****Mastering Challenge Vote Thread****

[pearldivers]

All I can say is that I'm flabbergasted.

Hats off to the better renderings.

Jet

[Geoff242]

I am really curious what your process was exactly if those are the only EQ changes you made. I would guess that something else added the EQ changes along the way then. Would you be willing posting the tools and settings you used?

The object of this wasn't to make anyone feel bad about their work and discourage them, so I apologize if that has happened.

[pearldivers]

I just removed my detailed comments so as not to appear like a dummy spitter.

However, I do know that my adjustments to the original mix EQ were not "drastic".
(Basic roll off below 100, a minor tweak to the tesky vocals).

Still, I repeat my praise for the better renderings and go my way quite humbled!

Jet

P.S. Geoff no apology is required. I am simply dumbfounded that my "skills"
rank so poorly.

[Geoff242]

I am not familiar with the term "dummy spitter". What is that?

I seriously would like to know what tools an settings you used to better understand what I hear in your version. If you would rather PM them to me instead of posting them here, that's fine too. I just would like to learn something from it.

[pearldivers]

I never sought to alter the original mix in any way, merely to render it as a "pleasant" mix with commercial volume.
That such modest EQ settings resulted in general condemnation has me worried.

I may well have to revisit my entire room and set up.

Assuming I am not tone deaf, of course!

Jet

[Shy]

pearldivers: I think what's drastic about it is the major, steep cut of high-mid frequencies. It makes it sound very hollow. I didn't think it was so bad, though. It seems to me you were trying to make the voice sound balanced, and you pretty much succeeded. The problem is that it didn't fit everything else. I think the major problem with the original mix is that the main vocal is very bright in comparison to everything else and that's why it's hard to achieve a balance in which the voice isn't harsh and the instruments are bright enough.

I don't know what kind of speakers or headphones you use, but I'll just suggest listening to the mix on several other setups, and also compare to other things. Maybe you'll see my point, maybe not, and either way I definitely didn't think your mix deserved to be last.

[eduardo_b]

This is the one problem with the competitive aspect of this exercise. While it can be interesting and a learning experience, it also does mean that rankings will leave some at the bottom, which isn't necessarily a pleasant experience for those who see their name so far down the list. No faulting the concept, but I do wonder if a more comparative approach without ranking would have been just as informative and at the same time more sensitive to the feelings of those participating.

Some of us, such as myself, couldn't care less (I wasn't an official participant). And, mixing/mastering is never a competition. Taste, judgement and personal opinion will mean that rankings will be subjective. Probably why I find awards (film, music, books) to be questionable.

Of course, I'm not a competitive person by nature, so that may be influencing my opinion about this type of competition. As a learning experience this should be quite useful, but "best" to "worst" is probably unnecessary and serves no purpose...IMO, of course.

[Geoff242]

You are absolutely right. If I ever do something like this again, it will likely be very different. But, since my first and foremost goal was to let the public choose a mastered version of the track for my website, I couldn't think of a better way to do it.

If I do this again, the primary goal will be the learning and development of all involved (including myself of course), much like Kim's workshops. That way there will be no winners and losers. I never had the intention of making anyone feel like a loser with this, but like you said, it comes with the territory in this type of format.

So, my sincerest apologies to anyone who was made to feel like a loser in this process.

[bmanic]

P.S. Geoff no apology is required. I am simply dumbfounded that my "skills"
rank so poorly.

It might not be your fault at all. You do what you feel is correct depending on your monitoring chain and experience with the type of genre in question. So don't take it too hard. One of the best ways to learn is to do constant A/B comparisons to others and see what you like and what you do not like about their work. Then if possible, ask what they did and on what equipment they listened.

Also, like some have pointed out here, mastering/mixing can never be a competition because there are no right or wrong decisions, only subjective opinions. You could run the master through a bitcrusher set to 8bit 12kHz and there would probably at least one person in the world who would like that version the most.

Cheers!
bManic

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Hello all and congrats Nokenoku and SHY (Really it was really tough to pick between your efforts and i had to change my vote after revisting just your two tracks!) good work indeed

I am shocked i came third honestly as the track is mega polite and civilised compared to what i usually am faced with and also happen to like most of the time so it was totally alien to me but i learned alot

Cheers everyone who Participated/listened/voted/Commented and big thanks for the opportunity Geoff - a good experience indeed

Take care everyone and best regards

NEKRO.MACHINE or Dean if you prefer

[Shy]

Thanks Dean. What's funny thing is that Nokenoku's entry was my second choice, after mine .