Mix Challenge

@DennisBastioni What I been doing is that I make sure im log-out of the account where you have the files stored. When I get the link to share via google drive I make sure is visible to all. Hope this helps, might be different if you using some other location to store the files. And always check the preview before you post here. After you submit the link for the next Mix Challenge you can't edit the post. Is a rule, seems crazy, but I reason there are good reasons for that here.

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

DennisBastioni wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 31, 2020 19:23 CET

Hi everyone, well, unfortunately i'm disqualified. I see in the "statistics" that my file wasn't accessible so i try to download it with my pc and it works.
So i would know how it is possible so i can avoid this error next time cause i really take care of this competitions. So thank you in advance.

DennisBastioni

If you're asking how to test the validity of your link, try downloading it from an incognito browser window (CTRL-SHIFT-N in chrome).

In my experience, I've never had an issue with dropbox links, but I have with Google docs links.

Hey Everybody,

it's getting exciting, tomorrow we will have the final call to pick the mixes that are the closest to the Bands vision and technically clean

So we announce it tomorrow evening / Monday morning

One more time, thank you so much for so many entrances, it is big fun to listen all the different mixes, creative touches and variations of the track.

You all Rock, have a great weekend!

Hey @Oba Ozai I read some of your threats and listened to your mix, thumbs up for your courage, honesty and will to move on.

Here is a feedback for your track, I hope this method can help you to get started!

I worked on to give feedback on every mix but last week was so slammed so I had to skip some more that are out, thank you for understanding.

The feedback list will be posted soon as well

"Oba Ozai, at first thank you for the mix and your high engagement in the forum, I respect and appreciate it so I want to help.

I would love you to compare this mix together with one of the reference mixes and write down what are differences.
just to get a feel for mixing and how Songs sound.
the thing is the low end is very muddy and somehow on the right of my ear, try to work on cleaner low end

Here is a video that is actually helpful on YouTube, how to get amazing low end:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgq9IeR ... ceLikeAPro

You have a compressor hitting very very hard on the Drums
There are compressors that have something like a side chain filter, works like this:
Set it to 200 Hz and the compressor with ignore all frequencies below 200Hz
You can use it when you have a heavy kick with a lot of low end - low end is the strongest frequency and will trigger the compressor first, so when the compressor is setup very heavy you will get a pumping of the whole drum kit, triggered by the Kick

The vocals are fairly great and I like the effect that you added

Look here is a golden tip how to start a mix - I learned also on my own mixing and recording and just learned AND implemented this simple method after 2 years, now I couldn't imagine to start a mix differently.

1. Import all your tracks, sort them, color code them, check for phasing issues, especially drums (Check this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pfA14D ... ceLikeAPro)

2. After this is done, still do not touch Eq or compression, just make a simple balance, starting by the Kick to be not louder than -8dB
Add the Snare (just listen, don't watch the meter), then the Overheads, then other cymbals if there are some (HiHat etc.) then tom's, then Room Mic's, never go over -6dB in your master Bus, do the panning as well

3. then make a balance of the bass so it sounds right volume wise, bring in the vocals, then guitars and then whatever

4. Your Master Bus should have a lot of headroom when you are done and you get a basic idea of the track how it should sound

5. Export the Raw mix, duplicate your project file, import the raw mix and mute

6. Before you start mixing, get a intention on where you want to go with it, what you want to achieve, should it sound like "this and this Band", should it give me the feeling of an era like 60's or 80's or whatever, what is so important soundwise from this era (80's electronic, gated drums, crazy digital reverbs, 60's kick with almost no low end, very clicky, maybe tape emulation plugins etc.)

7. When you start mixing, never change direction and doubting, this will bring you into the circle of never finishing a mix - never

8. Enhance your track to tase, take breaks, when in doubt, listen to a reference track (No longer than 50 seconds) to check for example if the low end is right - do not try to achieve exactly the same tonal spectrum! Most of the tracks are recorded in killer studios with another intention than your's, people have different ears than yours, don't get intimidated by those mixes, you are on a good way

9. After your mix is finished, add some special FX if needed - take a break, don't tweek until midnight or 4 am, to 95% you will break it

10. Listen next day with fresh ears and take notes on the first listen what you like to change, stick with the list and go simply through every point, take a break, listen again, tweek until it makes sense = usually when it get's boring searching for issues it's ready

11. Fingers away from stereo widening tools, they rather break it than make it - if you need a wider mix, go back to the mix and make it wider

Hope this helps, take care and keep us updated how it's going for you"

Solid advices from this guy mates, take notes!

Sooooo! Here we go!

At first, thank you everybody for joining this challenge, for your lovely feedback on the track and for your time that you invested to mix the song and realised/shared your vision - You Rock! The Band + I were blown away!

