MIX CHALLENGE - MC072 December 2020 - Winners announced

[yethu]

Mingalaba
I'm Ye` Thu from Myanmar. This is my first time participating in Mix Challenge. Firstly, I would like to say thank for this beautiful song, I really like it.

very nice to see you here!!
great job!
hope you'll get many comments after our deadline.

I would be very happy to read other people's comments for my mix.

[Christoph_K]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kwf673033cfkk ... K.wav?dl=0

Mixed in LUNA

My goals: Try to create a space where the band is playing together and keep things sounding as natural as possible (especially the drums).

I went for a Andrew Scheps-isch approach: Rearbus compression (Neve 2254E Dual), parallel vocal and drum processing
All tracks have a Studer 800 on, LUNA API Summing Engine


Drums

Parallel compression: dbx160, CLA 1176, Fatso, Distortion, Transient Designer

Edited one timing issue, copied one missing snare hit which irritated me quite a bit at that place (more in the end)

Kick: Used all Mics. VOG on Kick Out, EQ and gate. EQ and gate on the D112, parallel compression

Snare: Gate, EQ. Distressor, Decapitator on SN top, all go to parallel compression plus room reverb

Toms: Only just the clip for that one hit

HH/OH/Room: EQ (dipping around 350), all go to the Fatso in parallel

Brushes: Used all 4 Tracks, More Highs in the Chorus on the additional tracks

Percussions: EQ

All drum and percussion tracks go Aux send/return to Ocean Way Plugin to put them into the same space

Drum and Percussion Bus: Distressor 1db@6:1


Bass

Surgical dip at 217, LA2A, SSL UAD (EQ+comp).
Dbx160 just kissing the needle on the bus


Guitars

Slide GTR: EQ, Compression, Microshift, Echo to the right side

Tremolo GTR: same

Picking/Chord GTR: same

Rhythm GTR: EQ, LA3A, Oczean Way

Solo GTR: EQ, compression, reverb, echo. Edited some timing issues

Acoustic GTR: EQ. The Line track goes to Sound Machine Woodworks, panned 20:20

GTR Bus: MJUC (1db)



Keyboards

Piano: EQ, LA2A

Organ: EQ, LA2A

Keys Bus: Neve 33609 (1db)


Vocals

Leadvox: Desser, surgical EQ dips, SSL Channel strip for boosting high end and cutting lower mids, Acme Opticom XLA-3, Deesser, Melodyne
Crunched duplicate in Chorus (1073 overdrive)

BGVs: Deesser, surgical EQ dips, UAD SSL Channel strip for boosting high end and cutting lower mids, Acme Opticom XLA-3, Melodyne

Vocal Busses go to parallel processing: Waves Aphex, UAD 1176, Soundtoys Microshift, Slap + Echo (Echoboy), Reverb (Capitol Chamber, EMT140)

Mixbus
Scheps style: Fairchild 670, SSL Bus comp 2:1, 30ms attack, auto, Titanium (Pultec Style EQ), bx_digital V3 for widening

Master
ATR102, Celestial (SSL Fusion emulation), Oxford Limiter (just for the Enhance curve @20%g)

That was fun to mix. Love the vocals and the live character of the band.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kwf673033cfkk ... K.wav?dl=0

[romaingarnier]

Hi everyone, happy holidays, and feliz navidad.

Here's my submission for this month: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GsBFF- ... sp=sharing

A few words about it.

