Thank you for your feedback!sthauge wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 15:52 CETHi mahzinhomahzinho wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 16:07 CETStarted with gain stage making all aligned, eqed what I belief was needed to and the same for compression with different levels / styles of compression; DAW of choice: Mixbus v7 by Harrison Consoles. Passed the tracks to Mixbuses 1 to 8 with some saturation and the same for the master channel (about saturation); Finally I recorded through my Alesis 3630 and aligned to a good mixed level shaping to -1.83 dBtp and -16.5 LUFS (int) what to me is good for a mixing level.
My entry: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BCpqNr ... share_link
Nice to see another Harrison Mixbus/Mixbus32C user
We are encouraged to give critics to the mixes, so we can get different views on our work and probably learn from them. I have been listen to your mix and here are my comments based on my taste and my preferences, others may differ. It's perfectly fine to disagree.
1. The acoustic rhythm guitar have some rather annoying chord change noises. Some are so loud that they need some automation to be reduced, eg. at ca 00:30:23 to the left. Some noise are natural, but it must not be to annoying. This needs to be done for almost every other mixes in the competition as well.
Good luck in the competition.
Steinar
2024-NOV-01 Info: Thank you everyone, for making MC100 a resounding success. Please show Songwriting Competition 087 the same love.
MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Winners announced
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Submissions until 21-02-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
-
cristian_condrea
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 1 in evaluation
Hello, mix-challenge participants! First of all, I want to thank everyone who took their time and entered the contest.
I was truly flattered to read all the compliments when all of you gave feedback on my song "Big Eyes".
Please keep in mind that, even if I want to be as objective as possible, I can't exclude my subjective preferences when it comes to mixing and the overall result of it, and without a doubt, that influences the perception of the song in general.
That being said, I will proceed and give feedback to the top 15 entries, as it was a condition stated by the contest organizer.
@coiled_ear
Your version has a pretty good balance between the individual tracks. It seems that you've chosen to do a more dry version of the song.
If that was really your intention, then I can't argue with that. Here are some aspects that I've noticed and decided to give feedback on:
1. I would make the lead vocal maximum 1 dB louder.
2. Even though I can't feel it through the entire guitar solo part, at the end of it (around 1:50), there's an obvious lack in the low frequency,
the lowest note being A ("la" for Europeans), which is rooted in 110 hz, so maybe don't cut higher than that.
3. The claps in the interval 1:55–2:12 have a quite noticeable off-tact feeling, creating a disturbance in the rhythmic feel.
4. The back vocals that goes "uuuuuu" at 2:33; I would make a low shelf at 150 hz and decrease it around 4 dB, because it seems to have too much low energy in that area (for my taste).
Also, try and push it back with a not-so-obvious room reverb; it sits way too upfront for a back vocal.
5. I would also consider making the GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro sound more like a lead element. I can't give you any pointers on how to do that.
All I can say is that it sounds somehow "weak" for a lead element.
@tcheck10
Here are the things I would change in your mix:
1. The piano in the intro is a little bit loud. Balance it so the guitar (which is supposed to be the lead part) doesn't have to compete with it.
2. The guitar solo in the middle of the song has a weird sound; it's like it's distorted in not a good way. It may be because of over-compressing.
3. The strings in the last choruses need to be adjusted level-wise, they take up too much space.
4. The back vocals that goes "uuuuuu" at 2:33 are also way too loud for a back vocal.
5. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34) that are overlaying the lead one are barely there. I would think of it like two lead vocal parts that create something close to polyphony.
@Paupeu
1. The GTR - acoustic solo has a sound that I really wouldn't use. It's distorted in not a good way. Try another amp that sounds more smoothly distorted.
2. For the electric guitar solo in the middle of the song, I have the same objective as with GTR - acoustic solo.
Those are the only two objections that I have regarding your mix. In any other aspect, I think it's a pretty good mix.
@Christoph_K
The thing you did with the delay on the lead vocal in the choruses made me question why I did not think of that when I was mixing the song.
Very cool approach, kudos for having musical intuition.
Overall, I really liked your mix, with the exception of:
1. The GTR - acoustic solo, don't like the sound. I don't know what track you used (apm or clean), but it seems to me that it is distorted in not a pleasant way.
Also, I would consider increasing the volume of this track specifically for the intro part, because it's a lead element.
2. The electric guitar solo in the middle of the song, make be a little bit louder and maybe with a little less reverb/room fx on it.
3. The phrase "with me, right here, right now" at 2:30 seems to have a phaser effect that made me think that there could be an overlay of 2 identical tracks.
I won't argue if that was an intentional choice.
@MellowBrowne
My feedback:
1. The GTR - acoustic solo, give it more space, sounds quite dry, it's seems that there's no fx on that track.
2. The sound of the drums in general seems to be raw. And I don't know if that's your preference, but I would look into that for sure.
3. The electric solo guitar in the middle needs more volume. I would make it at the same level as the lead vocal, since it's also a lead element.
Other than that, it's a pretty well balanced mix.
@Tapwater
1. The delay that you chose for the GTR - acoustic solo conflicts with the rest of the harmony when the chord is changing.
