Old 12-06-2018, 11:48 AM   #1
DaveKeehl
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Default REAPER CONTEST - DECEMBER 2018 (FEEDBACK)

REAPER CONTEST - DECEMBER 2018
(ONLY REAPER PLUGINS ALLOWED)




OFFICIAL WEBSITE


MIXING: 5-16 December
VOTING: 17-24 December
RESULTS: 25 December
FEEDBACK: 26-31 December


DECEMBER 2018 PROJECTS
REAPER CONTEST ANALYTICS



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And after a long year we arrived at the last contest of 2018. It's been quite a ride but I had some real fun, I hope all of you too
I want to remind you that like last year, there won't be any contest during January, so I'll see you all in February!

This month the song is called You & Me & The Radio by the band Human Radio. This tune was taken from the Telefunken sessions. Have fun!

As always you can download the multitrack from the website or clicking on this link.

Happy mixing!
Dave

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Old 12-06-2018, 11:22 PM   #2
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Default Back For December!

Was super busy last month, but I'm back again for December's contest! Hope y'all missed me! /sarcasm
But for real though, I'm loving this song! Let's kill it, everyone
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Old 12-08-2018, 04:22 PM   #3
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Well I kinda miss anyone that stop being seeing around here, so in a way I missed you buddy
Let’s do a killing mix!
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Old 12-13-2018, 03:05 PM   #4
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Mixing the song... so good! The drums (especially the snare) are so well recorded!
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Old 12-15-2018, 02:21 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKeehl View Post
Mixing the song... so good! The drums (especially the snare) are so well recorded!
Aye, the snare and drums in general are really well recorded

I thought the guitars sounded excellent too.

In general though, it's a high-level recording. Always a pleasure to work with well recorded material!
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Old 12-16-2018, 10:22 AM   #6
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Decided to postpone the mixing deadline of 1 day. I'll be accepting entries until Monday night at 11:59 PM (CET)!
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Old 12-17-2018, 11:56 AM   #7
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We can use any JS FX ?
Sonic anomaly stuff or Stillwell ?
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Old 12-17-2018, 12:53 PM   #8
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I think all js effects are allowed.
The effects that aren't installed within Reaper should
be sent in with your submission (In this case the Sonic Anomalie FX).
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Old 12-17-2018, 01:51 PM   #9
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Ok thanks! That makes a bunch of extra plugins!
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Old 12-18-2018, 01:13 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grundton View Post
I think all js effects are allowed.
The effects that aren't installed within Reaper should
be sent in with your submission (In this case the Sonic Anomalie FX).
I've never heard of the Sonic Anomaly FX before. They look great! Will definitely be trying them out soon.

Last edited by Dex; 12-18-2018 at 01:14 AM. Reason: spelling
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Old 12-18-2018, 02:39 AM   #11
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Mr.Elwood also if you don't know. The limiter is quite nice.
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Old 12-18-2018, 06:16 AM   #12
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Voting has begun! Go listen and vote!
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Old 12-18-2018, 03:53 PM   #13
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I keep forgetting I can do that (Sonic Anomaly in particular... normally they are my go to for compression)
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Old 12-18-2018, 04:28 PM   #14
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I think I’ve never rushed a mix so much. If I get any points this month I’m going to buy drinks for everybody lol
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Old 12-26-2018, 05:03 AM   #15
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And here we are with the final results of the REAPER Contest 2018 edition! This year there was a lot of competition and rallies happening in the Top 10, but still... only one user was able to make this thread his (or her? ) kingdom.

So, from the frozen lands of Russia, please welcome the 2018 REAPER Contest champion...

GRASS!

You delivered some truly great mixes Now go enjoy some well deserved rest and go work on more original songs because we want to here more!
Jokes aside, I'll see you guys in about a month. Take care

Updated analytics (click it)

December 2018 ranking:



Final Top 10:

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Old 12-26-2018, 09:50 AM   #16
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Yay I ranked again. Coming for ya Grass ;p
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Old 12-27-2018, 07:24 AM   #17
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Default Feedback on December 2018 mixes

I missed the voting window because of the holiday but did want to share some feedback. Solid mixes this month. Here are my critiques:

1. The organ is a little too loud at the beginning (it sits better later in the song). At the very end of the first chorus, the line “you and me and the radio” gets drowned out – vocals need to be automated up there. The kick and snare, or maybe all the drums in general, need to come up in my opinion. The piano part near the end needs to come up. Listening to this mix, I find myself wanting to tinker with an EQ on the master track (maybe a cut in the mids somewhere and a slight boost in the highs somewhere).

