My entry.
mp3
https://soundcloud.com/dwgh/photonic-fu ... stcoast2-1
Wav
https://soundcloud.com/dwgh/photonic-fu ... westcoast2
Very different from MC04 and an interesting challenge.
Daw: Reaper
Two groups were created, Brass+Horns and Drums, none of the rest were grouped.
Part of Distortion-2 was split creating Dist 2B to allow different treatment.
Automation was applied for Pan, Gain and to switch FX on/off(Chorus/Echo) to cut the effect.
ReaEq+TDR VOS SlickEq was used for hp/lp and Eq across all tracks except Drums and distortion 1.
Specific track added FX info (Compression = Klanghelm DC8C2):-
Intro: Chorus (VOS Nasty DLA)
Percussion: Compression
12 String: ReaVerberate
Solo Guitar: ReaVerb + Echo (DVS Tape Echo) + Chorus (Distorque Azurite)
Brass + Horns: ReaVerb + ReaDelay
Strings: ReaVerb
Distortion-1: ReaEq only
Distortion-2: Compression.
Dist 2B: Compression + ReaVerb
Drum Group: Native Instruments Solid Bus Comp
Kick: NI Solid Eq + NI Solid Dynamics
Snare and Hi Hat: ReaEq + Compression
Cymbals and Toms used ReaEq only
KVR MIX CHALLENGE - MC05 October 2014 - Winners announced.
-
- KVRer
- 22 posts since 28 Jun, 2010
-
- KVRAF
- 3817 posts since 8 Mar, 2006
mp3: https://app.box.com/s/hqvo9kplvyubs1idugab
wave: https://app.box.com/s/vphvtquii3o4qwhiyjwa
Song is very nice, good taste in instrumentation and tracks already sounded very good!
One of those mixes that after I kinda did everything to get it balanced, I was feeling that I did nothing "special" to it (one of the reasons being that it sounded good in the 1st place maybe).
It probably happens to everybody.. one thing I discovered is that, if you know what your doing ("know" = after you've successfully passed those "good" old times dealing with frustration cause your mixes didn't sound "good" enough), keep at it and it'll start sounding better and better.
Just don't try to do it all at once, revisit the song every day, mute and re-introduce instruments to notice what's crowding the mix and if tracks lack in stereo image, wetness or whatever... and you'll be making progress along the way.
So, after balancing the tracks you still have a sort-of "plain" sound... the secret is probably bus processing.
That's where you can "color" -diplomatic- balanced mixes, add tone or give character.
Several buses like drums and grouped instruments + the master bus. One thing to keep in mind is that it's probably a good idea to apply less and less processing "amount" as more tracks are routed to and/or different.... thus, the least amount of processing is obviously on the master bus.
Liked the bass track (what synth is that?) but I thought it was a bit too upfront in the original mix.
Tried a plated snare driven "natural" sounding mix, probably a bit more aggressive on the highs.
Gentle M/S master bus compression using an upcoming compressor which is awesome!
after the TB ReelBus on "professional" mode to add some of that 80s tape sheen.
It was a bit of a challenge to balance all those mids with all of those "main" instruments playing at once at some point. like brass, strings, clav, synth lead + synth PWR GTR etc..
Not sure what details to give you, feel free to ask! I don't feel I should bore anyone with HP this and LP that etc...
As usual, working with a pretty dense number of send/return effects... delays, reverbs (all shapes and sizes including slapback echos and very short stereo doubling delays, spring reverb) A pretty special TAL Chorus-LX send, used more than usual to get that "sweet" 80s synth sound or a couple of tracks...
One common trick I use is with the Waves Doubler, with the delays down an octave and blended in to thicken/spectral fit a track.
For example this was done on the snare and airy fresh phased pad. (btw, the plate on the snare is the ADVerb)
Had to use a M/S compressor on that clav to tame it a bit (great funky track btw!) I used bootsie's Density MKIII (forgot about this gem)
Cymbals compressed a bit to keep macro dynamics in check, also, some were too dynamic. Used Waves C1 for that.
blah blah... didn't do a great job keeping energy when parts changing for the brass parts... ow well...
anyway, overall, I'm pretty happy with the result.
