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Old 06-01-2021, 04:27 PM   #1
darjama
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Default The Reaper Mixing Contest - June 2021, Why Don't You Stay

REAPER CONTEST - June 2021
(ONLY REAPER PLUGINS ALLOWED)



OFFICIAL WEBSITE: reaMIXed.com


MIXING: 1-16 June
VOTING: 20-26 June
RESULTS: 28 June
FEEDBACK: 29-30 June



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This month's song was selected by grundton, last month's contest winner. The track is Why Don't You Stay by Ronnie Jones, recorded and produced by Joe Lonsdale at Joe Public Studios.

Please remember:

-NO GLUING OF FILES
-ONLY NATIVE REAPER FX -or- non-Native JSFX files that you include with your submission.

I've had to turn away a few entries recently, which I hate to do when someone has worked hard on their mix.

You can download the multitrack from the website or clicking on this link.

Again, no prize this month, aside from the customary track-picking privileges for the next month's contest.


PLEASE NOTE: I'm moving towards the middle of the month. I'll try to keep to schedule but I apologize in advance if I have to push the start of voting out a few days.

Happy mixing!
-Daryl

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Last edited by darjama; 06-01-2021 at 04:28 PM. Reason: 30 days has september april june and november
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Old 06-05-2021, 04:38 PM   #2
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Great song choice, Grundton!
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Old 06-06-2021, 01:21 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Funicello3 View Post
Great song choice, Grundton!
Agree! Good song!
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Old 06-07-2021, 08:35 AM   #4
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Any suggestions for decent references,Gentlemen?
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Old 06-07-2021, 09:23 AM   #5
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Trying to think of more current rock stuff w. organ, this came to mind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbbV...hitneyVerified

bit of a different vibe from this song, but maybe useful.
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Old 06-07-2021, 09:38 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WaveTrans View Post
Any suggestions for decent references,Gentlemen?
This time it is also very difficult for me to find a reference that I like.

Thanks Daryl for the tip.

Hugs.
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Old 06-07-2021, 11:54 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by javiramallo View Post
This time it is also very difficult for me to find a reference that I like.

Thanks Daryl for the tip.

Hugs.
Difficult, indeed!
Thanks, Daryl.
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Old 06-08-2021, 04:22 AM   #8
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No decent at all but I have been digging into Knopfler, JJ Cale and Cooder. Even in Lennon. Nothing worthy, I'm afraid (for me to use, I mean, hahaha).
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Old 06-08-2021, 06:29 AM   #9
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I used this as a reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjYIayt_wXs
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Old 06-08-2021, 10:00 AM   #10
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Quote:
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For some reason the link doesn't work for me. What's the song?
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Old 06-08-2021, 11:57 AM   #11
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It's Willy DeVille "No Such Pain As Love".
Worked well for me.
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Old 06-08-2021, 01:00 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grundton View Post
It's Willy DeVille "No Such Pain As Love".
Worked well for me.
This seems to be a good reference.
Thanks for sharing.

How to you find references?
is there a method to identify one or is it mainly knowing a lot of good music?
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Old 06-09-2021, 12:44 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WaveTrans View Post
This seems to be a good reference.
Thanks for sharing.

How to you find references?
is there a method to identify one or is it mainly knowing a lot of good music?
I have a folder with about 30 reference tracks in different styles.
This is music that I know very well and that I think sounds good.
For mixing I choose one or two tracks as a reference that have a similar style.
I don't think the reference track has to nail it, it's all about the overall balance.
(But I think in this case the Willy DeVille track suits very well to the song.)
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Old 06-09-2021, 03:53 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LCM! View Post
No decent at all but I have been digging into Knopfler, JJ Cale and Cooder. Even in Lennon. Nothing worthy, I'm afraid (for me to use, I mean, hahaha).
Good clues, thanks for sharing LCM.


Quote:
Originally Posted by WaveTrans View Post
How to you find references?
is there a method to identify one or is it mainly knowing a lot of good music?
Hi!
Great choice of reference. Thanks for sharing.

As for how I choose a reference.
As Grundton, I have a bunch of reference tracks that I have been saving along the time for one reason or another (general sound, genres, instruments, etc.).