2. The vocals are very up front in this mix. I’m not a fan of the L and R panning of the one guitar solo part. I assumed that they meant for that to be one seamless part but recorded two parts separately to get the best result. Not a big deal though. I feel like the bass guitar could use a boost in the high-mids or some distortion to help it cut through. The kick is cutting through really well but the snare not so much.

3. The first thing that strikes me is how dry the lead vocal is – is there no delay or reverb at all on the lead vocal? The lead vocal also might be just a little low in the mix. Left out parts of the one guitar solo? Drums sound good. Overall good and clear.

4. This mixer did a great job on the piano in particular. The piano comes through in the intro better than it does in most mixes, it sounds great during the choruses, and during the outro it sounds amazing. The piano gets buried in many of the mixes, but it sounds killer in this mix. I feel like I’m hearing the snare primarily from the overheads and not the close mic (and therefore the snare isn’t loud enough). I’m not sure how I feel about the lead vocal just before the final chorus comes in (“She grinned at me with those big green eyes and said”). It’s really cranked up there… but one could argue that it makes more sense to leave it back in the mix a bit to help the chorus hit harder.

5. Good and up-front snare sound… and I rarely think that a snare is too loud, but it might be in this mix. Hi-hat seems to be panned very far left, which I’m not a fan of. See my comment in my notes on mix #2 about the guitar solo.

6. I could do without the reverb on the backing vocals. The one guitar solo part is a problem (for me at least) in this mix as it is in a number of the mixes…

7. The bottom end is very prominent in this one; I think taming it some would help make for a more balanced mix overall. Same for the reverb; I think I’m hearing excessive reverb on the organ part. Not a huge fan of the panning of the backing vocals.

8. My mix. I had limited time to mix for the contest this month but I did what I could. I don’t really hear anything that I absolutely hate… I do wish I had done a better job on the piano part during the outro (as in mix #4). Whoever voted for me, thank you.

9. The guitars are burying the lead vocal up the middle; pan them out. The backing vocals are too far back. The distortion on the lead vocal could be a cool trick to use here and there but not throughout the song. The guitar solos need to come up. The tambourine could come down.

10. The drums overall could come up (but just the highs on the kick). There’s lots of ambience in this mix – vocals, guitars… personally I would like it scaled back but that could just be me. See my comment in my notes on mix #2 about the guitar solo. The hi-hat seems to be panned to the right, which I’m not a fan of. The organ is drowning out the piano during the outro.
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Old 12-27-2018, 08:25 AM   #18
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1. the panning of the organ is fine but it is a bit above the rest of the instruments. the drums are underneath and the compression in general is high giving a feeling together with the eq (in low and medium levels) as of a ball far below, leaving the guitars free and high, (higher than the voice in general)

2. the mix in general is decent, the equalization is not to my liking, the guitars are in the medium-low frequency, the voice is fine

3. the equalization is ok, except for an excess of low frequencies, having attenuated that and raised the voice would have improved the mix in general.

4. guitars a little high compared to the rest of the mix

5. my mix re-listening I keep the snare a little high, and maybe the equalization should have relaxed the mid frequencies.

6. Guitars sound good. voice is well eq, maybe a little less than reverb. when all the instruments are together, perhaps a kind of ball is made (perhaps because of the superimposed frequencies), the choruses a little less than reverb.

7. over compression, much lower average frequency in general

8. Well in general, the guitars are a bit high, and the sound is not to my liking, for the rest.

9. The voice is hidden in the mix, the choirs also. I like the sound of the guitar and the organ, maybe a difference in the levels of the instruments would better balance the mix and the final result.

10. Well in general, nothing is out of place. Maybe the voices a little less than reverb. and a little up the drums, the rest well, the eq is to my liking.
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Old 12-27-2018, 11:08 AM   #19
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Lots of good mixes this month, so my notes this time are really short


#1 good nice mix but a bit dull

#2 good clear and powerful, the only thing i don't like is the strong attack of the kick

#3 good mix, kick has too much attack, very good solo part

#4 good balanced mix, against mix#2 it could be a little clearer

#5 needs some more warmth, snare a bit too loud

#6 good, but too much reverb overall

#7 hollow sound overall and overcompressed, sounds like too much processing on the masterbus

#8 good mix, why is this mix slower than the others?