(at least atm 
)
Cheers"
3ee
wave: https://app.box.com/s/vphvtquii3o4qwhiyjwa
Song is very nice, good taste in instrumentation and tracks already sounded very good!
One of those mixes that after I kinda did everything to get it balanced, I was feeling that I did nothing "special" to it (one of the reasons being that it sounded good in the 1st place maybe).
It probably happens to everybody.. one thing I discovered is that, if you know what your doing ("know" = after you've successfully passed those "good" old times dealing with frustration cause your mixes didn't sound "good" enough), keep at it and it'll start sounding better and better.
Just don't try to do it all at once, revisit the song every day, mute and re-introduce instruments to notice what's crowding the mix and if tracks lack in stereo image, wetness or whatever... and you'll be making progress along the way.
So, after balancing the tracks you still have a sort-of "plain" sound... the secret is probably bus processing.
That's where you can "color" -diplomatic- balanced mixes, add tone or give character.
Several buses like drums and grouped instruments + the master bus. One thing to keep in mind is that it's probably a good idea to apply less and less processing "amount" as more tracks are routed to and/or different.... thus, the least amount of processing is obviously on the master bus.
Liked the bass track (what synth is that?) but I thought it was a bit too upfront in the original mix.
Tried a plated snare driven "natural" sounding mix, probably a bit more aggressive on the highs.
Gentle M/S master bus compression using an upcoming compressor which is awesome!
after the TB ReelBus on "professional" mode to add some of that 80s tape sheen.It was a bit of a challenge to balance all those mids with all of those "main" instruments playing at once at some point. like brass, strings, clav, synth lead + synth PWR GTR etc..
Not sure what details to give you, feel free to ask! I don't feel I should bore anyone with HP this and LP that etc...
As usual, working with a pretty dense number of send/return effects... delays, reverbs (all shapes and sizes including slapback echos and very short stereo doubling delays, spring reverb) A pretty special TAL Chorus-LX send, used more than usual to get that "sweet" 80s synth sound or a couple of tracks...
One common trick I use is with the Waves Doubler, with the delays down an octave and blended in to thicken/spectral fit a track.
For example this was done on the snare and airy fresh phased pad. (btw, the plate on the snare is the ADVerb)
Had to use a M/S compressor on that clav to tame it a bit (great funky track btw!) I used bootsie's Density MKIII (forgot about this gem)
Cymbals compressed a bit to keep macro dynamics in check, also, some were too dynamic. Used Waves C1 for that.
blah blah... didn't do a great job keeping energy when parts changing for the brass parts... ow well...
anyway, overall, I'm pretty happy with the result.
(at least atm )Cheers"
3ee
-
- KVRian
- 628 posts since 5 Mar, 2011 from Austria
Hi all,
Glad to see that we have 15 mixes till now. I am sure, that there will come some more the last day.
I am surprised, that the difference of the mixes is not as big as in the previous MCs. So it is harder for me to make a ranking
But I allready heard some criterias in most of the tracks, which I will use to sort and evaluate the tracks. More of this, after the MC05 is closed.
Some of you mentioned that the track are sounding good as they are. And I saw a question about what synth has been used. All sounds are factory sounds of my Yamaha S90ES, recorded without any processing (except strings, where forgot to switch off the reverb
). This is the Stage Piano version of the MOTIF series.
cheers,
Photonic
Glad to see that we have 15 mixes till now. I am sure, that there will come some more the last day.
I am surprised, that the difference of the mixes is not as big as in the previous MCs. So it is harder for me to make a ranking
But I allready heard some criterias in most of the tracks, which I will use to sort and evaluate the tracks. More of this, after the MC05 is closed.
Some of you mentioned that the track are sounding good as they are. And I saw a question about what synth has been used. All sounds are factory sounds of my Yamaha S90ES, recorded without any processing (except strings, where forgot to switch off the reverb
). This is the Stage Piano version of the MOTIF series. cheers,
Photonic
soundcloud.com/photonic-1
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- KVRAF
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
We're within the last 24 hours of the submission period.
How does this work from now on?
