Sorry for another short-notice bump, but...
Ringing the bells for the final 6 hours!
Please submit your mixes now.
Can we at least get past 8 participants?
MIX CHALLENGE - MC24 August 2016 - Winners announced
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
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- KVRist
- 34 posts since 1 Aug, 2014 from Italy
Not a easy one.
Same mixing approach, now classic for me, aimed at a natural, big sound. So every sound is defined, shaped with eq and humanized to be as natural as possible, then put in a natural (or in a huge) space.
T-Racks classic compressor used for 90% of compression needs because I wanted to try it. Somehow limited but pretty good sounding, better then how I expected.
ReaEq used for 90% of eq, then TDR SlickEq, Ignite PTEq-X and Acustica Red EQ in probably a single, but well worth, instance each.
I also used two delay, a room verb, a snare verb and a huge verb tracks for sends.
WAV:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... -piranha81
MP3:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... anha81-mp3
Same mixing approach, now classic for me, aimed at a natural, big sound. So every sound is defined, shaped with eq and humanized to be as natural as possible, then put in a natural (or in a huge) space.
T-Racks classic compressor used for 90% of compression needs because I wanted to try it. Somehow limited but pretty good sounding, better then how I expected.
ReaEq used for 90% of eq, then TDR SlickEq, Ignite PTEq-X and Acustica Red EQ in probably a single, but well worth, instance each.
I also used two delay, a room verb, a snare verb and a huge verb tracks for sends.
WAV:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... -piranha81
MP3:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... anha81-mp3
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- KVRian
- 756 posts since 3 Apr, 2013 from Belgium
Here is my mix ! 
[FLAC]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ntutzw977qut ... .flac?dl=0
[MP3]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f82m50ttg0qrf ... s.mp3?dl=0
very interesting song reminded me the good old times when I was at university and listening to Warp or Ninja Tunes records ^^ I enjoyed doing that mix !
I tried to keep the mood while enhancing some parts
first I tamed the hi hats which were much prominent in the original mix. Using tape limiting to tame the transients especially.
I made the kick solid round and punch (at least I hope ). The crunchy clap became more liquid which can suit the ocean feeling that I sometimes felt while listening the music...
I compressed the beat to have some pumping and to get some electro hip hop feeling.
I tried to make the sub solid, while having harmonics to be heard on small speakers because it is a very important part of the music, for the rhythm.
I used a chorused reverb to glue all tracks together, trying to keep it quiet...
Some instruments tracks seemed to null when mono, so I fixed that, some pads too were changing too much the spectrum when monoized, so I tried to balance that to keep more or less the same feeling while listening the song in mono.
I used EQ and saturation either to avoid frequency clashes and to beef up or make more round some instruments tracks.
The main guitar sample was de-noized too to make clarity and allow cymbals and hats to have their own space, maybe it was part of the song mood and then I should have let it in place, if I make it to round 2 I will correct that !
I used S-Curves for the sidechainning of the instruments, and tried to make it sync with the tempo ^^ at first I made a huge pumping, but then I tamed it because I feared it would have been too much
A a lot of other tiny changes a bit everywhere ^^
I enjoy the diversity of style we have the chance to mix for the KVR Mix Challenge ^^
I wish a good luck to all contestants !
[FLAC]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ntutzw977qut ... .flac?dl=0
[MP3]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f82m50ttg0qrf ... s.mp3?dl=0
very interesting song
reminded me the good old times when I was at university and listening to Warp or Ninja Tunes records ^^ I enjoyed doing that mix !I tried to keep the mood while enhancing some parts
first I tamed the hi hats which were much prominent in the original mix. Using tape limiting to tame the transients especially.
I made the kick solid round and punch (at least I hope
). The crunchy clap became more liquid which can suit the ocean feeling that I sometimes felt while listening the music...I compressed the beat to have some pumping and to get some electro hip hop feeling.
I tried to make the sub solid, while having harmonics to be heard on small speakers because it is a very important part of the music, for the rhythm.
I used a chorused reverb to glue all tracks together, trying to keep it quiet...
Some instruments tracks seemed to null when mono, so I fixed that, some pads too were changing too much the spectrum when monoized, so I tried to balance that to keep more or less the same feeling while listening the song in mono.
I used EQ and saturation either to avoid frequency clashes and to beef up or make more round some instruments tracks.
The main guitar sample was de-noized too to make clarity and allow cymbals and hats to have their own space, maybe it was part of the song mood and then I should have let it in place, if I make it to round 2 I will correct that !
I used S-Curves for the sidechainning of the instruments, and tried to make it sync with the tempo ^^ at first I made a huge pumping, but then I tamed it because I feared it would have been too much
A a lot of other tiny changes a bit everywhere ^^
I enjoy the diversity of style we have the chance to mix for the KVR Mix Challenge ^^
I wish a good luck to all contestants !
