MIX CHALLENGE - MC30 March 2017 - Winners announced

How to do this, that and the other. Share, learn, teach. How did X do that? How can I sound like Y?
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Sure. My bad. Probably was the previous setting on my daw. Gonna update asap
Edit1: Already updated!

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Hi everyone,
first, thanks to all for your mixes and your kind words about my song!
I've listened to all of them and it is cool how different they are. Maybe not all of them to my exact liking, but nevertheless valid and that actually gave me a more precise idea how I would like a mix for my song (I don't always know what I want, but I usually know precisely what I don't want :-P ).
I've already jotted down some notes for each mix and hope I'll post my feedback by tomorrow or Saturday.

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Hi,
this is my feedback.
generally speaking I noticed that I prefer a mix that does not have too much delay and reverb (especially long, obvious one), overall it should sound more present and compact instead of lush and spacey. E.g. the vocal intro: I actually prefer those from my own mix, short room, rather loud and in your face.
As Compyfox wrote in his liner notes, the vocals should be on top of the mix, clear and present, not overshadowed by any instrument. It is a song for a (then) three year old, and he should understand as much as possible.


thiagoam88
- nice use of stereo field, overall good balance and separation of tracks
- vocals should be much more up front, also sound too thin and a bit harsh. Might need some de-essing.
- intro: too much reverb and delay, sounds boxy and too thin. Less ~300Hz and more ~100Hz or so
- reverb on snare too long for my taste
- phosphor key too piercing
- clean electric guitar left is a too loud in comparison to vocals, especially in verse
- overall might need some EQ cuts in the low mids 200-500Hz
- ending is cut off and sounds like that. The original ending isn't top notch, granted, but this is rather sudden.

trannin
- I like the placement in the stereo field and how the drums are mixed.
- intro needs a bit more bass
- vocals sound harsh to me and too thin
- vocals could be more up front
- snare overshadows vocals.
- I practically don‘t hear the chorus background vocals
- overall sounds a bit too cold, a bit imbalanced frequency wise, too much hi end, to little low end I would say
- it lacks a bit of "glue" (for want of a better word), tracks feels too seperate, especially in the chorus.

3ee
- I like how you tamed the snare and the electric guitars
- overall good mix, good balance
- intro: no to the reverb/delay orgy, sorry
- the phosphor keys are too piercing for me (I drastically cut the hi end in my mix)
- the accordion (chords) is a bit too boxy/boomy/honky
- yes, verse vocals too boomy.
- vocals could be more present, the drums overshadows the vocals
- overall a bit too much, or rather too long reverb. e.g. It works on the Phosphor key, but imho not so much on the accordion melody in the interludes.

photonic
- very good and balanced mix, good separation of instruments, everything is audible.
- vocals sound very good, could be even louder especially in the chorus
- chorus background vocals are barely audible, a bit too much ninths background
- less delay/reverb on the intro vocals, please. just a room. and a bit louder
- drums are a bit too 808 for me, I‘d like a bit more smack, more dirt. The verse snare could have a bit more impact and a shorter reverb maybe.
- tambourine in the final chorus is way too loud. This is not an important instrument :=), just there to push the last chorus subtly
- the distorted chorus guitar seems a bit too boxy to me.
- overall maybe less reverb and more "impact". Sounds maybe just too pleasant and nice.

Dave McIsaac
- a well balanced mix, relatively true to the original, just better
- intro vocals: now here they could use a litttle bit more room or early reflections. more impact. maybe too panned.
- chorus ‚distorted‘ guitar could be a bit more distorted imho
- sorry, I totally don‘t like the reamped sound of the interlude guitar (at 3:05). Also the room on it is too obviuos, I think in contrast to my own mix I‘d prefer it rather dry with little delay/reverb
- generally, the reamped sounds don‘t really please me. The amp modeling doesn‘t seem to sound too good, frankly, feels rather 'anemic'. The clean electric is OK, though. Hint: Try the Shattered Glass Audio SGA1566 before the amp simp, can work wonder.
- accordion sounds too honky, needs (Badly recorded, I now. The first ever accordion recording I did after a just a couple of weeks playing :)
- I think the mix could use some cleaning 300-400 Hz area, sounds slightly boxy here.

erictracks
- rather true to the original, nice stereo field, compact in the center, reverb effects on the panned tracks, good idea!
- accordion (chords) too boxy and muddy, also seems to move in the panorama, which sounds weird
- vocals should be more upfront, intro vocals could be a bit louder.
- over all too much build up in the low mids around 300Hz, especially in the chorus
- solo acoustic in the finale too loud
- interlude guitar at 3:05 I'd prefer the original sound (which is a real amp)
- rhythm guitar left too loud, also I find it too heavy in the low mids, should sparkle more.

