Mix Challenge

It's the 13th May2021, 5:20 (UTC+2) - the 2nd Mix Round has officially ended.


STATISTICS

• Sadly, not everyone has sent in an edit (@studjo, due to time constraints, @Blang decided not to use a wild card)
• We have three out of four wild card uses to advance into the next round (@AndyM, @RodA, @tiagogardner)
• We have no submissions after the deadline.

Please check your upload links again, and have an eye on this thread for the final feedback and results.



I'm now opening up the room (again) for Q&A's and giving each other feedback (which is highly encouraged)

Please check out all other games on the community.


See you on the flipside.

That's a shame, I wasn't aware of the wild card in time. It seems like a good idea. @GmfSongs thanks anyhow for the feedback and I hope you find your mix.

Hello all!!

Congratulations! I’m very impressed by how much all of these mixes improved this round - and you should be too! Please give yourselves credit for implementing the revisions so well. Speaking from the perspective of a prospective client, that’s a huge skill to have in the real world.

I am still hoping to release the winning & credited feature mixer on Spotify and other distrokid affiliated streaming services, but I don’t think we’re quite at that level yet.

I had actually hoped for more experimentation in the submissions, but I realize it is a complex and dynamic arrangement. So many moving parts.

So after consulting with Mr Fox, he has generously offered us a third and final round for this challenge...

Aside from these additional mix notes, the goal I would stress most - is I need to hear you put your personal stamp on the mix, because I’m less inclined to choose a faithful rendition of my own original version...as opposed something different, surprising, and outside the box creative.

Someone, please win this contest!!!

Good Luck!!!!


Mix Notes - Megalomaniac Round 2:

————————————-

#146 @SuC76

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uDOj1c ... sp=sharing

Definitely warmer. Better.
Dry up lead vocal in piano intro or low pass the reverb in that section up to :33.

It’s little too live reflecting room. This is an intimate opening.

Hearing a fair bit of compression. Transients are hard almost clipped. But not smeared. Very obvious at lower volume.

Acoustics are beautiful.

Bass and bottom end could be bigger.
70’s kik is masking the bass.
70’s snare sharing frequencies with vocal.

Balancing very good. Louder Chorus harmonies could fill the sound out more.
The Chorus vocal feels sparse and overcompressed.

V2 synths way too low. Electric guitar a little thin.

Increase piano volume @2:57 for outro to drive the 8th note feel. The section feels like it slows down.

Good chorus drums.

Dry up ‘love me.’

Very good mix. But I’d like to hear you explore some different effects and spaces and dynamics. Take some risks to stand out and put your creative stamp on it.
Create movement.

8th pick. Well done.

—————————-

#147 @RodA

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmahx6dwfobgu ... 2.wav?dl=0

Better intro. Feels alive yet a little thin - but that only increases the impact of the bass coming in. Excellent use of frequency dynamics.

Huge improvements!

Bass maybe a touch honky.

1st chorus vocal - give it 1db and start wet, end dry.

2nd verse. @1:33
Start vocal dryer. Increase verb as section progresses.
I’m want to hear you utilize depth. Front to back.

Chorus vocal buss could use a touch of ~4-5k for presence.
Chorus acoustics very smooth.
Chorus kik. A little more volume even.
Chorus backbeats. More volume.

Crash needs a high pass.
Tom fill. Goose it.

3:51 reverb gets out of control.
Again dry up vocal at 3:52 for contrast.

Dry up ‘love me’

Audience does need to be so wet at end.

——————————-

#148 @Photonic

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2an2xqa5eb9s ... 2.wav?dl=0

Excellent mix. Very well balanced.
Just a bit sterile. A bit too faithful to original.

Take more creative risks.

Vocal much better. Great EQ. Not squashed. Piano just a little boxy.

Nice interesting electric piano.
BG’s at :53 need volume.
Use VS BG FX DDL track.
That whole section needs to sounds bigger.

Chorus Vox @1:18-1:22 needs high shelf bump.

Still noise at :58 on acoustics

Applause are dull

Kik and bass fit very well together.

Chorus drums still not as bright or punchy as verse kit.

I’d love to hear you take some creative risks to build on this excellent foundation.

