MIX CHALLENGE - MC22 June 2016 - Winners announced

[Bjulin]

Thanks to all participants so far!!
I went through all the mixes and these are my thoughts (no particular order):


Photonic

First impression:
i like how you built up the first part.
At 20 secs you brought back some of the cutoff frequencies, which gives a cool "aha" effect.
On the other hand, the difference is slightly too hard. The first 20 seconds is like: "wow, that sounds very thin, unprofessional." Balance is key here. More subtle cutoff and volume automation would make this idea even better.

Overall feel:
Too bright, too wide, effect/transitional elements too loud, mix level on drums too high.

Suggestions:
Maybe you don´t hear high frequencies well on your speakers/headphones.
There´s slightly too much highs on almost every channel.
Also, don´t kill the energy with reverbs and stuff - use panning, subtle doubling effects, etc!


Dave McIsaac

First impression:
Bass is taking much too much attention in the first few seconds.
Piano low-mids are almost gone - it sounds rather thin.
Effect at 47sec is a bit distracting (not in the room).

Overall feel:
Difference between floating/transitional elements and deep parts like basses and drums is extreme!
Generally, this mix has lots of basses, lots of highs, but not enough mids.
Lots of energy, almost killing all of the emotions.

Suggestions:
Please try to go for a more balanced mix.
I think you like brilliance in your mixes.
But brilliance is not made by removing the mids.
At first it might have the effect, but in the end it sounds thin.
If you want to go for that brialliant sound, try to define the elements by removing frequencies that are not needed. Also subtle transient shaping and of course, fine tuning the position.


3ee

First impression:
Oh yes, in general this mix has a rather nice balance!
As you said, the piano is a bit too quiet. It definitely needs a bit more presence.

Overall feel:
Emotional part gets lost, energy is a bit too high - Drums are a bit too heavy

Suggestions:
Slightly softer depths, more room for piano and a hint louder.


Kevin Gobin

First impression:
Piano is breathing, nothing is cutoff - nice!
Bassline is not too present... also very good.
Effects/Transitional elements are placed nicely.
Drums are a bit too dry/too loud compared to the other elements.

Overall feel:
Low and low-mid freqs are too much.
Problem is, that everything is a bit too loud (even the piano)

Suggestions:
Lower general volume and take care of low-mids as the eat up the atmosphere and quickly destroy the whole mix!
Also please listen to the difference between drums and all of the other elements. To introduce the energy of the drums is good, but should never kill the overall image!
Try to understand what the song is all about - this piece is not an action scene. It´s a rather emotional song - the drums are only additional elements, introducing freedom and life.


Mork

First impression:
Bass is too loud, Harp is too loud, Overall mix is too loud
Piano gets lost in the second part.
Basses kill the atmosphere

Overall feel:
Generally, I like, that you didn´t EQ too much - Let the elements breath!
BUT: Everything is simply too loud.

Suggestions:
Lower the overall volume.


VasDim

First impression:
Nicely balanced start - great!
Glitters are a bit too loud, grabs too much attention.
Drums are a bit too present.

Overall feel:
Melody/Atmosphere gets lost in the first part because of the glitter and in the second part because of the drums.

Suggestions:
Please take care of the highs in the first part and the lows in the second part.
The bellish-glitter-pad-thingy is an addition, not the main part (even if it sounds gorgeous! )
Same thing goes for the drums... just a bit too loud, too present.
Piano melo should be louder, so the overall theme does not get lost.
Overall loudness is perfect - don´t change anything here!!


LFO8

First impression:
Wow, nice play with the bass frequencies at the start! Creativity +1
Though, bass is much too present overall. Takes away space for the rest of the elements.
Strange effect behaviour at the end... even if that is creative, too, it´s not needed here. It´s an interesting thing for soundgeeks, but not for general listeners as it has no meaning in the song. If the story is told, it should end.

Overall feel:
Too much stuff happening in the mid range.
Even if I like what you did to the bassline, there´s too much happening in the low-mids, which makes things muddy.
Also there´s lots of phasing problems throughout the mix.
I almost can´t describe what you did to the elements, but something really strange is happening at about 50 seconds. That sounds really weird.

