KVR MIX CHALLENGE - MC01, June 2014 - Submissions Feedback and Q&A

[kbaccki]

@android:
I'll talk about Eric the next days, what he things about it. First MC and all.

Ahh... good cop, bad cop... I try that with the wife, but the kids pick up quickly, and turn the tables on us...

If it makes a difference, from an entrants perspective, and one that was given a "second chance" due to my own oversight of the rules, I put my personal vote to not disqualify... first go 'round, lessons learned, examples made, rules duly noted, and all that... if my opinion on the subject matters in any way...

[bjporter]

Anyone interested in extending this toward the end of the month? I might not make the 22nd.

[Compyfox]

Rules are set. Sorry.

I might not make it either with handling Q's and now also handling a sudden crash (hack!) of my server.

[Uncle E]

Anyone interested in extending this toward the end of the month? I might not make the 22nd.

I posted a reply to you on the Gossip thread:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 3#p5785503

[3ee]

Hello, finally finished, was a bit of a challenge at 1st but then started sounding better and better.

MP3: https://app.box.com/s/eowv1uhwyxf8jasnxr0q
wave: https://app.box.com/s/dhs9mtaee2itbvifwgz9

A bit of info: Mixed on a pair of Yamaha HS80m, decent ac treated room, FL Studio 11 with 3rd party plugins obviously.

As soon as I was listening to the original preview, I imagined making the vocal saturated and going through some cabinet or something (at least the verses)...but while mixing dropped the cabinet-filtering cause it was messing the sound too much (causing too much tonal imbalance)

The whole track sounded too muddy? ...elements were fighting for attention so ended up cutting out in the 200-500? range for most of the track, where the fundamental and 1st harmonic was... for balancing most the "secondary" tracks out tonally 6db/oct HP filter was very helpful, everyone should use that IMO and shelves also.

anyway, I'm trying to give this info with a general perspective rather than taking you through each track showing EQ charts, which IMO is boring.

The Guitar: needed those missing high freqs for gluing the spectrum with the other tracks so I ended up using Uhbik-G for pitch-shifting up an octave (extra stereo image through L/R slight detuning too) blended that with relatively low value..... next wanted a fuzzy distortion, Plogue Chipcrusher was perfect for this, then topped with some more highs through high shelf EQ.

the guitar was now sounding nice and edgy, a good lo-fi sound for this track IMO.

The vocal really was pulled together by some multi-band distortion via FF Saturn to compete with the GTR edginess.
The vocal also has an automation to a long splashy PSP SpringBox (spring reverb) and couple of other stuff.

Used 2 instances of Waves RBass (really careful with this plug, you can very easily put too much in) Used one on the kick at the end to round the punch more and one when I was shaping the bass tone at the beginning.

The snare sounds very nice IMO, from the beginning had a suited lo-fi, dusty tone... I only did small changes like some stereo short, slap delay send subtly used for some stereo image and some reverb.

The saw pad in the 2nd part of the song was simply lovely after adding the TAL Chorus-LX.
The choir vocal track at the end needed some more fuzzy presence so I used the bitcrusher there too.

click track needed a tiny bit more snap (tried the NI Transient Master but didn't do the trick) so I used the Klanghelm DC8C 2 compressor in snap mode. ... as for the splash, tried a short spring reverb and it worked.... I love spring reverb! use it pretty often for character and tone.

etc etc.... more detail on request, have the feeling no one would read anyway

Hope you like my mix, I like it!

[Yeager]

This was Fun!

Thanks nineofkings for the stems.

I really like the song, and the whole raw feeling of it, and the vocals are lovely.

Did not want to ruin the feeling of it so I kept it as close to the "original" as possible, the only real audiable difference is of course the wahwah I used during the intro and under the guitar solo, and the delay on plucky, the rest is just reverb.

I normally mix and master at the same time @ 0dB, so it was a challenge for me to stay around -18dB, my ears want to say "thank you".

