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10-03-2018, 02:53 PM
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#1
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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REAPER CONTEST - OCTOBER 2018 (FEEDBACK)
__________________________________________________
This month we celebrate because it's the second anniversary of the REAPER Contest! I hope this month's multitrack can push your mix skills to new boundaries
This month the song to mix is called Iron Sheik by the band Dry Clean Only. Have fun!
As always you can download the multitrack from the website or clicking on this link.
Happy mixing!
Dave
__________________________________________________
IMPORTANT:
DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THIS CONTEST?
Last edited by DaveKeehl; 11-04-2018 at 04:23 AM.
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10-03-2018, 03:08 PM
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#2
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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This month I'll participate too! Who else is joining me? Maybe we'll see some old faces?
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10-03-2018, 09:28 PM
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#3
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Banned
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: It changes
Posts: 1,425
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I'm in between songs and need a recording break. So I think I'll give it another go.
Maybe this time I won't deviate so much and resist the need to modify the song arrangement to my liking. Maybe
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10-03-2018, 11:39 PM
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#4
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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I think this month the song is pretty well structured and well recorded. It was from a past puremix contest.
@RDBOIS so you have a studio?
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10-04-2018, 06:40 AM
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#5
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Banned
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: It changes
Posts: 1,425
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKeehl
I think this month the song is pretty well structured and well recorded. It was from a past puremix contest.
@RDBOIS so you have a studio?
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No. Well, unless you call my computer desk in the living room a studio? Very basic stuff.
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10-08-2018, 01:50 PM
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#6
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Ok same as me then
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10-13-2018, 04:23 AM
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#7
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Still a bit more than a week to go
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10-19-2018, 03:17 PM
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#8
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 310
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_Here
Holy Sound Check Batman!!!
\m/ oç0 \m/
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Nice! Can't wait to hear your new mixes!
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10-19-2018, 07:53 PM
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#9
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_Here
Holy Sound Check Batman!!!
Just got (mostly) done moving to new digs. Gotmonitors and basic system set up in new room.. Much bigger space.
OM-FN-G! I cannot believe the difference in sound! God I cant wait to try mixing here and see what happens.
I'm just sitting here at a comfortable 84-88db's and just groovin on song after song. I love hearing music when it Jams.. Maybe this is just what I needed to respark that fire...
\m/ oç0 \m/
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Sounds like a great time!
I just sent in my mix. Looking forward to hearing the rest of them!
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10-22-2018, 07:17 AM
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#10
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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The mixing phase is now over! All the entries are on the website. Go vote
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10-24-2018, 09:01 PM
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#11
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: the Bay
Posts: 705
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You can vote if you didn't mix. I just finished mine, thought the deadline was this week instead of last. Ooops!
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10-24-2018, 10:02 PM
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#12
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_Here
Hey Dave?
May I Vote even if I haven't done a mix?
Regardless, I'm sorry I missed this one, the submissions sound great here in my new Digs.
So far seems everyone did a fantastic job with their mixes.
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I've done it a few times.
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11-01-2018, 01:41 PM
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#13
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Fuck I completely forgot to keep an eye on the schedule! ahaha let's check the results...
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11-01-2018, 02:13 PM
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#14
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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RESULTS!
It's funny how as soon as you start thinking something in general is starting to change, something happens and makes you think the opposite. You might have already guessed what I'm talking about, because the winner is always the same...
GRASS!
Congrats as always and you know what do
Updated analytics (click it)
October 2018 ranking:
New Top 10:
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11-01-2018, 02:23 PM
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#15
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Question for everybody:
Should I find a way to prevent people from voting for their own mix? I noticed that some users spotted their work and voted for themselves and I don't know if I should do something about it. I'm fine as long they really thought their work was better than the others, but I don't know... what do you think? I'm not against but I can see some downsides of having total freedom.
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11-01-2018, 02:59 PM
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#16
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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Other competitions I take part in forbid people from voting for themselves, and either require people to vote (or be disqualified), or give them a free first place vote when they vote to encourage them to vote. Personally I prefer the second approach.