kevin gobin
- overall pleasant sound, but the level balance is a bit off.
- intro: too much delay and reverb
- delay effect on the drums does not fit the rhythm IMHO. Or it is just not my taste.
- snare too loud, overshadows vocals
- overall too much reverb and delays for my taste.
- vocals more up front
- here too I think some EQ work in the ~300Hz could clear up the mix. For example on the background vocals.
- I think the acoustic rhythm guitar would be better of panned a bit.
- Overall too much "special FX" for my taste.
- the acoustic solo part in the finale is not so good that it deserves such a prominent place :)

MORK
- good balance, dry, compact mix, fits the song!
- I think the intro would gain impact if the vocals weren't panned as extreme. Also: louder.
- snare to loud, overshadows vocals
- chorus vocals could be louder, more present.
- chorus sounds boomy I guess because of the distorted guitar (~200-300Hz?), it might also be too loud
- „Klangholz“ too loud and peak-y in the interlude
- the clean guitar in the interlude could use a little bit more dirt/saturation/distortion
- the clean pseudo-funk guitar would work better if panned a bit, conflicts with the vocals
- finale acoustic solo a bit too loud.
- the ultra reverb at the end: sorry, totally not my taste :(

VasDim
- dry, compact mix, balance is good. I like the drums. Would be much better if not for the muddiness (see below).
- snare reverb is too much for me, though :)
- shaker maybe a bit too loud
- the interlude electric guitar sounds weird. Is that my amped version?
- vocals in the chorus need more "punch" or presence.
- overall too muddy/boomy/boxy/honky, the lower mids need serious EQ-ing. With some rather severe cuts on ~250Hz, 430Hz and ~650Hz on the mix I could clean it up a lot and it sounded rather pleasant. If that gets fixed, it could be a nice mix, I think. Look especially at all the vocals and the accordion!.


pgstudio
- good panning, compact, dry center and reverb on the panned instruments
- the intro vocals sound a bit weird, phasey
- sorry, I don't like what you did with the kick :( and the snare sounds too pitched.
- vocals especially in the first chorus too low.
- overall I think you did too much "special FX"-Processing (beginning of the last verse, 4-part vocals in the finale) and I don't think the song needs that.


If there's anything unclear in my feedback, please ask. I found it not easy to put it all in words, especially when it comes to feeling and not technical issues (and in a foreign language)


Not easy. I tried to be fair and balanced in my decision making, but of course taste and gut feeling plays a major role apart from technical criteria like level balance (important!), clarity, frequencies and whatnot.
For the next round I chose:
- thiagoam88
- 3ee
- photonic
- Dave McIsaac
- MORK
- VasDim (promise me to use EQ!)
Last edited by fese on Sat Mar 25, 2017 6:48 am, edited 2 times in total.

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deleted. wrong button...

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Thanks for going through all entries and giving feedback.

Let us kick off Mix Round 2, which will end on Wednesday, 29-03-2017 11:59pm CEST/GMT+1
(yes, Germany will go into "Daylight Saving Time / Summer Time" this weekend)



The following participants go into Round 2

3ee
Dave McIsaac
MORK
photonic
thiagoam88
VasDim



A thank you to everyone, and good luck for Round 2
[ Mix Challenge ] | [ Studio Page / Twitter ] | [ KVRmarks (see: metering tools) ]

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Hello Formfisch/Felix,

Thank you so much for choosing me for the second Round!
You gave very detailed and resonable comments. I could work with them quite easy.
Here is my reworked mix for the second round. I hope it is now in the way you want it.

MP3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/eg6qefp5np3dw ... 2.mp3?dl=0
WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vkmziaalfzywi ... 2.wav?dl=0
soundcloud.com/photonic-1

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fese wrote:Hi,
this is my feedback.

trannin
- I like the placement in the stereo field and how the drums are mixed.
- intro needs a bit more bass
- vocals sound harsh to me and too thin
- vocals could be more up front
- snare overshadows vocals.
- I practically don‘t hear the chorus background vocals
- overall sounds a bit too cold, a bit imbalanced frequency wise, too much hi end, to little low end I would say
- it lacks a bit of "glue" (for want of a better word), tracks feels too seperate, especially in the chorus.
Hi Formfisch/Felix,

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my mix and commenting on it.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Marcelo

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Hi Felix,

Thank you for taking the time to listen to the mixes and commenting, and for your quick replies.

Good luck everybody for round 2!

CU,
Kevin

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Oh, I forgot: thanks to those who took part and who I ruthlessly kicked out. I hope I'll see you next time!