Try to cut the low frequencies in the delay (up to 400 Hz or even higher), it should solve the conflict. Also, even though it has a delay, it seems that the guitar
is lacking space. Try adding a neutral reverb, it would not sound as raw after that.
2. I also suggest that you do the same thing with the crash cymbal that hits when the chorus starts, cut the low frequencies.
3. I liked what you did at the last chorus with the "phone eq" filter, it differentiates that part from the lead and back vocals, which is pretty cool. Although,
I would tone down the volume of that specific track by at least 2db.
4. There may be a similar dissonant effect from the long reverb that is on the organ. It creates some muddiness, but I'm not sure which specific instrument it is.
I think that's all. Overall, it's also a quite good mix.
@GeorgeCorg
1. An interesting approach for the GTR - acoustic solo. It gives me a feeling of mystery, which I think is a good musical choice, even though I wouldn't
use that kind of sound myself.
2. There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable).
It gives me the feeling that it is played in a stadium (or a very big room), when in fact, the song has a much more "in your face" vibe.
3. The overall sound of the vocals in the low choruses seems weird, like there's a flanger/phaser effect or something similar. Try and spread the back vocals
more, maybe that would get rid of the strange sounding. Also, the delayed "bye" in the second verse feels loud to me, 1.5-2db less would be fine.
And one more "also"
, try and automate the amount of vocal reverb for the verses. Less reverb on verses would create a more intimate feeling, plus it will
create a bigger difference between verses and choruses.
4. Not a fan of what you did with the delay on the quiet chorus. If you were my mixing engineer for this song, I would definitely ask you to remove it.
5. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end seems quiet (2.33), I would like at least 2db louder for exactly that part.
6. Just like in @tapwater 's mix, I like what you did with the overlapped back vocal in the last chorus, but in your case, I would like it louder, as well, at least 2db.
@Alexvanmixland
1. Make to toms in the intro (the drum fill) to match the rest of the elements. There's a pretty big difference in volome between them.
2. The GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro - make it louder so it will sound more like a lead element.
3. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end is almost not there (2.33), make it louder, so that it is perceived as a filling element.
4. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34) that have to overlay the lead one are barely there. I would think of it like two lead vocal parts that create something close to polyphony.
@Dreni
A much more modern approach. I can't say that this is good or bad, but for my taste - I wouldn't go that far with the reverb on the lead vocal (at least on the verses) and the overall compression.
You can really hear that white noise in the first milliseconds of the song and at the end. But then again, it's probably just the analog simulator of some plugins you've used.
1. The GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro - make it louder so it will sound more like a lead element.
2. The electric rhythm guitar has some "spikes" in it, probably just a lot of harmonics in the 2-3k area. Try to tame that with a multiband compressor or just a simple eq.
It also conflicts with the lead vocal in the choruses.
3. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end seems quiet (2.33), I would like at least 3-4db louder for exactly that part. The same goes for the overlapped back vocal in the last chorus (2.33),
make it louder, so it would create something close to polyphony.
@Tony Black
One of the reasons I chose your mix is because I liked what you did with the acoustic guitar in the quiet chorus. Although, now that I hear it, I would go even further and automate an eq filter,
so it would start more narrow in the middle range, and passing the half of the quiet chorus, it would start to widen to the point where the next chorus begins. I hope you understand what I'm talking about.
There's also some weird noises in the back, which I think are bass guitar related. Interesting approach, kinda freaky, but still good. Although, I think you may have to compromise
between that and the clarity of the bass guitar.
1. The same goes for your mix as it was stated before you. There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable).
It gives me a feeling that it is played in a stadium (or a very big room), when in fact, to song has a much more "in your face" vibe.
2. I liked the octaver (if I'm not mistaken) on the GTR - acoustic solo part. It was quite cool, but muddy. Try to clear that out.
3. The lead vocal seems to be a little bit oversaturated in the upper mid range and quiet for my taste.
@ari5to5
1. The same goes for your mix as it was stated before you. There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable).
It gives me a feeling that it is played on a stadium (or a very big room), when in fact, to song has a much more "in your face" vibe.
2. I'm not quite sure why you chose to pan hard-left the GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro. It's a solo element, so in the stereo world, I think it should be centered.
You can easily automate the track after that, so it would be panned left when the chorus hits.
3. The electric guitar solo in the middle of the song sounds quite loud compared to other lead elements, like for example, the lead vocal.
4. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end seems quiet (2.33), I would like at least 3-4db louder for exactly that part. The same goes for the overlapped back vocal in the last chorus (2.33),
make it louder, so it would create something close to polyphony.
@itsmorefuntocompute
I really like the sound of the bass guitar. It's very clear and you can hear the attack of each individual note.
1. I'm not really liking the sound of the drums. Maybe that's a compromise you had to make in order to make the bass sound that good.
I would consider more punch for the kick and more body for the snare. But then again, it's your choice if it comes to compromising with the bass guitar.
2. The sound of the GTR - acoustic solo part seems ok, but I would consider lowering the drive/distortion of the signal. It sounds quite aggressive for my taste.
3. I like the sound effect you created at 1.07, but then again, I would consider decreasing the volume by around 2db. The same goes for the back vocal that creates a 3d interval
for the lead vocal "the smell of your perfume..."), till the end of the second chorus.
4. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end is almos not there (2.33), make it louder, so that it is perceived as a filling element.
5. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34) that has to overlay the lead one are barely there. I would think of it like two lead vocal parts that creates something close to polyphony.
@Locrais
1. The sound of the bass guitar is particularly aggressive for this kind of genre. It has way too much "bark" and distortion for my taste.
2. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34): there's too much de-esser on it.
I kinda like that you kept the live feel of the song.
@edwarkmonk
Cool entrance, man. I like the filtered drum fill.
1. I have a problem with a dissonant effect in the chorus between GTR - acoustic solo part and the lead vocal. The last note in the guitar phrases is F#, but after that, the vocal
sings a G and it overlaps. You get a semitone interval. Even if it's an octave apart, it still sounds weird.
2. I would increase the volume of the lead vocal for the low singing, up until the quiet chorus.
3. The claps in the interval 1:55-2:12 have an off-tact feeling, creating a disturbance in the rhythmic feel. I've heard it in another mix, maybe it's my bad and it just needs to be time-aligned.
@DennisBastioni
I like the fact that you didn't over-enhance everything. It's a clean mix, it sounds good, I like it. I have a few pointers for the rhythm electric guitar, though.
The rhythm electric guitar sounds like it was left at the DI stage. Maybe use an amp that will show a more obvious character of that guitar.
I'd like to thank everyone again and wish you luck in the next round. See ya!
I was truly flattered to read all the compliments when all of you gave feedback on my song "Big Eyes".
Please keep in mind that, even if I want to be as objective as possible, I can't exclude my subjective preferences when it comes to mixing and the overall result of it, and without a doubt, that influences the perception of the song in general.
That being said, I will proceed and give feedback to the top 15 entries, as it was a condition stated by the contest organizer.
@coiled_ear
Your version has a pretty good balance between the individual tracks. It seems that you've chosen to do a more dry version of the song.
If that was really your intention, then I can't argue with that. Here are some aspects that I've noticed and decided to give feedback on:
1. I would make the lead vocal maximum 1 dB louder.
2. Even though I can't feel it through the entire guitar solo part, at the end of it (around 1:50), there's an obvious lack in the low frequency,
the lowest note being A ("la" for Europeans), which is rooted in 110 hz, so maybe don't cut higher than that.
3. The claps in the interval 1:55–2:12 have a quite noticeable off-tact feeling, creating a disturbance in the rhythmic feel.
4. The back vocals that goes "uuuuuu" at 2:33; I would make a low shelf at 150 hz and decrease it around 4 dB, because it seems to have too much low energy in that area (for my taste).
Also, try and push it back with a not-so-obvious room reverb; it sits way too upfront for a back vocal.
5. I would also consider making the GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro sound more like a lead element. I can't give you any pointers on how to do that.
All I can say is that it sounds somehow "weak" for a lead element.
@tcheck10
Here are the things I would change in your mix:
1. The piano in the intro is a little bit loud. Balance it so the guitar (which is supposed to be the lead part) doesn't have to compete with it.
2. The guitar solo in the middle of the song has a weird sound; it's like it's distorted in not a good way. It may be because of over-compressing.
3. The strings in the last choruses need to be adjusted level-wise, they take up too much space.
4. The back vocals that goes "uuuuuu" at 2:33 are also way too loud for a back vocal.
5. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34) that are overlaying the lead one are barely there. I would think of it like two lead vocal parts that create something close to polyphony.
@Paupeu
1. The GTR - acoustic solo has a sound that I really wouldn't use. It's distorted in not a good way. Try another amp that sounds more smoothly distorted.
2. For the electric guitar solo in the middle of the song, I have the same objective as with GTR - acoustic solo.
Those are the only two objections that I have regarding your mix. In any other aspect, I think it's a pretty good mix.
@Christoph_K
The thing you did with the delay on the lead vocal in the choruses made me question why I did not think of that when I was mixing the song.
Very cool approach, kudos for having musical intuition.
Overall, I really liked your mix, with the exception of:
1. The GTR - acoustic solo, don't like the sound. I don't know what track you used (apm or clean), but it seems to me that it is distorted in not a pleasant way.
Also, I would consider increasing the volume of this track specifically for the intro part, because it's a lead element.
2. The electric guitar solo in the middle of the song, make be a little bit louder and maybe with a little less reverb/room fx on it.
3. The phrase "with me, right here, right now" at 2:30 seems to have a phaser effect that made me think that there could be an overlay of 2 identical tracks.
I won't argue if that was an intentional choice.
@MellowBrowne
My feedback:
1. The GTR - acoustic solo, give it more space, sounds quite dry, it's seems that there's no fx on that track.
2. The sound of the drums in general seems to be raw. And I don't know if that's your preference, but I would look into that for sure.
3. The electric solo guitar in the middle needs more volume. I would make it at the same level as the lead vocal, since it's also a lead element.
Other than that, it's a pretty well balanced mix.
@Tapwater
1. The delay that you chose for the GTR - acoustic solo conflicts with the rest of the harmony when the chord is changing.
