MIX CHALLENGE - MC060 November 2019 - Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

Hello and welcome to the Mix Challenge 60 - November 2019


This is the introduction post, where we directly link to the challenge corresponding files (source files, submission information, sponsors), start of the evaluation process and the first post for re-submissions for Mix Round 2.



This month, we'll get access to a Pop production by Eveline Martins (in collaboration with Alexandre Lack), represented by forum resident alelachowski. The song is called "Mil E Uma Estações" (translated: "A thousand and one seasons"), and is a bit more simplistic compared to last month's mix track. But as usual, please don't let that fool you.

Read more about the production below, and in the bundled TXTs.




Please take note of the following

• IMPORTANT: It is mandatory to provide WAV files, files need to be accessible/downloadable, try to work within suitable work levels (the focus of this game is "mixing", not mixing and finalizing), document your edits (ideally also with screenshots), name the files properly to distinguish your edit from all others.
  IMPORTANT: please use the following naming convention (Contestant Name = Forum Username):
  • MC000_ArtistName_TrackName_ContestantName.wav
  • MC000_ArtistName_TrackName_ContestantName_R2.wav for those that go into Mix Round 2
  • Example: MC060__Eveline_Martins__Mil_E_Uma_Estacoes__<forum_username>.wav
• please only upload to cloud storage spaces (DropBox, GoogleDrive, etc), not SoundCloud. Please consult the official "Rules and Gudelines" regarding Upload and Submission Guidelines
• It is highly encouraged to give feedback to each other, to share tips and tricks. Ideally, this should happen after Mix Round 1 has ended, to not influence each other during the main competition round

Also please take note of the following

• Our Song Pool has dried up! We're desperately looking for new source material for future competitions. Please follow our official campaign. Your only investment is time in turn for a free mix by our very talented participants. No new tracks mean no more challenges! Please reach out!
• Social Media accounts can be found via the handles @MixChallenge (Twitter) and MixChallenge (Facebook). Please spread the word!
• if you like what the Mix Challenge (community) has been doing in recent months, please consider supporting us.

This post will be updated with the corresponding links as we progress, and of course the suitable thread headlines. So please watch this spot:


Submission Period: General Information, Source Files, Sponsors
Mix Round 2: Global Feedback and Round 2 Participant Announcement
Results of the Mix Challenge: Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Friday, 01st November 2019 to Thursday, 21st November 2019 (21 days)

Challenge submission will end on 21-11-2019, 11:59pm CET/GMT+1 (Germany) - until further notice.

Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please consult the following options:
The Global Countdown on it's dedicated page or the countdown on the home page. You can also consult the World Clock at the top of the forum or alternatively the following tool - in this case please select "Berlin (Germany)" as location 1, and your location as location 2: Time and Date - World Clock Meeting Planner. We do post reminders via our Twitter account and Facebook page.



Song Provider: Eveline Martins
Song Name and Length: Mil E Uma Estacoes, 3:27 min
Song Information: 93 BPM / Signature: 4/4, Key of G# min (minor)
File Format: WAV, 48kHz, 24bit

GENRE: Pop


Preview of the Song:

Preview on Spotify



A word from the song provider:

Hello friends,

I am a Brazilian musical producer and this is my first official release as a musical producer. For many years I worked at local studios in my city and I have my modest equipment at home, where this song was recorded.

The artist and composer of this song is a girl called Eveline Martins. She came to me with a simple demo of the song but she doesn't play any instrument well, so I had to create all the harmony and arrangements. This is the first work I could make some experiences and the concept of this work is based on acoustic instruments. There are no electric guitars, the only electric instrument is the bass. But I try to set the main arrangement of the song based on the orchestral instruments. There are layers of cello, violins, violas, and a orchestral percussion. For me, the combination of the piano plus the strings is what makes the song original. The acoustic guitars has an important role in the arrangement but I don't think is the main one.

All the strings, piano and bass tracks were recorded in MIDI and emulated with my libraries of virtual instruments. I think I got a good result in the tones and a realistic sound. I worked a lot with all the resources of the plugins, and also with the MIDI velocities to make it sound more dynamic.

The drums I asked an Italian freelancer drummer to record it for me, so he sent me some pieces and the toms cleaned already. I didn't find much phase issues and I just had to do some editing work to correct few time issues. This is already processed.

As I said, I have a very simple equipment and vocals and acoustic guitars were recorded in my bedroom. Since I don't have cool preamps and a good interface, maybe you have to take a care of the high frequencies and the harshness. My interface is a Behringer UMC404HD, and the mics nothing much better than this. But...in the final result I am happy because I did a kind of miracle with my poor stuff.