After the submission period is over, the song provider will get in touch with us and tells us which route he want to go:
a) a second mix round with his 6-10 favorites
b) directly to the evaluation and winner declaration
Please take note of the new rule set.
Either way, we'll collect all files for the global sound cloud folder, so please check if your files (WAV or FLAC files) are downloadable and properly named. We then state in this thread which route we're going.
So please watch this spot within the next 3-5 days. Because if there is a second round for "fixes and resubmissions", you don't want to be surprised regarding a too short time span.
How does this work from now on?
After the submission period is over, the song provider will get in touch with us and tells us which route he want to go:
a) a second mix round with his 6-10 favorites
b) directly to the evaluation and winner declaration
Please take note of the new rule set.
Either way, we'll collect all files for the global sound cloud folder, so please check if your files (WAV or FLAC files) are downloadable and properly named. We then state in this thread which route we're going.
So please watch this spot within the next 3-5 days. Because if there is a second round for "fixes and resubmissions", you don't want to be surprised regarding a too short time span.
Last edited by Compyfox on Tue Oct 21, 2014 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRian
- 1209 posts since 28 Jun, 2005
Here's my attempt :
Mp3 : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/862 ... Yeager.mp3
Wav : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/862 ... Yeager.wav
Track reminded me of Allan Parsons I Robot.
Did some Eq, grouped the drums, some reverb, track did not need much else, was great as is !
Nice one Photonic
.
Enjoy.
Mp3 : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/862 ... Yeager.mp3
Wav : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/862 ... Yeager.wav
Track reminded me of Allan Parsons I Robot.
Did some Eq, grouped the drums, some reverb, track did not need much else, was great as is !
Nice one Photonic
.Enjoy.
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- KVRist
- 87 posts since 28 Nov, 2012
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/kp7 ... d.mp3?dl=0
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0qs ... d.wav?dl=0
Kick: Comp
Snare: Comp, EQ, Transient Shaper
HiHat: EQ, Comp
Cymbals: Comp, EQ
Toms: EQ, Transient Shaper
Drum Group: Comp, 1/16 Delay, 2x Reverb
Percussion: EQ, 1/16 Delay
Bass: Comp, EQ
Clavi: Comp, 1/16 Delay
Dist E-Guitars: Comp, 1/8 Delay
Horns: Comp, 1/8 Delay
Brass: Comp, 1/8 Delay
Phazzer: EQ, 1/4 Delay
Sequenz: EQ, 1/16 Delay
Solo Guit.: Saturation, EQ, Comp, 1/8 Delay
12 String: EQ, Comp, 1/8 Delay
Strings: 1/4 Delay
Synth Solo: Comp, EQ, 1/8 Delay
Synth Brass: Comp, EQ, 1/4 Delay
Wah Guit: Comp, EQ, 1/4 Delay
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0qs ... d.wav?dl=0
Kick: Comp
Snare: Comp, EQ, Transient Shaper
HiHat: EQ, Comp
Cymbals: Comp, EQ
Toms: EQ, Transient Shaper
Drum Group: Comp, 1/16 Delay, 2x Reverb
Percussion: EQ, 1/16 Delay
Bass: Comp, EQ
Clavi: Comp, 1/16 Delay
Dist E-Guitars: Comp, 1/8 Delay
Horns: Comp, 1/8 Delay
Brass: Comp, 1/8 Delay
Phazzer: EQ, 1/4 Delay
Sequenz: EQ, 1/16 Delay
Solo Guit.: Saturation, EQ, Comp, 1/8 Delay
12 String: EQ, Comp, 1/8 Delay
Strings: 1/4 Delay
Synth Solo: Comp, EQ, 1/8 Delay
Synth Brass: Comp, EQ, 1/4 Delay
Wah Guit: Comp, EQ, 1/4 Delay
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- KVRAF
- 1888 posts since 13 Aug, 2011 from Berlin
Hi guys,
here's my entry:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1lgukkdvapb5d ... Fritze.mp3
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iok9zfm5q8k3i ... Fritze.wav
IVGI, TesslaPro MkII, Thrillseeker XTC and Satin for coloring. DC8C2 for most compression tasks. It's funny how much easier compression got for me since I bought this cool comp.
