MIX CHALLENGE - MC080 September 2021 - Mix Round 2 in evaluation (staff taking over)

[acelo]

@LCM! good news, incognito did the trick

What a relief; hours that have been on the verge of being wasted. Thanks to acelo for your help; this kind of selfless attitude makes this place better I think. And thanks to Square, the provider, for his interest in finding a solution.

Yeah no probs man, glad I could help.

[mattaroni_and_cheese]

Hi all, just checking in, are we still evaluating round 1 submissions ?

[Mister Fox]

I'm in touch with the Song Provider about this topic.

The evaluation and preparation work for "Mix Round 2" is still in progress. We kindly ask all participants to please wait a couple more days. There will be an update early next week.

[Square]

Hi all, just a quick update to let yous all know that ive mostly finished selections etc.. and i will be updating the forum very soon after i compile everything as properly as i am able to ( and within 24 hours of now) im juggling ALOT of creative projects right now, and it is either work or sleep, but we are almost ready for the round 2!! and its been super exciting to hear everything, lots of good stuff in here. just want to let everyone know that i havent forgot yas and we are almost ready, so watch this space ^^

<3

[mattaroni_and_cheese]

Cool. Wasn't trying to pressure anyone, just being new here I wanted to make sure I wasn't losing track of deadlines

Sleep is important !

[Square]

Right, so first and foremost, thank you everyone for your time and for breathing new life into this song!

This has been quite eye opening as to what was possible with this song and it was really cool to hear the different approaches, and with such few tracks, sticking out was not easy. Both the original song writer and I both listenned to all the tracks, most of them many times and through many rounds of elimination between us and discussing notes, we came to the list we have.

As a preface, and just trying to be real, the amount of submissions were very high this month, which is GREAT, but also means that there is a practical side of that not everyone has been given feedback. Thats not to say that those who didnt receive feedback were the worst, but just simply that we knew at a certain point who would progress, and wanted to give as much feedback as our time would allow us to, and we had hoped to get to all. However if you did not receive feedback, ive been on that side, i know it sucks even if it is just a practical fact of life thing. I would be open to giving feedback when i do have spare time availiable tho, im not sure when this would be, esp as there are still rounds to go, but, i will do my best <3

As an overall thing, the most common mistakes heard were in the vox. Either too hot or too far back. Be sure to check on multiple devices or systems to see how they translate. And the overall quality ranged from: too muffled to hear, all the way to exceptional, with most tracks being in the middle to mid high part of this, overall the quality this month was really good! This made decision making even harder and with such few tracks in the song, we found ourselves making decisions based on quite small differences, so as an overall, if you werent selected, dont be discouraged or think your mix was terrible as it most likely was not, and if there is a bit of 'negative' feedback in your review, its simply because when getting a final list, focusing on mistakes and what you dont like is essential and is only meant to be constructive or at worst, neutral.

That being said, here are our Top 12 selections for the next round and what we would like to see altered going into the next round!! Well done to all who made it!!

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01 Mork - Incredible mix. Maybe could pop a bit of fx here and there for effect (delay, a bit more verb) BUT this optional as this is very much the mix to beat, left as is, it would still be tough to beat.

02 Frequency Painter - Guitar is low on the intro, the piano could poke through a wee bit more. There is an odd delay (slapback?) or something like that on the pizz that doesnt allow the pizz to hit its transients at the right times.

03 Maxovrdrive - this might be the only mix i listenned to that i heard the dynamics move forward and proggress, it was really nice to hear the build up. There sounds to be a strange ghosting effect on the vocals sounds as if the transient on the pizz hits twice, but once with a ghost hit, i dont quite get what is going on there, but i would prefer it without.

04 Elroms delay is nice, but needs turned down as it takes away frome the 'alone feel'. piano is a bit brought up, strings are muffled at the end as well.


05 Jamesmusic piano could poke through a wee bit more, lead violing too loud on the intro, delay on the pizz is a bit muffled or unclear. gets a tad bit bass heavy on the final chorus, which knocks off the clarity a bit. as in my notes, please re-include the ending as its quite essential that final note is hit.


06 AnthonyW Guitar was either a bit too weak or needs to see the left side slightly more maybe. other than that, just the first 4 string hits at the beginning are too bright, nice mix overall.


07 Violintch02 - piano could come through more, lead violin at the start is too loud, delay on pizz removed, shorten or just changed, a tad bit bass heavey on final chorus with a loss of clarity, but the overall vibe is right, just make sure the clarity is coming through.


08 ManUC Cello gets lost at times, and its quite quiet, be sure to keep the impact when you compensate for this. nice mix tho.

09 UncleSnuggles - the sustain and/or the release time on your reverb could be lessenned as it hangs on slightly too long which muddles the vox a bit. Piano could sit in the mix better.