Try to cut the low frequencies in the delay (up to 400 Hz or even higher), it should solve the conflict. Also, even though it has a delay, it seems that the guitar
is lacking space. Try adding a neutral reverb, it would not sound as raw after that.
2. I also suggest that you do the same thing with the crash cymbal that hits when the chorus starts, cut the low frequencies.
3. I liked what you did at the last chorus with the "phone eq" filter, it differentiates that part from the lead and back vocals, which is pretty cool. Although,
I would tone down the volume of that specific track by at least 2db.
4. There may be a similar dissonant effect from the long reverb that is on the organ. It creates some muddiness, but I'm not sure which specific instrument it is.
I think that's all. Overall, it's also a quite good mix.
@GeorgeCorg
1. An interesting approach for the GTR - acoustic solo. It gives me a feeling of mystery, which I think is a good musical choice, even though I wouldn't
use that kind of sound myself.
2. There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable).
It gives me the feeling that it is played in a stadium (or a very big room), when in fact, the song has a much more "in your face" vibe.
3. The overall sound of the vocals in the low choruses seems weird, like there's a flanger/phaser effect or something similar. Try and spread the back vocals
more, maybe that would get rid of the strange sounding. Also, the delayed "bye" in the second verse feels loud to me, 1.5-2db less would be fine.
And one more "also"
, try and automate the amount of vocal reverb for the verses. Less reverb on verses would create a more intimate feeling, plus it willcreate a bigger difference between verses and choruses.
4. Not a fan of what you did with the delay on the quiet chorus. If you were my mixing engineer for this song, I would definitely ask you to remove it.
5. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end seems quiet (2.33), I would like at least 2db louder for exactly that part.
6. Just like in @tapwater 's mix, I like what you did with the overlapped back vocal in the last chorus, but in your case, I would like it louder, as well, at least 2db.
@Alexvanmixland
1. Make to toms in the intro (the drum fill) to match the rest of the elements. There's a pretty big difference in volome between them.
2. The GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro - make it louder so it will sound more like a lead element.
3. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end is almost not there (2.33), make it louder, so that it is perceived as a filling element.
4. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34) that have to overlay the lead one are barely there. I would think of it like two lead vocal parts that create something close to polyphony.
@Dreni
A much more modern approach. I can't say that this is good or bad, but for my taste - I wouldn't go that far with the reverb on the lead vocal (at least on the verses) and the overall compression.
You can really hear that white noise in the first milliseconds of the song and at the end. But then again, it's probably just the analog simulator of some plugins you've used.
1. The GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro - make it louder so it will sound more like a lead element.
2. The electric rhythm guitar has some "spikes" in it, probably just a lot of harmonics in the 2-3k area. Try to tame that with a multiband compressor or just a simple eq.
It also conflicts with the lead vocal in the choruses.
3. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end seems quiet (2.33), I would like at least 3-4db louder for exactly that part. The same goes for the overlapped back vocal in the last chorus (2.33),
make it louder, so it would create something close to polyphony.
@Tony Black
One of the reasons I chose your mix is because I liked what you did with the acoustic guitar in the quiet chorus. Although, now that I hear it, I would go even further and automate an eq filter,
so it would start more narrow in the middle range, and passing the half of the quiet chorus, it would start to widen to the point where the next chorus begins. I hope you understand what I'm talking about.
There's also some weird noises in the back, which I think are bass guitar related. Interesting approach, kinda freaky, but still good. Although, I think you may have to compromise
between that and the clarity of the bass guitar.
1. The same goes for your mix as it was stated before you. There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable).
It gives me a feeling that it is played in a stadium (or a very big room), when in fact, to song has a much more "in your face" vibe.
2. I liked the octaver (if I'm not mistaken) on the GTR - acoustic solo part. It was quite cool, but muddy. Try to clear that out.
3. The lead vocal seems to be a little bit oversaturated in the upper mid range and quiet for my taste.
@ari5to5
1. The same goes for your mix as it was stated before you. There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable).
It gives me a feeling that it is played on a stadium (or a very big room), when in fact, to song has a much more "in your face" vibe.
2. I'm not quite sure why you chose to pan hard-left the GTR - acoustic solo part in the intro. It's a solo element, so in the stereo world, I think it should be centered.
You can easily automate the track after that, so it would be panned left when the chorus hits.
3. The electric guitar solo in the middle of the song sounds quite loud compared to other lead elements, like for example, the lead vocal.
4. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end seems quiet (2.33), I would like at least 3-4db louder for exactly that part. The same goes for the overlapped back vocal in the last chorus (2.33),
make it louder, so it would create something close to polyphony.
@itsmorefuntocompute
I really like the sound of the bass guitar. It's very clear and you can hear the attack of each individual note.
1. I'm not really liking the sound of the drums. Maybe that's a compromise you had to make in order to make the bass sound that good.
I would consider more punch for the kick and more body for the snare. But then again, it's your choice if it comes to compromising with the bass guitar.
2. The sound of the GTR - acoustic solo part seems ok, but I would consider lowering the drive/distortion of the signal. It sounds quite aggressive for my taste.
3. I like the sound effect you created at 1.07, but then again, I would consider decreasing the volume by around 2db. The same goes for the back vocal that creates a 3d interval
for the lead vocal "the smell of your perfume..."), till the end of the second chorus.