Kick: used both mics. gate, compression, EQ
Snare up: gate, comp, EQ to bring out crack, cut boxiness, plate verb
Snare bot: gate keyed by snare up, comp, EQ for snare and body
OH: not a fan of the 3 mic setup to be honest. I had trouble getting the snare centered. High Pass, fast comp and EQ to cut low mids and add sparkle
Drum bus: light compression, room verb

Brush: high pass filter, saturation, short reverb
Perc: as is, some room verb

Bass: heavy compression, tube saturation, EQed around the kick
Guitars: High pass filter up to 500hz on some tracks. Compression on arpeggios, not on strums, EQ to cut frequencies conflicting with vocals. Sone 1/8 delay and room verb
Acoustic guitar: EQ for body and air. High pass after intro.
Piano: EQ to cut some low mids
Organ: Compression, EQ cut lows and lows mids, tube saturation, slight chorus.
Lead vocals: high pass filter, Deesser, 2-stage compression, EQ, plate reverb, stereo delay
BGVs: high pass filter, desire, heavy compression, pitch correction, EQ, long hall verb

Master bus: nada

[PrzemekM.]

Hello everyone !!!

This is my first post on mix challenge :-) and my mix.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DXFKua ... sp=sharing

ok,

Drums : I used all tracks. Kick and snare- ssl channel and eq. Compression on the whole group - The GLue and sends to different revrebs.

Bass: SSL Channel, La2a, eq

VOX - LA2A , saturation , eq. Reverbs and delays.

I tuned a choir a little and sometimes I equaled.

piano and organ : ssl channel, automation, revreb and rotary only organs.

ELectric guitars : SSl Channel, eq, delay.

Acoustic guitar :eq end revreb.


Happy listening.

PrzemekM.

[harryc1344]

Hello everyone. I’ve known about Mix Challenge for a long time and I’ve really enjoyed listening to everyone’s different mixes on lots of previous challenges, but this is my first time actually taking part. Thanks to Javier and the band for submitting the track, I really like it and I’ve been singing it to myself for a few days in mangled Spanish.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7x83gj6dir7zs ... 4.wav?dl=0

SESSION PREP

Firstly, I listened through to the song a few times while I prepared my Logic session (track order, colour coding, routing, all that jazz.) I then looped the whole song and listened through a few more times (whilst also checking the two reference tracks) and created a static mix using just the faders and the pan pots.

DRUMS

I started with the drums. The kick has a tiny bit of distortion, about 5db of gain reduction with a 1176 plugin, a low shelf boost at 60hz and a high shelf boost at 12khz with a 1073 plugin, it is also gated to reduce the length of the kick and to reduce the bleed. The snare also has some distortion and some broad eq with a 1073. The kick and snare are both being sent to a parallel compression aux (dbx 160) and a ‘thick tape’ aux (Airwindows ToTape5) which helped to fill out the snare a bit more. The snare is also being sent to a very short reverb (Valhalla VintageVerb), again, just to thicken the sound slightly. I copied and pasted a snare to replace some mishit snares (around bar 81 and bar 131). Not much was done to the overheads or hihats, just some eq to remove some low end and add some top end. All the tom tracks were muted apart from the single tom hit.
The drum bus has a few dB of compression with the bx_townhouse, some mid/side eq with a 1073, and some limiting with Loudmax to catch some of the louder snare hits.

PERCUSSION

Most of the percussion tracks have been high-passed and compressed with a dbx160 plugin and are then being sent to some reverb (Valhalla VintageVerb and Logic’s Spring Box guitar pedal) and an exciter. I never quite know where to place a mono shaker, so I used the iZotope Vocal Doubler on the egg shaker to add some width.

BASS

I split the bass into two. I used Waves’ MaxxVolume to level out the volume on the lower bass track, and the higher bass track has been eq’ed, compressed with a dbx-160 plugin, and distorted with a PSA1000 to emphasise some plucky string noise. The bass bus has a Decapitator for some more saturation, some more eq to remove some lower mids, and a bit of limiting for consistency.

GUITARS

The guitars are generally high-passed around 100hz, most have been eq’ed to carve out some space for each other, some have some light saturation with the Decapitator, the slide guitar has some very slow panning tremolo, and the solo guitar has some panning, delay, and saturation using the Soundtoys Effect Rack (Panman, Primal Tap, Crystallizer). The acoustic tracks were panned, compressed with a 1176, and saturated using the Waves Kramer Tape.