#9 vocals a bit too silent, guitars too loud, overall sound too compressed

#10 my mix, semms a bit thin overall

i voted 2-4-8

This contest is an interesting experience, sometimes I thought I did a killer mix and it turned out to be mediocre. So my mixes were in-between last and even one time first rank. The comparision with
all the other mixes and your judgements of the mixes give a really new pespective to me and help me to do better mixes. So thank you Dave for making this contest, i appreciate it a lot.
A happy new year to all of you.
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Old 12-27-2018, 01:57 PM   #20
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Dang, I wish more people voted. Even so, feedback is more important to me.

I thought the mixes were very good this month so most of what I'm about to write are nitpicks.

1 - A little narrow on the chorus and a little bit of frequency imbalance (too muddy, not bright enough). Bass is a little too loud and the piano often gets lost (maybe an artistic choice?).

2 - Piano's really quiet on this one too. Guitars very clear and upfront. Chorus doesn't hit hard enough. Too much verb on the backing vox. Vocal levels inconsistent in verse 2. Panning on the guitar solo doesn't work well. I like the grit on the lead vox.

3 - Hats a little loud in the first verse. Chorus hits well. Kick a little spitty ("thbbbt!"). Not sure about the backing vox panning. Drums take over a little too much right before the second chorus. Guitar solo is lacking one of the parts.

4 - Mine. I used songs from The Wallflowers album Bringing Down the Horse for reference.

5 - Very dry and quite narrow. Drums are well-processed but too loud. This is the only entry where the snare roll going into the final chorus is clearly audible so I need to give big props for that. I didn't even hear it when I was mixing it! Bass and kick very tight in this one. Like the vocal effect on "tick tock" right before the last chorus. Backing vox a little loud at the end of last chorus. I like that you cleaned up the timing on the final hit.

6 - Too much reverb with too long tail on snare and also on the vox during the chorus and second verse, especially the backing vox. Guitar solo is lacking one of the parts and the two parts that are there are not quite level balanced. I noticed during the outro that your snare is hitting harder than your bass drum. (They should hit about the same imo.)

7 - Guitars and bass are nice in the intro. Chorus doesn't hit hard though and the panning on the backing vox is a bit much to handle. LOL @ the lalalala part. Good idea to add a delay throw to the "world explodes" falsetto part. Mix is a bit dark overall and doesn't feature much dynamic range. It feels like everyone is playing as loud as possible at all times, which is not how the actual performance was and it's a little fatiguing to listen to.

8 - I don't know what happened with this one. Did you slow it down? I like the balance of the piano and guitars during the chorus, although I bet the piano could come down 1 db or so. Also in each of the chorus backing vox phrases the third "bop!" is noticeably louder than all the others. It's like this for every phrase. Overall balance is good in this one.

9 - The frequency balance is a bit off and the mix as a whole is pretty narrow but the lead vox treatment is quite good in most parts.

10 - Too much reverb. I don't like the lead guitar parts dancing back and forth between the speakers. I think it was meant to be treated as a single take. The featuring of the organ at 4:10 was perfect, and I think you're the only one who did this.

Voted 8>3>5
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Old 01-05-2019, 01:36 PM   #21
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Any other feedback, folks? 10 mixes but only 5 votes and 4 feedback posts so far...
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Old 01-05-2019, 02:50 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martinmadero View Post
3. the equalization is ok, except for an excess of low frequencies, having attenuated that and raised the voice would have improved the mix in general.
Thanks headphonessssss yay!
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Old 01-05-2019, 02:53 PM   #23
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Quote:
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Any other feedback, folks? 10 mixes but only 5 votes and 4 feedback posts so far...
I didn't get any notification so I thought nobody had given feedback ahaha

I'll try to give feedback asap but am currently studying for my finals and have literally nothing good to use to give a proper critique
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Old 01-12-2019, 05:28 PM   #24
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Hi there folks!

I made a very short survey to check how things are going. If you want you can spend 30 seconds on it and help me greatly

Go to the survey
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