Mix Challenge

Hello everyone,
Hi Ady, so nice to see you back!

Thanks for the mixtracks.
Here is my take:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kYe2m5 ... sp=sharing


I thought we need this very oldschool, back to cassette mixtape era, thus a little proximity effect in the vocals, and kept them very dry for the rap.
But also some crossover, bass and brass was inspired by some Rasta styles, guitar by Afrobeat.

I started only last night.

First thing to check, do we get the right drum sounds at all?
Well the drums seem great, only the mic stuff would have to be improved.

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Kick: gate, resonant hipass (42Hz); I used Nova GE Autopilot to get rid of the ringing frequencies that would have ruined everything (2050, 4400);
slamming MSaturator like crazy; and another one subito: Airwindows Density; then mixed with bx-SSL G

Snare top: used only for the "body" sound, brutally lowpassed at 168Hz, resonant hipass 157Hz
Snare Bottom: this should make the sharp Hip-Hop thingy that sounds a bit electronic; SSL G boosting highs and upper mids a lot, some compression

the snare buss does the main job: Lindell channel X with the FET compressor and the analog EQ, comp mix, attack and release are tricky and crucial for the sound; iZotope Trash 2 for the crispy stuff; ouch this needs a gate for the tails; bx_XL V2 for its very fat saturation, also length control of the crispy sound; TinyQ to notch out 1.8k and boost 92Hz

now we go to the kick and snare bus: SPL Attacker Plus for even more punch; LoudMax for more steadyness; yes and LittlePlate as an insert; another TinyQ attenuates 2k and boosts 3.3k

overhead bus has trk04 a lot louder than the other one;
saturation with Nevo; ERS 250 (newly aquired for a few bucks only, it is the EMT 250 algo) used as a roomy slap delay 80ies style; MEqualizer surgical to take out some sharpness; mixed with SSL G in usual way; Klanghelm tape

finally DRUM BUS (overhead bus + kick/sn bus):
so that's the real trick, there is the mpressor with anti-log release and negative ratio, and GR-limit. this comes across a bit seventies and psychedelic.
here we have also sends for a short and a longer AUX reverb, again the 250.

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Bass: Ampeg SVT3PRO, with 1x15" cabinet, and slammed with some overdrive. I wanted a really deep sound but not dull. this gadget is absolutely self-contained, I needed nothing else.
guys, the two bass tracks seem identical here, I used only 07.

rhythm guitar: TnyQ with a couple of wild notches 600 + 4.7k, sharp hipass at 167, boost at 169, lowpass 5.6k; Vitalizer (brilliance); Chorus CH2 with two active delay lines, almost no modulation, more like a short stereo slap delay.

solo git: now this was real fun, when it was a Strat, can we perhaps do an Afrobeat Dire Straits, lets go:
elysia nvelope; Airwindows ADT for Haas delay; SPL IRON as a thickener; then a gate with the purpose to fade out the tails in a different way plus we have some bleed noises; Noveltech Character for more density; then the SSL G console strip with the usual tasks to fit in the mix; Lagrange granular delay to make it less boring than a dub delay would have been; MEQalizer for surgically cancel some ringing frequencies.

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I changed the keyboards completely, to fit into the projected style. it's all modern but cheap plugins.

piano sound: got multed into 3 tracks, AFTER editing the timing. I aligned all the keyboard hits to the kick, except a few.
it starts with a slammed townhouse comp, to get a percussive synth sound instead, that sounds much longer.
both extra instances have different Nebula presets, that were tweaked a little bit. this makes for very complex, modulated chorus/phaser/flanger/filtersweep sounds.
* now the crazy thing I did was sync the LFOs with the beat, so the sound breathes and dances with the drums and guitar. it is not fully precise because the song was not played click-proof. but a little bit of chaos and wrongness puts more life into the mix.

organ: first thing I needed was a cheesy vibrato by Airwindows; NWEQ to boost upper mid-range, this is an extreme "character"-EQ; bx console N for mixing; Klanghelm tape; now a little madness again, the HY-TP2 modulator synced to the beat, so we have a totally pulsating sound. I automated the depth of the modulation because some phrases that were played, had to come through.

basically, the keyboards should sound more modern and a bit psychedelic.

