If O.T. please delete.
Guys,
I have the impression that most of you mixed on headphones, is my perception right?
(this is not a critique, just curiosity)
MIX CHALLENGE - MC25 September 2016 - Winners announced
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- KVRAF
- 2545 posts since 15 Jan, 2013 from L'Écosse
I don't, but not sure about the others. Why do you think that, mementus?
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- KVRist
- 80 posts since 5 Feb, 2015 from northern va
Monitors and headphones. Ear buds. Laptop. And the confidence destroyer: my car's speakers.
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- KVRian
- 535 posts since 10 Apr, 2011
@night For two reasons:
The main is that I am constantly looking to find my "references" on balance levels.
So I listened to most of snares and I didn't like them.
The point is that I dind't know If the "problem" is me (most of the time it is).
I don't like much mine, too. But in a different way.
P.S. On some dropbox guys the play button doesn't start for me (F.F. browser).
The main is that I am constantly looking to find my "references" on balance levels.
So I listened to most of snares and I didn't like them.
The point is that I dind't know If the "problem" is me (most of the time it is).
I don't like much mine, too. But in a different way.
P.S. On some dropbox guys the play button doesn't start for me (F.F. browser).
-
- KVRist
- 34 posts since 1 Aug, 2014 from Italy
As everybody in here I wish Photonic to get better soon. Your mixes where alway a cold shower everytime I was sure I've done a great job. They were balanced, creative and inspiring, without you the challenge will be easier 
That said this was a hard one for me. I didn't get the musical direction before starting mixing, music suggested a mix direction and vocals another.
So, in this case, I looked for a compromise, trying to find a good balance with my usual natural sound but with a softer eq approach.
I tried to massage every sound with various processors, smothly getting near to the final result. So I used different compressors, saturation, analog simulation and the new Izotope Neutrino. This time I also thought that I should compresse less and keep the natural dynamics of the song.
Here's the final result:
WAV:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... -piranha81
MP3:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... anha81-mp3
Ah, and I mix 90% on speakers, a cool set of Tannoy REVEAL 6P, and 10% on headphones, the Superlux HD681B.
That said this was a hard one for me. I didn't get the musical direction before starting mixing, music suggested a mix direction and vocals another.
So, in this case, I looked for a compromise, trying to find a good balance with my usual natural sound but with a softer eq approach.
I tried to massage every sound with various processors, smothly getting near to the final result. So I used different compressors, saturation, analog simulation and the new Izotope Neutrino. This time I also thought that I should compresse less and keep the natural dynamics of the song.
Here's the final result:
WAV:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... -piranha81
MP3:
https://soundcloud.com/roberto-ortenzi/ ... anha81-mp3
Ah, and I mix 90% on speakers, a cool set of Tannoy REVEAL 6P, and 10% on headphones, the Superlux HD681B.
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- KVRian
- 756 posts since 3 Apr, 2013 from Belgium
Here is my mix !
Nice song to mix, I had to go back in my childhood when my mom was hearing Abba in loop
[FLAC]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cj87u2g6lm3sg ... .flac?dl=0
[MP3]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8o5spjiauqadj ... s.mp3?dl=0
I tried to make the mix as much vintage as I could with my softwares, was not easy, I hope the result will be ok ^^
I used a lot of tapes and saturations plugins.
I tried to get the reverb right, as I heard Abba used a lot of reverb on the voices, wasn't easy :p
Just before posting I realized I forgot to fix the stereo of the song, so I made a few mid side EQ, but I'd like to refine that if I ever make it to round 2 ^^
Good luck to everybody !
Nice song to mix, I had to go back in my childhood when my mom was hearing Abba in loop
[FLAC]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cj87u2g6lm3sg ... .flac?dl=0
[MP3]
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8o5spjiauqadj ... s.mp3?dl=0
I tried to make the mix as much vintage as I could with my softwares, was not easy, I hope the result will be ok ^^
I used a lot of tapes and saturations plugins.
I tried to get the reverb right, as I heard Abba used a lot of reverb on the voices, wasn't easy :p
Just before posting I realized I forgot to fix the stereo of the song, so I made a few mid side EQ, but I'd like to refine that if I ever make it to round 2 ^^
Good luck to everybody !