All the guitars are going through a bus which has a Soundtoys Devil-Loc, Decapitator, Echoboy, and an LA-2A plugin. The entire bus is being sent to the room reverb.

KEYS

The piano was low-passed to remove the hiss and I used a transient designer to boost the transients and reduce the sustain. The piano was sent to the exciter and a 1/4 and 1/8 stereo note delay. The organ was compressed with an LA2A plugin, eq’ed to remove some low end and boost the top, and also has some light tremolo.

LEAD VOCALS

There is quite a lot of stuff on the lead vocals. The track is going through a 1073 for the high-pass and to add some top end (12khz shelf), it is being saturated with the Kramer Tape. Next there is a Waves RVox, an 1176, and a de-esser. Finally, there is a stereo delay, this is automated to only come in during the vocal outro. The lead vocal is being sent to a number of auxes; a 1176 with about 10db of GR, an exciter, a plate reverb (Arturia Rev Plate 140), a slap delay (Kramer), a microshift, and an Echoboy 1/16th note delay.

BACKING VOCALS

I used the iZotope Vocal Doubler on each individual BV track. Then the BV bus was high-passed, saturated with the Kramer Tape, compressed with RVox and an LA2A, and de-essed. The BVs are also being sent to the vocal reverb aux, an exciter, and a microshift aux.

MIX BUS

Everything except the drums is also being sent to a parallel 1176. I’m quite new to this rear bus technique (so I’m probably using it in a relatively heavy-handed way), but I’m enjoying how it instantly thickens up the entire mix. I automated lots of elements of the song. The snare was automated for volume consistency, guitar and keys tracks were automated to emphasise certain riffs/parts and to get slightly wider on the choruses. The guitar solo has some panning automation, and the vocals have a lot of volume and delay mix automation too. The mix bus consists of a high-pass at 30hz, the bx_townhouse compressor (slowest attack, auto release, around 2db of gain reduction), the Kramer Tape for some slight saturation, and a very broad Pultec eq which I mix into from the very start. I used Ozone 8 to flick between the reference tracks and also to get within the right loudness range before bouncing.

LUFS integrated: -17.6

[doobop]

Hi everybody!

I’ll try to explain my philosophy of how I did my mix. I won’t get into details on how many dBs I raised the EQ on 1KHz at such stuff because I think is pointless.. I don’t believe there is a learning process (if you liked my mix) when telling numbers and which algorithm of reverb you used on a channel. If I’m wrong feel free to tell me so, that’s my humble opinion..

So..
First thing I do is a rough mix. That rough me gets me to know the song better, to understand the parts, and to give a feeling of how the elements of the song should sound to my ears. I maybe do one or two or three rough mixes till I’m satisfied. So I believe this is the most crucial part and I maybe spent very much time on this.

Next, start mixing on this rough mix. I do simple-traditional mixing. I love working with channel strip plugins which have the flow of a real analog console. I do not need a bunch of plugins and do sound-engineering secrets and methods. Just an EQ, a gate and a Compressor, that’s all..
Only the Lead Vocal channel I think most of the time needs a little more push (compressor) I’d say if is not recorded with compressor, so I use my favourite one, a emulation of an LA2A. That was used on that song too. Always pre channel strip like you use it on a real console. Simple stuff guys, right?

Tweeking Tweeking Tweeking until sounds rights to me and is near the reference tracks. Always it is far from near.. I believe artists and bands give to the sound engineer reference tracks not because they want to sound the same but the want him to get their style-genre whatever.. So I believe is good to have reference tracks but is bad to imitate their sound, a band/artist should have their unique sound (again my humble opinion..)

Final adjustments and automation. When everything is glued, I do the final adjustments like bring down or up a fader and then I do automation for better balance or to give a little more life (movement) to the parts.

That’s all
Print the mix - export - and wait feedback from the artist!