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Brass: each instance got a Noveltech Character, that was fine-tuned to the particular instrument.
the brass bus has gathered a lot of stuff:
Lindell Channel X; SSL G; ADT for Haas delay; Luftikus for air band; Thrillseeker LA for density and some bright saturation;
and the sends are: dub-delay, two different 250-reverbs, and an Aux chorus.

--
vocals:
the arab vocals have the chorus send, but the polish rap hasn't.
ayoub was recorded well, I attenuated a couple of boxy frequencies with the dynamic Nova, it was only a couple dBs; further there is massive parallel compression and the tape plugin.

rap vocals:
the adlibs are individually hipassed with a tchebycheff, to not get in the way of main vocals and instruments. they end up in the rap bus.
rap tracks have processing only in the rap bus:
Channel X; SPL DeEsser; SSL G; Nova for ringing frq; Klanghelm tape slammed wildly, with full "asymmetric" saturation and response was tweaked to the HF side; ADT delay after the sends! it has a little phase effect that I did not want for the reverbs.

the chorus aux is a WOK Lexor.
some reverbs have an EQ and 600Hz hipass.

--
master bus:
Ozone 8 Elements equalizer (tuned by its autopilot), NOTHING more, everything else is off.
I had checked the sound with Elysia Alpha comp, only then it sounds "original", but I switched it off again because the dynamic range would be reduced too much and this would violate the rules.

so, the file is definitely meant to be mastered, and slammed hard with transient boost and strong soft-clipping.
kick and snare are now louder in the mix than would be after mastered.

The music is great and fun to mix. The biggest difficulty, which I thought I would have, was mixing the vocals. However, I was wrong. I used a lot of saturation plug-ins and parallel processing to bring clarity and definition to the music. Filters and Ultrachannel on all channels gave me a great result. I pulled highs on the master and 2:1 compression.

My mix: https://mega.nz/file/XtgXiQiJ#56neDt0DI ... KiyWM_Ntl4

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QmC_L0 ... sp=sharing

EQ on every track . Kick - Q3 , Pultec . Snare - Q3 , Ssl Chanel, VTM . Overheads - Q3. Drums - Ssl comp . Parallel drums - Zenner Limiter. Bass - Q3 , Novatron , Kush TWK . Guitar - Q3,soothe , panman. Solo - Q3, Neural DSP Plini . Vocal chorus - Q3, La-2a . vintageverb. Verse vocal - Q3, L1, waves deesser , CLA76, soothe. Backs - Q3, L1, waves deesser, plate . Sax - Q3 , La-2a , omega A , plate

MIX: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HLDGf9 ... A9K_E/view

I'm running out of time to write a document

i'm sorry for the description of my project. it's too late and i hope i don't miss the subscription.
but you can ask me anyway and i'll tell you my process.

here is the link to download my mix, if i pass the deadline i hope anyway to get some feedback from you . https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FzMjoI ... sp=sharing


thank you guys.

DennisBastioni

It is the 22nd July 2021, 00:15 UTC+2/CEST - the first Mix Round has officially ended

Another very warm welcome to all new participants (plenty of new faces, welcome!) and as usual, a huge thank you to everyone that is spreading the word about the Mix Challenge. Please help get the Songwriting Competition as popular (less than 3 days left).


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 59 submissions this month (59 prior to the deadline, 60 including entries after the deadline)
• We have 1 submission after the deadline (as of 22-JUL-2021 0:20 UTC+2/CEST)
• We have 2 submissions that could not be downloaded by the time of this post and is therefore disqualified (03 including entries after the deadline, double checked on 23-JUL-2021)
• We have 0 submissions that have been withdrawn (but counts as entry within the deadline)
• Overview of Submissions - is your entry within given parameters? (PDF - updated: 25-JUL-2021, full sheet)
• Overview of Submissions (disqualifications only) (PDF - updated: 25-JUL-2021)

INFORMATION:
Statistic sheets have been updated (on 25-JUL-2021)
Statistic sheets are not available yet, please wait for the official announcement post -- sheets will arrive by mid 25-JUL-2021 latest



INFORMATION:

Until the end of 2020, I provided a data sheet each month showing all entries and what values they have in terms of loudness (LUFS ILk), maximum signal strength (dBTP), if they are in the correct bitrate and sampling rate, if they were downloadable, etc. You can read about the whole process here.

As of 2021, I'm continuing this endeavor as additional learning tool for the Mix Challenge. This data sheet is not an automated process. I will post separately once I have the data sheet prepared and uploaded (which will be linked to from this post you're reading right now).