4. The "uuuuu" back vocal close to the end is almos not there (2.33), make it louder, so that it is perceived as a filling element.
5. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34) that has to overlay the lead one are barely there. I would think of it like two lead vocal parts that creates something close to polyphony.
@Locrais
1. The sound of the bass guitar is particularly aggressive for this kind of genre. It has way too much "bark" and distortion for my taste.
2. The back vocals in the last chorus (from 2:34): there's too much de-esser on it.
I kinda like that you kept the live feel of the song.
@edwarkmonk
Cool entrance, man. I like the filtered drum fill.
1. I have a problem with a dissonant effect in the chorus between GTR - acoustic solo part and the lead vocal. The last note in the guitar phrases is F#, but after that, the vocal
sings a G and it overlaps. You get a semitone interval. Even if it's an octave apart, it still sounds weird.
2. I would increase the volume of the lead vocal for the low singing, up until the quiet chorus.
3. The claps in the interval 1:55-2:12 have an off-tact feeling, creating a disturbance in the rhythmic feel. I've heard it in another mix, maybe it's my bad and it just needs to be time-aligned.
@DennisBastioni
I like the fact that you didn't over-enhance everything. It's a clean mix, it sounds good, I like it. I have a few pointers for the rhythm electric guitar, though.
The rhythm electric guitar sounds like it was left at the DI stage. Maybe use an amp that will show a more obvious character of that guitar.
I'd like to thank everyone again and wish you luck in the next round. See ya!
-
Mister Fox
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3357
- Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 16:15 CEST
- Location: Berlin, Germany
MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
Thank you for handling the evaluation, @cristian_condrea.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Tuesday, 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
As of this moment, that is 5 days (plus the hours since @cristian_condrea's announcement, and I've updated the post). All Mix Round 2 participants will be sent a reminder via mail shortly.
There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN available to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)
The following 15 participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order), with "wild-cards" being pointed out (if present this month).
(all Mix Round 2 participants should have been pinged)
@Alex Van mixland
@ari5to5
@Christoph_K
@Coiled_Ear (Wild Card)
@DennisBastioni
@Dreni
@edwarkmonk
@GeorgeCorg
@itsmorefuntocompute (Wild Card)
@Locrais
@Mellow Browne
@PauPeu (Wild Card)
@Tapwater
@tcheck10 (Wild Card)
@Tony Black
.
The feedback to the productions can be found here:
Please see post #142
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.
And please keep the Rules and Guidelines (post #6) in mind regarding submitting your entry.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Tuesday, 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
As of this moment, that is 5 days (plus the hours since @cristian_condrea's announcement, and I've updated the post). All Mix Round 2 participants will be sent a reminder via mail shortly.
There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN available to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)
The following 15 participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order), with "wild-cards" being pointed out (if present this month).
(all Mix Round 2 participants should have been pinged)
@Alex Van mixland
@ari5to5
@Christoph_K
@Coiled_Ear (Wild Card)
@DennisBastioni
@Dreni
@edwarkmonk
@GeorgeCorg
@itsmorefuntocompute (Wild Card)
@Locrais
@Mellow Browne
@PauPeu (Wild Card)
@Tapwater
@tcheck10 (Wild Card)
@Tony Black
.
The feedback to the productions can be found here:
Please see post #142
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.
And please keep the Rules and Guidelines (post #6) in mind regarding submitting your entry.
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
hi!
thanks for choosing my mix!
here's the updated mix as per your instructions:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ycjOyN ... sp=sharing
on top of your comments, I also cleaned the kick a bit.
I hope you like it
thanks for choosing my mix!
here's the updated mix as per your instructions:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ycjOyN ... sp=sharing
on top of your comments, I also cleaned the kick a bit.
I hope you like it
-
Tony Black
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2022 11:31 CEST
- Location: Ancona (Italy)
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
@cristian_condrea
Hello Cristian! I'm going to copy/paste from you and reply
- "One of the reasons I chose your mix is because I liked what you did with the acoustic guitar in the quiet chorus. Although, now that I hear it, I would go even further and automate an eq filter,
so it would start more narrow in the middle range, and passing the half of the quiet chorus, it would start to widen to the point where the next chorus begins. I hope you understand what I'm talking about".
Glad you liked the guitar sound. I did nothing special in that particular section, it is just how the guitar was mixed for the entire song.
Yes, i understand what you mean but i don't think is going to work for the best.
To me, the right decision for that section is having the guitar full range like it is.
- "There's also some weird noises in the back, which I think are bass guitar related"
The bad new is i can't hear any weird noise from the bass XD
The good new is that maybe we can still fix the issue if you help me.
1) Are you sure it is not about the noise of fingers sliding on the acoustic guitar strings?
Please try to focus on this.
2) Maybe it is helpful if i send a mix without the acoustic guitar or maybe without guitars and then you tell me if noises are still there?
- "There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable)"
I think the issue here is about the reverb lenght. I'll make it shorter and then should sound better to you.
- "I liked the octaver (if I'm not mistaken) on the GTR - acoustic solo part. It was quite cool, but muddy. Try to clear that out"
Didn't use an octaver and i think you are referring to the electric guitar solo.
