano could be a little quieter
- acoustic solo guitar also a bit quieter
- male vocals in verse have a little bit of boxiness left (~400Hz?)
- i think the accordion in the chorus could be panned more to the right
- overall I think the chorus could do with more stereo with (panning automation)

Mork
- overall frequency balance is very good, as is panning
- like the backing vocals in the chorus
- Susan's main vocals have a bit too much hi end in the verses, bit too breathy which doesn't fit to the rest of the sound imho. not much, though.
- little bit too much room on the kick
- drums are a bit too dominant, especially the kick in the quieter parts
- tambourine a bit too upfront

Siyabonga
- a rather unique "sparse" sound that actually has something to it, gives the song a very intimate feeling
- frequency balance feels good
- drums (snare) a bit too present and don't gel with the rest of the sounds, especially in the chorus
- all in all instruments feel a bit too separated, it doesn't really feel as "one" sound. Maybe just a tad too sparse and a little bit more room might help?
- chorus could have more impact. While the sparse mix works well in the verses, in the chorus you could pump it up a little
- a bit more of the acoustic guitar would be nice.
- I prefer the bass a bit less "rock" sounding and more "warm, round and low"

Feel free to ask if I made myself unclear. I find it not easy to describe sound and ideas of sound with words.

Mork wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 26, 2018 15:34 CEST

So why even bother if one of the two can't be heard? Of course, re-recording the vocal would obviously be the best thing to do, but I don't think we have that option (or do we? ).

If you can find really good musicians to re-record this song in a proper studio, go ahead! I have no illusions regarding my limited instrumental and vocal capabilities, but I am vain enough to say that this is a pretty damn good song, i would love to hear it being done by professionals, although it would probably make me cry at night and curse my laziness at practising...

fese wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 26, 2018 20:04 CEST

sergioitasco
- unusual approach which has something to it, sounds very intimate.
- as a consequence every sound is there
- i like that i can hear all background vocals.
- female vocal left sounds honky and could use some qeing of the lower mids.
- overall a little bit of EQ cleanup in the lower mids wouldn't hurt (vocals, ac guitars)
- a little bit more room would be good, too. Doesn't have to be massive.
- problem is: I am not a massive fan of the so-called "beatles"-panning of the sixties. Drums on the stereo sides was never and will never be good-sounding, sorry (I've tried it myself on occasion). If you manage to bring them to the center while keeping the overall balance, that would be good.

Thanks for your feedback and for your patience listening all those songs!

I'm not a fan of panning stuff around too...

I just wanted to see what you thought about perception of all sounds even with drum panned... considering drum a complex and multi sources instrument all my intentions were to avoid masking/phase shifts/comb filter in a that channel (the right one, in this case)... Once I was able to avoid that Is supposed I'm able to balance and distribute any sound sources, anywhere, and very quickly and effectively.

Thanks again for your time, really appreciate it!

Good luck for next round.

SergioITASCO

fese wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 26, 2018 20:04 CEST

bourouki
- good vocals sound for Susan, like the picked guitar sound
- compact mix,

Thanks for your time & feedback fese! These 3 positive remarks are precisely the ones I'm most proud of to have achieved

- the cymbals in the chorus sound really annoying, too compressed? and way too much hi end

Yes, when comparing against the other mixes (the majority of which are in my opinion/taste way too dark), I can see how my cymbals/hi-end can jump out and initially seem annoying. Whenever I listen to it with fresh ears though, and against what I have in my playlist, it does not sound in the least bit annoying. I ultimately chose to stand by the more modern-ish crisp sound, as I've stated in my description.

In any case I've come out of this with a wonderful new song to add my playlist and that I enjoy listening to over and over, and it already means a lot to me... so many thanks again and all the best

Thanks for the response Fese, though my approach didn't progress here, I can verify a few people I played it for love your music.

Good luck to the other entrants

fese, thank you for your feedback, much appreciated.

This is a really nice song that deserves a wider audience.

All the best to those in rnd2

west

Thanks for listening to everyone's mix and giving feedback to everyone, fese.

General comment: The main challenge with Susan's vocals is that she's singing so quietly that it's like she's half-singing and half-whispering. It contrasts so much with fese's vocals that it makes it really hard to make her vocals stand out or take lead at any point. I look forward to hearing what the winners end up doing with them.

Thank you for handling the evaluation, fese.

Let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Wednesday, 31-OCT-2018 11:59pm GMT+1/CET


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

ATTENTION: Germany switches back to so called "winter time" on the 28th October



The following 9 participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order)

Ben-on-the-Board
davidbrkd
franz
Jerze
Kelson
Mork
Olli.H
Siyabonga
vintage

Please also take note of the following post regarding general notes for Mix Round 2
viewtopic.php?p=3454#p3454



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

fese wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 26, 2018 20:04 CEST

javipedrocca
- good level and spectral balance
- like the idea with the leslie on the guitar
- song dynamics and
- a bit too much (audible) reverb on the male vocals, they seem too much in the background, even
behind the drums.
- tambourine maybe a tad too loud for my taste
- i think the acoustic solo guitar is a bit too much compressed, i can hear the compression working sometimes

Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it.
Cheers
Javier