Merry christmas guys and girls,
may the best mixes go to the next round,
regards to the band! I Love Spain!
Doobop

mix: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tz4qsl1cgxhzh ... p.wav?dl=0

screenshot: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xs2d2xw2s4zrj ... M.png?dl=0

[kirurg]

Hello everyone,

Thank you Javier for the tracks to mix.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/prsbxiqyae5wf ... g.wav?dl=0

The individual tracks given were good, the song
almost mixed itself at first. But I've decided to
give it more tension and attack maybe.

Every track has some compression and eq, but here are
the additional things I've made:

Vocals:
Background vocals are tuned. The lead vocal tuned few places
for some lower notes. Added a plate type reverb to the lead
vocal. Added a parallel saturation (Decapitator) to the lead.
All vocals going to the group having Waves RVox comp.
Bass:
The bass track included was very full sounding, still I've added some
mid frequency saturation by Vertigo VSM3. Limiter as well.
Keys:
Piano has a bit side-chain compression by the kick (for some rhythm feeling),
also sending a bit to the UAD EMT 250 reverb fx for room ambience.
Drums:
3 OH tracks into one group, added a small room fx. OH Center is pretty heavily
saturated by Decapitator. The kick, snare and OH's send to the parallel
compression (dbx 160 style). Soothe VST dynamic eq for snare and Egg track.
There is also a SSL type comp (Acustica Audio SAND) on drums group.
Guitars:
Besides the eq and a bit compression noted above, the acoustics and the solo
send a bit to the EMT 250. Solo has another plate reverb as well.
Main bus:
Some saturation here: two pre-amp emulations (Slate Digital Virtual Console and Acustica Audio PINK),
Acustica Audio NAVY compressor, and Acustica Audio's Celestial.

[bluesation]

Hi everybody!

I’ll try to explain my philosophy of how I did my mix. I won’t get into details on how many dBs I raised the EQ on 1KHz at such stuff because I think is pointless.. I don’t believe there is a learning process (if you liked my mix) when telling numbers and which algorithm of reverb you used on a channel. If I’m wrong feel free to tell me so, that’s my humble opinion..

So..
First thing I do is a rough mix. That rough me gets me to know the song better, to understand the parts, and to give a feeling of how the elements of the song should sound to my ears. I maybe do one or two or three rough mixes till I’m satisfied. So I believe this is the most crucial part and I maybe spent very much time on this.

and so on.

I go with you. That is my approach also. But, I dont like channel strips.

[maxovrdrive]

Thank you to Javier for providing the song... Mr. Fox for running the show. :-)

Here's my mix.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vol9S5 ... sp=sharing

I'll keep my notes short. Fairly simple approach... processed mostly in groups, except for the vocals, which were mostly processed on a per track basis. All groups have finishing eq's on them. Automation was used.

DRM GRP - eq/comp

kick brushes snrs tom perc oh - comp/eq/sat

BASS GRP - bass sat

PNO/ORG GRP
pno dopamine
org leslie

EG1 GRP - eq

EG2 GRP - eq

SOLO GRP - eq

TREM GRP - eq

AC GTR GRP - eq

all vox tracks were individually processed - eq comp deesser

BGV GRP - eq sat chorus/fx

LV GRP - eq sat verb/room

[Mark Andrews]

Hello everyone !!!

This is my first post on mix challenge :-) and my mix.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DXFKua ... sp=sharing

ok,

Drums : I used all tracks. Kick and snare- ssl channel and eq. Compression on the whole group - The GLue and sends to different revrebs.

Bass: SSL Channel, La2a, eq

VOX - LA2A , saturation , eq. Reverbs and delays.

I tuned a choir a little and sometimes I equaled.

piano and organ : ssl channel, automation, revreb and rotary only organs.

ELectric guitars : SSl Channel, eq, delay.

Acoustic guitar :eq end revreb.


Happy listening.


Hi! You need to make your file shareable...

PrzemekM.