10 Dado Machado .too much piano. strings are a bit low volume wise and sound receded, possibly in need of a better balance between the two. The pizz is a bit low mid heavey.

11 Christoph_K Piano Reverb tail is a bit strong and muddles the vox a bit. The delay on the Pizz is nice, but would like it more clean if possible and without the delay or a shorter delay as its a bit too much for how i would like it. Strings are a bit nasaly (most noticable around the final chorus) possibly need attenuated around the 2-5KHz range.


12 MattP - Piano could be stronger and poke through. the strings after 1:44, at times are a bit muddy and maybe a bit fat from time to time, but dont need adjusted much as the low end is overall nice.





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The notes from listens is left in reverse order to the submissions on the forum, so work your way backwards. Sorry if some of it is confusing, it was edited and changed quite a bit as we compared notes etc and parts may only make sense to me and the songwriter ahah or just be for our decision uses, but I do hope it helps


diegonerysts - Strings End Abruptly at beginning. Very Clean. strings at 140 are a bit too thick. 85Y

Saccharine_trust - Not Very clean beginning. Vocals a bit scratchy and too far forward. The changes are way too drastic and the arrangement has been changed, many parts are missing, this is much more a remix with a lot of cuts than a mix. 10N

MattP - Nice Strings balance at the begginning. Vocals are full and forward. 140 strings slightly too fat and encompassing, not by much at all tho. great mix. 95Y

Vongluck - fade in a bit too drastic. Strings sound 'clothy' like there was a cloth over the mic. the vocals are scratchy.

mattaroniandxcheese - sounds distant, muffled guitar, i think the plate verb was a bit too much, maybe a bit too hard hitting on some compressor attack settings as well? I do very much like the outro effects tho, nice touches. 45N

Arthur Labus - first bar very bright, then goes very clothy. The effect on the guitar is quite neat, sounds a bit 80s. Overall it seems either too bright or not enough with the parts not quite seeming to be 'with' each other. around 242 i quite like the acoustic effect there, youve cut off the end of the song. 30N

delicate - Nice reverb. maybe a tad too distant tho, but very pleasant. Backing violins nearly missing. I have decent hopes for this mix and i cant quite say why. it doesnt sound perfect, but it is nice to my ears. it needs brought forward 75Y

justeluis - sounds a bit dull. lacks the emotion and movement it needs, the pizz strings are almost imperceivable. 40N

accelo - bit dry, the autotune is a bit apparent at times in a detrimental way - (ie: 2:32) 35N

christophk - Love the seperation of the strings. Vox a bit too loud, but pleasant. This has a very nice reverb that suits the emotions. love the stereo width. (favrourite so far) full chorus, very clean, nice balance. vox should be more wide (does this make sense to even me??) great mix, top contender 95Y (final strings at 305 listen to that again, change??) (the one to beat?)

DPinck - Intro too bright. Vocals a bit piercing. (check around 3-5KhZ) later parts are too far back, but still with the sate piercing sound throughout. 0N

Odistdan - sounds a far back, this would be the absolute maximum reverb tail this vocal could handle, at 1:14 there is some autotune that takes away from the vox in my opinion. overall its a bit clothy. could use some more energy and tightening 50M

ManuC - very quiet, i had to turn it up to listen to it properly which isnt quite fair on others in the competition as i have set a standard volume to listen at to avoid bias, BUT that being said, it is actually quite light and nice though, it matches the vibe im looking for, just be sure that it keeps its feeling when correcting your loudness. 90Y

cpsmusic - theres an almost artificial sound over the whole track, it sounds as if a lot of the songs clarity has been sucked out by overprocessing and saturation. And if i understood your process correctly, adding effects after seperating one track into many, will mostly always lead to strange sounds and artifacts. there are parts where the acoustic does sound quite nice, with an almost banjo vibe to it. 25N

FrequencyPainter - This would be the smallest amount of reverb this track could take as it is quite dry, but still nice. I was vibing with it until the pizz strings at 1:20, where theres ann odd sound there. nice mix tho. 65M


Clueless - I like the effect, but the tail is a bit too long, and a tad bit distracting from the vocals. The tracks sounds a bit over saturated, perhaps the issue was on the 2buss? 20N

Violintch02 - the vocals are buried down the middle, feels a bit squeezed. It does feel lonely, but the impact isnt really quite there as the balancing seems a bit off and things feel 'seperated' 45N

dRUExmIx - nice and full, also, very very loud, i had to turn my playback systems down from my levels to listen comfortably,, the strings at 1:22 feel like they are clipping and the clipped signal brought back down? I like the delay on the vox at 1min. 30N

fcamp - it feels a bit receded, very clean, the acoustic guitar sounds nice, but feels like it lacks impact, i think the vocals are fighting for frequency space, the levels are good tho and the basics are all there. 50N

RJR - nice stereo width on the strings. Vocals are clear and central, there is a mid-high frequency hitting my ears too hard from the vox tho. More volume or oomft on the stings around 142, they are a bit receded, perhaps fixing those vocal frequencies and 'giving' some of that space to the strings could be a possible solution? 80Y

David Hermandez - Very very quiet. I like the FX on the acoustics, a nice chorusy effect. could use more stereo width overall, it all seems a bit shoved in the middle.