GlissEq for all normal eq and filtering needs. preFIX for the occasional tilt. VRoom and VintageVerb for several verbs. BionicDelay and ReaDelay for delays (doh!). Several ModFX here and there. Automation, and then some. TesslaProMkII, Density and Satin on the master. Enjoy!
here's my entry:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1lgukkdvapb5d ... Fritze.mp3
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iok9zfm5q8k3i ... Fritze.wav
IVGI, TesslaPro MkII, Thrillseeker XTC and Satin for coloring. DC8C2 for most compression tasks. It's funny how much easier compression got for me since I bought this cool comp.
GlissEq for all normal eq and filtering needs. preFIX for the occasional tilt. VRoom and VintageVerb for several verbs. BionicDelay and ReaDelay for delays (doh!). Several ModFX here and there. Automation, and then some. TesslaProMkII, Density and Satin on the master. Enjoy!
-
- KVRAF
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
We have it 10pm in Germany, and 1am in LA.
That means, the (first) submission period for the KVR MC05 is over.
Thank you for participating.
Please take note of this post, check your files for proper name tagging and download capability. Not to mention to please watch this spot within the next 3-5 days. We'll keep you updated.
In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter with the trend #kvrmixchallenge - or if you have a song that you'd like to see mixed (anew) for free by very talented musicians and audio engineers, please get in touch with either Uncle E, Satyatunes or Compyfox.
That means, the (first) submission period for the KVR MC05 is over.
Thank you for participating.
Please take note of this post, check your files for proper name tagging and download capability. Not to mention to please watch this spot within the next 3-5 days. We'll keep you updated.
In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter with the trend #kvrmixchallenge - or if you have a song that you'd like to see mixed (anew) for free by very talented musicians and audio engineers, please get in touch with either Uncle E, Satyatunes or Compyfox.
-
- KVRian
- 628 posts since 5 Mar, 2011 from Austria
Hi all,
Great, we got 18 mixes!
I will now listen closely to them and write some feedback to each mix. I think I can do this till the next weekend.
With this feedback I will call 6 mixes for a second run! I think it is a good idea to make a second submission with changes to the mix according my feedback.
Thank you all for participation so far!
Great, we got 18 mixes!
I will now listen closely to them and write some feedback to each mix. I think I can do this till the next weekend.
With this feedback I will call 6 mixes for a second run! I think it is a good idea to make a second submission with changes to the mix according my feedback.
Thank you all for participation so far!
soundcloud.com/photonic-1
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- KVRAF
- 3817 posts since 8 Mar, 2006
-
- KVRian
- 628 posts since 5 Mar, 2011 from Austria
Hi all,
As promissed, today I have finished the first round and listened to all entries carefully on severall speakers and headphones. I noticed a few comments for every mix, more or less the most obvious things I could hear by the first listening. I have to say that this is all my personal perception, what I did not like in each mix. That does not mean that this was all wrong. It is personal taste. But as I am in the role of the client, that is what counts.
Some general things, before we come to the comments:
One track, the Sequencer, was muted in my mix several times, where I thought it is too much. Some of you listened to my mix carefully or felt the same way. Others did not mute this track and it was audible all the time. But I did not take this into account for the evaluation.
Another thing was that I was surprised that the melody and solo sounds are often quite low. For me those sounds are the most important, like the vocals in a vocal-song. All other instruments should support in my oppinion. In some mixes I can hear that the focus is more on drums and bass, like in an EDM track.
When I changed from one mix to another, the frequency balance of the mix is allways changing too. I tried not to listen to this, because the overall balance can be corrected during mastering (I know, this statment can lead to endless discussions!). So I focused how the instruments are weighted to eachother and if I can hear the sounds I want to hear in front and others more low, just supporting.
