Mixing challenge No'7 voting thread

What's Hot
Right peeps...

Voting time... you cant vote for yourself etc etc...

1st place - 5 points
2nd place - 3 points
3rd place - 1 point

all the mixes can be heard in the playlist below:

https://soundcloud.com/thefretboard/sets/mixing-chalenge-no-7

voting closes 11.30 Friday 13th Dec.

Winner announced shortly after.

Cheers Luvs
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Comments

  • oafoaf Frets: 300
    My feedback, for what it's worth.

    Poopot: rather scooped, relative volume levels good but felt like there was not much content between 200-1000Hz, then a big spike around maybe 3-4kHz. Drums had a bit of a ring to them (I found this needed work too) and bass drum got a bit lost at times. Instruments are sometimes fighting with each other in terms of frequency, though I liked the honky tonk piano vibe and the keyboard elements were decently expressed. A bit too much treble and somewhat fizzy in general. Just out of interest I wondered if you uploaded a different version initially? (or my musical memory is just playing tricks).

    Fretwired: a bass boost effect meant it was slightly lumpy around 100/200Hz-ish though overall EQ pretty nice. Initially thought general mix felt a little mono, not a great deal of width (although there's actually a decent amount when switching TO mono!) In terms of FX it was too caverny/delay-y for me. While Poopot was scooped this feels somewhat muddy and low-heavy. Voice well handled, sits comfortably in mix although lead guitar sometimes plays over it too much towards the end (sidechain?) - this is as much an arrangement issue as mix problem though. Sudden finish might have been improved with a fade out :) Very solid overall and breathed better than your last submission (not as slammed though still loud).

    Brandon: EQ very good overall, possibly slightly hyped sounding in parts but lacking a true high end (perhaps thanks to SoundCloud's horrible MP3s). Snare sounded a bit weird/over-prominent to me, bass guitar and bass drum not very separated (another sidechain opportunity maybe?) Voice slightly low in mix/lacking clarity on occasion (especially vs backing vox, but then the backing vox are so well sung, so...) Felt slightly flat dynamically, wonder if elements are a little too compressed or just a bit too quiet overall? Could have been a bit more aggressive with EQ on particular tracks to give room to others. Overall relative balance of levels (and frequencies) seemed very good to me however and quite even/polished. However you didn't use only DAW native plugins! Lose a mark :) ha ha!

    All suffered from SoundCloud's MP3 compression (it seems to chop a lot off the high frequencies). It would be good to agree on a LUFS level to master to in future I think.

    On a very casual listen most of them sounded fairly alike and better than challenge 6 I thought.

    What did I do? I used Reaper. I was going for clarity, balance and played it quite straight. I felt the start had a bit of a "Shaft" feel so autopanned a couple of elements (for some reason...!) I then doubled the lower guitar intro part, delayed and micropitchshifted the copy and panned each wide, this reminded me a bit of "Brooklyn 99". I "ReaTuned" the guitar line at 1:45 and chopped the ripped backing vocals to match the timing of the lead. Neither are super-noticeable but I think they make it a bit more polished. I found EQing the ring out of the drums the most difficult and also struggled a bit with the outro vocals/lead guitar balance. I think I cut out one or two track sections completely that others left in. Can't remember what else I did. Ah yes, I very slightly widened the drums on the choruses to try to create a bit of excitement but doubt anyone will really notice. I put an LFO on the snare volume so the ghost notes were reduced and only beats 2 and 4 were at full volume. I made an impulse response of an Exponential Audio Nimbus reverb and loaded that into ReaVerb.

    I could have mastered it louder but (IIRC) went for around 13LUFS (quiet for CD but more typical streaming level, although I don't believe SoundCloud actually manage volume).

    It certainly shows that you don't need to spend a fortune on third party VSTs!

    So... quite close, but in the end I decided:

    Brandon 1st
    Fret 2nd
    Ppot 3rd

    Thanks for organising the challenge and taking part @poopot @Fretwired @Branshen ;
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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    Oaf: Kick nice and strong, maybe a smidge too strong. Vocals sound great. Panning at the beginning is a great idea (caught my attention as soon as the track started). Instruments are nice and balanced. Pleasant to listen to.