Bluestation - i like the finer details on the strings at the begginning. the effects on the acoustics around 124 is nice. at about 18secs theres a mouth sound from the vocals that keeps coming out, less compression or a different attack speed on the comps to manage those sounds coming through without affecting your levels could fix that. some of the tuning throughout is in the wrong key, and a bit unnatural for the song, and the balance is a bit off at 140. 10N

alavault - very wet sounding. i like the experiments. the most unique ive heard. I hear the lonliness in the effects. They can be a bit too extreme tho, yet some of those extremes add a real nice character, im perplexed. I want to see this go through, but it will be hard for me to direct you as its the 'feel' i real dig here, tho it needs toned down, it doesnt need toned down too much, and its going to take a good artistic ear to know where and how much. Also i think you have a clip at the very end of the track on the final string hit. 90Y

unclesnuggles - nice balance on strings. good verb on the vox, perhaps the tail of the verb could decrease in volume a bit quicker tho, as it does keep the vocal down a bit, esp with more instruments. a little muddy but i can still hear things seperate enough. 55M

elroms - sounds a bit cloudy at the begging, try managing your mids on the strings. The pitch correction is a bit apparent. I like the reverb.
otherwise its quite a gentle and pleasing mix. the strings at 140 could be higher, they get buried and could be higher, which would help the vox sit in the pocket at the end better. 40M

AlanValdez - Very quiet, but i like the seperation on the strings at the beginning. And the effects on the vox are nice, but would need locked more to the tempo on the track. The pitch correction is very natural sounding, well done on that, i personally like more 'fluid' vocal tails where the pitch fluctuated more, but if i didnt know the song well, the pitch correct wouldnt be apparent at all. I realy like the string effects at the end. But the mix is a bit seperated and wooly at times. Im perplexed. 55Y

Lowlandswave - Very mid-high rangey almost a radio or telephone effect, not a very pleasing frequency. The effects are a bit out of the feel of the song and it sounds watery almost like an mp3. It is clearly understood tho. 20N

maxodrive - very intimate sounding strings. i REALLY like that a lot. the vocals sound too 'hot' and over saturated with a strange ghosting effect, which is a shame. the pizz strings sound paper like at 122. when it all comes back in at 140, it sounds much better, the vocals are still too hot and saturated, but they manage better there, the building in dynamics is nice too, it really adds effect. This mix needs some big changes to the vox and some other more minor things, but i think it has a very good potential overall, even if it doesnt quite come together yet. 60Y

Mork - Nice open sounding strings with details. vocals come in very nice and clear. Its dry, but captures the alone sound very well. The vocal details come through wonderfully. There are a few peaks around 1 min or 1 min 10 that are slightly too high, but only a bit. The strings come through so naturally. I love this mix., this is my favourite and its not even the direction i was thinking of for the mix either. well played. 95Y

askandy - full strings. The acoustic sounds nice and the effects on the vocals are nice, but the vox comes through a bit hot to me. the bass on the pizz strings is a bit too much. acoustics still sound nice and clean. has potential, but the levels need sorted. 65M

hjchjc - levels are off. vocals sound a bit pushed back. when the 'in time' comes in the low frequencies on the acoustic are a bit much. the stereo effect on the pizz strings is neat.

Zeminor - strings are a bit muffled. the production is a bit 'clothy' as it just doenst come through very clear. The right softness is almost there, but it would need more clarity.

Pingaguego - strange initial effect. Vocals are central but missing a bit of highs somewhere. Good levels throughout. pizz strings are nice. Just a bit muffled tho.

Dadomachado - strings are quite muffled at the begginning. vox come through very nice. nice subtle delay. levels are nice. pizz is a bit low mid heavy. The strings towards at 140 are very odd, quite receded. again the vocals come through nice, has potential tho. 65Y

Havol - Very muffled throughout, lacks any clarity, the dynamics bounce in every direction. the effects are too heavy on the acoustic. Make sure to focus on levels and clarity first, be careful of over compression.

IbanezoO - Strings are ok. vocals too hot and too much high mids on them. everything is a bit too hot sounding for me im afraid.

VasDim - The frequency balance is all over the place. The acoustics are muffled. the vocals are clear, but dominate everything too much.

EchoOread - Strings are a bit pushed back. Chorus effect on acoustic is fine, but a bit much. vocals are off, missing some key frequencies.

