Mix Challenge

Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 51 - November 2021


This is the introduction post, where we directly link to the challenge corresponding basics (theme and premise, submission information, sponsors) and start of the voting process.

Before you get started, please consult the official and very simple "Rules and Guidelines" (Rule Book - post #6) for the Songwriting Competition regarding principles of the game, it's engaging game mechanics (allowed editing/re-submission of your entry until the deadline has been reached) and upload/submission guidelines.

Read more about this month's competition further down below.




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 and Sponsors
Cheat Sheet: A couple of examples / audio demos for this month's challenge (usually not available if genre is "Free to Select")
Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Results of the Songwriting Competition: Results of the Songwriting Competition

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Monday, 01st November 2021 to Wednesday, 24th November 2021 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-11-2021, 23:59 UTC+1/CET (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. There will also be short reminders on Social Media.

Does the game time frame feel too long? Why not set a personal shorter one of 5-7 days absolute max to push yourself to focus on the essentials, then use the rest of the time to ask for feedback and possible refinements.



SONGWRITING THEME: "Let there be rock!"
GENRE: Rock / Metal (general)



Image Source: Pixabay, photo by freestocks-photos, released under Creative Commons CC0



A few word about this month's theme:

Staff (Mister Fox) wrote: In 1977, a certain Australian Hard Rock band released a quote-unquote "Rock Anthem" which was a beautiful love letter about rock music in general, telling of the beginning in 1955, then turning into a craze where "millions of fingers" wanted to pick up a guitar and learn this instrument.

The song was called "Let There Be Rock", from the album of the same name, written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott (of AC/DC).

And since this is also the "Theme" of this month's Songwriting Competition, I think you can see where this is going



Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
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This month, you can create a production in any Rock or Metal genre you feel like.

While I'd personally love to hear things going towards "Sludge" Rock/Metal, Power Metal, Glam Rock/Metal (for the fun factor) or overall "Hard Rock" from mid 1980s to early 2000s this month, there are no limitations on creativity. If you always wanted to create Surf Rock, please do. If you ever wanted to try something in the Progressive Rock genre, I encourage you to venture there. Want to vent some air with Punk Rock, yes please. Want to create cookie-cutter Pop Rock with limited chord progression (4 to 6 chords), I am not holding you off. Acoustic Guitars going into Folk Rock/Metal, absolutely!

6 string, 8 string, 12 string, standard tuning, dropped tuning, Chapman Stick, Broomstick Bass and Washboard (Blues) rhythms. Doesn't matter. There is also zero pressure on adding vocals or not. Just have fun creating something.

I merely have one request:
Show some love and appreciation for this particular stringed instrument.


I'm really looking forward to your entries.

The more people join, the more interaction and feedback. So please spread the word! And if you think the 24 days time frame is too long, you can always set yourself a personal limit of 5-7 days absolute max, then post your entry, ask for feedback and use the rest of the time for possible refinements. Just by joining the game in the first place, you're already a winner in my book.

Songwriting Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:

• create a production fitting to the given theme, genre and general premise
• you can use any tool that is at your disposal (samples, virtual instruments and/or real instruments)
• IMPORTANT: if you use non-licensed material (as in: non royalty free material from sample CDs, etc), give full credit to the source material
• for newcomers: no finished productions that have already been released outside of the time frame of the current Songwriting Competition (Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, etc), no cover versions or remixes, no ripped acapella's -- please only showcase your own content
• do not go higher than -14,0 LUFS ILk/-1,00 dBTP in terms of perceived loudness (mastering). Music doesn't have to be squashed to bits in order to be impactful
• name your files properly prior to uploading and make the production downloadable. If you opt to present your entry through SoundCloud, the forum can also convert your links into a Soundcloud player through the [soundcloud] BBCode from the text editor (orange square with a white cloud in it)
• ADD-ON RULES:
  • Filename Template: SWC000_ArtistName_TrackName.wav and/or .mp3 (please use it!)
  • <no add-on rules specified>

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Please take note of the official rules - they can be found at the following thread:
Songwriting Competition - Official Rules and Guidelines (most notably Rule Book - post #6)

Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
Songwriting Competition - Gossip and Discussion

If you like what the Mix Challenge (community) has been doing in recent months:
Please consider supporting the project

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SPONSORS (Prizes):

Prizes for Songwriting 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.