We made a top 20, checked our matches, had a top 14, were super sure for 6 mixes, checked the "maybes" and decided by listening together one more time.

Before you read the top 10 check this out: I have a excel spreadsheet where I started to write INDIVIDUAL FEEDBACK to everyone

As the last 2 weeks went bananas for me with one full album production and a single production + video shot I had to cut it short and didn't checked the disqualified mixes anymore at a certain point.

Regarding feedback list: It have no personal meaning If I write sometimes more or sometimes less and sometimes "thank you" and sometimes not, it's just a question of time I had spare. If the feedback is too short compared to others and you want to know more, please send me a private message

IF YOU ARE NOT ON THE FEEDBACK LIST THAN YOU HAVE THE POSSIBILITY TO WRITE ME A PRIVATE MESSAGE.
SEND ME THE LINK TO YOUR MIX AND I SEND YOU A PERSONAL FEEDBACK BACK as soon as I can

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing <-----FEEDBACK LIST

Doesn't matter if disqualified or not - That's all the appreciation for your efforts and kind comments that I can give back.

For Round 2 we will involve the Vocalist Anna as well and we decide all together in a group call

Soooo .. Hey Ho, Let's Go!

Here is our Top 10 for this Mix Challenge plus 1 extra candidate (Forgive us Mr.Fox)

@m_tree
Piotrs Feedback:
Great! - 1:53 going to 2nd verse, weird loud cymbal ? lacking a little energy on vocals at some point

Ady:
1.Cool phasing effect on the Bass and it still sounds clean, you made it way better than me man!
2. Wonderful backing vocals, very wide
3. Great balance overall, nice smacky Snare and kick
4. Small things: Maybe a touch more Oomph on the kick
5. Amazing Dynamics in the hook
6. Like the Snare Reverb, makes it wider and give space to the Snare
7. Great Tom's and intro to the bridge
8. Love the vocal Sound and how the Tom's get louder
9. So another +point, top automation
10. Nice wideness when the guitar get heavier towards the End
11. respect, just a great mix, feels loud but is totally in the norm of -18 LUFS

Congratulations on this clean and punchy Mix, now the Band decides - Check Piotrs Feedback! Maybe too compressed drums?

@javiramallo
Piotrs Feedback:
Great !! best so far I guess . great dynamics, great sounding drums first of all, maybe Snare too loud?

Ady:
Yeah the snare could be automated during the process but overall I think it's a killer mix
1. Clean Drums
2. The additional Ride hit's could come up a bit
3. nice effects on the guitar, very creative ideas here my friend that enhance the track
4. Love the vocal sound
5. Kick could come up +1dB
6. More top snare, less rattle, overall good snare sound
7. Great panning of backing vocals
8. Please automate the snare during the track, bring it down in the bridge, a bit up in the verse and louder in the chorus for more Smack
9. Great dynamics throughout the whole track
10. love the tom's
11. Man - this is a fantastic mix and your creative touch really added something to the production

@kirurg

Piotr Feedback:
Great great great ! love everything about it | Second listen: Nice

Ady:
This mix is superb!
1. Strong intro, left guitar a bit too muddy/undefined?
2. Drums are superb!!!
3.This mix have depth & wideness
4. Great sounding, upfront Vocals!
5. I really like the snare
6. Great vocal endings and transitions
7.Great transition and dynamics, really like tom's
8. For my taste, a touch more low end on the Tom's would be cool
9. COol FX when Anna get louder in the bridge, almost phasing but with style
10. beautiful reverb tail and nice backing vocals
11. Even clean, punchy and higher energy when it get's more and more crowded
12. The Tom's at the end could be really a bit more powerful / punchy & upfront to give the last "statement' the track ends and show the highest peak
Fantastic mix my friend

@nicores
Piotr Feedback: Cool ! but vocals are buried too much, bring them louder!!

Ady:
1. Fat Sound
2. Great sounding drum kit, maybe cymbals a bit down
3. Very compressed kit, band decides about the sound
4. Some click/pop in 00:49 min
5. I like the different vibe & feel you achieved with the mix
6. Something is wrong with the vocals, too high? Too less low end? They feel like squeezed through some heavy compressor, like fighting their way through the mix
7. Some noises from vocals at min. 2:09 (Yes .. I'm crazy, sorry haha)
8. Great Guitar Sound, a bit too loud when it comes to the bridge, takes the focus from the other elements
9. I LOVE THAT TOMS, fat and saturated
10. Cymbals are too loud / upfront, especially the ride during the bridge
11. cool dynamic build up with the guitars during the bridge, very emotional emphasizes
12. The ride really takes up my focus during the bridge on the right, makes it toooo busy (sounds odd in the busy part haha what I mean is, it takes my attention is in between all the other busy parts really rushing - just bring it down and embed it more in the background to emphasise the busyness, not try to compete with the other elements)
And that's it, congrats!

