I still really like this software a lot, and I pray for Harrison to choose Reaper instead of Ardour to integrate with..
Exactly my first thought, but I think it will never happen... But let's pray together
Then again, I know how I hated and yelled at Reaper at first. It can do almost everything and I am sure you can even make it cook you something, but first you have to find out how and then you have to assign it to a shortcut or menu. It's a little bit like Lego and boy do I really not want to set it up ever again. It just evolves with you over the years...
It's great to hear your experiences, guys. I never look elsewhere for DAW's except the Harrison one ... and Reaper a while back. I agree, switching DAW seems to be a heavy task.
I still really like this software a lot, and I pray for Harrison to choose Reaper instead of Ardour to integrate with..
In the meantime, give Airwindows plugins a try. I think he has the best "analog sound" plugins and they're all for free, so you've got nothing to lose.
With huge regret I have to inform all participants, that as of December 2018 (effective for MC050), Nyrv Systems' "AGENT" will not be available anymore. A huge thank you goes to Nyrv Systems for being with us from January 2016 until December 2018.
OK,
Finally had some time to devote toward getting the 1st round winners announced. I'm really sorry for the delay. Holidays combined with other things that caught me by surprise delayed my ability to get this done in a timely manner. I apologize to all. It was a really hard thing to do. There were a lot of great contenders, but I had to narrow the field to 10. To those not on the list: I really appreciate your time and efforts on this. This was strictly a subjective judging on my behalf. Another person judging could have picked a completely different set of 10. There were that many great sounding mixes. I will be sending feedback to all of those that had written details about their mix process. See below for the list of the top 10 who move on to the 2nd round in alphabetical order w/feedback.
OK, without further delay, here are my picks for the top 10 to move on to the 2nd round:
DELICATE:
Nice EQ balance, in particular kick and bass work really nice together. Lead Vocal has a nice saturation on it that helps to cover my imperfect pitch. I like how you kept the drums fairly dry to help them punch through the wash of guitars. Acoustic sounds great!
The toms seem to "boing" out a bit too forward in a couple of spots, They seem hard panned? (note 3:37). I think the intro pads could swell a little more and be pushed back some (Maybe some pan movement with them?). The Backing Vox could use some cut and paste to line them up with the lead better, as they seem to extend beyond them in spots (My fault of course). Overall great job though.
DOBEBON:
Nice work on the drums without replacement. Good spread of guitars without them getting too washed out. Chorus has a nice punch to it with the gain EGT crunch. Nice verb used on lead vox. Just enough. I thought the BG vox had a bit too much verb in the chorus though, causing the tails to extend beyond the lead vox. I understand the need to bury those BG vocals, but maybe bring them closer to center under the lead and cut some lead vox frequencies so they get pushed back without so much verb? Thanks for all the attention on this. Sounds great!
DRUMWIZARD:
I really love the ghost drums under the pads at the intro. Nice creative touch. Drums have a really nice natural room ambiance, although I think there could be some automation to tighten it up in spots. Nice sounding lead guitar, although I feel the rest of the guitars could be a little dryer to offset the ambient drums. Good balance of instruments tho. The delay on the vocals at the break is kind of cool, although I'm not sure if I like the timing of it. It sounds almost like it was unintentional. I think you should either make it more prevalent and weird, or nix it. The tom hits (IE 3:43) are panned so far right that it sounds somewhat disconnected from the rest of the kit. Nice sounding and very creative mix.
FIXINTHEMIX:
Nice balance. The compression on the lead vox is stellar. Kick and snare are great. The lead guitar really pushes to the front by leaving it fairly dry. Nice job. I like how the BG vox are there but not that prevalent. The lead vox could use to come up a little bit in the mix. Overall really great job!
HENRIKHJORTNASS:
Interesting interpretation at the intro with the pads. I would like to have "some" atmospheric pads under the guitar intro though. Acoustic sounds great. Big, gritty bombastic guitar at the chorus really hits you in the face. I like it! Nice contrast to the verses. Drums sound great overall. I know it took work to get them there. Good job keeping the BG vox in line and under the lead vox. I appreciate your decision to minimize the use of compression to keep it dry and intimate. Maybe a little more atmosphere on the lead guitar to widen it?
KEVIN GOBIN:
Nice mix overall. The chorus is big and punchy, and lead vocals have the right amount of compression and atmosphere. I felt that the delay time could be a little tighter on the lead Vox. It's psychedelic, but distracting. The snare sounds great. The kick could use to push through some more though. The acoustic could use a cut around 500HZ to get rid of some boxiness. There also seems to be some extra buildup in the sub region. Maybe give it some highpass action on the guitars? Overall, nice job!!
MOA22REV0:
Great sounding mix. Good job aligning and fixing the pitch on the vox (especially BG vox). Great EGT tones on the lead, and nice panning/eq to keep rhythm guitars still present. Well balanced. I guess my only critique would be to do some automation to help with song dynamics - IE: Punch it up on the chorus and bring it down in verses, etc... Great job. Thanks for all the work.
OCTOONFIRE:
Very cool spacey sounds on the intro and ending. Love it! Nice bass/Kick balance. Nicely EQ'd acoustic also.There seems to be a few spots where some resonant low end is popping thru on the lead guitar. I'd like to hear the BG vocals a little less prevalent. Not necessarily lower in volume, but maybe panned a little tighter w/lead vox and cut some presence. Thanks for taking so much time on this. Sounds great!
TAPWATER:
Very well balanced mix. Vocals and BG vocals work great together. Guitars sounds really great as well. Drums are nice and punchy. Bass, to me, sounds a bit woofy. Maybe give it a touch of crunch/presence, and carve out some more low end for the kick? Overall great job, especially with what you were given to work from!. Thanks!!
THEPRESENT:
I like the swirling pan on the spacey intro/ending. Lead Vox sounds great. Nice compression/saturation, and BG Vox are well executed to fill it out, but not present. Cool chorus on right guitar. Great job of differentiating the guitars. Nice punchy drums. Bass sounds a bit too crunchy in the quieter moments of the song, but I like it in the louder parts. Maybe automate some of that? Interesting delay at end of guitar lead, but maybe bring it back a little? Nice job!
A happy new year! May all of you be happy.