Last edited by Davias on Wed Sep 21, 2016 10:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRer
- 13 posts since 17 Apr, 2016 from Lisboa, Portugal
Here it goes. Perhaps it still counts. 6 min late.
https://soundcloud.com/user-487069577/0 ... 21-2258-01
Thanks
Pedro Pitta
https://soundcloud.com/user-487069577/0 ... 21-2258-01
Thanks
Pedro Pitta
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
It's the 22nd September at 4:45am GMT+1/CEST, the first mix round of MC25 has now officially ended.
We've exceeded 10 participants again (my count is 17 participant for MC25, what a jump compared to MC24), which makes me really happy! Thank you for your participation. And welcome to all new faces, especially to those that snuck in a mix in the last minute.
Please check your links (are the files downloadable?), update your posts if necessary, and as usual... please watch this spot for the mix evaluation. See you in a couple of days.
ALSO:
- Please do not forget that we always need more audio material to mix (still looking for something that fits #MetalNovember). So get in touch!
- and keep an eye on the Gossip Thread and the Twitter feed. I might post another sneak peek the next days of something I've been working on for the Challenge for the last month or so...
We've exceeded 10 participants again (my count is 17 participant for MC25, what a jump compared to MC24), which makes me really happy! Thank you for your participation. And welcome to all new faces, especially to those that snuck in a mix in the last minute.
Please check your links (are the files downloadable?), update your posts if necessary, and as usual... please watch this spot for the mix evaluation. See you in a couple of days.
ALSO:
- Please do not forget that we always need more audio material to mix (still looking for something that fits #MetalNovember). So get in touch!
- and keep an eye on the Gossip Thread and the Twitter feed. I might post another sneak peek the next days of something I've been working on for the Challenge for the last month or so...
-
- KVRist
- 483 posts since 17 Dec, 2013 from The Netherlands
Wow, 17 mixes of my song. Thank you all!I'm setting up my listening party
I'll give feedback to every mix, it might take a few more days than usual, because this week is very very busy for me, but I'll be as quick as I can be without compromising thoroughness of listening
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- KVRer
- 13 posts since 17 Apr, 2016 from Lisboa, Portugal
Thank's for the warm welcoming inspite my abrupt entry as first post.
I'll try to have time to talk some of the things I've done in the mix later.
Here's the link. Never used it like this. I expect it to be downlodable.
http://www.dropbox.com/s/o74rb8ry28yuok ... x.mp3?dl=0
I'll try to have time to talk some of the things I've done in the mix later.
Here's the link. Never used it like this. I expect it to be downlodable.
http://www.dropbox.com/s/o74rb8ry28yuok ... x.mp3?dl=0
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- KVRist
- 49 posts since 17 Jun, 2015 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Monitors and headphones.mementus wrote:Guys,
I have the impression that most of you mixed on headphones, is my perception right?
(this is not a critique, just curiosity)
I really like how different all the mixes are from each other! So finding a "reference" probably is just a matter of personal taste.
BTW, after listening to some mixes, I realized that my snare is a little too reverb-y, even for the 80s
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- KVRist
- 483 posts since 17 Dec, 2013 from The Netherlands
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- KVRist
- 483 posts since 17 Dec, 2013 from The Netherlands
I'm done judging, blew up my laptop's powersupply in the process 
(hot mixes?), feedback is the next step, I'm halfway and rushed, Results tomorrow night.
(hot mixes?), feedback is the next step, I'm halfway and rushed, Results tomorrow night.-
- KVRist
- 483 posts since 17 Dec, 2013 from The Netherlands
Okay, here are my results and feedback for the first round. Not to waste time on the ranking so here it is as the first item:
Next round challengers are (in alphabetical order):
AdityainHim
Davemcisaac
Jim Kennedy
kevin_gobin
Shoma
thiagoam 88
Vasdim
Before giving feedback, a few overall things from my point of view.