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
It's the 22nd August in the afternoon (3pm), the first mix round of MC24 has now officially ended.
I left the door open for a couple of more hours this time around in hope that we see more mixes, but sadly, only 7 entries (genre too complicated, or do we have too many "challenges" in parallel again?).
Anyway - please check your links, update your posts in necessary, and as usual... please watch this spot for the mix evaluation. See you in a couple of days.
I left the door open for a couple of more hours this time around in hope that we see more mixes, but sadly, only 7 entries (genre too complicated, or do we have too many "challenges" in parallel again?).
Anyway - please check your links, update your posts in necessary, and as usual... please watch this spot for the mix evaluation. See you in a couple of days.
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- KVRist
- 61 posts since 10 Jul, 2010 from United States
I'm sorry I wasn't able to participate in this challenge. In a real life scenario I have to pick & choose what I feel I can do a good job at and this particular song (not necessarily because of genre) was something that I would pass on.Compyfox wrote:It's the 22nd August in the afternoon (3pm), the first mix round of MC24 has now officially ended.
I left the door open for a couple of more hours this time around in hope that we see more mixes, but sadly, only 7 entries (genre too complicated, or do we have too many "challenges" in parallel again?).
Anyway - please check your links, update your posts in necessary, and as usual... please watch this spot for the mix evaluation. See you in a couple of days.
Dave McIsaac
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
It's fine, Dave. I'm not holding a grudge. I'm just worried about the Challenge.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
This is why I do statistics:
August 2014 - 22 participants
August 2015 - 10 participants
August 2015 - 7 participants
I'm currently working on something behind the scenes to maybe improve the current challenge situation. Please stay tuned, as this is eating up a lot of my time (hint: bootstrap)
On a sidenote - Loris is already on to listening to, and evaluating all mixes. Please have an eye on this thread.
August 2014 - 22 participants
August 2015 - 10 participants
August 2015 - 7 participants
I'm currently working on something behind the scenes to maybe improve the current challenge situation. Please stay tuned, as this is eating up a lot of my time (hint: bootstrap)
On a sidenote - Loris is already on to listening to, and evaluating all mixes. Please have an eye on this thread.
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- KVRist
- 142 posts since 28 Jan, 2012
Ok so I've been listening. It was difficult. Lots of different flavors here. Id have to say that in each case the mix is distantly improved from what I have. Ill jump into examples of what I found interesting etc. Thank you everyone for taking the time with this
Davias: This mix is certainly more punchy than the original, the percussion hits above the other instruments and the bass is prominent. It feels like its been enhanced in the treble and it sounds much clearer. And a tad louder as well. I really like the punch that was brought out with this mix. Well done!
Piranha81: This mix is quite the opposite, the percussion is not as hard hitting, much softer, I can hear the clap is a bit crunchier. The bass stands out in this mix and I really enjoyed that, the breakdown with the lead is a lot more spacy than the original and as a whole the mix is a bit wider and spacy as well with extra tail on some special effects. Definitely....chilllll
Kolyev: With this mix it is immediately clear that the percussion (treble percussion, hats, cymbals) was turned down. And it was much needed as compared to the original. A lot of annoying sibilance was removed from one of the vocal chops. Also much needed. But also some of the crunch was removed from the clap, which objectively, sounded good but I was fond of the crunch. Overall a mix that is much more coherent and smooth with many of the errors from the original effectively removed!
Vasdim: This mix sounds like it is a little brighter than the original, with an emphasis on treble. The treble percussion is emphasised but less offensive than the original, in other words, it just sounds significantly clearer but less loud. The punch of the original is preserved. A big problem with the original mix, in my opinion, were the pads that were off key even and muddying up the low end and the mid range as well. There is still a bit of that left over in this mix. Some of the fx in the background were brough forward and I really liked this because originally my goal was to decorate the song with unusual sounds. Seeing them in front was a good change. Yet another clean and balanced sounding mix in general
NIghtpolymath: This mix is louder than the original, but the mixing differences are not masked by that fact. My ear was not tricked (I say confidently). The percussion was tamed across the board. A lot of the treble frequencies removed, but the punch was retained. I can hear more aggressive low-end cuts in the background instruments which yielded a much cleaner mix and let the kick and snare breathe a bit more.
Photonic: Here is a person i know from OSC. Always brings quality. Photonic always has a tendency to superbly preserve the dynamic range. Also a fact in this mix. Artistic liberties were taken here and I really enjoyed them. The filtering was applied skillfully. The percussion was tamed, leaving out some of the punch, but it blended well with the overall idea. Some of the instruments with conflicting melodies were thrown in the back and an emphasis on guitars was made. The overall sound sounds like it sits mostly in the mid range. This gives it a unique aesthetic because most ear-pleasing sounds lie in that range. This mix was the most unique of the bunch and I really enjoyed it!