———————————-

#149 @Christoph_K

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3cxqiyilj5e2o ... 2.wav?dl=0

Fantastic.
Good intro. Maybe low pass the vocal verb and DDL a little to tame the top end slap. The effect is coming across as clicky in the right channel in particular. It’s just a little distracting in the bare sections.
Very evident at :26

BG’s up a db.
FX at :47 & :51 just a bit too hot.

Cool phaser. Maybe pick & choose the spots to use it for more impact.
Flutter and wow. On
Who are you. Off.
Now. On.
Sputter and crow. On
Are you in on the joke. On.

Very good choruses. Vocals up 1db in 1st chorus.
Slight boost at 4K to match the verse Vox.

Praise me - a little loud.

Bridge Vocal @2:00 needs boost
Kill Vox FX at hollow bellow.
Kill it again at 2:20.

Chorus drums need more volume ~1-2db. and/or more point.

Kill FX crescendo on the downbeat @3:26 for a better cleaner transition effect.

Vocals up last chorus.

Definitely no phaser on ‘love me’ at the end - that should be dry because he’s alone and ignored.

Very creative!! Great energy.

———————————-

#150 @KrissK

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n9FqMp ... sp=sharing

Verses Vox is crisp. Excellent transients and presence. Maybe a 1-1.5db hot compared to the instruments in places Or conversely a touch less in the 3-6k range.
It’s a bit fatiguing at high volumes.

No oomph at :30

Acoustics could be louder @:55

I’m hearing random clicks.

Bass and drums locked in clean & clear!

The Chorus vocals are smooth but much too dark in comparison to verse and too soft sounding. Needs perhaps a high broad shelf.
If you compare the vocal sections it seems like the upper mids are disappearing compared to the rest of the song.
I’d try like 2- 3db up to achieve a more prominent lift.

Beautiful verse synth.
Sections not building as much as they could however. Exaggerate the drama.

This Mix has excellent clarity at low volume. Except for the chorus vocal...

———————————-

#151 @maxovrdrive

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ejkoGy ... sp=sharing

Very warm vocal. Intro is a little wet but it’s welcoming. Pulling you in.
I’d like to hear more 40 hertz type depth
I think there are too many mono elements.
In particular the Chorus Acoustics still sound unnatural and hollow. Overcompressed and overprocessed. It’s an acoustic instrument among synths and samples, let it be that.

The are no mids to many elements. Perhaps it’s too aggressive EQ scooping of similar bands?

Bridge is gorgeous.

Chorus drums a bit far away sounding.

Outro is beautiful.
Snare could you a bit of thwack ~400-800hz and less smearing.

———————————-

#152 @orbital58

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xM-0y8 ... sp=sharing

Intro vocal sounds a little mid thick. And overcompressed.

Bass just a bit nasally, but fits the mix well.

Sonic are excellent.
Beautiful piano.
Vocal could get wetter as song progresses.
Excellent clarity.
Take some chances.
Applause are dull. Imagine they are in a small bar with the piano player.
Very dry. Very faithful to original. Maybe too much so.
70’s snare pretty loud and man I’m a drummer! Haha. It just takes up a lot of space.
And the chorus backbeats are too small in comparison.

Very good mix. Maybe it’s just too clinical. Not dramatic enough in places.
I’m rewarding risk taking.

———————————-

#153 @AndyM

https://signalflowau-my.sharepoint.com/ ... g?e=8mL54G

Intro and outro bar crowd can come up a bit.

Intro vocal better. Nice use of space!
Builds well. A full sounding mix even at low volume.
Add a bit of sparkle to the intro piano.

Great transitions.
Full bass.

I think this mix would benefit from using the 66 VS BG FX guide track or a similar DDL.

Electric guitar can be fatter & louder to build those sections.

Great drum and bass interplay.

Vocal very well ridden!!

Chorus better. Punchier. Chorus backbeats have a great reverb and smack. Is it a super short bright plate?

Please juice the chorus vocals just a bit more when the samples are playing. Keep them on top of the drums - not under them.

Increase the high Vox harmonies at 4:15 by quite a bit. It’s the crescendo and we need some differentiation.

You fit the instruments together very well. All the sounds are great.
If anything it needs magic. Some instability and dramatic flair. What would Bowie do??
Take some creative control. Some chances.
Dramatize the feelings in places.

———————————-

#156 @kirurg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wrni2dj9iao1v ... 2.wav?dl=0

Transients very very nice.