RECURRING LICENSE SPONSORSHIP:


Cherry Audio is kind enough give away one license of Voltage Modular Ignite, plus either a license of "Year One Collection" or "Year Two Collection"
License will turn into NFR
More info on Cherry Audio: https://cherryaudio.com



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



Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Saurus3 to the winner (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



kv331 audio is kind enough give away a bundle of either SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle, or a freely selectable set of 3 SynthMaster Expansions
License will not turn into NFR, you need to have a kv311 audio user account in order to pick up Expansions
More info on kv331 audio: https://www.kv331audio.com



JRR Sounds is kind enough give away any-1 sound sets or sample set of winner's choice (exception: Bundles)
More info on JRR Sounds: https://www.jrrshop.com/jrr-sounds



Luftrum is kind enough give away either a license of Lunaris, a license of Bioscape, or any two sound sets of winner's choice (exception: Bundles and Nano Electronics)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Luftrum: http://www.luftrum.com



Rekkerd Sounds is kind enough give away 1 sound set of winners choice (exception: Krezie EDM and Neurofunk Vol. 1)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Rekkerd Sounds: http://sounds.rekkerd.org/



Ghostwave Audio (Vincent Bastiat) is kind enough to donate any 2 sound sets to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Ghostwave Audio: http://ghostwaveaudio.com



Hollow Sun is kind to donate one license of "Music Laboratory Machines - The Suite I" to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hollow Sun: http://www.hollowsun.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



Sound / Graphic Designer, and honorary Mix Challenge staff satYatunes is donating one commercial product of winner's choice (until further notice)
More info on satYatune's page: http://www.satyatunes.com/





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

If you want to sponsor content (please have a focus on instruments, samples and sound sets), 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!

AUDIO EXAMPLES:
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Articles and Info Pages:

A great starting point is the "Addendum"/Supplementary thread for the Songwriting Competition
Songwriting Competition - Addendum: Music Maps and BPM Charts

I highly recommend to take a dive at the "Music Map" and the "Map of Metal" this month.




Music examples (selection):

<the "selection" happens to be 59 songs! And I could still add more...>
.



Please also check in with the following threads in the the Gear Talk sub-forum, if you're on the look-out for new tools:
Places to fuel your GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) (the starting point if you're in need of audio tools -- from free to affordable)

Also recommended to check out the following tools, if you're new to/need help with songwriting:
Plugin Boutique - Scaler 2 (highly recommended tool!)
CodeFN42 - Chordz (Transition is also recommended, if you want more experimental/generative MIDI, Free, Windows only)
W.A. Production - InstaChord and InstaScale
Fabrizio Poce / J74 - Progressive (Progressive Standalone might not be available anymore, else the "Max4Life" version)


Need Electric Guitar Samples/Instruments? I can highly recommend the following companies:
https://www.musiclab.com/ (30 day, non-feature limited demos!)
https://www.pettinhouse.com/ (needs Kontakt)
https://impactsoundworks.com/ (needs Kontakt, although certain sets are "Kontakt Player" compatible)
https://www.amplesound.net/ (7 day, non-feature limited demos!)
https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/ (free, experimental in places)


Maybe in need of an acoustic drum kit?
https://www.organicdrumloops.com/ (OCK-VST3i, only VST3 for Win/Mac, a lot of free loops as well)
https://www.rayzoon.com/ (Free Version gives you an insight on one of the best drum "brains" out there)

For additional free drum kits, use your favorite search engine, and then look for "acoustic drum kits free". Most of them might need the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt though. But there are plenty including the excellent and still existing Sennheiser DrumMic’a, the G&S Custom Work Drum Kits, the Sean Pandy Drums, Orange Tree's Jazz Funk Drum Samples, AVL Drumkits by Band Shed, the MT Power DrumKit 2, or the Matt Starr Drum Samples (through the "Produce Like a Pro" blog). Plus many many, more that I forgot to mention.



UPDATED: 29-OCT-2021 10:45 UTC+1 (sourcing content: several hours), updated 30-OCT-2021 07:20 UTC+1

Mister Fox and fellow challengers,
I present to you my proposal this month. I based it on a song I started some time ago when I was experimenting with virtual guitars that I had bought on sale at Reason's Rack Extensions store, but had never finished. I also took the opportunity to continue learning how to do drum beats. This challenge always serves me to learn more.
I would like to see if anyone can give me feedback before the end of the delivery period, so that I have time to change as needed.

Thanks mates and good luck !!

(translated with google)




Equipment: (Update 2)
DAW:
Reason 12

Instruments:
Dr.OctoRex
Electric Bass

Rack Extensions:
Reason A List Electric Guitarist Power Chords

Effects:
RV7000 MkII Advanced Reverb
Softube Guitar Amp
Quartet Chorus Ensemble
MClass Equalizer
MClass Maximizer
Softube Amp

Utilities:
Combinator

Players:
Scales & Chords
Dual Arpeggio

Other Instruments out of Reason:
AIR Music Tech Transfuser
Arturia B-3 V 2.0
Sonivox Bright Electric Guitar
UJAM VG-CARBON
AIR Music Tech theRiser

Other effects outside of Reason:
Beatskillz Slam2
2B Played Music 2B Delayed
Analog Obsession ReLife
Analog Obsession Loaded

Other tools:
iZotope Ozone 9
Plugin Alliance SPL HawEye

Since nobody stepped up to the task yet, I took a quick listen. And there are a couple of things that you could address, @EsteveCorbera .


The most obvious thing, is to maybe check your chord progressions, as they run a bit off-key. But this is a stylistic choice.