INTRODUCING "WILD-CARD" GAME MECHANIC:

From MC075 / April 2021 to/including MC079 / August 2021, we're testing a new game mechanic. This game mechanic offers participants with minor issues to their mixes, a chance to still advance towards the next round. At the cost of using a "wild card".

Please read here how this concept works in the following thread:
Mix Challenge - Addendum: Wild Card Mechanic (Test Run until AUG-2021)



I now open the field for everyone to give each other feedback (highly encouraged). This will be independent to the client feedback however.


Please watch this spot for the client feedback and Mix Round 2 participant announcement.

Good luck to all participants.





The Songwriting Competition 47 (SWC47) is still in full swing.
The deadline is 24th July 2021, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST. The genre is "(Video Game) Soundtrack", with an additional twist this month of having a "virtual client" commissioning work for each participant - interaction is highly encouraged. So far we have 9 entries (some fully finished already).

Please spread the word!

The "Overview of Submissions" PDFs have been uploaded.
You can check them through the upper post (post #87).

Apologies for the waiting time. There is currently a lot going on behind the scenes.


As mentioned in July 2020, this data sheet is used for giving an overview of all entries, and whether or not they are within given parameters (loudness, sampling rate, bitrate). As of 2021, I'm continuing this endeavor as this is adding to the learning process, and there will be a dedicated "Mix Challenge Addendum thread" explaining the mechanic in the foreseeable future (I need some time for that). Please take note that creating this sheet is not a fully automated process. I am using Wavelab 10's "Batch Analysis" tool (EBU R-128 specs / equivalent to ITU-R BS.1770-4), but the overall layout and highlighting issues/mishaps, is time consuming. If you do not find yourself on this list, please let me know.


We have a disqualification rate of 20,34% for July 2021 (59 entries, 12 disqualifications, not counting the 1 submission after the deadline).

In comparison to previous months (now in spoiler tags): On average (12 months), we currently have a disqualification rate of 28,62% (compared to last month's 29,37% avg), the rate is on a declining trend.




A commentary on this month's entries:

Once more welcome to all new participants this month. I hope you enjoy your stay.

You will notice in the Statistic Sheet, that I've removed the "generalized" re-upload tag in the color legend (bottom of the sheet). This has been brought up during the main game, and was continued as point of discussion in the General Gossip thread. Long story short: if you are merely changing your filename (Google Drive allows that, DropBox does not to my knowledge) and you do not change anything else (as in: link to your file), you have not been tagged disqualified this month. However, since both the Song Provider and I (the host) download files as they come in (or with a delay of 2-3 days) and we notice that a link is fishy, or that you created a post only to then delete it and re-post again (only I as admin can see that), you're out of the game.

Additionally:
There is a file naming template given to you at every first and second post of the thread. We had plenty of entries that either just wrote MC78, or changed the band name from "Sun Followers" to "SunFollowers" or even "SunFlowers". I will continue to point out that every time in the additional info block -- not only because this can result in some very weird looks from clients out in the real world. Since I do so much file management with the challenges on this platform, I am reliant on the correct game abbreviation (bar minimum). In case of July 2021, that was MC078. This way, if I accidentally saved something in the wrong folder (because browsers remember the wildest last used folders), I can easily find your entry later. Please... this is why I provide this template. It is also to make it easier to sort things as well, and triple check that I have all entries on my HDD for analysis.

What I didn't point out (but the Song Provider is informed of this):
We have four entries where there was a hint in the documentation, that there was existing content copied/moved, and then effects used on top to create transitions. Those entries were by @AskAndy, @Promissel, @RuediRena and @TheLordRudman (unless I've missed one entry). Technically, we (the Song Provider and I) made clear once more in this post on page 01 that you should not copy/paste anything to add something that "wasn't there before" in order to create transitions (most notably: the Riser sample -- creating reversed reverb made from/leading up into the signal in question, like a guitar, is a different topic). As of this moment, this is not a criteria for disqualification. However, should you be selected for Mix Round 2, and in fairness to all other participants, chances are you might need to revert this and/or find a different solution.

Important to point out: :
Unless your file couldn't be downloaded, or it has been re-uploaded/re-posted during the course of the main submission round. Having your entry being tagged as "disqualified" does not mean that you're completely out of the game (yet). Should you be selected for Mix Round 2 by this month's "client", you have the option to advance through the use of the Wild Card Mechanic.