Now here are the comments to each mix in alphabetical order:
3ee
All in all a very good balance. Clavi a bit too loud, guitar melody a bit too low
adam_firegate
Percussion at begin too loud, guitar melody too low, bass and snare too dominant, cymbals are too loud and over compressed and pumping
Camsr
Clavi too loud, melody too low, synth solo too dry.
cruisy18
All in all a very good balance. 12-String a bit too loud, melody a bit too low, synth solo a bit too loud
Doc Jon
All in all a very good balance, percussion at begin too loud, the low tom is too loud and too long.
e-Dude
Strange stereo image with headphones. Melody not centered, many instruments only L or R. Does work for me on speakers quite well, but not with headphones. Synth solo too low.
Fritze
Melody with chorus effect sounds heavy detuned, synth brass much louder than strings and horns, too much loud instruments at the same time.
G_Liou
LCR-mix? Guitar solos heavy distorted, fast delay for the synth solo does not fit, overall sound is too compressed
Headphone
The whole intro is too loud, melody too low, Hihat a bit too loud, FX on strings too much (reverb plus modulation?)
Jim Kennedy
Uhhhh, this mix is much too loud. Please read the rules! Melody to low and too dry, Bass a bit to dominant, synth solo too dry, guitar solos too low.
Junitho
Kick too much smack (high frequency amount) so it stays too much in front of the mix, synth brass too low, melody sound a bit too thick.
mwaudiopro
Waveform looks like you used a limiter? Snare too loud and too much infront of the mix, synth brass too dry, horns and strings too low, guitar solos much lower than clavi and wha guitar.
No_Use
Melody sounds like re-amped? Hihat a bit too loud, synth solo too dry, guitar solo too low.
Radio12
melody has a heavy peak at 2kHz, snare a bit too loud,
shroom feverish
Melody a bit too low, bass a bit too loud
ThePresent
Too much low and and too much high end. All mids are lost. Cannot evaluate the mix.
Westcoast
Melody with too much chorus FX, Hihat much too loud, synth solo complete dry.
Yeager
HiHat too loud, synth brass too low, drums thinn and too dry
So, as I mentioned it earlier in a previous posting, we will do a second round of my 6 favorit mixes. And those are:
3ee, Camsr, cruisy18, DocJon, Jim Kennedy and ShroomFeverish !
I hope you are willing and that you have time for this second round. Please read my comments so that you know, what kind of changes I would like to hear. And listen to the Sequencer track, where I muted it. This time, it could become essential.
I do not know how much time we have for the second round (the rules say 5 days max). So we could make it in October. I think Compyfox will tell us.
Thank you all again for participation. It was a new experiance for me to hear my song in so many versions. You should try it too - so come on and send your tracks for mixing!
As promissed, today I have finished the first round and listened to all entries carefully on severall speakers and headphones. I noticed a few comments for every mix, more or less the most obvious things I could hear by the first listening. I have to say that this is all my personal perception, what I did not like in each mix. That does not mean that this was all wrong. It is personal taste. But as I am in the role of the client, that is what counts.
Some general things, before we come to the comments:
One track, the Sequencer, was muted in my mix several times, where I thought it is too much. Some of you listened to my mix carefully or felt the same way. Others did not mute this track and it was audible all the time. But I did not take this into account for the evaluation.
Another thing was that I was surprised that the melody and solo sounds are often quite low. For me those sounds are the most important, like the vocals in a vocal-song. All other instruments should support in my oppinion. In some mixes I can hear that the focus is more on drums and bass, like in an EDM track.
When I changed from one mix to another, the frequency balance of the mix is allways changing too. I tried not to listen to this, because the overall balance can be corrected during mastering (I know, this statment can lead to endless discussions!). So I focused how the instruments are weighted to eachother and if I can hear the sounds I want to hear in front and others more low, just supporting.
Now here are the comments to each mix in alphabetical order:
3ee
All in all a very good balance. Clavi a bit too loud, guitar melody a bit too low
adam_firegate
Percussion at begin too loud, guitar melody too low, bass and snare too dominant, cymbals are too loud and over compressed and pumping
Camsr
Clavi too loud, melody too low, synth solo too dry.
cruisy18
All in all a very good balance. 12-String a bit too loud, melody a bit too low, synth solo a bit too loud
Doc Jon
All in all a very good balance, percussion at begin too loud, the low tom is too loud and too long.
e-Dude
Strange stereo image with headphones. Melody not centered, many instruments only L or R. Does work for me on speakers quite well, but not with headphones. Synth solo too low.