- More than a few mixes are very loud, well above the -15.0Av/-3.0Peak dB threshold. In some cases both the average and peaklevel were very high, in some cases only the peaklevel, but I had one level peaking at +1.3 dB! Reading up on levels won’t do your mixes any harm, on the contrary. I’ve done it, so no offense, but I noticed improvement the day I started gain staging all my tracks and keeping levels moderate to low.
- High profile 70’s/80’s bands like Abba spend an enormous amount of time in the studio, milking the studio’s possibilities for all they were worth. Especially when doing vocals, pads, layers and reverbs. 70’s definitely does not mean dry or modest, in the case of those bands. Doing so, in the end they almost drove the singers crazy, but that’s just my opinion
- After checking out all the pro’s and cons of every mix, I listened to the sound of the mix as a whole to be the final judge. Please don’t be offended by any remarks, I just tried to listen as the musician being very eager to hear how the song turns out in the mix.
Feedback on all mixes in alphabetical order:
AditYainHim
This is a great radio-ready mix. Grooving, tight, I do not know what you did to the drumkit but it catches me, although a bit dry in production. The drums make the song move, especially the snare, wow. The balance is right, the fills and guitars are coming through. Please consider the following: the rev and delay on vocals, make it less like sung in a bathroom, but a bit smoother and rounder/wider, please less panning on cymbals and hats. Could you try a wider stereo image and see if the bass can get just a bit more prominent, without losing balance of course? The thing I wondered the most about your mix is the contrast between the dry-ish music and the wet vocals.
Baddo
You did a fine job on the vocals, they sound very pleasing, thank you, as do the guitars. Your mix struck me as bass heavy though.
camsr
Bummer you had to mix in mono, it cannot outshine the stereo mixes of the other guys/gals. You managed to make the pads and guitars shine though, but on the other hand, the drumkit sounded unbalanced to me, especially the snare.
davemcisaac
You made a beautiful stereo image, especially when the guitars kick in. I love what you did to the acoustic guitars, don’t touch them! I also like the overall sound image. Make the intro a little less loud, tame the bass guitar a bit, make the vocals just a little less ess-ish and bright and watch the timing of the “whoo-oo-oo” around 1:35, it’s off. Could you take a listen at the kick, it seems somewhat flat compared to other mixes? Not sure how to describe the kick precisely though. I’ll take a listen again.
Davias
Your voices sounded downright (too?) ABBA-ish, but to my ears too bright and telephonic. Overall your mix struck me as very bright and a bit nasal, compared to the other mixes. You made the fills nicely jump right out, and made a really great guitar entrance, thanks for that. Kick and bass though, sound overwhelming in the verses, to my ears.
erictracks
Your vocals sound great, good level and great tone. My impression is that the keys and guitars are quite loud, the low end seems to be relatively low in volume and thus impact. In comparision your mix seemed somewhat unbalanced.
Jim Kennedy
Your mix is quite creative, wow. Nice open snare and overall sound, Selected Delays on vocals very nice and tasteful. Alternating the solo and ensemble vocals is a really nice find, the tone is spacey and natural sounding. My remarks are: E-Guitars too soft. Fills could be louder.Try the Kick a bit tighter and maybe a little less loud. The synth fx in the intro are too loud for my taste.
kevin_gobin
Leaving out the kicks and toms in the intro was surpising although it makes the band coming in a bit abruptly. Although creative, I would like you to put them back. I like the groove of the synth riffs, the delay on them makes it jump. I like the tone of the vocals, sounds good! I think the level of the snare is too overwhelming, please turn up the pads and let me hear the shaker.
Mement
The acoustic guitar and the keys are nice in level, sound very balanced, including the synth fills.The drums struck me as being quite muffled and the vocals sound a bit dry. The e-guitar is too loud for my taste. Overall the sound image sounds somewhat dark to me.
mwaudiprod
The delays on the vocals are a nice find but I think it’s a bit overdone. I can hear only one vocal track, the solo one. You did something tot he snare, it sounds more like a clap, no?
Nightpolymath
The intro sounds like a nice balance, the synth riffs in the first verses sound right too. I think the balance between the vocals on one hand (quite loud and bright/short reverbed) and the pads, e-guitar and bottom end on the other hand is lost.