Please don't be frustrated but rather learn from the experience, find out what went wrong, and use your possible chance to fix this in a follow-up round. This is why the concept of the "Statistics Sheet" and "Wild Card mechanic" exists. It offers you an additional learning factor. Something you usually do not have the chance to outside of this community's monthly competition.
.




I (re-)open the field for everyone to give each other feedback (highly encouraged). This will be independent to the client feedback however. Though please note - criticism on the rule set and angry posts will be moved to the General Gossip Thread without further notice.


Please watch this spot for the client feedback and Mix Round 2 participant announcement.
This will happen sometime within the next 14 days (starting tomorrow).

Mix wise: As mentioned by our Song Provider, adding the occasional transition effect (through FX usage, not samples!) might spice things up. Maybe even the use of dub-type delays, if you think this fits the narrative. This is the "experimentation" part of the game. See where the road is taking .
I read this as a free ticket. Intros and outros are transitions also . As long as we use the riser, and dont import anything , we can do whatever we feel fits the narrative. Consider what a delay actually does. or adds. So I adamantly disagree. But do what you need to do, I had fun regardless.

Thanks to Mister Fox for the resume or sum-up of what has happened so far in this 078 game.
It is great that we have less disqualifications.

@Ady, at first I would like to apologize to your keyboardist, I hope he can take the experiment well.
But as the original mix is very good and hits the nail, and there are many other great mixes here by the comrades,
I was asking myself, what good thing can I contribute at all?
So in a last day decision, I looked into the drums, and then into the keyboards, and made a different concept to it.
(Used no samples. Every plugin screen shot available at request.)
I thought this is some Hip-Hop crossover with some Saharaui Pop and Arab style, so in these genres they have also a lot of drum and keyboard sounds different from what we found here in the project.

As Mr Fox has commented the changed keyboard timing, let me tell in more detail what I did.
I wanted to spice up the piano and organ sounds in somewhat different ways.
The organ in my perception was the classical Seventies "vacuum cleaner" roar, and for me seemed to eclipse some other fine and beautiful details.
So I cut it up with a ramp LFO like playing 1/8 notes, which gives it a more vibrant rhythm, and then automated channel volume and intensity of the LFO. Also added a sweetener vibrato to make it distinct from the brass and some other sounds. I think this is good for the instrumental outro.
The piano sounded short, and I was missing something "off beat". I wanted it to sound more modern, and better fit into an African style.
I created a sustained tail with compression.
Then I inserted two more copies of the same clip and added different filter LFOs to both. They do some brightening and hipassing, also in a rising, ramp-like way. This created a little off-beat and more electronic flavor, like in some current rap.
But while I attempted to sync the LFOs to the drummer, I heard that the keyboard hits were not entirely precise.
So I spliced up the clip and moved the keyboard hits to the according position of the kick, where applicable, else to the position of the guitar strum.
This is always some milliseconds only, and does not change the notation.
Then, I copied back the mult and the LFO stuff. The LFO chopping of course creates a virtual impression of some more notes played.

I am wondering, who among the comrades corrected the keyboard timing as well. This is a typical legit edit job, to align the band instruments to the drums or to the grid. The creative thing I added, was the LFO stuff that added to the groove and energy of the song. Just volume, flanger and filter modulations.

So, I hope the band and vocalists can enjoy this somewhat different version!
(For completion, we need to slam it hard into a saturating compressor and clipping limiter.)
Thanks, because I love the song.

AskAndy wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 25, 2021 15:22 CEST

I read this as a free ticket. Intros and outros are transitions also . As long as we use the riser, and dont import anything , we can do whatever we feel fits the narrative. Consider what a delay actually does. or adds. So I adamantly disagree. But do what you need to do, I had fun regardless.

By copying over the Riser, you'd still change the given arrangement (see Rule Set, post #6, bullet point #8). Again, your entry is not tagged as "Disqualified" for that fact this month. We're still in communication about this behind the scenes.

@Los_ady is currently involved in a long traveling process, he'll eventually get to that topic once he decided on who goes into Mix Round 2.

White Punk OD wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 25, 2021 16:49 CEST

As Mr Fox has commented the changed keyboard timing, let me tell in more detail what I did.

...

Thank you so much for going more in-depth on this. This is very informative and adds to the learning process of your community.

Might maybe be a good idea to link to that post from your entry post.