I usually use at least a couple of reference tracks, one of which usually comes from this storage and the other comes from a research I do on each new mix. For that, first I try to define the style / genre of the song, (if we are mixing a "Cambridge MT's" track, this work is easier because it is already done on the page).
After that I try to find a similar instrumentation and stile song, if possible sounding wonderfull and if is possible too of an a professional artist.

In any case, I´ll subscribe to Grundton's words: "I don't think the reference track has to be nailed, it's about overall balance."

BTW, I already submmit my Mix.

Hugs!

Last edited by javiramallo; 06-09-2021 at 03:56 AM. Reason: Correcting my bad english!
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Old 06-09-2021, 08:55 AM   #15
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Thanks, Gentlemen!

From your words I gather that I am at least on the right track

The perspective from the point of view of a mixer is very different compared to the one I had before, both as a musician and a listener.

As many people, I used to be attracted to certain kinds of music only. Through mixing, and thanks to the ReaMixed contest, I get to know different genres of music all the time.

Very interesting, not to say exciting, although at times, especially if mixing time is limited, it feels a bit overwhelming.

Cheers W
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Old 06-09-2021, 11:31 PM   #16
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Why don't you stay? We could just taco night...
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Old 06-10-2021, 07:00 AM   #17
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Quote:
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Why don't you stay? We could just taco night...


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Old 06-15-2021, 08:34 AM   #18
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last call for entries! ~15 more hours to go.
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Old 06-15-2021, 03:59 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fergler View Post
Why don't you stay? We could just taco night...
Ah, so it's a love song!

Just submitted my mix...the deadline came quickly this month. Can't wait to hear everyone's mixes.
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Old 06-16-2021, 11:39 AM   #20
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Hmmm...where is link to the entire song, instead of the separate waves/files?
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Old 06-16-2021, 12:52 PM   #21
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Default Maybe a dumb question, but...

Quote:
Originally Posted by javiramallo View Post
This time it is also very difficult for me to find a reference that I like.

Thanks Daryl for the tip.

Hugs.
This might be a dumb question, but... Why would you want or need a "reference" when music is a subjective human experience? Seems to me a reference would mean you are trying to align your feeling with someone else telling you how to feel.

This all being said, now I gotta try the mix myself! You had my interest at "rock" and "organ"
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Old 06-16-2021, 02:50 PM   #22
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This might be a dumb question, but... Why would you want or need a "reference" when music is a subjective human experience? Seems to me a reference would mean you are trying to align your feeling with someone else telling you how to feel.
I think I can take a stab at this:

Unless you're a serious veteran with thousands of hours of mixing and mastering time, and a perfectly tuned listening environment/system that you're well accustomed to, you need references.

The sensory experience of hearing is very fleeting, it changes pretty fast - i.e. your ears hear different things at different times. That can lead you to take your mix in the wrong direction - it might be internally well-balanced or whatever, but it's 'tuned' to whatever hearing state your ears were in at one time or another (along with your playback system and listening environment).

References help to bring you out of that bubble.

It's a lot easier to compare and contrast sounds, like one mix versus another, distinguish and judge differences, than it is to pick the 'right' sound out of thin air. I'm mainly thinking of this as a circumscribed exercise, because early-on in the process it's easier (for me anyway) to pick things out of thin air - and probably the right way to do it. But later in the process it isn't. And really, as the process wears on, you're not picking things out of thin air, but rather, you're judging based on preconceptions established by the mix you've already made - if the mix you've already made is on the wrong track but you don't realize it - because you're just familiar with it, and familiarity is half of what makes something sound 'good' - then subsequent mix moves will be wrong...

So, unless you're mixing only for your personal consumption, it's best to try to have your mix translate to other places, systems, sets of ears, etc. - and references can help you do that...


Not using references would be a bit like this: you're a construction worker, working all day in a noisy environment, you need to yell in order to communicate with co-workers. And you need to swear a lot to make your points. You go to a fine dining establishment after work to meet a 'nice' person you met on Tinder. You keep talking really loudly, you keep peppering your conversation with swear words. Your date isn't impressed.
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Old 06-16-2021, 11:21 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eq1 View Post
I think I can take a stab at this:

Unless you're a serious veteran with thousands of hours of mixing and mastering time, and a perfectly tuned listening environment/system that you're well accustomed to, you need references.