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11-01-2018, 03:50 PM
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#17
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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and how is that second approach different from the current state of our voting system?
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11-01-2018, 04:04 PM
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#18
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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I wouldn't be able to vote for myself anymore.
I would get +3 points for voting. People who don't vote wouldn't get the free +3 points.
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11-01-2018, 06:18 PM
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#19
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 13
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If you genuinely think that your mix is the best, then.......
I will openly admit to having voted for my own mix -- but, I do NOT simply vote for myself automatically. There have definitely been months when I thought that other mixes kicked my butt, and I voted for those mixes.
In the end, it's not like you win money or anything for winning the vote, so I don't think it's a big deal. I don't care if the voting system stays the same or changes. It doesn't matter; this is for fun. But again, I don't blame people for voting for their own mix if they really think it's the best.... at the same time, don't vote for yourself just to try to win -- if other mixes sound better to you than your own does, vote for those.
I kind of feel like if you really put a lot into your mix and you're happy with it, it SHOULD sound better to you than others' mixes..........
__________________
Website: facebook.com/riffstreetstudio
Music: twostepsback.bandcamp.com
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11-01-2018, 07:35 PM
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#20
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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Anyway, comments.
In general I would have preferred the vox to be completely dry in the intro, with the verb or delay coming in when the drums do. Automate those sends, folks!
1 - Volume levels are balanced well. Guitars could use a little more EQ'ing. Intro is good. Verb on the intro vox is audible but subtle. Good transition when the drums come in. Tambourine is a little too loud but I like that you featured it. (top)
2 - Guitars could use more EQ'ing. Whole mix sounds overly distorted.
3 - Meeeeeh
4 - Volume levels are balanced well and the energy is there. Snare is too tubby. EQ balance is a little off and there is unpleasant compression (I think on the master bus). Stereo image feels too narrow.
5 - Too much verb on the intro vox. Guitars sound good in the intro. Whole mix is overly distorted and the cymbals have too much highs.
6 - Way too much verb on the intro vox. Is the guy singing in a cavern? I like the bass in the chorus.
7 - Frequency balance is totally off and the mix is distorted, like I'm listening on a phone through a guitar amp.
8 - Verb too high on the intro vox. Mix lacks punchiness. Transition to the bridge is intriguing. I liked to vocals in the final chorus (but still too much reverb) and the ending you edited in. (top)
9 - Intro vox are a little off EQ-wise. Is there a small delay on them creating comb filtering or something? Good transition when the drums come in. Vocals often get lost under the guitars - use some volume automation on them (or just turn them up a bit) to clean this up. Cool vox right before the first break. (top)
10 - Good transition when the drums come in. Drums are a little "spitty" but the chorus sounds really good. Good balance between the bass and guitars. Verses sound quite a bit different from the choruses. Too much 10-20k in verses? I like the tambourine in this one. (top)
voted
10>1>9
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11-01-2018, 08:18 PM
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#21
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 13
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Feedback
1. My mix.
2. Very high energy mix with in-your-face guitars. But to my ears the guitars drown out the drums, the vocal harmonies are panned too wide, and during the choruses in particular there is some kind of fluttering happening… not sure what it is. Compressor or limiter overwhelmed?
3. What strikes me about this one right off the bat is how the guitars sound so mid-scooped. That’s a preference issue though; it doesn’t sound bad if that’s how you want it to sound. The lead vocal sounds very good. But, the backing vocals seem too far back – you can barely hear some of them. Drums sound good but could use more of the room sound blended into the mix.
4. Like mix #3, the guitars are very mid-scooped. There is something strange about the panning of the guitars too. Like mix #2, some (not all) of the vocal harmonies are panned very wide, which separates them from the lead vocal too much in my opinion (this is mainly during the verses). Sounds like the master limiter is pumping, especially during the choruses. I like the snare sound but for the drums I would like to hear more of the room too.