It seems i'm not able to identify this muddiness issue. Sounds very good to me.
I'll try to reduce some low end on it to see if you like it best.
- "The lead vocal seems to be a little bit oversaturated in the upper mid range and quiet for my taste"
The oversaturation is probably because of the compression. Maybe i used too much of it.
I'll try to reduce the compression and hopefully you'll like it better.
About the vocal level: The vocal in my mix sounds lower than majority of all other mixes (even the original one) and that's exactly what i was trying to achieve.
To me the vocal in all other mixes, even the original, sounds too loud or/and disconnected from the music. It is very obvious to me and it becomes a real issue especially when pushing the volume. The vocal is the only thing that gets loud when instead everything should become louder in the same way.
So to me how the vocal sits in my mix is a big plus compared to the other versions and i don't think changing the balance is going to be a better choice.
Hello Cristian! I'm going to copy/paste from you and reply
- "One of the reasons I chose your mix is because I liked what you did with the acoustic guitar in the quiet chorus. Although, now that I hear it, I would go even further and automate an eq filter,
so it would start more narrow in the middle range, and passing the half of the quiet chorus, it would start to widen to the point where the next chorus begins. I hope you understand what I'm talking about".
Glad you liked the guitar sound. I did nothing special in that particular section, it is just how the guitar was mixed for the entire song.
Yes, i understand what you mean but i don't think is going to work for the best.
To me, the right decision for that section is having the guitar full range like it is.
- "There's also some weird noises in the back, which I think are bass guitar related"
The bad new is i can't hear any weird noise from the bass XD
The good new is that maybe we can still fix the issue if you help me.
1) Are you sure it is not about the noise of fingers sliding on the acoustic guitar strings?
Please try to focus on this.
2) Maybe it is helpful if i send a mix without the acoustic guitar or maybe without guitars and then you tell me if noises are still there?
- "There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable)"
I think the issue here is about the reverb lenght. I'll make it shorter and then should sound better to you.
- "I liked the octaver (if I'm not mistaken) on the GTR - acoustic solo part. It was quite cool, but muddy. Try to clear that out"
Didn't use an octaver and i think you are referring to the electric guitar solo.
It seems i'm not able to identify this muddiness issue. Sounds very good to me.
I'll try to reduce some low end on it to see if you like it best.
- "The lead vocal seems to be a little bit oversaturated in the upper mid range and quiet for my taste"
The oversaturation is probably because of the compression. Maybe i used too much of it.
I'll try to reduce the compression and hopefully you'll like it better.
About the vocal level: The vocal in my mix sounds lower than majority of all other mixes (even the original one) and that's exactly what i was trying to achieve.
To me the vocal in all other mixes, even the original, sounds too loud or/and disconnected from the music. It is very obvious to me and it becomes a real issue especially when pushing the volume. The vocal is the only thing that gets loud when instead everything should become louder in the same way.
So to me how the vocal sits in my mix is a big plus compared to the other versions and i don't think changing the balance is going to be a better choice.
-
cristian_condrea
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
Hi! I understand your position, and I'm not gonna insist on changing the things you don't agree with, as the song has already been released and I have no interest in changing your opinion.Tony Black wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 19:05 CET@cristian_condrea
Hello Cristian! I'm going to copy/paste from you and reply
- "One of the reasons I chose your mix is because I liked what you did with the acoustic guitar in the quiet chorus. Although, now that I hear it, I would go even further and automate an eq filter,
so it would start more narrow in the middle range, and passing the half of the quiet chorus, it would start to widen to the point where the next chorus begins. I hope you understand what I'm talking about".
Glad you liked the guitar sound. I did nothing special in that particular section, it is just how the guitar was mixed for the entire song.
Yes, i understand what you mean but i don't think is going to work for the best.
To me, the right decision for that section is having the guitar full range like it is.
- "There's also some weird noises in the back, which I think are bass guitar related"
The bad new is i can't hear any weird noise from the bass XD
The good new is that maybe we can still fix the issue if you help me.
1) Are you sure it is not about the noise of fingers sliding on the acoustic guitar strings?
Please try to focus on this.
2) Maybe it is helpful if i send a mix without the acoustic guitar or maybe without guitars and then you tell me if noises are still there?
- "There's a midrange reverb on drums, perhaps only on snare, that is not quite genre-appropriate, in my opinion (I'm aware that this is debatable)"
I think the issue here is about the reverb lenght. I'll make it shorter and then should sound better to you.
- "I liked the octaver (if I'm not mistaken) on the GTR - acoustic solo part. It was quite cool, but muddy. Try to clear that out"
Didn't use an octaver and i think you are referring to the electric guitar solo.
It seems i'm not able to identify this muddiness issue. Sounds very good to me.
I'll try to reduce some low end on it to see if you like it best.
- "The lead vocal seems to be a little bit oversaturated in the upper mid range and quiet for my taste"
The oversaturation is probably because of the compression. Maybe i used too much of it.
I'll try to reduce the compression and hopefully you'll like it better.
About the vocal level: The vocal in my mix sounds lower than majority of all other mixes (even the original one) and that's exactly what i was trying to achieve.
