Mix Challenge

Title;Statistics - "MC096__Mark_II__Memorization__Pistolpetev3"
Date;Friday, February 9, 2024
Loudness_Value;-16.96 LUFS
Max_Momentary_Loudness;-13.35 LUFS
Sample Rate;44.100 kHz
Average RMS (AES-17) Left;-14.88 dB
Average RMS (AES-17) Right;-15.08 dB
Max. RMS;-12.77 dB
True Peak Left;-3.19 dB
True Peak Right;-3.36 dB
Bit Depth Left;24 bit
Bit Depth Right;24 bit

Here is my Monthly Submission:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZGJGUA ... sp=sharing

Well where do I start. I’m happy this month the submission is a EDM/Trance type project as it really brought me back to my younger club days and house parts with house music bumping… Lets just say I had a lot of fun mixing this one and felt I went surgical with some of the details.

General Session:

• I imported tracks into a session. naming, grouping colorizing, deleting dead space..etc.. general pre mixing maintenance…
  Channels were grouped to like instruments and tied to VCA faders for each group.
  All channels sent to a Mix bus, which fed the stereo bus.
  Gain matched all tracks set to pink noise at 17db to even out tracks to same audible level with plenty of headroom to work with. Turned off the pink noise and went to work.

I did not read the readme or listen to the premixed version first as I just wanted to dive in and take the song where I wanted to.. I really hope the listeners and the song provider enjoy what I did. Only after I mixed it.. listened for a few days.. fixed issues... listened again did I read the readme to see what the song submitter requested and tried to incorporate those changes slightly into my mix.

The samples all really sounded quite clean so there wasn’t a whole bunch of sample cleanup needed at all. I really wanted to take the listener on a journey and pictured myself back in my 20s in clubs how I would want to hear it bumping over the system… I wanted the mix to take me there…

Most of my mixing was spent on automation. Every single instrument that had a hint of a solo, where the focus was on it, I used multiple types of automation to really create the feeling.. to emphasize the build ups and extend the silences.

I used:

• LR panning automation
  Stereo Wideness automation
  Volume Automation
  Wet/Dry automation

• A delay feedback automation on the RIDE.
  And other plugin related automations.

See Automation Overview (couldn’t fit all tracks in view)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kDgExTE7JRosZRYM9

Much of the automation was used to create buildups and transitions, also I used a lot of automation on the radio vocals to create the effect I did.
The RIDE: Since the song submitter wanted a crazy change to the ride, I EQ and compressed it to liking, I hit it with radiator to give it fuzz and distortion, and I used 2 delays and a stereo modulator, plus waves s-1 stereo imager to really give this sizzle, higher end brightness and cut some of the muddy low out to give it more snap on the low mids. Using automation and during the buildups I tuned different plugins to change the tone, FX and sound of the RIDE To give it building energy with a long almost annoying delay that automates towards the peak energy transitions.

• All tracks were sent directly to the Mix Bus
  Almost all tracks got a channel strip: either AMEK 9099, Lindel 69, or Sheps Omnichannel..
  Since some of the channels strips and other plugins give that vintage “hiss” I used a gate on every channel to silence any noise.

Drums:
To See the Drums
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WRuwcfiUQwGxRptZ8

Not much was really done to the drums other than stereo field positioning, a channel strip or a distortion plugin was used on most drums. The drums and percussion all sounded really good so mostly volume, panning and stereo wideness panning automation was used on the tracks. A little EQ to tune for each one, noise gates to keep silence.

Kicks, Bass and one of the synths that has lows, I used a new plugin I just picked up called Kick Shaper by WA productions and wow… absolutely amazing. It’s a combo of different effects, dynamics, equs and other bass related setting to quickly scope the sound you want. I went with a more house music kind of kick punch since I grew up with that sound and it fit..

Low frequency channels: low end eq to cut off rumble and help to cut frequency clashes. Waves s-1 to position the different low end sounds in different places in the stereo and delay field. Automation was used on Bass and low synths to create movement buildups and stereo field position.

See Synth Inserts:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7SN9VtbbfYnCGK7X8

Synths, FX and Sequencers..
I really wanted to make each instrument “solo”/showcase special. Instead of really focusing on changing already good sounds I focused mostly on EQ position and clarity, presence in the mix, motion (use of volume automation, Stereo widening automation and stereo field position) and use of reverbs and delays to create motion, depth and vibe. I used a lot of delays, reverbs and stereo panners.