Vocal good. Maybe bump all the vocals by approximately .75-1.25 db though
Add a bit of air to chorus vocals as well.

Bass bottom end could use just a bit more energy and gravitas.

Excellent electric piano modulation. I hear the effect clipping a bit in places though and it’s distracting. A gentle dynamic eq or dynamic compression might fix that. Or FX input riding.

Love the acoustics in the chorus. Awesome bridge.

Drums much better. Sitting well. Great impact.

Applause are too dark, too far away.

Chorus drums sound kind of over limited. Squashed compared to the kit.
Snare and clap backbeats needs similar attack & power as the 70’s snare.

High harmonies in the chorus could still use a lot more level.

Same advice. Get a little wilder. Push the boundaries.

———————————-

#157 @Frequency Painter

https://www.dropbox.com/s/074yznsqq2r2v ... 2.wav?dl=0

Piano subs in intro is now coming across deeper and bigger than the bass. So maybe it’s a bit too much now...

The Bass could also anchor the electric piano better.

LV a bit lacking around ~300hz & 10k

Excellent chorus vocals!! Play with reverb. Closer & farther. Use soundstage depth to your advantage.

Maybe boost the stomp track for more aggression. Same with chorus snare and claps. More aggression is required in the choruses.

Drum and bass not feeling as one. Can you lock their frequencies better?

The Vocal Effect at 3:00 is fantastic.
Outro drum effect excellent.

Love the creativity.

———————————-

#158 @tiagogardner

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5a5wv0p0ciic7 ... 2.wav?dl=0

Intro piano very good.
Acoustics still cracking 1:07

:38-1:03 gradually increase energy and space.

Bass could use a little more sub

1st chorus Vox blend off. Not meshing.

Very natural drum sound!!
Vocal automation level good.
Transients smearing from compression.

Vocals truncated at 2:55!

Still noise at ~3:06

Chorus drums very soft compared to Abbey kit.

I like the acoustic sections better than the chorus.

Not as big an improvement as the other mixes, but some great elements.

———————————-

#159 @White Punk OD

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GV0FUe ... sp=sharing

High pass the Vox reverb a touch more in the intro, it shouldn’t be as bight as the vocal there. Think intimacy. Don’t be afraid to automate your reverb eq to suit the surrounding instruments. It seems fantastic in the outro though.

Good Vox. Great bass tone but it’s a bit soft though. Maybe it could drive the mix more.
Good acoustics. Very present and balanced.

First chorus a little jarring. Ha. About 1db too loud but it’s the right idea.

That non lin style snare verb is stepping on mixes mids and guitar frequencies. Maybe it’s a little too long, too wide or too loud.
High pass the crash.

Very good second chorus. The high synth just cutting into us a bit too much. Automate it a little to remove the harshness. It’s a volume thing not an eq thing. I think.
Seems in places the Chorus vocals could benefit from more stereo width.

The Chorus drums are lacking aggression. Kick. Some. Ass.

Dry up the very last ‘love me’ line. That should be right in you face.


———————————-

I hope my critiques are in some way helpful to all of you. Each of your mixes & skill displayed have taught me quite a bit as well, and I am greatly appreciative if your efforts. Thanks so very much!!!

My choices were very hard to pare down...

Round 3 finalists:

@RodA
@Photonic
@Christoph_K
@AndyM
@kirurg
@Frequency Painter
@White Punk OD

@GmfSongs
Thanks for asking for one more revision

Just three questions:

BG’s up a db.

- Which BGV are you referring here to?

FX at :47 & :51 just a bit too hot.

- Also not sure what you are referring to. FX from the vocals? The Bass delay?
The „LV FX STEM_04“ starts later, so I am not sure what to do here.

Kill Vox FX at hollow bellow.

That's clear. But:

Kill it again at 2:20.

I hope I understood your request here because it also kills the delay transition which I quite liked.

Please clarify, thanks!

Christoph_K wrote: ↑

Tue May 18, 2021 11:12 CEST

@GmfSongs
Thanks for asking for one more revision

No worries. Thanks for participating!

Just three questions:

BG’s up a db.

- Which BGV are you referring here to?

68 VS BG - The Flutter section. To provide texture and build. Delicious greed could also use a goose. The outro BG levels are great.

FX at :47 & :51 just a bit too hot.

- Also not sure what you are referring to. FX from the vocals? The Bass delay?
The „LV FX STEM_04“ starts later, so I am not sure what to do here.

