KVR Audio

satYatunes · Post by **satYatunes** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 4:41 am

Hello and welcome to the KVR Mix Challenge 04 - September 2014.

This is the introduction post, where we link directly to the challenge corresponding files (source files, submission information, sponsors), start of the voting and maybe even the first post for resubmissions.

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

Listen to all submitted tracks in Soundcloud player - All submitted tracks in SC player

Winner's announced - Winner's list

satYatunes · Post by **satYatunes** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:51 pm

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Timeline: Monday, 1st September to Sunday, 21st September (21 days)
Challenge will end on Midnight to Monday, 22nd September, PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) - if you want to find out when that is the case at your place, please use the following tool and and select "Los Angeles" as location 1, and your location as location 2:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

Song Provider: Knattertones
Song Name and Length: Big Sunglasses, 3:28min
Song Information: 225bpm, 4/4, Bb-major
File Format: WAV, 44kHz, 24bit

GENRE: Ska Punk

Preview of the Song:
http://www.studio-compyfox.de/guestarti ... review.mp3

(Soundcloud preview will be up shortly)

A word from the song provider:

No_Use wrote:
This track was recorded in our old training environment. The band had no focus on any specific sound, but gave feedback during mixing until we were all satisfied. The focus is, that there is no focus. But the track
is clearly rooted in the Punk/Ska area. So the mix can definitely sound a bit grungy.

Special Add-On Rules:
- not necessarily a typical (high-polished) pop mix
- absolutely no drum replacement

Source Files:
Song Provider
Mirror on Studio Compyfox

File size extracted: 683MB, packed 397,14MB

SPONSORS (Prizes):

Month Exclusive Sponsor for September 2014:

IK Multimedia is kind enough to donate either EQ 73, EQ 81 or Master EQ 432 out of their T-Racks processor series for this month. License will turn into NFR. More info on IK Multimedia: http://www.ikmultimedia.com

JRR Shop will give away either one of the following plugins:
SONiVOX Wobble, Pulse, Vocalizer, or Twist (until further notice)
More info about the plugins on SONiVOX: http://www.sonivoxmi.com
More info about the sponsor: http://www.jrrshop.com/

Camel Audio is kind enough to donate either Camel Space or CamelPhat to the winner (until further notice). License will turn into NFR. More info on Camel Audio: http://www.camelaudio.com

Tone2 is kind enough to donate a bundle consisting of AkustiX Enhancer and WarmVerb to the winner (until further notice). License will turn into NFR. More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com

KVR user Karten (CEO of Ghostwave Audio) is kind enough to donate MixRight (a Reaktor Ensemble) to the winner (until further notice). License won't turn into NFR, you need Native Instruments Reaktor 5.8+ for this. More info on Ghostwave Audio: http://ghostwaveaudio.com/

THANKS to ALL OUR SPONSORS (PRESENT and PAST) FOR THE DONATIONS!

If you would like to sponsor/donate for the current or upcoming challenges, please get in touch with Uncle E or satYatunes or Compyfox.

Good luck and have fun!

Note: Sorry to announce that we will no longer have the random draw voter prize. It was introduced to encourage listeners to participate in the challenge. Sadly, the result was not good, hence it's withdrawn.

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More information, rules and guidelines, etc.
KVR Mix Challenge - Official Rules and Guidelines

Please address any question in the official Gossip thread:
KVR Mix Challenge - Gossip and Discussion
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Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 1:38 pm

Thanks for the efforts, satYatunes.

Let's get started.

No_Use · Post by **No_Use** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:18 pm

For a little bump and since I'm the 'recording engineer' of these stems here's a bit of background info

Like it sometimes is, some things went not quite as planned when we did this recording...

- I agreed with the drummer that the snare he used when the drum recordings where about to start wasn't ideal so he ordered a new, better one. Thing is, it was delivered a bit too late for the recording (and we couldn't shift the recording, because we used some borrowed equipment), so we had to use his old one. Ah well...

- We originally planned to to record guitar and organ also DI (dry) in addition to the amped / mic'ed version (for more possibilities / reamping / Ampsim plugins later), but we couldn't manage to get a proper signal split without humming. That's why only the mic'ed versions are available in the stems now. Ah well...

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:39 pm

Even more fun with the limitations, which are actually no limitations at all if you think a bit outside of the box.

A couple of hints I can give from my AE training days:

even if you like a grungy sound, microphone bleeding can be an absolute nightmare
check the phase(s)
think "outside the box" with already pre-recorded stuff (think 60ies/70ies recording studios)
don't be afraid to funk up (the sound)

This 26 track production is more than just a Mix Challenge - IMO it's also an excellent training session for ongoing AE's.