First I replaced the guitars with a recorder, I hired a female singer to replace the obnoxious vocals an added a brilliant drumtrack, and a nice drumsolo to top it off, while I was arranging the awesome new stringquartet part I started reading the guidelines....

Here is what I did :

Host: Reaper.

Crash : Compressor
Handclaps : Compressor/ send reverb -12.7dB
Hats : Compressor/ EQ Hp@2K boost@3.5K
Kick : Compressor/ send reverb -28.1dB
Snare : send reverb -10.2dB
Guitar :

• Classic Autofilter (automated on/off at 2 places)
  EQ Hp@160 boost@3K
  Compressor/ send reverb -16.5dB
  Removed first 0:02.264 from wave.

Metronome : EQ boost@1K/ send reverb -14.8dB
MidiBass : Compressor
MonoSynth : send reverb -16.2dB
Plucky : Delay (panned left 70%)/ send reverb -16.6dB
Reverse : Compressor
Saws : send reverb -4.52dB
SoloGuitar :

• Compressor -4.3dB 7.4:1
  EQ Hp@200
  Delay (panned left 70%)/ send reverb -6.6dB.

Vocals 5x : 2xEq/all send reverb @ -16.5dB
Lead vocal : Compressor/ EQ/ send reverb -25.6dB.

Eq = ReaEQ
Compressor = ReaComp
Delay = ReaDelay
Send = Ambience 1 instance.

All faders at unity...

No panning changes made, no tracks split into 2 mono tracks,
no bussing (all tracks straight to Master).

Master : SlickHDR/ FreeGStereo -8.8dB/
TlsMaximizer (Saturation and a bit of EQ)/
Hofa Meter -2dB/
Sleepy-Time Stereo Channel (Metering -18dB).

Good luck everybody.

Mp3 : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/862 ... ger%20.mp3

Wav : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/862 ... ger%20.wav

[Compyfox]

Time to ring in the final 12 hours of this challenge!
This challenge ends today (Sunday, 22-06-2014) at Midnight to 23-06-2014 (GMT+1)



Confused with the times, use this tool and select "Berlin (Germany)" as Location 2:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

[Arglebargle]

http://www.alchemysticaudio.com/Nine%20 ... bargle.mp3

http://www.alchemysticaudio.com/Nine%20 ... bargle.wav



Here's mine. I threw it together in a couple hours. I guess I'll break it down by instrument? DAW is Reaper, reverb is Valhalla Room, compressor is IK Opto Compressor, EQ is Melda free EQ. Distortions are Tape Head and Camelphat.

Lead vocal: standard stuff - EQ and compression. Usually I pitch correct but for this one I felt the pitchiness gave it some charm. I had a bit of slapback on the vocal, and in the chorus also added a reverb. Automated the levels of both so that sometimes the vocal is completely dry.

Harmony vox: EQ and compression, panned wide.

Latter vox: EQ and compression.

Bass: multiband compression, EQ, and a bit of saturation. Automated levels a bit between verse and chorus

Guitar: EQ and panning. For chorus gtr I gave it some saturation for a denser sound. Also created a duplicate line and ran through Guitar Rig, panned opposite and turned it down a lot. Just a bit of extra density to set the chorus apart.

Monosynth: EQ and reverb, nothing special. Panned it a bit when the vocal comes in to get it out of the way.

Latter synths: Lots of top-end fizz on both tracks, so a lowpass filter to dull them down and let the vocals be more audible. EQ on the plucky synth to address midrange peakiness. Bit of reverb on both. Touch of chorus on the synth chords to add a bit of interest.

Kick: Distorted the mids and highs to give it a different sound.

Snare: highpass filter to sharpen it up, and I think a bit of saturation. In places where the snare plays by itself, EQ to not make it stick out like a sore thumb.

Hi hats: Some overdrive and highpass filter.