Piranha81
The sound you gave the acoustic guitar is very nice. The reverb on the vocal sounds quite big, overall the vocal sounds a bit resonant to me and nasal. I can hear mostly just the solo vocal. In comparision to the vocals the drumkit sounds more dry, I think the contrast is too much for me.
Pitta
You mixed the guitars really nice. The vocals and riffs are very upfront, but only the solo vocal is really audible. I think the low end is a bit too much for my taste.
Shoma
Please make the blank space, before the first notes sound, longer. I like the mix, the kick is good although somewhat bassheavy but not too much I think. Vocals sound clear and natural. The fills, guitars and synth riffs are good and grooving, and somehow the interplay between the vocals and the band has got a nice groove to it. The overall sound image is a bit dark though, could you add some pleasant sparkle? The snare could be just a bit more prominent, it sounds a bit dull to me. I also like the filter effect on the pads.
StudioSaturn
Your mix struck me as overalll quite bright. You went creative with the snare, but unfortunately it is not my taste. The vocals are relatively heavy in reverb and delay but they are somehow too much in contrast with the tone of the music I think.
thiagoam88
I like the kick, the snare too, take the reverb off just a tiny bit, it gives your mix character. Don’t alter it beyond recognition though, just a tiny tad less to make it more fit with the rest of the instruments. The snare has to remain big in this mix. Please raise vocals in the louder parts of the music. Make pads a bit louder, and let me hear the shaker in the chorus please. The synth fills are sometimes nicely audible but sometimes buried. Please can you make it consistent? They form a question-and-answer with the vocals. Please pan the guitar (not in the middle) or make it sound a bit wider.
Vasdim
I like the sound of your mix, although I have a few remarks. The riffs and fills of the synths are good in level, please eq them a bit softer. The reverb on the snare is quite nice. I think the low end could be less loud and the vocals a little less upfront.
Again thank you all for the work done on my song. I think it's a great learning experience for me.
Next round challengers are (in alphabetical order):
AdityainHim
Davemcisaac
Jim Kennedy
kevin_gobin
Shoma
thiagoam 88
Vasdim
Before giving feedback, a few overall things from my point of view.
- More than a few mixes are very loud, well above the -15.0Av/-3.0Peak dB threshold. In some cases both the average and peaklevel were very high, in some cases only the peaklevel, but I had one level peaking at +1.3 dB! Reading up on levels won’t do your mixes any harm, on the contrary. I’ve done it, so no offense, but I noticed improvement the day I started gain staging all my tracks and keeping levels moderate to low.
- High profile 70’s/80’s bands like Abba spend an enormous amount of time in the studio, milking the studio’s possibilities for all they were worth. Especially when doing vocals, pads, layers and reverbs. 70’s definitely does not mean dry or modest, in the case of those bands. Doing so, in the end they almost drove the singers crazy, but that’s just my opinion
- After checking out all the pro’s and cons of every mix, I listened to the sound of the mix as a whole to be the final judge. Please don’t be offended by any remarks, I just tried to listen as the musician being very eager to hear how the song turns out in the mix.
Feedback on all mixes in alphabetical order:
AditYainHim
This is a great radio-ready mix. Grooving, tight, I do not know what you did to the drumkit but it catches me, although a bit dry in production. The drums make the song move, especially the snare, wow. The balance is right, the fills and guitars are coming through. Please consider the following: the rev and delay on vocals, make it less like sung in a bathroom, but a bit smoother and rounder/wider, please less panning on cymbals and hats. Could you try a wider stereo image and see if the bass can get just a bit more prominent, without losing balance of course? The thing I wondered the most about your mix is the contrast between the dry-ish music and the wet vocals.
Baddo
You did a fine job on the vocals, they sound very pleasing, thank you, as do the guitars. Your mix struck me as bass heavy though.
camsr
Bummer you had to mix in mono, it cannot outshine the stereo mixes of the other guys/gals. You managed to make the pads and guitars shine though, but on the other hand, the drumkit sounded unbalanced to me, especially the snare.
davemcisaac
You made a beautiful stereo image, especially when the guitars kick in. I love what you did to the acoustic guitars, don’t touch them! I also like the overall sound image. Make the intro a little less loud, tame the bass guitar a bit, make the vocals just a little less ess-ish and bright and watch the timing of the “whoo-oo-oo” around 1:35, it’s off. Could you take a listen at the kick, it seems somewhat flat compared to other mixes? Not sure how to describe the kick precisely though. I’ll take a listen again.
