Mix Challenge

Nevertheless I do hope the clients are normalizing all of the entries to the same loudness before evaluating because even a 0.1 dB difference can make a worse mix sound better.

In Reaper there is an SWS script: "Normalize loudness of selected items to -23 LUFS." It can be applied to any number of items with a single mouse click, making it trivial to normalize all tracks to the same LUFS before you listen to them once you have them all downloaded.

I can't hear 0.1 db volume diefference. Come on, loud bad mix is still worse than a good one

For us. But for most people the louder the better

konop_tnt wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 28, 2018 22:53 CEST

I can't hear 0.1 db volume diefference. Come on, loud bad mix is still worse than a good one

I apologize for adding to the noise, but perhaps the “Q&A and Gossip Area” would be a more appropriate place to post one’s concerns about loudness levels. It states, “Ask us a question, give feedback, make suggesions,” so it seems a bit more appropriate of a place for this type of banter.

Hello everyone,
I downloaded, normalized and listened to all the songs, my favorites are:
Tapwater, Tsykhra, Richard Clarke, Oxe, they are overall well balanced, compared to my proposal, they are much more colorful, I am much flatter and more analog without effect on the bus but with greater overall dynamics. A little more drive / punch will be welcome if I go in R2 ...


What do you think?

Hi !

so here I am with the evaluation of mixround 1!

1. I'm impressed by the amount of mixes that were send in!

2. As mentioned before, my choice was made by kinda looking for things that triggered me. Listening to these mixes, I tried to figure out, which one of them I mostly would have wanted to have on an EP. So there were a lot of mixes that were as good as the mixes that are going to the next round, and maybe there were even some better ones, but I listened as a customer and not as a mixing engineer (at least I tried to).

3. I actually only chose 9 contestants to come into mixround 2, because I couldn't decide to whom I'd give the last free slot. At this point it would hav had to be a random pick while looking away and I didn't want to do that.





To the contestants for mixround 2:
These are the things that popped up in my head while listening. If anything isn't clear, feel free to ask me for explanation!
I will however answer way faster if you write me mail (info@bakerproductions.de)!


Drumwizard
vocal effect even less in the verses to make contrast to the chorusses
dryer verses.
try to get the bass more upfront with mids (dont be shy. get some space in there with a bunch of 600Hz?
maybe get some gentle saturation going on the snare?


stilespod
like the weird snare. maybe try to keep the weird tone in the verses and get rid of it in the chorusses.
less of the vocal effetcs in the verses, maybe a tooouch of saturation on the lead vocals?
maybe try to make the resonance to seem more natural. now it comes through the reverb a lot and sounds like a relative wide EQ boost.
maybe try to gently cut a few dB, but wide. And than boost a few dB at the exact frequency of the resonance but more narrow. So you may get the snare a better overall sound but keep the resonance. That's just an idea of how to maybe get there. This idea could also be garbage, but you get the thought


dobebon
very interesting snare. actually like that a lot
but the overall mix is missing a lot of low end energy
but I really like the snare and the roundness of the kick
try to give the spectral balance more low end punch.
I here subbass but I miss something. Maybe its also low mids that are needed.
Try to get a different overall spectral balance that fits the snare sound more


philk
great overall balance
good FX's
at some points various elements in the song can get a little too nasal from time to time. maybe get rid of that or try some multiband compression?
not a big fan of the delay on the guitars in the bridge.
would like the bridge to keep clean in this case and than try to get it wider when the big guitars drop in again.
loving the delay that comes in on the vocals right before the 'drop' tho


Tapwater
one of the best mixes regarding the use of the standard tools like EQ and compression.
The balance is very good!
Sometimes a touch too much de-essing on the vocals
the toms are too loud. get them better in balance
not a fan of the fx on the vocal in the bridge. keep this quiet part small and intimate.
your quest:
suprise me with something grungy. The mix is top, but give me something that is making it more special. and if its just one element, thats great. but make something pop out


vintage
great mix regarding balance and the use of EQ and compression
overall a bit too much low end.
in the bridge the vocal is too quiet and thin
not a fan of the long reverb/delay on the vox in the verses
other than that you get the same quest as Tapwater.
get the chorusses a little fatter regarding guitars
suprise me with something grungy. The mix is top, but give me something that is making it more special. and if its just one element, thats great. but make something pop out


MOA22
great energy
upfront vocals and tasty fx use
the one thing I don't like is the snare
it needs more aggression, presence, whatever...anything that baaams
it makes makes the track lose some energy that the rest of the mix is actually transporting very well
toms are a bit loud here and there


3ee
don't let the vocals drown in reverb in the bridge
make this quiet part intimate and maybe use other effects, but try to give it contrast regarding the last outro part.


Mork
I really like the energy that the drums have when the parts where the drummer hits it hard. maybe try to automate the threshold of the compressor on the snare or anything to give the other parts (verses and first chorus roughly) the same energy
other than that, you get the same quest as two other contestants
suprise me with something grungy. The mix is top, but give me something that is making it more special. and if its just one element, thats great. but make something pop out

For me no evaluation no participation next time ! don't know what other members think ! good luck for R2 guys .

Wizzo wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 29, 2018 17:50 CEST

For me no evaluation no participation next time ! don't know what other members think ! good luck for R2 guys .

I totally understand your complain! But I have to say, that the time I would have to spend to write out an evaluation for 70 mixes, is something I don‘t have. But I thought, it’s still better than having the song pool running dry
Since I am no professional engineer, my commentary doesn’t count more than any of yours! So I highly recommend giving each other feedback as well!
To me this forum is about learning about mixing and it’s a way to get your hands on mixing material.

I am really sorry and I truly understand what you think! But don’t waste the opportunity that this forum still gives you. Even without my poorly given feedback!

No, there is no complain at all , evaluation or feedback means everything to me , and i think to all members too , I still learning , so what you think in my mix it's very important , and i take it seriously .

fajebru wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 29, 2018 16:57 CEST

Listening to these mixes, I tried to figure out, which one of them I mostly would have wanted to have on an EP.

Yeah. Appreciate the effort you are putting into this. You would never have a mix on an EP, though. For me, your decisions are very interesting. Maybe the split of mix-challenge and mastering-challenge is what is confusing to "customers". Maybe there should be a new kind of challenge called production-challenge where the tracks are provided to create a final production (mixing plus mastering for a certain target). I am not disappointed my mix did not make it into the next round. No issue with that. I listened to the mixes entering the next round and I think I know why they were chosen. Learning from that already. Next time I may submit a final production calling it just a mix. If that makes it to the next round, we'll know the answer. May I ask which device(s) you used for listening? Studio monitors (which ones), headphones (which ones), a car stereo, your home stereo, maybe even your home theater AV receiver with a subwoofer, etc. That would be really interesting to know.