Yeah - 67 LV FX STEM. Maybe our Dropbox counters don’t match? It’s not so much the level as the effect itself is quite frequency dense there. Maybe a mids eq cut to reduce its masking on the mix buss?

Kill Vox FX at hollow bellow.

That's clear. But:

Kill it again at 2:20.

I hope I understood your request here because it also kills the delay transition which I quite liked.

I see. One effect. I like the DDL too. Scratch that revision.

Please clarify, thanks!

Cool? Thanks for asking!!!

Thank you once again to @GmfSongs for the evaluation. We will perform with a third mixing round for the second Mix(ing) Challenge in row. However, unlike MC074, Mix Round 3 will be merely 3 days long - but as usual, "rounded up" to the initial announcement post.



Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 3, which will end on Friday, 21-MAY-2021 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

As of this moment, that is a bit more than 3 days. There will be no more mix rounds after that.


There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN available to check for deadlines -- but it will only show Mix Round 2 (as I've never set up a system for that).
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)



The following 7 participants go into Round 3 (alphabetical order)
(all Mix Round 3 participants should have been pinged)

@AndyM
@Christoph_K
@Frequency Painter
@kirurg
@Photonic
@RodA
@White Punk OD



The feedback to the productions can be found here:
viewtopic.php?p=10494#p10494


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 in mind regarding submitting your entry.

Good intro. Maybe low pass the vocal verb and DDL a little to tame the top end slap. The effect is coming across as clicky in the right channel in particular. It’s just a little distracting in the bare sections. Very evident at :26

- I lowered the filter to 3k on the send with a 12db slope so there are no more high frequencies coming through on the slap delay return.

BG’s up a db.

- done

FX at :47 & :51 just a bit too hot.

- Scooped the mids of the „LV FX STEM_04“

Cool phaser. Maybe pick & choose the spots to use it for more impact.
Flutter and wow. On
Who are you. Off.
Now. On.
Sputter and crow. On
Are you in on the joke. On.

- All done

Very good choruses. Vocals up 1db in 1st chorus.
Slight boost at 4K to match the verse Vox.

- Pushed the whole bus and put more attention to two of the single tracks (added a 1176 comp and boosted some 4k) - they were a little orphaned

Praise me - a little loud.

- Lowered by one db

Bridge Vocal @2:00 needs boost

- Pushed one db
- Added „a goose“ to „delicious greed“ (what?)

Kill Vox FX at hollow bellow.
Kill it again at 2:20.

- Done (except @2:20)

Chorus drums need more volume ~1-2db. and/or more point.

- Pushed this bus by half a db, added some more parallel compression, some high shelf on the „Abby Ch Kick“, added some saturation to the claps and a little bit of plate reverb for more fatness

Kill FX crescendo on the downbeat @3:26 for a better cleaner transition effect.

- Executed

Vocals up last chorus.

- Pushed one more db

Definitely no phaser on ‘love me’ at the end - that should be dry because he’s alone and ignored.

- Phaser is off and he’s alone and ignored by my precious fx plugins again

Alrighty, here we go with R3:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6hec43lp0ve4a ... 3.wav?dl=0

Thanks @GmfSongs for clarification of my questions!

Thanks @GmfSongs for the valuable observations, what a learning experience for me!!
I hope your song finds a resonating spirit in the winning mix, I'm sure it will.

Congratulations to all that made it to Round 3, I'm learning a lot from you too!
And the best of luck to all!!!

Hello @GmfSongs,
thanks so much for considering me, I'm surprised and had to do some planned work and appointments regarding household and garden.
You seem to work even harder than we fellows here..


So, we seem to proceed with more and more details, which leads to a situation of trade-offs, if we do this or that.

My questions are the following:

* Chorus drums, do you see more opportunity with the claps, or with the timpani? I might also let them carve into the vocals for some milliseconds, not sure how that will sound, must try.
Though all are required, which sound character or component in this percussive mixture feels most intriguing and relevant to you?

* I made the beginning quite seamless, and interpreted the situation, as if proceeding from chit-chat and applause to a session in some committee gathering, where the megalo star praises himself, so I have difficulty to see how we can get more "intimacy", and also, the reverbs have become intrinsic part of the vocal sound, that may crumble if I reduce them too much.
Bass, percussion, snare and pianos share some reverb aux with the vocals, just different levels. The band sound may fall apart with changing reverb.
So, how can we make the best transition, how far can we go here?