The sensory experience of hearing is very fleeting, it changes pretty fast - i.e. your ears hear different things at different times. That can lead you to take your mix in the wrong direction - it might be internally well-balanced or whatever, but it's 'tuned' to whatever hearing state your ears were in at one time or another (along with your playback system and listening environment).

References help to bring you out of that bubble.

It's a lot easier to compare and contrast sounds, like one mix versus another, distinguish and judge differences, than it is to pick the 'right' sound out of thin air. I'm mainly thinking of this as a circumscribed exercise, because early-on in the process it's easier (for me anyway) to pick things out of thin air - and probably the right way to do it. But later in the process it isn't. And really, as the process wears on, you're not picking things out of thin air, but rather, you're judging based on preconceptions established by the mix you've already made - if the mix you've already made is on the wrong track but you don't realize it - because you're just familiar with it, and familiarity is half of what makes something sound 'good' - then subsequent mix moves will be wrong...

So, unless you're mixing only for your personal consumption, it's best to try to have your mix translate to other places, systems, sets of ears, etc. - and references can help you do that...


Not using references would be a bit like this: you're a construction worker, working all day in a noisy environment, you need to yell in order to communicate with co-workers. And you need to swear a lot to make your points. You go to a fine dining establishment after work to meet a 'nice' person you met on Tinder. You keep talking really loudly, you keep peppering your conversation with swear words. Your date isn't impressed.

Hi Lynk TWO.

It is exactly that.The explanation couldn't be more appropriate.

Only for if you could need and additional point of view (in the same direccion than the exposed by EQ1) I suggest you take a look too this previous month post >> https://forum.cockos.com/showpost.ph...5&postcount=19


Cheers!
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Old 06-21-2021, 02:56 PM   #24
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Voting is live. I forgot one of the songs, so if you only downloaded 11 songs instead of 12, please download the zip file again.

If you've already voted, please send me a private message with your rating and comments for mix #12.
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Old 06-22-2021, 08:37 AM   #25
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The fatigue I get for sure, and yea ears are fooled quickly, but technically that's why people shouldn't be having to spend hours on a mix yes? Generally, the faster you can get a rough mix thrown together, then walk away, do something else, and come back to it over the next couple of days to do your tweaking, automation, etc then you should lessen the amount of time being spent going in the wrong direction due to ear fatigue. However, I guess if someone is working in a production environment then I could see where they wouldn't have the option to do this and a reference would actually be necessary... but that sounds like a corporate solution to a "human problem" haha

At some point, someone had to make the reference, and they didn't have one, so seems a little odd to just be conforming music to someone else's mix (except for the hearing fatigue issue, I get that one), but I'll have to look into it more.

EDIT: OK, after reading the other thread I get it, and it definitely makes more sense to have only one or two good reference tracks instead of what a lot of people seem to be doing which is having a track for each era and style instead of having a reference track for an appropriate amount of reverb, solid bass, airy highs, midrange, etc. It's more about making sure the elements of your mix across varying frequency spectrums sound consistent with production standards, not that your 90's mix sounds like a 90's mix (although I guess you could do that, you sheep you ) Good stuff.

Last edited by Lynx_TWO; 06-22-2021 at 08:45 AM. Reason: clarity
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Old 06-22-2021, 03:16 PM   #26
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The fatigue I get for sure, and yeah ears are fooled quickly, but technically that's why people shouldn't be having to spend hours on a mix yes? Generally, the faster you can get a rough mix thrown together....
Ha, yeah, but people don't become fully actualized mixers on Day 1. I take so much time just trying to figure out how to use the tools to achieve what I want that I get totally fried...

But what you say, I definitely agree with it - you gotta strive to move quickly, be nimble, catch the wave so to speak. I can't count how many times I've gone back to my 'rough-in' mixes and they've sounded better in many ways than the ones made later on. I haven't quite worked out that process yet, still too green on the technical side.
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Old 06-23-2021, 07:55 AM   #27
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I can't count how many times I've gone back to my 'rough-in' mixes and they've sounded better in many ways than the ones made later on. I haven't quite worked out that process yet, still too green on the technical side.
Same here, hate when it happens haha. Have you tried a channel strip plugin? I’ve found it really convenient to have a three band eq, compressor, and lowpass/highpass filters all on one interface in each track. Helps me rough out what I’m envisioning really quickly without too much fuss. Can always tweak with other plugins if needed after that. I suspect a big problem these days is that we are all a bit spoiled for choice
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Old 06-24-2021, 12:41 AM   #28
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Hey friends.
I just submitted my valorations.