In the end, this track can be as clean as it could be (what a lot of AE schools want to see)
But if you're creative enough... you might never know what cool sounds you could get out if it.

Can't wait to be blasted back to the past for a while, but this time with the pieces of knowledge/skills I acquired in the last years.
So definitely thanks for your contribution.

photonic · Post by **photonic** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 6:33 am

Compyfox wrote:... - IMO it's also an excellent training session for ongoing AE's.

I agree! Very good choice and quite different to the previous challenges.
I started yesterday with this song. There is a lot to correct like phasing, pitch and timing, timing and timing!
For guys like me, coming from the electronic music scene, this is unusuall stuff. I am happy that I trained such issues with material from the Mike Senior website.

This will be fun

camsr · Post by **camsr** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:49 am

If it really does require pitch adjustment via melodyne or whatever, in a real 'this pitch is way out there' way, count me out, that stuff doesn't have a place in my studio! (but I do like listening to it occasionally). I always prefer a well enunciated vocal over a computer. I would rather mix than micromanage a sloppy recording.

No_Use · Post by **No_Use** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 10:23 am

About pitch correction - when mixing this song for the band they didn't demand any pitch correction so I didn't use any. Remember again - it's Punk, not Pop.

This just as a sidenote, it shouldn't stop anyone from using it here in the MC if wanted of course.

photonic · Post by **photonic** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 10:54 am

No_Use wrote:About pitch correction - when mixing this song for the band they didn't demand any pitch correction so I didn't use any. Remember again - it's Punk, not Pop.

This just as a sidenote, it shouldn't stop anyone from using it here in the MC if wanted of course.

OK, if that is the style and we should not do it, no problem!
This is a new genre to me and I see I have think in a different way.

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:25 pm

photonic wrote:I started yesterday with this song. There is a lot to correct like phasing, pitch and timing, timing and timing!

I also disagree with this comment.

Ska is all about fun and party, punk is all about rebellion. This should be kept in mind.

So pitch correction is actually not really a good thing here. And actually, it wasn't "done" until the early 2000s where pitch correction like Melodyne or the infamous "Auto-Tune" came up in the pop realm. Now it is "common knowledge" and everyone has to use it? Don't think so. I personally use pitch correction only, if I hear severe issues. I still believe in the power of great sung parts or good tuned instruments.

This is a "natural" recording (however, overdubbed - else it would have more bleeding), we should treat it like that. If it would have been a recording from a live gig - you'd have absolutely no fun with pitch correction.

Timing is a different issue.

This track does indeed have some minor timing issues, but I take it that the band wasn't used to work with a click - if a click was even used for recording. Slight timing hickups can be heard at the beginning of the track. And trust me, this would be a load of work to fix everything. So, I'd keep it like that - it's adding to the character of the song. Something an AE has to take into consideration as well.

Checking the phase is essential however.

We do talk about multi-microphoned instruments, "room mics" and the likes. If the placement wasn't ideal, chances are that some instruments cancel each other out. So this is definitely a must to at least take a look at. Chances are that you might need to flip a phase, chances are you might not.

So I think we pretty much covered this with mentioning "not necessarily a typical (high-polished) pop mix" in the Special Add on Rules. But we can add the rule to not "pitch correct" as well, if the song provider says "add it". But I think this rule already covers that.

No_Use · Post by **No_Use** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:04 pm

Compyfox wrote: So I think we pretty much covered this with mentioning "not necessarily a typical (high-polished) pop mix" in the Special Add on Rules.

Totally agree.
So for me it's not necessary to add a separate "pitch correction not allowed" rule.
I'd still rather leave this a mixer's choice if someone wants to use it.

shanm1971 · Post by **shanm1971** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:37 am

Thank you so much for this opportunity. I'm going to enjoy this regardless if I win or not.

Best to all!
Shan

Johny Indigo · Post by **Johny Indigo** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:41 pm

Just a quick question, are these files consolidated correctly.

satYatunes · Post by **satYatunes** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 7:00 pm

I don't understand your question. Can you please elaborate.

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:01 pm

Johny Indigo wrote:Just a quick question, are these files consolidated correctly.

If you mean in weather or not they have the same length and you don't need "custom placement" - then I can confirm that this is the case. And if the length of the files were different, we would have provided a TXT with further info (see MC03).

Whether or not the timing of the band is correct to you, lies on a whole different ballpark.

KVR MIX CHALLENGE - MC04 September 2014 - Winners announced.