* The last "love me" stumbles into the same situation, how can it be followed by a reverberated applause? I am afraid it could sound pathetic, falling from a very dry sound back into the hall. It may become possible with a skilled music video, using movie acoustic space processing techniques while changing camera focus width.
I still have a certain idea but it's perhaps not possible within a day. Practically this is a matter of the flow throughout the complete song.

* I think you mean high cut, not hipass, because it is only logical that the cymbal might be too bright. Its LF content seems not that much, as a ready prepared sample. Not like drum room recordings of cymbals, that need a low cut almost every time.

* More bass drive is which bass? Synth or bass guitar?
The Ampegs are probably in the sweet spot already and begin to fart if I overload them more strongly.
I can do something multed like either sansamp (sat) or maxbass (mainly first harmonic boost).
(I have none of these but I have workarounds).
Making the bass just louder may slow down the song psycho-acoustically, and insult the limiters, and kill the chorus stomp sounds.

Thanks for any help and considering,
good luck!

Follow up:

Thank you for enquiring!!!!

Yes I understand. A workaround I’ve used before for shared reverbs is you duplicate the entire reverb’s send and return structure. Then use one dedicated and tailored for the vocals, and the other one for the instruments. It retains the same character that way, but allows tweaking.

The alternative is just dry up the vocal at the very beginning - bit more and gradually increase the reverb...

So the intro is basically the perspective of this character at a piano in a smallish bar. He’s on stage and the crowd is quieting down as he begins playing.
Then at the very end it returns to that scene, except they just go back to their drinks and ignore him. Haha.

So his vocal can be drier there. He’s supposed to be pathetic.
So the start and end can be fairly dry....

@3:32 in Dropbox the crash has a lot of lower mid ‘bloom’. Not a big deal...

I could hear a little more point or thwack on the chorus snare. Maybe .5db level on the chorus stomp, or a bit of eq to hit you in chest more.

Regarding the jazzbass. It is a beautiful tone...
Rich but tight.
I don’t want you to lose that character.

Maybe it just needs a bit of level in the bridge @1:57

It sits very well in the outro @2:53 though.
This may be something better addressed in mastering...

Hope this helps!!!!

White Punk OD wrote: ↑

Wed May 19, 2021 17:03 CEST

Hello @GmfSongs,
thanks so much for considering me, I'm surprised and had to do some planned work and appointments regarding household and garden.
You seem to work even harder than we fellows here..


So, we seem to proceed with more and more details, which leads to a situation of trade-offs, if we do this or that.

My questions are the following:

* Chorus drums, do you see more opportunity with the claps, or with the timpani? I might also let them carve into the vocals for some milliseconds, not sure how that will sound, must try.
Though all are required, which sound character or component in this percussive mixture feels most intriguing and relevant to you?

* I made the beginning quite seamless, and interpreted the situation, as if proceeding from chit-chat and applause to a session in some committee gathering, where the megalo star praises himself, so I have difficulty to see how we can get more "intimacy", and also, the reverbs have become intrinsic part of the vocal sound, that may crumble if I reduce them too much.
Bass, percussion, snare and pianos share some reverb aux with the vocals, just different levels. The band sound may fall apart with changing reverb.
So, how can we make the best transition, how far can we go here?

* The last "love me" stumbles into the same situation, how can it be followed by a reverberated applause? I am afraid it could sound pathetic, falling from a very dry sound back into the hall. It may become possible with a skilled music video, using movie acoustic space processing techniques while changing camera focus width.
I still have a certain idea but it's perhaps not possible within a day. Practically this is a matter of the flow throughout the complete song.

* I think you mean high cut, not hipass, because it is only logical that the cymbal might be too bright. Its LF content seems not that much, as a ready prepared sample. Not like drum room recordings of cymbals, that need a low cut almost every time.

* More bass drive is which bass? Synth or bass guitar?
The Ampegs are probably in the sweet spot already and begin to fart if I overload them more strongly.
I can do something multed like either sansamp (sat) or maxbass (mainly first harmonic boost).
(I have none of these but I have workarounds).
Making the bass just louder may slow down the song psycho-acoustically, and insult the limiters, and kill the chorus stomp sounds.

Thanks for any help and considering,
good luck!