5. This one starts out sounding real nice but when the drums and everything else kick in I’m hearing major distortion… by the halfway point I’m thinking that the distortion must be intentional, and it’s starting to grow on me. There’s not really much else to complain about with this mix; it’s mainly a matter of whether you dig the overall high-energy/distortion approach.
6. This one has solid balance overall. But… I do not care for the very long vocal delays. Also, to me the bass guitar already had some distortion baked into it and didn’t need more – the additional bass distortion is too much and is distracting at times.
7. With this one I’m hearing a mix that’s too mono (pan the guitars L and R to widen it) and that buries the vocals under the guitars.
8. This one has a little bit of a muffled feel to it, like it’s gasping for air/needs to breathe more. Some of the backing vocals are a bit too far back and panned too wide like in some of the earlier mixes. To me, harmony parts that accompany a lead vocal during a verse for example should be tucked up nice and tight with the lead (center or near center). Then you can go wider during choruses. I don’t like the ending…
9. Good mix. To me the drums are buried a bit. …and where is the tambourine? Good guitar tone.
10. Good mix. Minor issues: During the choruses it seems like one of the backing vocals is just right but the other needs to come up. The tambourine is barely audible, the toms sound thin, and that one ride hit is kind of jarring (too loud). Is there some kind of phasing issue happening with the guitars?
__________________
Website: facebook.com/riffstreetstudio
Music: twostepsback.bandcamp.com
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11-02-2018, 12:09 AM
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#22
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Finland
Posts: 27
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Quick notes that I made when I tried to find whom to vote. My voting decisions were based on overall sound.
01
Band sounds good, vox too low
Toms boomy and spearate from the kit
tabourine a bit piercing
VOTED
02
Chorus: tabourine a bit piercing
Kick snare suffocated
03
Chorus: snare undefined
04
Chorus: snare sounds a bit like leather sofa
Over all sound a bit weird
05
My mix
06
Chorus: good one
Guitars have too many effects
07
Chorus: bad essess
Over all sound a bit weird
08
Chorus: good one
TOms too separate from the kit
VOTED
09
Chorus: snare a bit suffocated
A bit muddy
10
Chorus: Good one,
snare and kick too separate from the band sound. Too snappy
VOTED
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11-02-2018, 12:49 AM
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#23
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Finland
Posts: 27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKeehl
Question for everybody:
Should I find a way to prevent people from voting for their own mix? I noticed that some users spotted their work and voted for themselves and I don't know if I should do something about it. I'm fine as long they really thought their work was better than the others, but I don't know... what do you think? I'm not against but I can see some downsides of having total freedom.
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If one honestly thinks that one deserves a vote, I don’t think it’s bad to vote for oneself.
I think the best way would be to make votes public. Just ask for the reaper name in vote form, and publish the votes given by each user. Of course one should inform that beforehand in the form.
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11-02-2018, 01:15 AM
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#24
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Germany
Posts: 34
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Congratulations to Grass again.
The mixes this month are very close, so i'm not sure about my vote.
Here are my short notes:
#1 Nice balanced mix, maybe the backings stick out a little
#2 Good Intro, right backing sticks out, overall sound too compressed, sometimes almost distorted
#3 Very nice balanced mix nothing more to say
#4 Good vocals but guitars too thin, don't like the kick and snare sound too much, toms are good
#5 Good mix but too compressed
#6 Good mix, i'm not sure about the delays for this genre
#7 Too thin overall and too compressed (maybe a problem with your listening spot?)
#8 my mix
#9 Good mix, i like the guitars most
#10 Good punchy mix, i think kick needs more bottom end
I voted 1 - 3 - 9
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11-02-2018, 01:28 AM
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#25
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Germany
Posts: 34
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I personally don't vote for myself. Did it one time and it was the only point that I got in that month
So next time I loose, I do it with zero points and feel better.