The acoustics guitars will maybe need extra work. In my opinion the entire mix of instruments is fighting in the frequencies around 170 - 300 hz.. So my clue is to take care of this with panning work this area. For example, the piano can mess with everything due to so many low frequencies around this area and will probably fight with the acoustic guitars.

A important point I want to say is about the male backing vocal. You guys will hear that it is very tuned. Sounds very artificial and robotic, but I didn't had time to record it again so there was nothing to do...Melodyne it!

Well, even for the mixing work I tried to find some references close to this style and I didn't find anything so I really mixed this song just using my taste. Maybe you like it, maybe not.

That's it! Hope you have fun and I am excited to listen the mixes.

Cheers
Alexandre Lack



(more technical details in the Mix Pack bundled TXTs)

A few words by the Mix Challenge staff:

Don't let the used equipment fool you. Budget equipment doesn't mean "bad sound", which clearly shows with this production.

However, you should definitely pay attention to detail regarding possible pops and clicks in the individual audio channels. With the right tools, fixing them is simple.

Other than that, there is really not much to add this month.
Good luck and have fun with mixing.

Please also consult the TXT files that are bundled in the source files package below. There you can find more information about the individual files and changes to the time signature.

Special Add-On Rules:

• try to create a mix that complements this production (in your own style)
• Clean / Alternative versions can be used if you need more flexibility over a certain sound (if present in this production)
• No rearrangement or pitch shifting of the song structure, with the exception of the following add-on rules
• PRODUCTION RELATED: make the best out of the provided audio material (EQ, compression, transient tools, etc), no "drum sample triggering / replacement"! Failing to adhere to this rule will result in instant disqualification
• summing bus processing is allowed, as long as the dynamic range (average signal strength to maximum signal strength) doesn't suffer - use of this method is artistically!
• provide the material in the same or higher sampling rate and bitrate as originally provided. Do not convert/dither down
• try to not(!) pre-master the track (please no overuse of mix bus treatment, no loudness adjustments / limiting) - read: NO MASTERING

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Source Files:

Main Mix Package - Mirror on the Mix Challenge Homepage (390,76 MB, LZMA compressed, zip)
IMPORTANT NOTE: file unavailable after 21-NOV-2019


The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression.
File size extracted: 872,17 MB, packed 390,76 MB (ZIP, LZMA)
In order to extract the files, we can recommend these programs:

Macintosh:
The Unarchiver - get it here
Keka (open source) - get it here

Windows:
7zip - Installation / Portable


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Please take note of the official rules - they can be found at the following thread:
Mix Challenge - Official Rules and Guidelines

Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
Mix Challenge - Gossip and Discussion

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SPONSORS (Prizes):

Prizes for Mix Challenge participants:

Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prices on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.



Acon Digital is kind enough give away a single plugin of winner's choice
License will turn into NFR
More info on Acon Digital: http://acondigital.com



Hornet Plugins is kind enough give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins: http://www.hornetplugins.com



IK Multimedia is kind enough give away one license of T-RackS ONE to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com



Metric Halo is kind enough to give away a single plugin of winner's choice
License will turn into NFR
More info about Metric Halo: http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/



NOS Audio is kind enough give away one license of NOS Roomer to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on NOS Audio: http://www.nosaudio.com/



Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Ultraspace to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



THANKS FOR THE LICENSE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.

If you want to sponsor content (please have a focus on mix plugins, bundles and the likes), please get in touch with the Mix Challenge staff.

Please spread the word of the challenge on social media.
For example with our dedicated Twitter Account or Facebook Page

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Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!

[Chriswilson83]

Hi,

Just looked in the package, is an untuned version of either vocal available?

[Mister Fox]

Sadly, no. I was told the material was heavily edited, and we decided on going with "as is".

So you have to make due with what you've been given.

[JulienMeirone]

Hello guys,

This month challenge was a ton of fun and helped me to test a a lot of things .