Drum kit: parallel compression to thicken it up. I pretty much always use parallel compression on the drum mix. It basically makes every kit sound better, every time.

I think that's about it. Wasn't sure what to think of this song at first, but it's a grower.

[shroom feverish]

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/135 ... verish.mp3

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/135 ... verish.wav

Mixd in Cubase Elements 7 with Behringer TRUTH B3030A monitors.

Kick: mono under 233Hz, bass boost on 58Hz, compressor with fast settings, HP filter 20Hz, limiter.

MIDI Bass: mono under 233Hz, tape emulator, soft compressor, EQ, 45Hz filter, limiter.

Snare: EQ highs boost, bus compressor, HP 70Hz resonant filter, short reverb. Snare, Hat, Clap are in group, running thru parallel compressor.

Guitars: EQ, compressor, reverb, cab emulation, distortion, delay, HP filter.

Synths: booosted hioghs, added drive, delay, reverb.

Vocals: compressors, surgical eq cuts and shelving eq boosts, delay, reverb, distortion

Automation on delays, reverbs and volume levels.

[Davias]

Hello,

I'm back from the almost death of my right ear and I decided to take a shot at this contest.

Nice song and great material to work with Nine of Kings !

Here is my mix :
http://hearthis.at/davias/nine-of-kings ... /download/

And here is a 24bit FLAC file for further analysis :
http://www.dropbox.com/s/v7f107qo52nvbs ... avias.flac

Some details about my mix :
max peak amplitude -3.45dB
avg rms power -15.11dB


So for the techniques/plugins used :
- Gain staging with Sleepy Times Records Stereo Channel.
- On every track : SKnote STRIPbus, with Tube Model A, crosstalk and low noise. Sometimes slights adjustments with EQ.
either LoudMax or GClip (or both) to limit nasty lonely peaks.
- On almost every track : Melda MEqualizer, with low pass and hipass plus some cutting EQ when I heard some freqs that I didn't like.
For boosting, TDR-VoS SlickEQ, usually with some saturation.
Saturation with either Kuassa PremixCM, or Klanghelm SDRR, when needed.
- Sometimes : LKJB Luftikus, usually for adding air.
You Wa Shock and/or Xfer OTT for filling the spectrum.
eaReckon FREE GATE essentially for cleaning recorded parts.

Some details when using unique processes :

I compressed the kick and the snare with Stillwell The Rocket.

Snare : Used Maximus to multiband gating the click.

Hats : Temperature, HBasm Stereoizer

Beat Buss : SKnote Grasso, Valhalla Room (for small ambiance with 'Large Room' mode), SKnote C165a, SDRR (Desk), TB ReelBus (Glue Tape II), LoudMax (at -6dB)

Bass : VoS ThrillSeeker LA, Ohmforce Ohmicide (to saturate the middles), and some multiband ducking with the Kick

Main Reverb : tone2 Warmverb (Large)

Saws : added an extra reverb (SKnote Stagespace), some filtering (tone2 biFilter) while the saws arrive; it is the only "creative" thing I permit myself in order to avoid changing too much the original song.

Main Guitar : Several EQs, Gating, 1 CDSoundMaster ARQ for boosting some highs, Temperature to shift a tad the spectrum, Nugen StereoizerCM, Terry West CS12-M 1.69 (Monoize lows, NY Comp, Saturation), TB ReelBus (Glue Tape I)

Litany Vocals :Acustica AcquaVox, Melda MDynamicEQ, Sleepy Time Records Lisp

Vocal Bus : Gating, Midlon Provoc Exiter, TB ReelBus (Swiss 15IPS)

Instruments + Vocals Bus : PSP Vintage Warmer

Mix Bus : Sknote StripBUS (SSL 4K), TB ReelBus (Glue Tape I), SKnote Roundtone (30IPS Hard)

Good luck everybody !