For me the contest isn't about points and ranks, it's about mixing-practice and the feedbacks we give and the chance to compare mixes. Also the limiting to stock plugins is interesting and I learned a lot from that.
If someone votes for his own mix and thinks it is the best, than it's ok. If someone does it only for the points, i don't care.
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11-02-2018, 03:38 AM
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#26
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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I was ID4 and I'm happy to read the same feedback that I gave myself before submitting my mix.
At the beginning of the month I thought I had a lot of time to finally be able to mix something. Soon after I received a ton of work and study to do here at uni and in order to submit something for the contest I had only a few hours during over 2 weekends.
Since I had very little time I decided to finally give a try to the top-down mixing strategy. After only having plugins on the master track it sounded pretty good to be honest, but after stacking plugin after plugin on individual tracks I started to make it sound really bad. I realized that just before submitting it: I bypassed all the plugins (except the master) and all of a sudden the guitars cut really well, drums were not super prominent and everything glued much much better.
Partial fault might be on some reaper plugin. For example I used ReaComp with the same setting of the SSL bus compressor but the sound was not that good to be honest.
As someone said, the energy is there but I noticed that I had to turn up the volume if I wanted to really get some excitement.
I failed miserably but at least I know exactly what went wrong
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11-02-2018, 04:19 AM
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#27
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 310
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Good Mixes everyone!
I vote for myself if I think I am in the top 3.
1. Overall good mix - snare seems unglued
2. Bg vox in intro to loud for my taste,Drums far back,seems like some strange distortion happening especially in end
3. Kick Low thump - not sure. Vox good, overall somewhat muddy
4. Snare seems middy,Kick bigger than bass,guitars too quiet
5. 1st verse somewhat strangely balanced maybe "noisy",Cymbals splash somewhat harsh
6. Good bass low end, Verb/Delay somewhat distracting, Not a fan of the guitar sound
7. Eq choices make mix tinny and mono.
8. Nice balance,Vox seem to pop out in places, Overall pretty good mix
9. quiet intro, Nice Snare, Good Balance, Good Low end.
10. my mix
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11-02-2018, 02:18 PM
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#28
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Russia
Posts: 15
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Thank you guys for your feedback! It really helps to make better mixes.
Of course, everyone makes a mix based on what he likes, so often you like your mix more. But I like the idea of not voting for own mix, we can simply reach an agreement and write it in the rules, I think that's enough.
I unfortunately lost the feedback, that I wrote when I listened mixes=( I will write in next month..
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11-02-2018, 07:58 PM
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#29
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Kalispell
Posts: 14,759
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grass
But I like the idea of not voting for own mix, we can simply reach an agreement and write it in the rules, I think that's enough.
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I haven't competed for quite a while, but I think that's the only way it can be done fairly, to disallow
voting for self. Either that or compel everybody to vote for their themselves.
However, I think there are those, who out of respect and/or their own pride, simply won't vote for themselves.
I realize there's no real reward for winning, so some say it's not important. But isn't winning itself a
prize, not to mention a thrill.
I think Dave has done a superb job of not only putting it all this together, but keeping it going and making
it better.
I'll also admit, I look forward to checking in every month so see how its going, I really like the banter.
And I also have to say, I'm sorry for not competing, but I have to be honest, I'm a really old fart, and I find
it hard to relate to some of this music.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
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11-02-2018, 09:06 PM
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#30
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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One of the reasons I would prefer that people not be able to vote for themselves is because allowing it reduces the usefulness of the results as feedback. Looking up above, I see that out of the ten other people that voted this time, four of them rated my mix in their top three. That tells me my mix is translating alright to other listening environments, but a few others are translating better and my techniques still need work. The written feedback is useful as well, but different. If people are voting for themselves then they're only pointing out the top two other mixes that translate to their environments instead of their top three. I don't care about the numbers or whether I win or lose, but knowing how well my mix stacks up against the others in terms of translation is really useful information. I can listen to the best-translating mixes for clues as to where I went wrong.