Plugins used :

Eq : Q3, bx 2098,bx digital v3, bax eq, maag eq4, sie-q, Nseq 2, Precursor 2, Bx console SSL E channel, Aphex exciter
Compressors : Slate VBC, ozone 9 Dynamics, Bx townhouse, Dc8c3, pro MB, Api 2500, R compressor,Elysia Alpha, Sonnox Limiter, Dbx 160, +10db, Vertigo, arousor, Karmer Pie, fet pressor, soothe, MV2, L2, SPL Iron
Harmonics : Decapitator, Inflator, devil Loc, Saturn, trash 2
Modulation: D-verb, Valhalla Reverbs, IR1, Psp 2445, trueverb, pro R, Echoboy, Phoenix verb, Manny Verb

Wav : https://www.dropbox.com/s/80ey4oqiqso4y ... e.wav?dl=0
Mp3 : https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5eskrkizc7gv ... e.mp3?dl=0
Screenshots : https://www.dropbox.com/s/gt0p8cp498g6q ... s.zip?dl=0

Faithfully

[rxchad]

Hello, What a beautiful voice!

In the Box:
Pro-Tools HDX : imported tracks and grouped instruments using group VCA Masters. then bussed out to group Stereo Auxes, giving different gain staging for EQ and compression. Then the Auxes were bussed to a stereo Aux to go out of the box.

Out of the Box:
the stereo signal came out of the Avid HD IO 16x16 to the Audient ASP 8024 analog console, going to Undertone Unfairchild, in Mid/side, just tickling the needles with a side chain EQ set to high-pass the detector signal so the lows don't start pumping. then to Manley Massive Passive to give the overall image. this went back through the console to the Crane Song HEDD Quantum, then to MAXX BCL for safety, into the Tascam DA3000 to print.

Process:

I started with Drums.
I read and followed the pdf file that gave panning info for the kit. I tried not to crush the drums too much because these were actual instruments and I wanted to keep a realistic feel. Therefore, i used dynamic EQ instead of a bunch of compression. Fabfilter EQ3 with dynamic treatment to kick and snare. I tamed the overheads only a little with the EQ3. After a rough balance I went to Bass.

Bass:
Its amazing how good of a sound you can get out of virtual instruments. I liked the bass part, with the exception of the string noise, so I noched most out. I tried to keep a modern feel by using Fabfilter Pro_L on the bass.

Guitars:
Tricky.
I ended up not using the Line inputs of the guitars, just the two mic inputs and the stereo virtual instrument. the first visit with guitars was working mostly with EQ trying to find a balance and niche for each part. there was some fade ins and outs that were way too noticeable, so I tried to hide them inside reverb (admittedly more than I would have liked to have used). The solo was cool, but changes in volume were problematic. I started with clip gain to even the performance out first. then I used a chain of EQ,Limiting,EQ to lightly even out more before it hit the Guitar Aux.

Keys and Strings:
As with the previous groups, I used EQ to Tuck these into the overall mix, (but not much)

Backing Vox:
Biggest challenge of the mix! I would bet most would say they wished they could re-track this performance. In fact, from what I read, the producer must have felt close to how I felt, but life is not all duckies and bunnies, so we deal with it! I guess my two main ways were adding subtle delay and reverb to slightly smear the image, along with reducing the overall volume of the backing vocals.

Lead:
very nice.
I don't speak spanish, but it doesn't matter...She moves me.
I used clip gain first to try to even out the performance before using anything else. Again, I used EQ3 and Pro-L . I used aux sends for both lead and backing vocals to add reverb and just a little dealay.

Automation:
on day-2 I started automation. I automated the reverb space/time on the guitars, as well as a sweeping low-pass filter to hide some of the fade in and fade out abrouptness. I used mute automation for an instance of an EQ that only came in when a training guitar part's volume was increased. I also used panning automation to save on the cpu power by sharing a reverb with the guitars. The rest was volume automation.

Thank you,
Rxchad



https://www.dropbox.com/s/kc392ad76lqf4 ... s.wav?dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/s/cipcln1rxh3u3 ... s.mp3?dl=0

[hjchjc]

Would a mix that's -3dbTP and -16.4 LUFS be disqualified?


It normalizes to -14.4 LUFS at -1dbTP but I wanted to make sure that it was still submittable.

[Mister Fox]

This game is not about mastering.

If the mix is at -16LUFS and has a maximum signal strength reaches to -1dBTP even, it's still within specs.
The concept of working within certain specs (reference levels) it so learn how to just focus on mixing, not pushing the loudness for loudness sake.

[SDB_12]

Hi!

Thank you for the cool song...Looking forward to seeing what I can do with it. I see all the technical details...but what is the song about? I don't speak Spanish...I'd like to know what this song is about...? What is the emotion you're trying to get across...any insight on this would help me mix it better.

Thanks a bunch.

Seth

[Mister Fox]

Lyrics and Translations are included in the Mix Package