ShroomFeverish: There were some noticeable changes in this mix especially to the pads and keys section. They were filtered and some of the treble removed. The punch of the percussion was preserved and/or slightly enhanced. This mix sounds a lot fuller than the original. Its hard to say how it was done, compresion or just great balancing, but it seems like there is less opne space and it is glued together more efficiently.
Lets see, im going to go get some food now. Im gonna submit this post. I will edit it if need be in a little bit. It is my understanding that I have to pick the people who will go into the next round. I see 7 entries if im not mistaken. How many should continue? Also this is a cool competition, I think i will participate hehe!
Davias: This mix is certainly more punchy than the original, the percussion hits above the other instruments and the bass is prominent. It feels like its been enhanced in the treble and it sounds much clearer. And a tad louder as well. I really like the punch that was brought out with this mix. Well done!
Piranha81: This mix is quite the opposite, the percussion is not as hard hitting, much softer, I can hear the clap is a bit crunchier. The bass stands out in this mix and I really enjoyed that, the breakdown with the lead is a lot more spacy than the original and as a whole the mix is a bit wider and spacy as well with extra tail on some special effects. Definitely....chilllll
Kolyev: With this mix it is immediately clear that the percussion (treble percussion, hats, cymbals) was turned down. And it was much needed as compared to the original. A lot of annoying sibilance was removed from one of the vocal chops. Also much needed. But also some of the crunch was removed from the clap, which objectively, sounded good but I was fond of the crunch. Overall a mix that is much more coherent and smooth with many of the errors from the original effectively removed!
Vasdim: This mix sounds like it is a little brighter than the original, with an emphasis on treble. The treble percussion is emphasised but less offensive than the original, in other words, it just sounds significantly clearer but less loud. The punch of the original is preserved. A big problem with the original mix, in my opinion, were the pads that were off key even and muddying up the low end and the mid range as well. There is still a bit of that left over in this mix. Some of the fx in the background were brough forward and I really liked this because originally my goal was to decorate the song with unusual sounds. Seeing them in front was a good change. Yet another clean and balanced sounding mix in general
NIghtpolymath: This mix is louder than the original, but the mixing differences are not masked by that fact. My ear was not tricked (I say confidently). The percussion was tamed across the board. A lot of the treble frequencies removed, but the punch was retained. I can hear more aggressive low-end cuts in the background instruments which yielded a much cleaner mix and let the kick and snare breathe a bit more.
Photonic: Here is a person i know from OSC. Always brings quality. Photonic always has a tendency to superbly preserve the dynamic range. Also a fact in this mix. Artistic liberties were taken here and I really enjoyed them. The filtering was applied skillfully. The percussion was tamed, leaving out some of the punch, but it blended well with the overall idea. Some of the instruments with conflicting melodies were thrown in the back and an emphasis on guitars was made. The overall sound sounds like it sits mostly in the mid range. This gives it a unique aesthetic because most ear-pleasing sounds lie in that range. This mix was the most unique of the bunch and I really enjoyed it!
ShroomFeverish: There were some noticeable changes in this mix especially to the pads and keys section. They were filtered and some of the treble removed. The punch of the percussion was preserved and/or slightly enhanced. This mix sounds a lot fuller than the original. Its hard to say how it was done, compresion or just great balancing, but it seems like there is less opne space and it is glued together more efficiently.
Lets see, im going to go get some food now. Im gonna submit this post. I will edit it if need be in a little bit. It is my understanding that I have to pick the people who will go into the next round. I see 7 entries if im not mistaken. How many should continue? Also this is a cool competition, I think i will participate hehe!
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
Remember the PM conversation, please.
I'll edit the thread once I'm back up from a couple hours of rest and the Mix Round 2 participants have been announced
I'll edit the thread once I'm back up from a couple hours of rest and the Mix Round 2 participants have been announced
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- KVRist
- 142 posts since 28 Jan, 2012
Ok so for the next round I have decided to let all subjects pass. I have some favorites but with a few changes the other mixes have a chance of changing the game around. I apologize if there is any bias, but it seems this competition is all subjective and bias is inevitable. I will announce winners after this round as per usual.
what I like and dislike (please don't be offended)
Davias: like it all so far
Piranha81: like it so far, unique, maybe a bit more transients on percussion
Vasdim: some pads in the back could have volumes adjusted or filtering applied, a fault left over from the original
NIghtpolymath: I think its a solid mix, perhaps more volume adjustments on the pads since they tend to get loud in the original. maybe some volume automation on those.
