KVR MIX CHALLENGE - MC08 February 2015 - Winners announced

[Compyfox]

Hello and welcome to the KVR Mix Challenge 08 - February 2015 - the first Mix Challenge in 2015.


This is the introduction post, where we link directly to the challenge corresponding files (source files, submission information, sponsors), start of the evaluation process 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
End of the first mix round: Song Evaluation Part 1, Part 2
Mix Round 2: participants announced
Results of the Mix Challenge 08: Winners announced

[Compyfox]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Sunday, 1st February 2015 to Saturday, 21st February 2015 (21 days)

Challenge submission will end on 21-02-2015, 11:59pm PST (Pacific Standard 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: Palu ( szalonykp / Krzysztof Paluchowski)
Song Name and Length: Matsumia Experience, 6:06 Min
Song Information: 110 bpm, 4/4 and 2/4
File Format: WAV, 48kHz, 24bit

GENRE: Ambient Metal


Preview of the Song:
https://soundcloud.com/palupalu/matsumi ... ence-szkic



A word from the song provider:

Matsumia Experience is a track from 2008 that I made after a Kayo Dot concert and it was my take on the organic metalish music with "ambient" (I know it's maybe not ambient per se, but I will call it that for simplicity sake) parts.

The track can be divided into three parts - the ambient one, the heavy one and the ambient outro.

I mixed it fast and never was happy with my mix. I don't like how the heavy parts sound - the distorted guitars and the bass. I'm mostly into post-black-metal stuff and rather classic progressive metal than nu-metal or alternative metal - so I'm not seeing it for example with flanger on the guitars or bass, but maybe you should prove me wrong and take it in that direction .

I'm ok with the ambient parts and I like the space I created. I like huge modulated reverbs and long "tape" delays - so don't be shy with that. And I like wide stereo field .

The track should be a one consistent track - there shouldn't be two/three distinct parts that don't work well together.

Please also consult the TXT files that are bundled in the source files package below. There you can find more information about the individual files and changes to the time signature.

Special Add-On Rules:
- No rearrangement of the song structure
- No omission of any track / no muting/deletion of channels
- no drum replacement (yes, this is a different drumset than in the one used in the audio demo)
- you NEED TO re-amp the guitar tracks
- try to not(!) pre-master the track


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Source Files:

Through the song provider (335MB, LZMA compressed)
Mirror on Studio Compyfox (335MB, LZMA compressed - might show smaller after download)


The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression.
File size extracted: 1350 MB, packed 335 MB (ZIP, LZMA)
In order to extract the files, we can recommend these programs:

Macintosh:
The Unarchiver - get it here

Windows:
7zip - Installation, Portable


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Please take note of the official rules - they can be found at the following thread:
KVR Mix Challenge - Official Rules and Guidelines

Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
KVR Mix Challenge - Gossip and Discussion

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SPONSORS (Prizes):

Prizes for mix participants:

Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prices on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.



Acon Digital is kind enough give away a single plugin of winner's choice.
More info on Acon Digital: http://acondigital.de



IK Multimedia is kind enough to donate any one plugin of their T-Racks Singles range. Winner's choice.
More info on IKM: http://www.ikmultimedia.com



Metric Halo will give away a single plugin of winner's choice.
More info about Metric Halo: http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/



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



Tone2 is kind enough to donate either a bundle consisting of AkustiX Enhancer and WarmVerb, or a license of Ultraspace to the winner.
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 FOR THE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.

If you want to sponsor content (please have a focus on mix plugins, bundles and the likes), please get in touch with the headmaster of the competition.

Also, please spread the word of the challenge. We also have a Twitter hashtag for this purpose. It's #kvrmixchallenge


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Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!

[photonic]

Great to mix a different genre this month!
And the song itself is very nice too. It is quite challanging that bass and guitars are clean and we have to do all the re-amping. Especially for all non-guitarists like me. I am sure this will make a big difference between the mixes.