Suggestions:
You seem to be very creative. But, with all your ideas and playaround, you have killed the atmosphere. Please try to use your creativity in a less playful style but more specific. That will boost your overall performance.


Kunstparkost

First impression:
Hehe... funny how you have treated the pad with that gating effect at the end of the song.

Overall feel:
The start is nicely balanced, overall loudness is good.
Sadly the second part is ruled by the low frequencies, which kills the atmosphere.

Suggestions:
This is NOT an EDM track.
The gating effect is creative, but it does not fit the soundtrack theme.
If you want to use these kind of effects in a soundtrack, it should be really subtle.
Also, the low frequencies are way over the top... you need to bring down all the low freq parts to a gentle level.


Davias

First impression:
Oh, again, the piano is treated with some kind of circumcision.
Almost every track has been processed by some eqing and effects.
Well, I like that you are trying to be creative, but that way you have destroyed all the atmosphere and feel of the track.

Overall feel:
Mixing is not about being creative, it´s about bringing things together, balancing the existing parts. You can be creative (if your client wants it, which I said it was ok), but not that much! Less is more!

Suggestions:
Same thing with LFO8. Try not to be too playful. Use your creativity concentrated and gentle, only where suitable, not just for fun!


Slick3gz

First impression:
Ah, gentle style... nice!
High passing is crucial to clean up and let the low ends of the bassline and the drums breathe - very good!

Overall feel:
Can´t say too much about it. You understood, that all you have to do is balance this thing out - well done! The parallel compression is nicely used, too. Gentle, but effective.
Nevertheless, the lows are a bit too much.

Suggestions:
Please lower the volume of the low freq a bit and try to increase the overall loudness.
That will make the whole thing even more balanced.
Also please try to find a way to make the main theme a bit more present.


thiagoam88

First impression:
Much too much compression. The piano is not breathing, which is very sad for the theme carrying instrument.
On the other hand, I like, that the low freqs are not too present.

Overall feel:
Overuse of compressors!
Even if the low freqs are used gently, it´s a bit too soft.
The energy, the drums should introduce gets lost.
Since compression starts immediately from the beginning of the song, the whole thing has almost no dynamics. Everything is on top from start to finish.

Suggestions:
Don´t think, you need to use compression on each channel.
Let the instruments breath. Think about a room full of people talking with eachother.
You mixed it, like everyone is screaming through a pillow.
It would be better if they put away the pillow and talk to each other at gentle levels spread allover the room.


Kolyev

First impression:
Very very nice mix.
You analyzed the material very well and made the right decision.

Overall feel:
It is already a very good mix.
I can hear/feel the atmosphere.
Loudness is just fine.

Suggestions:
Keept it going and move on to the details to clean things up a bit more.
But, don´t overdo it!


======================
Sure, some things I said, might reflect my personal preferences as well as your mix represents your personal preferences... and that´s good in terms of diversity. So, please don´t be angry or sad of anything I said.
This is nothing but constructive criticism.
I appreciate everyones work and thank you for joining MixChallenge 22!
I hope you´ve had fun so far and you found something new to enhance your skills in mixing.
======================


Here are the winners of round 1 (no particular order):

- VasDim
- davemcisaac
- Kolyev
- slick3gz
- 3ee


Let´s move on to ROUND 2 -> Get Ready -> Start!

[Compyfox]

You've heard the man, people!

Let's kick off Mix Round 2 - which will end on 28-06-2016 at 11:59pm GMT+1/CEST


The following participants go into Round 2 (alphabetical order):

- 3ee
- davemcisaac
- Kolyev
- slick3gz
- VasDim



Thank you all for your participation, and good luck for Mix Round 2

[M.O.R.K.]

First impression:
Bass is too loud, Harp is too loud, Overall mix is too loud
Piano gets lost in the second part.
Basses kill the atmosphere

Overall feel:
Generally, I like, that you didn´t EQ too much - Let the elements breath!
BUT: Everything is simply too loud.

Suggestions:
Lower the overall volume.

This is funny, because I referenced the reference track in regards to loudness. To be honest, there is not much 2bus compression going on and almost no limiting. Just catching the snare here and there. Regarding the bass, I thought of video games, or TV series soundtracks which tend to be quite compressed and low endy in comparison to movie soundtracks. But it's your vision an I didnt get there. Better luck next time

[thiagoam88]

Thanks for your feedback, Bjulin! I'll definitely go back to my mix and learn from this. And I agree, by trying to make the piano present and aubible in every section of the song, I overcompressed it.