Personally, i find the drums a bit too reverberated, I'd have them a tad more dry, and more "in front" so to speak. Unless this is what samples/loops give you.


Now on to the guitars:

I had to look at the engine of Reason, and this reminds me a bit of the current day "UJAM" (which was previous Steinberg Virtual Guitarist, but... sadly sounding quite artificial). And this is the key point here: "artificial". Now Pop Chords seem to play an octave higher than power chords, and you can't change that or drop the octave at will. You could try activating "Drop D" for a different feel, but you still need to experiment.

You also need to experiment with the guitar tone. As in, really experiment. The way the production sounds currently, is a mix of pop rock that asks for a more "crunchy" tone and not "as high played" as you did (again, limitation of the chord engine). Also, a bit more low-end for the guitars, so maybe switch them "Dual" (which should be Bridge and Middle Pickup in the tool you're using).

The bass is also super busy compared to the drum set and the guitars. The guitars currently feel like they used up the position of the "bass" in terms of play (open chords, sometimes backed with muted power chords), and then in the latter section, things get a bit chaotic with like three different guitars per side. At least it feels like that. You should definitely add to/overhaul your rhythm patterns, parallel to that... instead of the cliche 16th note on the bass, maybe change it to back up the drum set (kick) a bit more (as in - less busy).


And of course... your mix... sound effects are way too loud, guitars definitely need a better amp tone, have "leads" in center, rhyhtm more spread out to L/R (if you layer chords, try to have the same panning), bass and drum kit could blend a bit better.



You definitely have some interesting ideas, but still a bit of a way to go, I'd say.
I hope this helps for the time being. Looking forward to your final product.

And I am also looking forward to more entries from other participants, and more interaction! Please spread the word!

Thanks my friend!!
I’m working to improve my song

Hello
I updated my song

Hello,
Contribution (M1) : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z9YQ51 ... sp=sharing
[Might be updated :: loudness not checked yet]

This started as an experiment on how I could destroy drum sounds. And how automated filters can make cool sounds.

Synths : TRITON and M1 mostly. Arp is Spire
All GTRs : Ibanez RG stock
Destroyed lead : guitar amp without cab IR into reverb
Clean GTR : slight crunch and LP filter
Rhythm GTR : TS emulation into amp sim.
Loop drums : DR660 samples + distortion + flanger (SpaceModulator)
Real Drums : SD3 + custom samples (kick + snare)
Basses : Squier Jazz Bass stock (BOD + SHB1) + synth

Edit : the overall mix setup is the same as the mix challenge setup by the way.

Waiting for feedback

A friendly reminder:
Including today, 7 days left to submit your production


If you want to access the extended game mechanics of the Songwriting Competition (asking for feedback during production), please try to release your first edits within the next 3 days to have enough time to get possible feedback (if needed/wanted) and continue to work on your song.

And to those sitting on the fence - please don't feel scared off and think "the bar is set too high, I will never make it" - maybe set yourself a private, was shorter deadline. Just make music, submit your entry, join the conversation. See where this goes. By joining, you're already a winner. The rest is bonus.

EsteveCorbera wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 09, 2021 22:43 CET

Mister Fox and fellow challengers,
I present to you my proposal this month. I based it on a song I started some time ago when I was experimenting with virtual guitars that I had bought on sale at Reason's Rack Extensions store, but had never finished. I also took the opportunity to continue learning how to do drum beats. This challenge always serves me to learn more.
I would like to see if anyone can give me feedback before the end of the delivery period, so that I have time to change as needed.

Thanks mates and good luck !!

(translated with google)

My 2 cents on "Diversio Guitarrera", in no particular order

• The guitars are remarkably artificial but that's to be expected with UJAM VG. As far the tone goes, it's very clean and would benefit from more crunch (i.e more gain). The classic Tube Screamer into Amp could be something to experiment with. And more low end too.
• On the topic of amp tone, if the instrument allows it, bypass the integrated amp sim and use a specific one. Ignite Amp Emissary is free and comes bundled with an IR loader. While designed primarily for high gain tones, it's a very versitale amp sim and sounds awesome.
• I feel like the bass is too busy for the music. And it sounds oddly dissonant to me, as if it were transposed by a few semitones. But the tone is good. Could be brought forward in the mix (?)
• The drums are very forward and dry, especially the kick. The rest of the drums sounds fine and the beat is good too. Good job here !
• Lead keys are not really what I like (I hate that kind of E.Piano sound) and the B3 sounds harsh (in my experience, saturation works wonder on organs). No lead/melody in the L/R centre feels odd, especially when there is a guitar playing the melody (e.g B3 on the left, EP on the right, and clean lead centred; when only the keys play, bring them more to the centre (50/50 ?)).
• The overall mix seems to lack cohesion : every element can be heard properly but it feels more like a bunch of solo parts playing at the same rather than a band. Master Bus comp could be a solution ?

Might be edited later.