@MattRocket
Piotr Feedback: Nice, just a bit cloudy in the low end

Ady:
Yes, agree, just a bit muddy around 80Hz
1. Interesting approach, definitely clean, tidy sound but still exciting, rocky
2. Great delay/reverb choice for the vocals, vocals sound top, is automation on those reverb elements?
3. Small muddy build up in the low end, especially in the bridge when guitars kick in - small fix, nothing dramatic
4. Bridge, I like the tom's but there is some strange click in the tom top end - boost a bit the low's and tame the top a bit
5. Really clean mix, the kick could be automated in the bridge to have more presence in between this busy parts
6. Min 4:03 love it how the guitars kick in
Congratulations and thank you for the mix

@dnlptn
Piotr Feedback: Nice, great mix

Ady:
1.Very strong intro
2. Cool 60's spring reverb on the Guitars (Piotrek decides)
3. Great sounding drum Kit and good back vocals
4. Great vocal sound, a bit too much delay/reverb (Try ducking it while she's singing)
5. Nice Dynamics, maybe the guitar is 1 - 2 dB too loud in the bridge, but I get the intention
6. Bridge, intro to the "Dreamy" part (when the toms kick in) is a bit too crowded with vocals and kills the balance and excitement - automation!
7. Bridge in general (When it get's dreamy) sounds great
8. Very strong towards the end, I got lost in it (positive, love it)

Take care of the part when the bridge starts, give focus to one or two elements, make the Tom's fatter and more focused to lead into the dreamy bridge

@TomImmon
Piotr Feedback:
Nice 80s vibe. clean. different approach but really cool balanced. but backing vocals in the end to loud and in your face !!! give him a chance though

1.Too muddy in the low end
2. there is oomph in the kick but the clicking is missing (around 5 K and some top end) for my taste (Taste question)
3. It sounds like a compressor is working really hard, especially the low end get's distorted (Use Side chain filter up to 200 Hz on Master bus compressor)
4. min 00:53 is some noise in the delay
5. min 1:20 something with the breath in the reverb
6. Snare could use more smack and fullness, now it sounds a bit buried
7. Great backing vocals!
8. Good vocal sound just the "Ssss" are in the Reverb, try to use de-esser on reverb
9. Sometimes the vocals get distorted (Too much compression?)
10. Nice tom Sound
11. Min 3:03 you will here this hyper compression in the cymbals, like sucking the life out of it
You are on a good way, try to make a raw mix before starting mixing
Don't touch any EQ or whatever, just make a balance with the drums hitting maximum -8 dB and the full mix not louder than -6dB
And Then start mixing

Piotr Loves it and we appreciate this truly different 80's vibe

@Piranha
Piotr Feedback: OK! kick and snare powerful, kick little to loud though, too much phasing on the vocals

Ady:
1. Very strong intro, love it
2. Great drum Sound
3. Man the kick is hitting my chest! Maybe some automation during the Verse to bring it a bit lower
4. Interesting vocal effect, in general great vocal sound - band decides if they like it
5. fantastic volume dynamics
6. Clean, still aggressive, love the tom's, again - great dynamics
7. Love the Backing vocals
8. Get rid of the Phaser effect from my side and it's the perfect mix
9. Also great how the crunchy electric guitars kick in and build the tension
Fantastic Mix! Thank you so much, very impressive!
Now the Band told me that they love clean vocals without FX, so:
Kick lower and no phaser on vocals

@White Punk OD
Piotr feedback: Good ! good !! (I know Piotr is short with words haha)

Ady:
Love this one, though it's pretty dense but serves the mood - very unique style
1. Great balance, good punch and oomph on the kick
2. There is a noise at min 0:49
3. Very wide and deep mix, the low end on your mix really builds a mood & attitude for the song
4. Crazy Delay, sounds like she's in a big church, really like it
5. Beautiful backing vocals
6. Maybe the guitar in the short bridge could be more present, but this is taste that Piotr decide
7. Min 2:05 some vocal ending noise, check it out
8. Love the mix, but some more dynamics would be great, what I mean it's very strong from the beginning, so when it comes to the bridge when the Tom's kick in, there is not so much space to make it more dramatical
Maybe try spread the energy over the whole Song to leave space for a energy uplift
9. From 3:06 is really really great, love it, very dreamy
10. Again parts like in min 3:48 could be more impactful by emphasising the heavy tremolo guitars, it's a bit dense but by no means bad
11. Great Bass / Kick balance
Congrats, thank you for this fantastic mix, really a unique style!