Congratulations to those who made it to Round 2 and good luck!

[3ee]

First impression:
Oh yes, in general this mix has a rather nice balance!
As you said, the piano is a bit too quiet. It definitely needs a bit more presence.

Overall feel:
Emotional part gets lost, energy is a bit too high - Drums are a bit too heavy

Suggestions:
Slightly softer depths, more room for piano and a hint louder.

"Emotional part gets lost".... not sure I quite understand that. Do you have specific elements that you associate with the emotional part or you said that in contrast to the high-energy / drums ?

"slightly softer depths" ... should I do something to the background pads or the effects are too upfront, or it's a metaphor for what you said about the emotional parts earlier?

[Bjulin]

Thanks for your feedback, Bjulin! I'll definitely go back to my mix and learn from this. And I agree, by trying to make the piano present and aubible in every section of the song, I overcompressed it.

Congratulations to those who made it to Round 2 and good luck!

Great attitude!
Even if you´re not in round 2, when you improve your mix, you can still post it.
I´d love to see your progress!

"Emotional part gets lost".... not sure I quite understand that. Do you have specific elements that you associate with the emotional part or you said that in contrast to the high-energy / drums ?

Both. In contrast to drums and some transitional elements. The melodic parts (=emotional) should be a bit more present.

"slightly softer depths" ... should I do something to the background pads or the effects are too upfront, or it's a metaphor for what you said about the emotional parts earlier?

The effects are too upfront. This involves the same thing... I´d love to have it a bit more focused on the emotional/melodic parts, then the energetic/rhythmic parts.

Keep it up!

[LFO8]

LFO8

First impression:
Wow, nice play with the bass frequencies at the start! Creativity +1
Though, bass is much too present overall. Takes away space for the rest of the elements.
Strange effect behaviour at the end... even if that is creative, too, it´s not needed here. It´s an interesting thing for soundgeeks, but not for general listeners as it has no meaning in the song. If the story is told, it should end.

Overall feel:
Too much stuff happening in the mid range.
Even if I like what you did to the bassline, there´s too much happening in the low-mids, which makes things muddy.
Also there´s lots of phasing problems throughout the mix.
I almost can´t describe what you did to the elements, but something really strange is happening at about 50 seconds. That sounds really weird.

Suggestions:
You seem to be very creative. But, with all your ideas and playaround, you have killed the atmosphere. Please try to use your creativity in a less playful style but more specific. That will boost your overall performance.

Thanks for the feedback Bjulin.

The thing you described at about 50 sec. in is probably due to the Harp being panned pretty far left.

I understand that personal preferences do apply from both sides regarding the overall mix. I have referenced movie sound-tracks I liked to always keep a perspective on spectral balance.

As far as the different elements go; I always try to let everything have it's own space but only 2-3 lead characters get front stage at any given point.

I enjoyed doing this one.

I wish all the contenders for the second round good luck and lots of fun!

[Davias]

Thanks for the review Bjulin ^^

Indeed I went a little bit (to my taste) creative, but not that much since I used mostly saturation, and a bit of EQ, so I went creative mostly with the volumes ! And you said you wanted to see "our creative juices flowing", so I wasn't thinking I went that much creative at the end. But indeed I changed the ambiance of your original mix, which was very good at the start... This is also why I was thinking you wanted an enhanced/different feel, because if it was not the case, then only adjusting volumes and cleaning a bit some freqs would maybe have been enough, I thought "it can't be so simple", so this is what got me lost ^^ a bit misunderstanding of what you awaited as the client.

Also I'm not sure to understand what you mean by circumcision of the piano too much EQ ?

After reading a second time, I guess it is because I cut the bass of piano ? Darn, I should have automated to let the illusion at first bars, and then cut later to let breathe the two bass tracks and the sub drums...

Also you said that almost every track was treated but actually it isn't the case...^^ beside console emulation, and buss processing. treated tracks were piano, harp, somekind of a horn, drums, bass, cello, pad of 2nd part. but all noises, and other high timbre instruments were left untouched. Ok there is a bunch of treated tracks indeed but maybe I applied too much buss processing, not sure here...