[PALU]

After last two mix challenges that I wasn't able to get to second round I'm very happy to be on the other side of the fence

Great to mix a different genre this month!
And the song itself is very nice too.

Thanks!

It is quite challanging that bass and guitars are clean and we have to do all the re-amping. Especially for all non-guitarists like me. I am sure this will make a big difference between the mixes.

I think that it will make it maybe more interesting, but for sure different than other mix challenges. The mixes will differ in a bigger way that normally - you're right.

As for the reamping - the good news is that the best amp sims out there are the free ones:
http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2012/02 ... u-plugins/ / http://en.audiofanzine.com/plugin-amp-s ... -amps.html

[camsr]

IDK, I started working on the guitars and what I was getting sure wasn't "metal" in the contemporary sense. The center pan guitar is especially bright after distortion, I thought it sounded good mixed with the dry L and R parts.

[Compyfox]

This is what the Mix Challenge is all about - learn new things. Even as non guitarist/drummer/vocalist/synth player/etc (whatever you are not). In this case, it is "re-amping" to recreate both clean and heavy distorted sounds.

So I am really curious about the results.
And chances are, that working with "re-amping" won't be the last time on the KVR MC.

[PALU]

And one very important thing - the delay/echo on Guitar C track is VERY IMPORTANT for the overall sound of the track. Please - do not forget about that. Details are in the txt file in the archive.

[Compyfox]

You can now grab the files directly through the song providers page/server as well.
The links are in the second post.

[PALU]

IDK, I started working on the guitars and what I was getting sure wasn't "metal" in the contemporary sense. The center pan guitar is especially bright after distortion, I thought it sounded good mixed with the dry L and R parts.

Are you reamping them or just distorting? Cab simulation in most cases - beside other things of course - cuts the harshness and brightness.

[camsr]

IDK, I started working on the guitars and what I was getting sure wasn't "metal" in the contemporary sense. The center pan guitar is especially bright after distortion, I thought it sounded good mixed with the dry L and R parts.

Are you reamping them or just distorting? Cab simulation in most cases - beside other things of course - cuts the harshness and brightness.

Well I am not using cabinet impulses, I use EQ a lot. I cut quite a bit of treble to match the dry sound, and then an auto-filter (like wah-wah, but not as deliberate) for a little added dynamic.
It just doesn't sound ambient to me, sounds like a full blown lead. Not exactly sure what Ambient Metal is
Drowning it in delays might work for ambient.

[PALU]

Well I am not using cabinet impulses, I use EQ a lot. I cut quite a bit of treble to match the dry sound, and then an auto-filter (like wah-wah, but not as deliberate) for a little added dynamic.

I would use normal reamping - so an amp and a cab (IR or emulation or real of course ). But what you write sounds... interesting... Maybe stick to that?

Not exactly sure what Ambient Metal is
Drowning it in delays might work for ambient.

I'm not sure too What is important for me - the track has 3 parts: a spacey-ambientish-synthy-contemplative intro and outro plus a full-blown metalish middle.

[camsr]

This is how it sounds currently
http://picosong.com/LgQY

[PALU]

This is how it sounds currently
http://picosong.com/LgQY

I'm so used to the sound of a guitar amp that it sounds very strange and surprising to be honest. The sustain is very unusual - more like a synth. But with the delay and reverb - it can be interesting. "Strange", "surprising" and "unusual" are not a bad thing

I would never thought to make it sound that way, but maybe it's a good thing for the ambientish part. For the metal one - I don't think so.

[camsr]

Yeah it sounds too synth-like on the high notes, maybe it will mix with the other guitars, haven't tried it yet.

[Compyfox]

Just a hint for the guitars:
DI track -> stomp boxes (if desired/needed for the sound) -> amp head -> cabinet simulation -> maybe post EQ


You have to decide the amount of effect usage prior to the amp, then with the amp head itself, and of course maybe post EQ. We never said it would be easy, but this is what the challenge is about. It's a learning process. So good luck.