Also, listening to your mixes awakened my ambition and I went back to my mix and worked on it, blatantly stealing some of your ideas!
If anyone wants to give it a listen and/or criticise me for a change (it's payback time!), go ahead ;-)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9kkW ... 0hsUDBfWDQ

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fese wrote:3ee
- I like how you tamed the snare and the electric guitars
- overall good mix, good balance
- intro: no to the reverb/delay orgy, sorry
- the phosphor keys are too piercing for me (I drastically cut the hi end in my mix)
- the accordion (chords) is a bit too boxy/boomy/honky
- yes, verse vocals too boomy.
- vocals could be more present, the drums overshadows the vocals
- overall a bit too much, or rather too long reverb. e.g. It works on the Phosphor key, but imho not so much on the accordion melody in the interludes.


round2:
mp3: https://app.box.com/s/dwjgru43r8y2x2zomdayq1j183kievy1
wav: https://app.box.com/s/wpqq5rkjyq7gofftaw0lnqexzfc849ng


- intro (and not only): took off some of the sends and readjusted others to result in an overall dryer sound
- Phosphor keys: are less piercing now, you being too used to the their sound in your mix, you'll probably still think they are a bit brighter in my mix
- aimed for a kinda "lo-fi" sound for the accordion stabbs... they seemed more upfront because some low-mids so I cut in two places there so they should sound "cleaner" now.
- vocal; not only I readjusted the lows but also gave some high presence, they are on top of the drums now too.
- readjusted some send/return effects

My round 2 mix should be pretty different now, compare it against the previous version and let me know how I did :)

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fese wrote: Dave McIsaac
- a well balanced mix, relatively true to the original, just better
- intro vocals: now here they could use a litttle bit more room or early reflections. more impact. maybe too panned.
- chorus ‚distorted‘ guitar could be a bit more distorted imho
- sorry, I totally don‘t like the reamped sound of the interlude guitar (at 3:05). Also the room on it is too obviuos, I think in contrast to my own mix I‘d prefer it rather dry with little delay/reverb
- generally, the reamped sounds don‘t really please me. The amp modeling doesn‘t seem to sound too good, frankly, feels rather 'anemic'. The clean electric is OK, though. Hint: Try the Shattered Glass Audio SGA1566 before the amp simp, can work wonder.
- accordion sounds too honky, needs (Badly recorded, I now. The first ever accordion recording I did after a just a couple of weeks playing :)
- I think the mix could use some cleaning 300-400 Hz area, sounds slightly boxy here.

Thanks for including me in the 2nd Round!
- I had changed some bussing in the 1st mix and forgot to include the FX send on the 4 part intro vocals :? - I fixed that and narrowed the panning a bit.
- Chorus guitar is a bit more distorted now.
- I worked on the interlude guitar, but it's probably still a bit too wet for your taste. For me, it fits this mix.
- I incorporated the Shattered Glass Audio SGA1566 before the amp sims and did some adjustments to the amp modeling.
- I cleaned up the honkiness of the accordion. (By the way, you did great for only playing a couple weeks!)
- And I pulled a bit of the boxiness out of the overall mix.
I hope this is more to your liking. :D

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0O6oz ... sp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0O6oz ... sp=sharing
Dave McIsaac

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Hi all,
this is my mix for round 2:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1nphw05qguj90 ... m.mp3?dl=0
Good luck to all.
VasDim

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A friendly reminder:
We're in the last 24 hours of Mix Round 2.
[ Mix Challenge ] | [ Studio Page / Twitter ] | [ KVRmarks (see: metering tools) ]

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Last minute as always.
As you mentioned, unlike the others I went for a more dryish sound which was my instantaneous vision for the song. It happened a lot, since version 1 was more or less a work in progress because work forced me to leave my computer... how rude of work! :borg:
Your points were very valid, so I hope you enjoy this version if the song with more depth and more attitude!

MP3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sz9a0s1nubt1x ... K.mp3?dl=1

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/suamjys6je1j8 ... K.wav?dl=1

Grüße von der Elbe :)

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Hey, @fese. Thanks for choosing my mix for the second round!

Here's a new version based on your comments (really helpful, btw!).

https://soundcloud.com/smartmix/formfis ... 88-round-2

WAV: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_g4B ... TJ0Mk9Eblk
MP3: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_g4B ... 0NUc1V6Mkk

- nice use of stereo field, overall good balance and separation of tracks - Thanks! :D
- vocals should be much more up front, also sound too thin and a bit harsh. Might need some de-essing. - worked with some parallel processing to bring it upfront and took some upper highs out with a dynamic EQ.
- intro: too much reverb and delay, sounds boxy and too thin. Less ~300Hz and more ~100Hz or so - brought the FX levels down and lowered the high pass filter to give more body to the vocals
- reverb on snare too long for my taste - synced the reverb time to a quarter note
- phosphor key too piercing - Low passed the phosphor, although not as agressively as your mix, as I thought it changed the character of the instrument too much
- clean electric guitar left is a too loud in comparison to vocals, especially in verse - How did I not hear this before? :lol:
- overall might need some EQ cuts in the low mids 200-500Hz - Done
- ending is cut off and sounds like that. The original ending isn't top notch, granted, but this is rather sudden. - Tried to recreate the ending from the original mix, hopefully it's less sudden now!

Good luck to all!

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