    Poopot: Mix is way too loud in my view and there is alot of noticeable unpleasant distortion (Quite clear in 1:36-1:44). Overdriven guitars are thin and raspy. Kick is wimpy, but perhaps comes from the contrast of listening to Oaf's nice strong kick just before your track. Panning is very noticeably extreme and everything is bright and brittle. I like the balance of everything else except the kick. Everything is nice and present.

    Fretwired: Bass guitar way too prominent. Overdriven guitars at the beginning a little buried. Nice vocals, but abit distant because of the amount of reverb. Panning and separation of instruments is great!

    @Oaf: 1st
    @Fretwired: 2nd
    @Poopot: 3rd

    Great work gents! and special thanks to Poopot for hosting. 
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    I forgot about this ... will listen and vote.

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    I had two favourites which I thought were balanced well-made mixes from Oaf and Branshen. I thought Poopots mix was a little harsh and as others have said scooped.

    My votes:

    5 points to @oaf ;

    3 points to @Branshen ;

    1 point to @poopot ;

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    Oaf's mix clearly the best of the three to me. A really good balance of the instruments and generally decent frequency balance too. Poopot's is very piercing in the upper mids and Branshen's is a bit thick and woolly in the low mids, without having any real low bass.

    Maybe it's an arrangement thing, but I felt all three struggled a bit to lift the chorus -- it felt slightly flat and anticlimactic when it arrived.

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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    Stuckfast said:
    Oaf's mix clearly the best of the three to me. A really good balance of the instruments and generally decent frequency balance too. Poopot's is very piercing in the upper mids and Branshen's is a bit thick and woolly in the low mids, without having any real low bass.

    Maybe it's an arrangement thing, but I felt all three struggled a bit to lift the chorus -- it felt slightly flat and anticlimactic when it arrived.


    There were four .. I guess mine was pants .. :-)

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    oh, sorry, for some reason the SoundCloud window only displayed the first three!
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  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    not pants -- a good balance of instruments and the overall frequency balance isn't bad either. I am not keen on the bass sound, though, it seems very woolly to me. Possibly too much reverb on the vocal?

    Not quite as good as Oaf's, for me, but a close second.
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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    Stuckfast said:
    Oaf's mix clearly the best of the three to me. A really good balance of the instruments and generally decent frequency balance too. Poopot's is very piercing in the upper mids and Branshen's is a bit thick and woolly in the low mids, without having any real low bass.

    Maybe it's an arrangement thing, but I felt all three struggled a bit to lift the chorus -- it felt slightly flat and anticlimactic when it arrived.

    Thanks for the critical comments! Will have to revisit and have a think. 
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    Stuckfast said:
    not pants -- a good balance of instruments and the overall frequency balance isn't bad either. I am not keen on the bass sound, though, it seems very woolly to me. Possibly too much reverb on the vocal?

    Not quite as good as Oaf's, for me, but a close second.

    You're right about the bass .. thanks for the comments everyone. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • oafoaf Frets: 300
    Thanks for the comments @Stuckfast re the frequency I struggled a bit with the general middy-ness of the stems. I've gone back and tweaked the high end a little and really slightly bumped the vocal up and I think that has improved it further. Ok for a headphone mix on a $60 DAW though I guess.

    Just @poopot to vote still then?!

    Btw I like having others pop in with their feedback, great to have other opinions.

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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    oaf said:
    Thanks for the comments @Stuckfast re the frequency I struggled a bit with the general middy-ness of the stems. I've gone back and tweaked the high end a little and really slightly bumped the vocal up and I think that has improved it further. Ok for a headphone mix on a $60 DAW though I guess.

    Just @poopot to vote still then?!

    Btw I like having others pop in with their feedback, great to have other opinions.

    Voting closed on 13 December which makes @oaf the winner .. where's @poopot ?

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
    Sorry chaps... been really busy... bought a house and what was sposed to be “decorate and move in” has turned into a full on restoration... new ceilings, rotten floor joists etc etc...
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