davemcisaac
- nice airy acoustic guitars
- veery interesting snare. not much highs, but it somehow fits in very cool.
- the chorus on the eletric guitars sounds nice and they fit very good, but they have a tiny little bit of harshness going on in the chorus. dont know if thats eq or compression
- harp reverb sounds very nice and wide
- like the snare drum, the vocal has not that much highs, but since the snare drum has the same, it kinda fits pretty good.
- nice dynamic differences between the different parts
- very surprising solo sound. maybe this should be i tiny little bit quieter.
- bass sound fits very well
- overall very interesting mix. needs some corrections here and there to make it a little rounder
I tossed around the idea of brightening up the snare & lead vox, but decided against it. Instead, I side-chained the Snare using ReaComp in the Inst Bus to duck the instruments a couple dB (0.0 ms Attack / 4 ms Release @ 6.7:1 Ratio with a large knee) just to let the snare attack through a little better. I got the effect I wanted without changing the tone.
I rolled off the highs & added some body to the EGuits L&R & toned down the added chorus to help tuck it into the mix. That also brought out some of the Lead Vocal's "air". So instead of brightening up the vox, I actually added a little body & dropped the level about -1dB. That helped tuck it into the mix a bit better.
I also dropped the Solo -0.75dB. With all the other changes, that's all it took to tuck it into the mix.
I hope you are satisfied with the changes I've made for Round 2. Good luck to the rest of you!
so I'm not ready yet. But I want to give an update. I tried to figure out how I could judge best to put you in an order. So I used a system that I copied and changed a little bit from one of my teachers in audio engineering.
Basically I rate:
- the general mix (in different smaller parts)
- the different instruments
- how you used my feedback for the first round
- a few tricks to check the overall balance
And than I count the points.
Since I still am not a professional I do this hole thing twice, so I can check if I was objective or if I did something weird.
So thats it about how I try to judge. Thought that you my be interested in that.
But I would like to ask you something: Can you maybe also give me feedback on my feedback...? I'm very curious about how you think I did that. And I think I can always learn from stuff like that. And don't be shy...
In the words of Biffy Clyro: 'When you hit me, hit me hard!'
to answer your question, I think you did a really good job with your feedbacks. I didn´t listen too deeply into the other mixes and compare your feedbacks of course but the points you made on my mix are spot-on. And after all I think you´re more pro than you have stated - or than you think
I mean, the inconsistencies in the bass was also something that bugged me on my mix but somehow I didn´t fix it - for whatever reason, and knowing that this issue can best be solved by compressing the low frequencies with a multiband compressor (what i did for round 2) is not amateurish at all.
So don´t worry and just go for it. In that respect, your rating system seems well thought out, but also don´t forget to "rate" with your heart and initial feelings, no need to overthink it...
I thought your feedback was good as well. You identified the areas I was struggling with or that I went to far on. Keep in mind a lot of mixing is art so while there are some things that are right or wrong there are more that are individual taste and there is no wrong answer and as the client its ultimately your decision on what we got right and what we didn't.
As to your judging method whatever method gets you to a decision that your happy with is a good method.
I also think that you are the boss so whatever the method or equipment you use for listening, whatever we think about your feedback being right or wrong, you are the boss.
I was surprised to hear from you that "my" lead vocal sounded "too good" but this was a very interesting point, and a learning factor for me.
In another contest Bjulin said that he heard everything too much in my mix...
So I try to figure out and conclude that people do not just want to hear an absolute hifi clarity and separation in their song (I'm not saying I can achieve that).
I think I know what should be dirty or not though, but still I think I am an ignorant about what is missing in the sound I like when other people don't.
I am here to figure it out, and you helped me with your feedbacks.
Many mysteries remain unsolved, that's why mixing music is such a passion for all of us, and Mix Challenges are such great opportunities to learn about it.
davemcisaac
- nice airy acoustic guitars
- veery interesting snare. not much highs, but it somehow fits in very cool.
- the chorus on the eletric guitars sounds nice and they fit very good, but they have a tiny little bit of harshness going on in the chorus. dont know if thats eq or compression
- harp reverb sounds very nice and wide
- like the snare drum, the vocal has not that much highs, but since the snare drum has the same, it kinda fits pretty good.
- nice dynamic differences between the different parts
- very surprising solo sound. maybe this should be i tiny little bit quieter.
- bass sound fits very well
- overall very interesting mix. needs some corrections here and there to make it a little rounder
Hey Fabi,
Your critique was wasn't too deep - but I'm hoping that's because you liked my mix so much that there wasn't too much you were wanting me to adjust in the remix for Rnd 2. The only thing that was hard to address was "...needs some corrections here and there to make it a little rounder". That isn't very specific. I had to guess what you meant. "Rounder" can mean a lot of things. So I would suggest not using terms that can be misinterpreted and be very specific. It's more work for you but can yield better results.
Since I did a system where I rated all, I'm not only gonna present the top three, but just all.
Arthur Labus: I'm sorry, but you may have accidentally uploaded the same files as in the first round. I talked to misterfox about it and unfortunately you now have to be disqualified. I am really sorry. I started listening to the tracks after the deadline for the uploads. So I didn't notice that until it was too late.
1. Mork
2. davemcisaac
3. erictracks
4. HerbFelho
5. kevin gobin
6. jhkennedy5
7. VasDim
8. OctopusOnFire
9. DodgingRain
(10. Arthur Labus - disqualified)
I'm gonna do the feedback for this round tomorrow, because I'm very busy with my study right now, but wanted to free you from waiting for the results.
The only thing that was hard to address was "...needs some corrections here and there to make it a little rounder". That isn't very specific. 
I had to guess what you meant. "Rounder" can mean a lot of things. So I would suggest not using terms that can be misinterpreted and be very specific. It's more work for you but can yield better results.