To me the vocal in all other mixes, even the original, sounds too loud or/and disconnected from the music. It is very obvious to me and it becomes a real issue especially when pushing the volume. The vocal is the only thing that gets loud when instead everything should become louder in the same way.
So to me how the vocal sits in my mix is a big plus compared to the other versions and i don't think changing the balance is going to be a better choice.
Regarding the noises in the background, I still think that is bass guitar related, because I paid attention to the last bass note (B) at the end and it seems to match my assumption. I may be wrong, but I assume it's about a fuzz-type distortion on the bass that creates those sounds.
-
Christoph_K
- Posts: 89
- Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 07:57 CET
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
Thanks @cristian_condrea for voting my mix into round two. Glad to hear you like the delay throw
The changes:
1. For the acoustic solo I oriented myself more towards the tone in the original mix. I definitely went too far with the distortion in the first round. Now it blends way better with the vocal melody while still standing out enough.
2. I completely reworked the whole e-guitar solo thing. There were some really nasty high mid pain in the original mix that I wanted to get rid of, so the solo was a bit far back in my first mix. In this mix I tried to get it more upfront while still taming the pain. My ears are probably overly sensible to 4-5 kHz though.
3. In one of the BGV tracks there indeed was a vocal part which was almost the same as in the lead vocals that led to the phasing you heard. I turned that one down.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/07ebs64pniswu ... 2.wav?dl=0
The changes:
1. For the acoustic solo I oriented myself more towards the tone in the original mix. I definitely went too far with the distortion in the first round. Now it blends way better with the vocal melody while still standing out enough.
2. I completely reworked the whole e-guitar solo thing. There were some really nasty high mid pain in the original mix that I wanted to get rid of, so the solo was a bit far back in my first mix. In this mix I tried to get it more upfront while still taming the pain. My ears are probably overly sensible to 4-5 kHz though.
3. In one of the BGV tracks there indeed was a vocal part which was almost the same as in the lead vocals that led to the phasing you heard. I turned that one down.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/07ebs64pniswu ... 2.wav?dl=0
-
Mellow Browne
- Posts: 111
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 20:54 CET
- Location: Freiburg, Germany
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
Hello Cristian, thank you for picking my mix for round 2!
Changes I made:
GTR acoustic solo: yes, the track was dry without any fx. I tried several reverbs and delays but the Lexicon 224 worked best to my ears. It has a pre-delay of 44ms (1/64th) to give it the room it needs, now it fills up a little more space in the mix.
Drums: they already had a Lexicon 224 reverb send fx but with almost no reverb time, so I just raised the send fx fader a tiny bit, set a slightly longer reverb tail in bass and mid band and a short pre-delay (6 ms) and I also raised the drum room track fader by 3 db. I was mostly focusing on the “roominess” of the snare, which is still very subtle. I hope this is what you wanted to hear. And yes, in general I prefer dry drum sounds much more than reverb tails/room ambience on snares etc.
Guitar solo: I raised the volume of the guitar solo by 2db to be at the same level as the vocals and I had to adjust the amount of delay feedback because it was too massive with the initial settings, plus some EQ adjustments in the low mids to get more clarity for the bass. To make it a little more interesting as a lead instrument I added a flanger effect for some movement.
I haven’t heard the mix since I posted my entry and I was very disappointed with the bass (compared to all other mixes in the top 15, especially the one from @itsmorefuntocompute, I think mine is the most „boring“ bass tone) I initially wanted more snap on the transient, so I set a slightly slower attack on the 1176 and pushed the 2kHz region on the pultec eq just by 1 db and I also compared the bass with other entries that had way more warmth, so I decided to give it more body presence by boosting 200 Hz by roundabout 2db. Of course, I lost some snap on the drums, so I tried to compensate it by activating the sc-filter on the ssl g drum bus at around 40 Hz and a little scoop on the kick track at 120 Hz. I hope this is in your interest.
Last thing I did was to put a stereo phaser effect on the back vocal (big eyes) and some panning modulation (Cableguys Pancake) to get a little bit more separation between this track and the lead vocal at the end of the song. I know, you didn’t ask for it, I still had the desire to enhance this part to make it more interesting.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tLjUac ... share_link
Thank you very much for the feedback. This was really helpful, especially the solo guitar is finally there were it needs to be. I know, I did some things you did not mention, but your feedback gave me some inspiration and refined my vision of what the song needs from my perspective as a mixing engineer. We will see if it was for the better or the worse.
PS: Looking forward to hear Round 2!
PPS: @Tony Black I see on your profile picture that you have the KRK Rokit 5, I had the same years ago. The problem with these speakers is that they especially focus on the frequencies which are most sensitive to human hearing (2-3 kHz) and have a weak representation of frequencies below 200 Hz, this is why (maybe) you have the impression your vocals sit right, but it's true, they could be a little louder, I just checked your mix from Round 1. The solo guitar part is louder than the lead vocal. I had the exact same problem with these speakers. They have a "thin" sound compared to other speakers because they have a small cabinet. It was always a struggle to mix with these for me and the mixes translated pretty bad to other sound systems. This, plus maybe you have problems with the acoustic in your room, I don't know. And yes, there is something happening with your bass, one can hear on the very last note of the song. I guess there is too much saturation happening on your Bus A, or maybe not an appropriate type of saturation for the whole Bus. It really sounds like a fuzz-type saturation like Cristian already mentioned. Hope this helps!