I'll be honest, this month I thought my mix sounded best...in my listening environment. This shouldn't be surprising! Of course my mix sounds great in my room. Many of us (myself included) do not have neutral rooms though, so it's quite likely that a mix made in my room will sound better in my room than mixes made in other rooms or on other headphones or whatever. We are all here to learn how to make better mixes that translate better to other environments, so I would prefer the voting system support that as much as possible. That means voting only for the other mixes that sound best in your room. Heck, I wouldn't mind having the voting expanded to top 4 or top 5.
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11-03-2018, 08:29 AM
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#31
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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The written feedback is extremely valuable for me.
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11-03-2018, 09:56 AM
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#32
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Thanks guys for your thoughts about the current voting state. I'll keep it as it is at least until the end of the year (then there will be the usual 1 month break before we start over with the 3rd year).
I think some kind of check would be very neat but that makes things extremely more complicated on my end, because in the voting form I have no way of prohibiting any mix choice.
That would imply that I would need to enable to creation of user accounts and allow the access to the form only by logging in on the website.
So let's just keep it as it is, because it's not like anybody is cheating or anything
Tonight I'll start preparing the next song. You'd better put a nice and warm jacket because we're all going to Russia (big hint).
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11-03-2018, 02:53 PM
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#33
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_Here
So that is the first mention I've seen that stipulated a criterion for the contest.
To gauge our translations on/in others systems/rooms.
This then is different than opinion or personal preference.
interesting.
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I'm not saying people should *have* to vote that way, I'm just saying that's how I'm interpreting their votes. Like, people aren't going to vote for me if my mix sounds bad in their room, right?
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11-07-2018, 05:39 AM
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#34
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Thanks everybody for leaving your feedback, I'll leave mine tonight. The new thread along with the new multitrack will go live tonight as well.
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11-11-2018, 06:56 PM
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#35
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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Hey Dave, can you post your feedback?
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11-12-2018, 03:55 PM
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#36
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Damn it I completely forgot... give me still a few days because I have some exams to prepare and then I'll post it. I promise!
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11-13-2018, 08:29 AM
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#37
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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Ok, no problem. Good luck on the exams.
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11-21-2018, 01:49 PM
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#38
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 518
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I can't download the October projects. MEGA is not working for me. Could you please try a different hosting site (like google drive)?
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11-21-2018, 01:52 PM
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#39
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Hi, what do you mean? Do you get any errors? MEGA is the only cloud I can use because I have too much stuff. Other services don't give me enough storage for free.
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12-06-2018, 11:33 AM
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#40
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Hey guys, here's my feedback
- Nice balance. I wouldn't put the effects at the beginning. Snare could be brighter. Main vox could be slightly louder.
- Nice guitar tone but it's all very mono sounding and the back vox on the right is louder than the main vox. The one on the left can barely be heard. Sounds very squashed (or distorted?) at times. Snare is too quite. Main vox too.
- Good energy. Kick is too quite. Snare doesn't cut (could be louder and processed a bit more). Back vox are too quite.
- Mine but gonna give feedback anyway for myself. Nice chunky guitar tone but too quite. Drums not bad at all imo but too loud. Main vox is way too bright. Bass and is too quite as well. Back vox could have been processed a bit more.
- Very nice energy as it starts. Nice stereo spread but it's all a bit distorted. Very good overall except the audible distortion.
- All very bright but nice energy. Effects on vocals are too loud and can be heard in sections where I would have muted them. I get what you were going for with the bass tone but can barely be heard. Nice guitar tone!
- woah what happened man?
- Guitars could be EQ'd a bit better. Kick is too dark, snare a bit too. Toms are too loud and off-putting at times. Main vox sits well but the delay is too loud.
- Nice mix. Snare is way too quite and the bass too. Kick is nice, maybe a bit too clicky but slightly too quite. Voice is good.
- Very nice energy but some instruments could be a touch louder, like the guitars and the main vox. Drums are nice but sometimes a bit too loud. I like the snare. Kick lacks fatness.
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