Davias
Your voices sounded downright (too?) ABBA-ish, but to my ears too bright and telephonic. Overall your mix struck me as very bright and a bit nasal, compared to the other mixes. You made the fills nicely jump right out, and made a really great guitar entrance, thanks for that. Kick and bass though, sound overwhelming in the verses, to my ears.
erictracks
Your vocals sound great, good level and great tone. My impression is that the keys and guitars are quite loud, the low end seems to be relatively low in volume and thus impact. In comparision your mix seemed somewhat unbalanced.
Jim Kennedy
Your mix is quite creative, wow. Nice open snare and overall sound, Selected Delays on vocals very nice and tasteful. Alternating the solo and ensemble vocals is a really nice find, the tone is spacey and natural sounding. My remarks are: E-Guitars too soft. Fills could be louder.Try the Kick a bit tighter and maybe a little less loud. The synth fx in the intro are too loud for my taste.
kevin_gobin
Leaving out the kicks and toms in the intro was surpising although it makes the band coming in a bit abruptly. Although creative, I would like you to put them back. I like the groove of the synth riffs, the delay on them makes it jump. I like the tone of the vocals, sounds good! I think the level of the snare is too overwhelming, please turn up the pads and let me hear the shaker.
Mement
The acoustic guitar and the keys are nice in level, sound very balanced, including the synth fills.The drums struck me as being quite muffled and the vocals sound a bit dry. The e-guitar is too loud for my taste. Overall the sound image sounds somewhat dark to me.
mwaudiprod
The delays on the vocals are a nice find but I think it’s a bit overdone. I can hear only one vocal track, the solo one. You did something tot he snare, it sounds more like a clap, no?
Nightpolymath
The intro sounds like a nice balance, the synth riffs in the first verses sound right too. I think the balance between the vocals on one hand (quite loud and bright/short reverbed) and the pads, e-guitar and bottom end on the other hand is lost.
Piranha81
The sound you gave the acoustic guitar is very nice. The reverb on the vocal sounds quite big, overall the vocal sounds a bit resonant to me and nasal. I can hear mostly just the solo vocal. In comparision to the vocals the drumkit sounds more dry, I think the contrast is too much for me.
Pitta
You mixed the guitars really nice. The vocals and riffs are very upfront, but only the solo vocal is really audible. I think the low end is a bit too much for my taste.
Shoma
Please make the blank space, before the first notes sound, longer. I like the mix, the kick is good although somewhat bassheavy but not too much I think. Vocals sound clear and natural. The fills, guitars and synth riffs are good and grooving, and somehow the interplay between the vocals and the band has got a nice groove to it. The overall sound image is a bit dark though, could you add some pleasant sparkle? The snare could be just a bit more prominent, it sounds a bit dull to me. I also like the filter effect on the pads.
StudioSaturn
Your mix struck me as overalll quite bright. You went creative with the snare, but unfortunately it is not my taste. The vocals are relatively heavy in reverb and delay but they are somehow too much in contrast with the tone of the music I think.
thiagoam88
I like the kick, the snare too, take the reverb off just a tiny bit, it gives your mix character. Don’t alter it beyond recognition though, just a tiny tad less to make it more fit with the rest of the instruments. The snare has to remain big in this mix. Please raise vocals in the louder parts of the music. Make pads a bit louder, and let me hear the shaker in the chorus please. The synth fills are sometimes nicely audible but sometimes buried. Please can you make it consistent? They form a question-and-answer with the vocals. Please pan the guitar (not in the middle) or make it sound a bit wider.
Vasdim
I like the sound of your mix, although I have a few remarks. The riffs and fills of the synths are good in level, please eq them a bit softer. The reverb on the snare is quite nice. I think the low end could be less loud and the vocals a little less upfront.
Again thank you all for the work done on my song. I think it's a great learning experience for me.
Last edited by ThePresent on Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