Channels had very little direct effects/inserts: A channel strip, eq or distortion to tune sound to liking. Waves S1 for stereo widening and automation and some of the channels had low end eqs, and reverbs, panning tools.

I crated a few FX sends in which some were tied specifically to a channel and some were used more globally on many tracks:
FX sends:

• FX global Drum Saturation: Waves Abbey Road Saturation.
  FX Bass: saturation decapitator, gate, waves s-1 imager. automated volume and stereo width, as well as had wave rbass to really add low warmth and thump to some of the low freq channels and the bass.
  FX VOX – This send was created specific for using Valhalla Supermassive to create the radio echo on the main vocal sample. Automated for stereo position and volume.
  FX REVERB – mids and highs: Waves R verb and a EQ to high/low cut to focus on mid range. Mostly used to help position certain tracks out in front of the mix.

On the mix bus: AMEK mastering compressor (I mixed top down into this compressor from the start of the mix), Basslane to help tune the low frequency harmonics, Waves Saphira to tune mid high harmonics,
Master Fader: DC offset plug set to cut extreme lows, Steinburg Brickwall Limiter, set to -1.3, no gain.

Monitoring Plugs: Waves WDM, Waves VU meter, Waves Analyzer.
Software: Cubase 10.5, on a 2011 custom built AMD phenom x6
Mixed in Sennheiser HD600 cans, checked on 3 other sets of headphones and in Foxtex PM5 monitors.

I hope the song provide likes what I did...

Also... consider listening to this mix with headphones.. it wont' disappoint

Hello.

MC096__Mark_II__Memorization__ShroomFeverish
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-DqEd ... drive_link

Process description.
Import tracks, arrange channels – bass, perc, synths, pads, fx etc.
Gain stage, rough mix. Low cut filtering and surgical eq.
More precise eq / saturation / drive to shape sound of instruments.
The kick sound has a Saturn 2 that gave it character, it gave direction to the overall kick bass sound.
memo Sequencer 3 has Studio DMI Spacecontrol, with spread and time delay on low mid freq.
Compressors/limiters/clippers to make levels more even.
Reverb/delay/Soundtoys little alterboy as send fx

Th-th-th-that's all folks!

Hello,
Many thanks to the song provider and to Mr. Fox for such an interesting song to mix.
I’ve spent most of the time trying to get a nice balance of the mix, looking for separation and clarity of different tracks (already wonderfully recorded) using only the fader, panning, HPF/LPF, and a lot of automation. I’ve also adjusted the M/S on some tracks using MSED.
On all tracks I’ve incorporated an instance of SSL 4K E console emulation, for the kick and on some synths I’ve used a few instances of saturation to accentuate the vibe, but nothing more. I reinforced the “vocals” with the interesting Wires’ plugin and an echo tape.
The master buss included instances of SSL Bus Compressor 2, Dangerous BAX EQ master, wrapping everything with a touch of limiter (just to catch some wandering peaks) and Oxide tape machine.
Please find below the Dropbox's link to my mix -> [Dropbox's link to MC096]
I hope you like it.
Best wishes,
Pablo

Enjoyed mixing this as I mostly do pop and rock.
I went for a more polished and not so midrangey sound compared to the original one in the folder.
-1,1 dBTP - -16,3 LUFS integrated

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


DRUMS

Drums low:
Kick: Spectre for tone shaping more thump and punch, RootOne for some saturation
Spiff for more tightness and punch, Pro-Q3 for a midrange dip
Kick tail: low cut mid signal, Basslane Pro for compression and side harmonics
reverse kick: no processing

Drums low group: more Spiff, Clip Zero to shave of some peaks, ISO8 to automate the kick filter in 2 sections

Drums high:
snare roll: no processing
hats 1: Pro-Q3 mid cut
hats 2: no processing
hats 3: no processing
extra tops:Pro-Q3 mid cut
percs clap:no processing
percs snare:TENSjr spring reverb for depth
ride:Pro-Q3 mid cut, StageOne spread

Drums high group: KClip, Pro-Q3 low cut, Spiff transient cut, Pro-C2 side chain kick, AA Pumpkin high shelf boost


BASS

Sequencer 1: Dopamine for a slight presence boost, Spiff to reduce some of the clickyness
bass: no processing