Anyway it is good to learn, maybe I should ask questions next challenge prior to mix. But from the first post, I was pretty sure you wanted creative...

And of course, congrats to all who reached round 2 and good luck !

[kevin gobin]

Hi All!

Thanks Bjulin for your return.

"Try to understand what the song is all about - this piece is not an action scene."

I really wanted to mix the song as a soundtrack, my mistake for sure, but in a way that was a compliment for me. Good luck everybody for Round 2!

Just a question please, because you talked about too much levels: did you adjust the levels of each submission to the same overall RMS or did you choose a constant monitoring level?

[Bjulin]

Thanks for the review Bjulin ^^

Indeed I went a little bit (to my taste) creative, but not that much since I used mostly saturation, and a bit of EQ, so I went creative mostly with the volumes ! And you said you wanted to see "our creative juices flowing", so I wasn't thinking I went that much creative at the end. But indeed I changed the ambiance of your original mix, which was very good at the start... This is also why I was thinking you wanted an enhanced/different feel, because if it was not the case, then only adjusting volumes and cleaning a bit some freqs would maybe have been enough, I thought "it can't be so simple", so this is what got me lost ^^ a bit misunderstanding of what you awaited as the client.

Also I'm not sure to understand what you mean by circumcision of the piano too much EQ ?

exactly

After reading a second time, I guess it is because I cut the bass of piano ? Darn, I should have automated to let the illusion at first bars, and then cut later to let breathe the two bass tracks and the sub drums...

Also you said that almost every track was treated but actually it isn't the case...^^ beside console emulation, and buss processing. treated tracks were piano, harp, somekind of a horn, drums, bass, cello, pad of 2nd part. but all noises, and other high timbre instruments were left untouched. Ok there is a bunch of treated tracks indeed but maybe I applied too much buss processing, not sure here...

Anyway it is good to learn, maybe I should ask questions next challenge prior to mix. But from the first post, I was pretty sure you wanted creative...

And of course, congrats to all who reached round 2 and good luck !

Maybe that sentence of "seeing creative juices flowing" was a bit missleading. What I meant was not about how you process each track, but how you will enhance what is already there. As I am always looking for high quality base material, most things you could do to the track was in the details.
And of course, I loved much of the things you did to the track... it was just a bit too much...

[Kolyev]

Thanks for the nice words Bjulin, glad you like my mix.
Regarding further clean-up: is there anything particular you have in mind? A certain element that doesn't sound right to you?

Also, good luck to everyone in round 2.

[Bjulin]

Hi All!

Thanks Bjulin for your return.

"Try to understand what the song is all about - this piece is not an action scene."

I really wanted to mix the song as a soundtrack, my mistake for sure, but in a way that was a compliment for me. Good luck everybody for Round 2!

Just a question please, because you talked about too much levels: did you adjust the levels of each submission to the same overall RMS or did you choose a constant monitoring level?

Both. At first I tried to get an idea of how the participant was trying to mix the track.
Then I listened to the tracks with adjusted levels, so the comparison was easier and my ears don´t fool me because of the differences in loudness.

[Bjulin]

Thanks for the nice words Bjulin, glad you like my mix.
Regarding further clean-up: is there anything particular you have in mind? A certain element that doesn't sound right to you?

Also, good luck to everyone in round 2.

Nope, nothing in particular...

[photonic]

Hi Bjulin,

Thank you for your detailed and constuctive comments. I made this mix without my usual studio setup, because I am rebuilding my studio in the moment. But that should not be an excuse! I messed up some things, which I recognize now after your comments. I pushed the drums so hard because I saw this track like a soundtrack and I wanted to bring more dynamic at the end. This round was definitely a learning round for me!

Good luck for those who reached the second round!

[Compyfox]

I pushed the drums so hard because I saw this track like a soundtrack and I wanted to bring more dynamic at the end. This round was definitely a learning round for me!

The thing is, it somewhat falls into the soundtrack genre. But it's also an "electronic orchestra" or "ambient" track.

Maybe we should fine tune that for future challenges?



Then again, this type of music (genre wise) seems to be taken well. Should we do more shout outs to get more "soundtrack material" in the future as well?