Changes I made:
GTR acoustic solo: yes, the track was dry without any fx. I tried several reverbs and delays but the Lexicon 224 worked best to my ears. It has a pre-delay of 44ms (1/64th) to give it the room it needs, now it fills up a little more space in the mix.
Drums: they already had a Lexicon 224 reverb send fx but with almost no reverb time, so I just raised the send fx fader a tiny bit, set a slightly longer reverb tail in bass and mid band and a short pre-delay (6 ms) and I also raised the drum room track fader by 3 db. I was mostly focusing on the “roominess” of the snare, which is still very subtle. I hope this is what you wanted to hear. And yes, in general I prefer dry drum sounds much more than reverb tails/room ambience on snares etc.
Guitar solo: I raised the volume of the guitar solo by 2db to be at the same level as the vocals and I had to adjust the amount of delay feedback because it was too massive with the initial settings, plus some EQ adjustments in the low mids to get more clarity for the bass. To make it a little more interesting as a lead instrument I added a flanger effect for some movement.
I haven’t heard the mix since I posted my entry and I was very disappointed with the bass (compared to all other mixes in the top 15, especially the one from @itsmorefuntocompute, I think mine is the most „boring“ bass tone) I initially wanted more snap on the transient, so I set a slightly slower attack on the 1176 and pushed the 2kHz region on the pultec eq just by 1 db and I also compared the bass with other entries that had way more warmth, so I decided to give it more body presence by boosting 200 Hz by roundabout 2db. Of course, I lost some snap on the drums, so I tried to compensate it by activating the sc-filter on the ssl g drum bus at around 40 Hz and a little scoop on the kick track at 120 Hz. I hope this is in your interest.
Last thing I did was to put a stereo phaser effect on the back vocal (big eyes) and some panning modulation (Cableguys Pancake) to get a little bit more separation between this track and the lead vocal at the end of the song. I know, you didn’t ask for it, I still had the desire to enhance this part to make it more interesting.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tLjUac ... share_link
Thank you very much for the feedback. This was really helpful, especially the solo guitar is finally there were it needs to be. I know, I did some things you did not mention, but your feedback gave me some inspiration and refined my vision of what the song needs from my perspective as a mixing engineer. We will see if it was for the better or the worse.
PS: Looking forward to hear Round 2!
PPS: @Tony Black I see on your profile picture that you have the KRK Rokit 5, I had the same years ago. The problem with these speakers is that they especially focus on the frequencies which are most sensitive to human hearing (2-3 kHz) and have a weak representation of frequencies below 200 Hz, this is why (maybe) you have the impression your vocals sit right, but it's true, they could be a little louder, I just checked your mix from Round 1. The solo guitar part is louder than the lead vocal. I had the exact same problem with these speakers. They have a "thin" sound compared to other speakers because they have a small cabinet. It was always a struggle to mix with these for me and the mixes translated pretty bad to other sound systems. This, plus maybe you have problems with the acoustic in your room, I don't know. And yes, there is something happening with your bass, one can hear on the very last note of the song. I guess there is too much saturation happening on your Bus A, or maybe not an appropriate type of saturation for the whole Bus. It really sounds like a fuzz-type saturation like Cristian already mentioned. Hope this helps!
-
Tony Black
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2022 11:31 CEST
- Location: Ancona (Italy)
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
@cristian_condrea
List of changes applied:
1) The bass had some noise going on. After listening to it in solo i remembered about it. I didn't think it was a problem, could not hear it with all the instrumentation going on. Hopefully i fixed it or reduced it to a point that is not an issue anymore.
2) Reduced a lot the lenght of the drums reverb.
3) Applied a 6dB cut on the guitar solo low end with a shelf
4) Reduced the compression on the vocal. Removed a saturation plugin. At this point a tried to boost the volume on the vocal since you were not happy with its amount. I found that adding 1dB was still acceptable so i did.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1323jGr ... share_link
List of changes applied:
1) The bass had some noise going on. After listening to it in solo i remembered about it. I didn't think it was a problem, could not hear it with all the instrumentation going on. Hopefully i fixed it or reduced it to a point that is not an issue anymore.
2) Reduced a lot the lenght of the drums reverb.
3) Applied a 6dB cut on the guitar solo low end with a shelf
4) Reduced the compression on the vocal. Removed a saturation plugin. At this point a tried to boost the volume on the vocal since you were not happy with its amount. I found that adding 1dB was still acceptable so i did.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1323jGr ... share_link
Re: MIX CHALLENGE - MC090 February 2023 - Mix Round 2 until until 14-MAR-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET
Hi All,
For those who didn't make Round 2, if you'd like to do a "I'll Review Your Mix If You Review Mine" then PM me. I've only got time to do a couple so for those interested it's first in, first served.
Cheers!
For those who didn't make Round 2, if you'd like to do a "I'll Review Your Mix If You Review Mine" then PM me. I've only got time to do a couple so for those interested it's first in, first served.
Cheers!