MIX CHALLENGE - MC103 April 2025 - Winners announced

[scottfitz]

Hi all,
Thanks for choosing my mix for second place @Strange and thanks for all your hard work and enthusiasm throughout the challenge. Thanks most importantly for writing and submittiing your music for this, its been a pleasure for me in all the hours i spent on the mix and an experience i have learnt new things from. Thanks as usual to Mister Fox for all your effort and expertise and generosity in keeping this all going.

For the plugin I would like to choose the NUGEN visualizer please, which is one I was saving up for anyway so that's awesome!!

Cheers all
PS thanks to @Drannob for your kind words. It's much appreciated

[Eastpark Sound]

Hello Strange,

first of all you did a great job in the production of the song and the time you invested in giving mix notes to all of us.

I have an observation I would like to make. Not a critique, just an observation. I fully can see why you chose the winning mix (I am not a sore loser, I did not participate in this mix in the end). I listened to it trying to understand why you chose that one against places 2 and three, just for me to learn how clients hear mixes. On my three listening setups plus the car it is obvious that the winning mix has no low-end. At least not 21st century low-end. Is that what you like or is it rooted in your listening setup?

Again, I am really curious about that for learning purposes.

Cheers,Hendrik

[Strange]

Hello Strange,

first of all you did a great job in the production of the song and the time you invested in giving mix notes to all of us.

I have an observation I would like to make. Not a critique, just an observation. I fully can see why you chose the winning mix (I am not a sore loser, I did not participate in this mix in the end). I listened to it trying to understand why you chose that one against places 2 and three, just for me to learn how clients hear mixes. On my three listening setups plus the car it is obvious that the winning mix has no low-end. At least not 21st century low-end. Is that what you like or is it rooted in your listening setup?

Again, I am really curious about that for learning purposes.

Cheers,Hendrik

Hi Eastpark Sound,
Yes, I hear the same. And as I wrote, it’s a matter of taste. The song is more than 10 years old, I hadn’t heard any subbass stuff as I recorded the song. I don’t need it that much because it mostly works against the groove, the low low bass is too slow for this song. It makes you feel the song big, but it gives you not that catchy, soulful sound I hear in it. Why do so many people love vinyl? Anything below 60 Hz is rumble. It works for HipHop or EDM but not for my song, how I like to hear it.
My Setup has a subwoofer down to 20 Hz (I don’t use it often), the KSD-digital plays down to 38 Hz and my Audeze-phones 20 Hz. My room is a little bit too small, but well treated and it works very well down to 50 Hz. The rest is okay in my listnening-spot. I also use Analyzer-tools to see the frequencies. I hope it helps.

Greetings
Peter

[Mork]

Hi Hendrik,

I’d like to chime in, if you don’t mind. I think this is the key:

… At least not 21st century low-end.

This is exactly what Peter was asking for in numerous places - NOT 21st century low end. Happy was described as a sound signature guideline, which is light on sub compared to the usual stuff. Check out R1 mix notes, where basically everyone got a „too much sub“. I was scratching my head at first, but concluded that he didn’t want to be punched in the stomach, but „tapped“ and engaged by the groove. So I shrunk down the low end, which was a challenging and unusual task. You need a strong midrange, which automatically gains more focus, otherwise you’ll end up too thin. And that the mix is not. It is light on low end but it is not thin, just as requested. Since the soul lives in the midrange, it makes sense for this song. Learned a lot on this one.

Hope that’s helpful somehow

P.S.: In my opinion another bassdrum sample would have been great for the production. The current one is very big and rumbly with lots of energy in the 60 range. That naturally leads to the assumption, that it should be featured and I think this is what happened to most of us (including me in R1). I ended up cutting out a lot of it. Happy for example hits cleaner and in the 80 range, which probably would have been beneficial for this one too.

[titantraxx]

Thanks a lot for the opportunity. Third place for my first challenge is pretty cool.

Congrats to the winners! It was really great song and fun to mix.

Thanks to Strange for the very attentive and detailed notes.

For my plugin I’ll pick the Kilohearts "Sound Design Playground" Bundle.

[Eastpark Sound]

Thank you Strange and Mork for responding. If that is what the client wants it is the way to go. No doubt. I really struggled with understanding why. The final mix has way less low-end than even rock of the 90s. I am not talking EDM low-end. Maybe your monitor setup and Headphones have so much low-end that it plays mind tricks...

But anyway, thanks for the time you took for the many responses and mix notes.

[Mork]

Hey Hendrik,

my monitor setup is VERY accurate. This was mixed on LCD-X driven by an ADI-2 Pro FS and later UCX II (had to finish it on the road), tuned to Harman target curve with a little customization. I also have very good speakers and used to use Slate VSX, so I know I can trust the LCD-X. After tuning I wouldn’t call them bass shy, but they are definitely more on the conservative side.

I just listened back and forth to Happy and my R3 mix on my Air Pods. Happy has been my low end reference and I think its in the ballpark. Of course both songs hit differently, due to different instrumentation and tuning. But there is definitely low end present in a meaningful way, just not as prominent as in modern, or let’s say other, productions. Don’t get me wrong, I love big modern low end and as described in R1, was first aiming for more of a „Bilderbuch“ sound, which have a humongous low end. It’s just not appropriate for this production.

So what you hear is correct and that is what „the client“ had in mind.

[Strange]

Hey Hendrik,

my monitor setup is VERY accurate. This was mixed on LCD-X driven by an ADI-2 Pro FS and later UCX II (had to finish it on the road), tuned to Harman target curve with a little customization. I also have very good speakers and used to use Slate VSX, so I know I can trust the LCD-X. After tuning I wouldn’t call them bass shy, but they are definitely more on the conservative side.

I just listened back and forth to Happy and my R3 mix on my Air Pods. Happy has been my low end reference and I think its in the ballpark. Of course both songs hit differently, due to different instrumentation and tuning. But there is definitely low end present in a meaningful way, just not as prominent as in modern, or let’s say other, productions. Don’t get me wrong, I love big modern low end and as described in R1, was first aiming for more of a „Bilderbuch“ sound, which have a humongous low end. It’s just not appropriate for this production.

So what you hear is correct and that is what „the client“ had in mind.

Hi,
I agree 100%. I also compared the izotope ToneBalance profiles cause I wanted comparable criteria for the mixes and yes, you are very well in the ballpark of “happy”. And yes, “Weg zu Dir” is a little bit deeper and you will hear it and see it in the ToneBalance-profile. And honestly, I didn’t expected it that much, but this is what really works the best for this song in my opinion.
@Eastpark Sound Do you really compare the mixes in the same loudness or on smaller devices?

[Eastpark Sound]

I guess it all comes down to Taste and ears. For my ears the lower half of the sound is missing with so little lowend. I listen on NS10s with sub, Amphions and several good Headphones.

[Strange]

I guess it all comes down to Taste and ears.

At the end: this is it.