[Compyfox]

Here is my entry - at the VERY LAST MINUTE!

http://www.studio-compyfox.de/guestarti ... mpyfox.mp3 (MP3 320kbit)
http://www.studio-compyfox.de/guestarti ... mpyfox.wav (WAV 44/24)




EDIT:
A couple of corner stones for you people:


Mixed completely ITB with Cubase 7.5
HOFA's 4U Project Time clocked in at about 11:30hours of edit time
I had 50 tracks in Cubase, with 2-3 not being in use (so roughtly a 48 track project, and for this, 12-24 hours of work time, plus listening breaks are realistic).

Average Signal Strength: -15dBFS RMS on Fortissimo passages (Wavelab says -13dBFS, Cubase said -14,8dBFS RMS - I don't trust either analysis)
Maximum Signal Strength: barely scratching -3,6dBFS

A lot of the hours were wasted on finding out the BPM (you benefit from that in the Gossip thread, I hate Cubase for that!), leveling in the signal (took me longer than expected), strip silence and recreating some part in the project, testing certain features in Cubase and unfortunately also bug hunting (for example: Nomad Factory's British EQ didn't want to work, I had to switch to another EQ). I also tried to create an ADT effect, but I couldn't find a suitable delay until the last minute (wasted 2 hours on that, my rig crashed 3-4 times during the process). If I had another half day (6 work hours), I might have even fixed some minor mix issues with automation.

You'll notice, that I overall used FX sparingly. Barely any volume automation (though I did record some with the BCF2000). My main FX usage focus was on EQ and compression (if needed), else send FX. This is as far as I can get within 12 hours (incl. listening breaks).

The focus of the production was a modern sound, with a twist from the 80ies/90ies. I hope I could port that over.



I changed the following, minimal stuff (NO REARRANGEMENT!):
- the "snare" in the later part was reconstructed from the existing snare. I used my own reverb to be more flexible
- I added a "reverse reverb" effect to the saw pads as transition effect. Else I would have needed to move the whole part by one bar - I'd still do so if this would be a regular B2C deal.
- I found a way to implement the "click track" into the production - yes, that is the original click track. I was messing around with a filter and I was like "that's it - works perfectly".
- I did some slight pitch correction on the main vocals



Tools I used (selective):
- Klanghelm
- Focusrite Midnight Suite
- Slate Digital (VCC/VBC)
- Nomad Factory (British EQ, until it crapped on me)
- Sleepy Time Records (Transient Designer)
- Cubase built in Gate and Vintage Compressor
- Brainworx bx_control (to tame the widened guitars)
- Togu Audio Line FX suite
- TSE BOD (on Bass)
- Arts Acoustic Reverb
- Melda Production Free/Pro bundle



Here are a couple of screenshots from my mixing console setup
Take note that I did not use Cubase's built in "Channel Strip" Modules (no EQ, no special plugins), mostly third party plugins. The first 6 inserts (before the thicker horizontal line of the top 8 slots) are PreFader, the other are post. I did not use any "pre-fader" send FX.

Screenshots are in 1680x1050px, and roughtly 200kb each.

Channels 01-19
Channels 20-37
Channels 36-50 (incl. AUX Return)



More details on request.
Hope you like the mix.

[Compyfox]

It is 0:06 (GMT+1)

The KVR MC01 has officially ended!
Thanks for your participation - I hope you all had fun.


I will get in touch with Eric and start a new thread with the voting in the next 72hours.
Those that missed to post their documentation, can still do so. If it's missing, it won't be cut points. But please keep in mind that it'll be mandatory with MC02!

[do_androids_dream]

Nowt to see here

[hibidy]

I finally get around to compfox'es mix and it's 404 not found

I think personally now that the "contest is over" and there are no more rules we should post our mixes and continue by actually listening and critiquing each other

Yeah, I know, that's not going to happen.

[wesleyt]

Hibidy, if you're serious, I'll finish up my mix tomorrow evening and post it. That would be awesome.