@letsmix
Piotr Feedback: good but snare to aggressive / loud, vocals hidden and buried. could be really nice though ....

Ady:
I think the same, great intention and idea but snare is too present

1. Great guitars, Drums don't sound so glued together as a unite (Snare is so upfront that it feels separated)
2. Bass is a bit out of control, not mixed inside the track to support it (I know, it's a tricky one)
3. I get the intention, the drums individually sound good, snare is a tad too loud and takes attention of the track
4. Vocals are great but fight with snare
5. Overall good tonal balance and good dynamics
6. Tom's could have more oomph
7. The backing vocals are a bit harsh on the left side of my headphones Panning wise it's great
8. It's a wide mix and the parts when the electric guitars kick in is amazing!

Congratulations for this great mix! Some small tweaks as mentioned above! You have a great tonal balance, just volume wise some tweaks and you are there!

Number Eleven, our +1 who sneaked in into our top 10 haha

@rvalle
Piotrs Feedback: This is a good sounding, balanced mix that captured the idea & feel of the track but please please please change the guitars in min 3:29

Ady:
1. Strong intro, good drums
2. Great Balance over all, very calm mix approach - I like it
3. Fat Tom's and good dynamics
4. I think the band have to decide from here (so they did)
5. Guitars from min 3:29 to the end sound very skinny, can you change the Sound and make it fatter/ fuller ?
6. Vocals are a bit muddy / Cloudy, we need them clearer and more present

Thank you for the mix

Last message from my side for now:

I had crappy internet here and used a online program to write down feedback, sometimes I did feedback for couple of tracks, connection broke and it didn't save

So once again, if you want feedback to your track and you can't find yourself on the list, kindly send me a private message

Thank you for handling the evaluation, Ady.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Saturday, 14-NOV-2020 23:59 UTC+1/CET


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



The following 11 participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order)
(all Mix Round 2 participants should have been pinged)


@dnlptn
@javiramallo
@kirurg
@letsmix
@m_tree
@MattRocket
@nicores
@Piranha
@rvalle
@TomImmon
@White Punk OD


The feedback to the productions can be found here:
viewtopic.php?p=9154#p9154


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.

Greetings and Thanks @Los_ady et All,

If one fails to learn from past mistakes one is bounded to repeat them. One must be wiling to accept that for every path we choose in life there is a period of learning and that, depending on the goals, could take years, if not decades of serious kung fu (time and effort).

Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment; and for your helpful mixing tips based on your practical experience.

Since I am not sure which mix of mine you referenced I wont make any assumptions on that.

As for the first one you are correct about compression on the low end. One of the things I noticed first (seems like the most obvious one to me) is the difference on the low end within the great of varieties of mixes. I often wondered how these people with such a strong and punchy low end sound where achieving that without sending their meters to the red.

I have also noticed that not because the low end on a mix is stronger than the rest that mix will be selected as finalist here.

I will not contend that my first mix was deficient in so many ways (when compared with 90 more). It was. And yes, the second was probably worst due to factors I already mentioned in past posts. But I like how the 3rd one came out, still not a winner but from the first mix to the third my workflow had changed significantly.

For reference this was my 3rd try (not a valid mix challenge entry) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YiBtuU ... sp=sharing

You mention referencing, I done that with quite a few. I will share some of the differences I hear between the 3rd mix I posted compared with the one mix that came with the packet we all downloaded:

- Original mix is louder (no big deal there)

- Panning is different (again not sure if you referenced my first or 3rd because that issue of the panning of the kick was on of the issues I presented during the dialogue). I would like to think that was fixed by the 3rd mix. Maybe im wrong.

- Tonality is very different in some cases. I guess it has to do with how I eq stuff. That includes the bass and the kick. I tend to like the muffed sound of the kick as much as the open tone. And yes, there is quite a lot of compression, but I dont think it was clipping on the 3rd mix because I checked. On the first one yes.

The Voxengo SPAN tool that was recommended seems to be very helpful so far. The 3D frequency graph Wave Lab provides does not seem at this point to have too much of a relation with quality of sound, as recognized in this forum. To some extent says the same as the SPAN tool, but seems I am far from understanding correct its full meaning. There is no documentation that I seen for that, other than what is on their manual.

This mix we are evaluating here (mine) is my very first mix that makes it past the initial review of Loudness/TP. Im already working on Mix071 and I plan to work so that with each new mix presented here from my part there is something that has been improved. That can only happen with constructive criticism. It might hurt a bit, but AFAIK is well worth it, if one wishes to stay honest in this field.

Regards,

Awesome my friend, I just checked the first one

Happy you could take out something form the feedback, have a great time and ask, ask, ask !