Dodging Rain - strings at the beggining have a nice low end, sound full. Something in the mids confuses me tho, i do like the overall sound of the intro tho but they sound clear and not at the same time to me, not sure why. vocals are nice but a bit loud. the cello could use to be brought forward a bit. Something just feels weird throughout to me tho, perhaps something on the 2buss? Wish i could be more specific, it feels like the 'feeling' has been altered, still a decent mix. 55M

Vintage - Lacking in clarity. levels are off. Feels very clothy

doobop - strings sound very rough at the beginning, way too much done to them. vocals come through decent. the pizz sounds rough similar to the intro. the balance around 140 is off. Try to work more with the stereo field as well.

ozgen sabuncu - nice strings. vocals come through nice. not sure about the use of pitch correction tho, bit too heavy handed. the bass on the pizz is a bit pumpy sounding. ok mix, but the pitch correction is a bit too far off of the original idea, those slightly off notes add a lot of character for this song in particular. not a bad effort tho.

PabloAT - youve altered the arrangement and didnt give any explanation as too why, so ill have to pass im afraid, otherwise the mix was actually quite decent, which is a shame, but you gotta hold back urges to 'improve' on others music and focus on the sound itself.

pannekoek - very muffled, hard to hear any details at all.

RobADAMO - strings a bit unclear at the beginning. sounds as if the vocals have been a bit nudged at the beginning. very muffled sounding throughout.

LCM! - acoustic sounds nice. a bit to mid range heavy for me. sounds better when the full arrangement comes in tho, but the vocals would need a bit of smoothing.

Gloo - Very Clean, nice reverb perfect tail. Nice acoustic sound. Vocals a very tad hot at parts, I really like this, i think it needs a bit more of a bass foundation tho, there seems to be some low end missing at the fuller parts. but this could perhaps be that the vocals need brought down ever so slightly at parts to let the composition through, but overall the balance is quite nice. well done. 85Y

S & F - strings a bit sharp for the first few seconds. The overall balance is nice, the piano is a bit weak. its a decent mix, but doesnt grab me, its missing the feeling im after.

Syronic_GP - feels a bit weak. the stereo width is a bit off to me, seems to be stuff fighting for the middle, and it doesnt have the spark im after.

m_tree - Nice opening. Vocals OK. Acoustic a bit loud. Blends ok tho. Nice transition. nice stereo play when the rest comes in. Vox a bit hard to hear when it all comes in tho. Overall its a decent mix, and gets close to what im after. 65Y

flyrecords - Very muffled. Focus more on clarity in the mix first, then the details. 0N

Hoek - I like it, nice use of a harmoniser, it is very subtle, which is how it should be in this tune. Strings need more after the 2:10 mark. overall decent mix. 75M

Coiled ear - strong bass at the beginning. the vocals sound lonely, but a bit clothy and when it all comes in it becomes muffled, but overall its quite ok, just needs cleaned up and clarified. 50N

Anthonyw - first 4 string stabs are too bright and stabby. After that tho, the mix is really quite nice. I like the guitar panning, maybe just a touch more towards the left tho, as it feels quite empty. When it all comes in, its really smooth.

JamesMusic - i like the intro mostly. the vocals are good. The acoustic is nice, although its quite hard panned right, the left doesnt feel empty to me at all. Ill need to think about the pizz effect, i like it i think ahah. when it all comes in, its full and full of emotion. GREAT MIX. But although the ending strings is a bit abrupt, it is meant to be, almost like a jolt to wake you back up, so please re-include that as that final note is essential to the conclusion of the track, but again, overall, well done.

[Square]

Cool. Wasn't trying to pressure anyone, just being new here I wanted to make sure I wasn't losing track of deadlines

Sleep is important !

no worries mate, and yaa, my body knows sleep is important, i just need to convince my mind ^^

[jeffssoloband]

So, does no feedback = my mix was too bad for words

[fcamp]

Lots of respect. What a work you have done, @Square. Thanks for the feedback.

[PistolPete]

@Square, can you please verify to make sure that my contest entry was included in the evaluation?

I find it very odd that out of 57 valid entries, 55 were given feedback, and only 2 were not given any feedback. My entry was 1 of the 2 that did not receive any feedback. I find this very unusual, and it makes me wonder if for some reason my entry was not included.

I could imagine with 57 different entries to evaluate, this could be very possible that mine and 1 other were overlooked. I listened to all of the mixes and although mine wasn't probably the best, it definitely was not bad enough to be secluded from getting feedback.

Please look into this, as I have a hunch that for some reason my entry was skipped and I feel kind of cheated.

I would very much appreciate any and all feedback on my entry, as this is really why I do these contests to get better. So feedback is really valuable.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k_wG94 ... QzbTV/view