Bass group: no processing


SYNTHS

choir: no processing
distorted synth shots: reduced distortion with Soothe 2,Pro-Q3 bell cut around 5k, Spiff for more body impact, reverb send
dub pad: no processing
EDM Stab: Dopamine presence, Pro-Q3 controlling some resonances + low cut, StagOne for spread and depth, Spectre for more low energy, S Pulser for movement
Lead: Dopamine for presence, Pro-Q3 for bell cut in the highs, Spiff for impact in the low mid, Panflow for panning movement
phased string: no processing
Reece Atmos: no processing
Reece: no processing
Sequencer 2: Dopamine, Spectre for a midrange boost
Sequencer 3: Dopamine, Pro-Q3 bell mid cut and high shelf boost - level automation
Sequencer 4: no processing
Synth shots: no processing
Tonal Athmos: no processing - level automation

Synth group: no processing


FX+VOX
FX: level automation
Vox: Pocket Delay (Stereo Slap back) to make it more authentic/interesting


MIXBUS
TDR Infrasonic to fine tune the bass information
VPRE-72 to accentuate the midrange
Multiplicity in a special 3 band setting to pre glue the mix
DynOneV3 to further glue the mix and move the mids forward a bit
AA Arctic compressor for a final glue (each of the 3 compressors doing just a tiny bit)
DMG Limitless to catch peaks with clipping and limiting

Hi all,
thanks again to Mr Fox and the song provider for making this mix challenge possible!

Here is my mix:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eYgYxO ... sp=sharing

My mindset was to go for clarity and punch.
The kick and bass is the foundation and most other elements got their LF content reduced not to interfere with those.
EQ was a convolution based SSL black EQ. SSL dynamics on Kick, Snare and Seq 4.
Reaper´s JS:Distortion on the HiHat.
A bit of Reverb on some elements for placement and to open up the space (Lexicon 480L Large Hall IR).
Hardware SSL Bus Comp on the main bus.
Other than that it was only EQ and balancing, not to have anything stick out too much and to get a largely even frequency distribution.

My favorite element of the track is the Seq 3 arpeggio, especially in the breakdown.

Cheers!
Christian

AND ... now something completely different ...
Quite different to mixes I've been working on lately.

But it was nice for a change, thanks to the song provider for letting us work on this production.

Downloaded the files and sort of put them into buckets, kick, hats, DRUMS, bass and pads.First tried to get a rough balance and then worked on some of the sounds.

The hats got a filterfreak treatment and some Decapitator distortion, gave em a bit of a different feel. Kick got some SSL subgen and substantial high passing after that.

Snare roll is automated to dial in some high end

Bass synth are side chained to the kick for a pumping effect

One of the synths, FXs1 got a Tremolator treatment, this gives a different feel to the effect and was my way to bring something different to the table.

Mixed in Luna, with API summing on all buses en all channels have got their share of Studer 800 tape.


My mix: LowlandsWave mix

Okay, I have to step in, before this becomes a bigger problem.

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	A PSA for all Microsoft OneDrive users I kindly ask you to read post #003 again regarding accessibility. So far, we have two entries that were linked to OneDrive (those being by @onecake2 and @LowlandsWave) where I had to not only switch browsers, but also log into a Microsoft account to even access the file. On that behalf... A PSA for all Google Drive users as well There also seem to be problems with Google Drive for certain files. Sometimes telling me "access data exceeded" (most notably @Gertius). I tried 3 different browsers (Firefox, multiple versions of Chrome, Edge), I always get this error message. I could finally download the files in question via my mobile phone. Please make absolutely sure that the files are accessible without the need of either of the following: having to use a "special device" to access the file having to "request" the file by signing into an account the files are not directly accessible, but packed as a ZIP file Make sure to log out of your account, try a "Private Browser Tab" or even a portable browser / different device, confirm that the material is accessible to everyone. This is part of the Rules and Guidelines, this is mentioned in the bundled TL;DR Rules.txt, this is mentioned once more with post #003.

The TL;DR is basically this:

Triple check your files for accessibility !!!

You invested a lot of time - don't put your entry at risk of being "tagged OUT" by it being inaccessible.
This is a one time reminder.

Thank you!

Google Drive for certain files. Sometimes telling me "access data exceeded"

According to Google this happens when there are too many files in the "Shared" folder. It does not say how many is too many in typical vague "Googletalk"!

I do apologize for the file entry accessibility. In all truth, I checked it with another browser (chrome) but I didn't know that if I am logged in with firefox (my main browser) then I am logged in with Chrome automatically. Very strange!
In short:
It won't happen in the future!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ucCA57 ... sp=sharing



It all began with the kick drum, the foundation, ensuring it resonated with primal force, yet remained precise and clear. Sidechain compression on all instruments, allowing other elements to breathe around it.
Synths and pads: high-pass filter, eq sculpting for air and brightness. A ton of sidechain reverbs and delays