As always, thanks to Dajarma for the effort of keeping this alive, and of course, to the rest of friend who are working to do its better mixes and share the considerations on the rest of the partners works.

Now is summertime so, for the moment, I'll see you on September.

Enjoy this time friends.

Cheers from the sunny Spain.
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Old 06-25-2021, 09:08 AM   #29
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Last call for votes, less than 15 hours to go!
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Old 06-25-2021, 05:04 PM   #30
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Anyone else have issues listening to mixes from the website? I was getting some random very nasty pops, and in general, starting and stopping, switching between mixes was hit and miss, mixes would sometimes just stop playing and I couldn't restart, etc. Not sure if this is my computer/browser/audio device or what.

I just moved to a different computer, reinstalled stuff, so haven't gotten much opportunity to suss stuff out, though I've used everything and haven't had audio problems...


Also, note that I only voted for one mix, but the voting scheme doesn't seem to allow you to submit unless you place a vote for all mixes - and the lowest value you can give is 1/2 star - so I gave all mixes except one a 1/2 star so I could just move on. Those 1/2 stars don't mean anything. I only have time to vote for what at a cursory listen seemed the best.
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Old 06-25-2021, 06:03 PM   #31
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Quote:
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Anyone else have issues listening to mixes from the website?
I'm in the habit of downloading the mixes and opening them all in a Reaper project and comparing them there.

I just voted/commented. Lots of good, interesting mixes this month. Thanks again to all of you...I'm learning so much (albeit too slowly to win).
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Old 06-25-2021, 06:11 PM   #32
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I'm in the habit of downloading the mixes and opening them all in a Reaper project and comparing them there.
Yeah, that's probably the way to go, almost necessary. I downloaded them after-the-fact, and I've been listening some more, much easier to compare and contrast when they're all in a single project...


FYI, the "nasty pop" I was hearing has nothing to do with the website/player, cuz I'm hearing it now listening to the mixes in REAPER.
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Old 06-26-2021, 07:20 PM   #33
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Also, note that I only voted for one mix, but the voting scheme doesn't seem to allow you to submit unless you place a vote for all mixes - and the lowest value you can give is 1/2 star - so I gave all mixes except one a 1/2 star so I could just move on. Those 1/2 stars don't mean anything. I only have time to vote for what at a cursory listen seemed the best.
I'd say this isn't helpful. If you don't have time to consider all the mixes you don't have to vote.
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Old 06-26-2021, 11:04 PM   #34
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^ I did consider all the mixes, but not well enough to give each a ranking. You can just ignore my votes - pretend it didn't happen, you can disregard my one comment, too, as far as I'm concerned.
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Old 06-28-2021, 05:23 AM   #35
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Hello! Thanks to daryl for the effort he makes every month.

I'm very happy to get good feedback on my mix and to give my vision for others mixes.
Again, this method is amazing.
The ratio feedback/learning of this method of blind valoration is the more great that I have ever see.

I give the honor of choosing the track for next month to Funicello 3 who did an excellent mix. Congratulations to he and to "Grundton" for the excellent mixes.

See you in September.
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Old 06-28-2021, 08:24 AM   #36
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Congrats to javiramallo and Funicello3, and a big thanks to all who participated. Funicello3, I'll be reaching out to you shortly about choosing next month's song.

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Old 06-28-2021, 01:15 PM   #37
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Congrats Javi! It will be nice when you are out for the summer so the rest of us can have a chance! Just kidding of course.

I feel I am learning so much every month and getting great feedback. Thanks Daryl for doing this. I moved up into the top half of the mixes this month which feels good, I know what I need to work on and honestly less is more. Can't wait for next month!
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Old 06-30-2021, 06:57 PM   #38
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Man, I wish more of you guys did something with that bridge. It's just awful...
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Old 06-30-2021, 08:17 PM   #39
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No one else tuned that lead guitar huh? I couldn't take it... (high note of the repeated phrase)
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Old 06-30-2021, 11:19 PM   #40
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^ Was it a bit flat? Something was throwing things off, but I never honed-in on that single note. I ended up speeding everything up, by 1 BPM. I'll have to listen to that note again...
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