Photonic: so far so good
Shroom: Perhaps more cuts off the low end to introduce less muddiness, more space is desired but the glued feel of the mix feels good. if you can do both that would be great
what I like and dislike (please don't be offended)
Davias: like it all so far
Piranha81: like it so far, unique, maybe a bit more transients on percussion
Vasdim: some pads in the back could have volumes adjusted or filtering applied, a fault left over from the original
NIghtpolymath: I think its a solid mix, perhaps more volume adjustments on the pads since they tend to get loud in the original. maybe some volume automation on those.
Photonic: so far so good
Shroom: Perhaps more cuts off the low end to introduce less muddiness, more space is desired but the glued feel of the mix feels good. if you can do both that would be great
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
Allright! You've heard the man, all participants advance into the next round, time to kick off Round 2.
Please overhaul your mix (according to given feedback, or if you found some small error yourself still), and then resubmit it. The new deadline is Thursday, 01st September 2016 at 11:59pm GMT+1/CEST
Good luck!
Please overhaul your mix (according to given feedback, or if you found some small error yourself still), and then resubmit it. The new deadline is Thursday, 01st September 2016 at 11:59pm GMT+1/CEST
Good luck!
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- KVRian
- 628 posts since 5 Mar, 2011 from Austria
Hi,
Thirst let me say that I am very happy with the comments about my mix. Glad you like it Loris!
But on the other hand I am a bit confused now. When I read the comments for Davias an my mix I read only good comments but nothing what you would like to be different in the 2nd round.
Does this mean that Davias and I do not need to submit a second version?
Thirst let me say that I am very happy with the comments about my mix. Glad you like it Loris!
But on the other hand I am a bit confused now. When I read the comments for Davias an my mix I read only good comments but nothing what you would like to be different in the 2nd round.
Does this mean that Davias and I do not need to submit a second version?
soundcloud.com/photonic-1
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- KVRian
- 756 posts since 3 Apr, 2013 from Belgium
Photonic, I thank you much for asking this ^^ I was about to do it myself before reading your post, but not sure how to introduce my question
Loris, thank you for your nice comments about the mix and for the selection to round 2 it is really appreciated.
But I was feeling a bit like Photonic, asking myself "Should I change something ?" then "What could I change ?" and then fearing "maybe I'll break the mix if I change something that was good before"
Finally I ended up thinking that I would ask you directly, and also inspire myself about the feedback you gave to others' mixes ^^
maybe making the bass having even more high frequencies ?
maybe doing something to the drumfill stem ? (did you like it ?)
maybe trying to give more space ?
maybe putting more reverb ?
bringing the FXes more in front ?
Adding more glue or making the spectrum fuller ?
that's all I'm thinking about as possible improvements for now ^^ (I already plan to treat a lonely drum percussion stems that I forgot till the last end, and finally left un-processed, I heard a very clean version in another mix, I'll try to copy that).
Thanks already for any further feedback !
Loris, thank you for your nice comments about the mix and for the selection to round 2
it is really appreciated.But I was feeling a bit like Photonic, asking myself "Should I change something ?" then "What could I change ?" and then fearing "maybe I'll break the mix if I change something that was good before"
Finally I ended up thinking that I would ask you directly, and also inspire myself about the feedback you gave to others' mixes ^^
maybe making the bass having even more high frequencies ?
maybe doing something to the drumfill stem ? (did you like it ?)
maybe trying to give more space ?
maybe putting more reverb ?
bringing the FXes more in front ?
Adding more glue or making the spectrum fuller ?
that's all I'm thinking about as possible improvements for now ^^ (I already plan to treat a lonely drum percussion stems that I forgot till the last end, and finally left un-processed, I heard a very clean version in another mix, I'll try to copy that).
Thanks already for any further feedback !
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
If Loris doesn't answer in time and goes more in-depth, how about this:
I'm sure that you might have found the one or another thing that bugs you mix wise still that you couldn't fix post your first submission. This is your chance to address this.
EXAMPLE:
I participated in earlier Mix Challenges, and every time after my submission, I realized "whoops, could have done different with this one". During Mix Round 2 (if I was among the top spots), I could address that. You know, learning process, etc.
But ultimately Loris is the one to judge the productions. So I hope he chimes in and solves the riddle.
On a completely different sidenote:
Folks - we need more material to mix. And I'm still looking for a Metal Track for November. Please, please get in touch.
I'm sure that you might have found the one or another thing that bugs you mix wise still that you couldn't fix post your first submission. This is your chance to address this.
EXAMPLE:
I participated in earlier Mix Challenges, and every time after my submission, I realized "whoops, could have done different with this one". During Mix Round 2 (if I was among the top spots), I could address that. You know, learning process, etc.
But ultimately Loris is the one to judge the productions. So I hope he chimes in and solves the riddle.
On a completely different sidenote:
Folks - we need more material to mix. And I'm still looking for a Metal Track for November. Please, please get in touch.