Fritze
Melody with chorus effect sounds heavy detuned, synth brass much louder than strings and horns, too much loud instruments at the same time.
G_Liou
LCR-mix? Guitar solos heavy distorted, fast delay for the synth solo does not fit, overall sound is too compressed
Headphone
The whole intro is too loud, melody too low, Hihat a bit too loud, FX on strings too much (reverb plus modulation?)
Jim Kennedy
Uhhhh, this mix is much too loud. Please read the rules! Melody to low and too dry, Bass a bit to dominant, synth solo too dry, guitar solos too low.
Junitho
Kick too much smack (high frequency amount) so it stays too much in front of the mix, synth brass too low, melody sound a bit too thick.
mwaudiopro
Waveform looks like you used a limiter? Snare too loud and too much infront of the mix, synth brass too dry, horns and strings too low, guitar solos much lower than clavi and wha guitar.
No_Use
Melody sounds like re-amped? Hihat a bit too loud, synth solo too dry, guitar solo too low.
Radio12
melody has a heavy peak at 2kHz, snare a bit too loud,
shroom feverish
Melody a bit too low, bass a bit too loud
ThePresent
Too much low and and too much high end. All mids are lost. Cannot evaluate the mix.
Westcoast
Melody with too much chorus FX, Hihat much too loud, synth solo complete dry.
Yeager
HiHat too loud, synth brass too low, drums thinn and too dry
So, as I mentioned it earlier in a previous posting, we will do a second round of my 6 favorit mixes. And those are:
3ee, Camsr, cruisy18, DocJon, Jim Kennedy and ShroomFeverish !
I hope you are willing and that you have time for this second round. Please read my comments so that you know, what kind of changes I would like to hear. And listen to the Sequencer track, where I muted it. This time, it could become essential.
I do not know how much time we have for the second round (the rules say 5 days max). So we could make it in October. I think Compyfox will tell us.
Thank you all again for participation. It was a new experiance for me to hear my song in so many versions. You should try it too - so come on and send your tracks for mixing!
soundcloud.com/photonic-1
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- KVRAF
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
First and foremost, thanks to Photonic for taking the time to comment on every submission, and announcing the six favorites that go into "KVR MC05 - Mix Round 2".
They are:
You posted on Saturday (today) at 6pm.
In all fairness, let's round up the re-submission time a bit and say that mix round 2 ends on the following day:
Thursday, 30-10-2014, 11:59pm PDT (midnight to 31st
Please tag your files with "Round 2" on top of the usual naming convention.
After the deadline, we collect all files again, do the usual (loudness normalization, statistics, upload to a global SoundCloud folder for everyone to hear) and then ask the song provider ("the client") to cast his final vote.
They are:
Thanks to all other participants - you all did great.photonic wrote: So, as I mentioned it earlier in a previous posting, we will do a second round of my 6 favorit mixes.
And those are:
3ee, Camsr, cruisy18, DocJon, Jim Kennedy and ShroomFeverish !
That is correct.photonic wrote:I do not know how much time we have for the second round (the rules say 5 days max). So we could make it in October. I think Compyfox will tell us.
You posted on Saturday (today) at 6pm.
In all fairness, let's round up the re-submission time a bit and say that mix round 2 ends on the following day:
Thursday, 30-10-2014, 11:59pm PDT (midnight to 31st
Please tag your files with "Round 2" on top of the usual naming convention.
After the deadline, we collect all files again, do the usual (loudness normalization, statistics, upload to a global SoundCloud folder for everyone to hear) and then ask the song provider ("the client") to cast his final vote.
This is a great reminder - thank you.photonic wrote:Thank you all again for participation. It was a new experience for me to hear my song in so many versions. You should try it too - so come on and send your tracks for mixing!
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- KVRer
- 22 posts since 28 Jun, 2010
Useful feedback - thank you phtonic. Good job I turned the Hi Hat down a bit to just "much to loud"
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- KVRist
- 87 posts since 28 Nov, 2012
Thanks for the feedback photonic and good luck for the six chosen ones!
