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12-05-2019, 02:28 AM
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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 - DECEMBER 2019 (FEEDBACK)
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This is sadly the last contest before putting this project on hiatus for an indefinite period of time It was a hell of a ride and I had so much fun doing all this, helping you guys make better mixes month after month. I feel blessed!
This month we are going to mix a song called Never Ebb But Flow by David Tyo.
At the end of this month I'm also going to announce the winners of the REAPER Contest 2019 Edition
As always you can download the multitrack from the website or clicking on this link.
Happy mixing!
Dave
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PRIZES
At the end of the year, there are going to be small prizes:
1st prize:
2nd prize:
3rd prize:
... so try to get as many points as you can from now on if you're interested in getting something for free
__________________________________________________
IMPORTANT
DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THIS CONTEST?
Last edited by DaveKeehl; 12-29-2019 at 05:07 AM.
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12-05-2019, 02:44 AM
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#2
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: West Coast - Sun, Sun, and more Sun
Posts: 719
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maybe you could get the guy over at White Sea Studio to fill in?
Dave you are truly going to be missed.
__________________
Rockin the Not_Room... Kali LP6 |iLoud |Mackie Big Knob |AXE I/O |Bugera |Ibanez |Fender |Nektar |Amplitube |PRS Supermodels |iRig Stomp I/O |ARC 3.0 |
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12-05-2019, 03:33 AM
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#3
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Spain
Posts: 7,239
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oh no... this month is my last chance to participate!
a very good opportunity to learn new things in a music genre that I am not used to work with.
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12-05-2019, 08:26 AM
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#4
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Appleton, WI
Posts: 164
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_Here
maybe you could get the guy over at White Sea Studio to fill in?
Dave you are truly going to be missed.
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I just checked in to see if this was still going on, was hoping to participate again one of these months.
Cheers to Dave - what a cool event you've put together here. Thanks for all the admin over the years.
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12-05-2019, 05:05 PM
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#5
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,651
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aww bummer this is the last...I never did get to actually participate but I did actually do 2 mixes. Like another user said, it's not my normal genre so it was really great to get a chance to work with other material.
I do hope that this program will make a comeback at some point in the future.
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12-06-2019, 04:44 PM
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#6
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: the Bay
Posts: 701
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I had to take a few months off because I was doing a coding bootcamp, but I'm done now, so I should have time to submit. Sorry to hear this is the last contest that Dave is doing. I say thanks every time I submit something, but really, thank you Dave. It's been so helpful for me to do these contests.
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12-06-2019, 04:47 PM
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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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Don't worry guys, I'll be back. I just need some time off from this project to concentrate on other stuff in my life at the moment
This is the last contest of the first chapter of the Reaper Contest. What I envision for the future is much bigger and better organised, but it also needs time to be all put together.
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12-06-2019, 04:51 PM
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#8
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_Here
maybe you could get the guy over at White Sea Studio to fill in?
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Errrr no xD it would be too much work for him. He already has enough to do with his studio and youtuber life
Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_Here
Dave you are truly going to be missed.
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I'm not going anywhere, this forum is my home
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12-06-2019, 04:52 PM
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#9
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heda
oh no... this month is my last chance to participate!
a very good opportunity to learn new things in a music genre that I am not used to work with.
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You're more than welcome to participate! Who knows maybe you can get 200 people to vote for you, get to the top of the ranking and win your own scripts
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12-06-2019, 04:53 PM
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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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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonboper
Cheers to Dave - what a cool event you've put together here. Thanks for all the admin over the years.
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Thank you for following this project I hope you're going to participate sometimes in the future
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12-06-2019, 04:54 PM
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#11
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poetnprophet
I do hope that this program will make a comeback at some point in the future.
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you bet
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12-06-2019, 04:55 PM
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#12
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Quote:
Originally Posted by darjama
I had to take a few months off because I was doing a coding bootcamp, but I'm done now, so I should have time to submit. Sorry to hear this is the last contest that Dave is doing. I say thanks every time I submit something, but really, thank you Dave. It's been so helpful for me to do these contests.
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oooh nice! what have you learned during the bootcamp???
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12-08-2019, 03:16 PM
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#13
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Germany
Posts: 34
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Just submitted for the last round.
That song was really fun but hard to mix (for me).
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12-09-2019, 11:11 PM
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#14
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: the Bay
Posts: 701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKeehl
oooh nice! what have you learned during the bootcamp???
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Javascript and associated technologies (MongoDB, Express, React, NodeJS, AWS, etc). I'm trying to get a job as a front end or full-stack software engineer.
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12-10-2019, 05:53 AM
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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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Quote:
Originally Posted by darjama
Javascript and associated technologies (MongoDB, Express, React, NodeJS, AWS, etc). I'm trying to get a job as a front end or full-stack software engineer.
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ahh nice!
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12-13-2019, 06:16 AM
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#16
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Spain
Posts: 3
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Contest Dicember
Mix Ready and uploaded!!
Thanxs for all Folks! good experience.
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12-18-2019, 07:03 AM
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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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Wrap it up guys, last day of mixing!
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12-18-2019, 05:25 PM
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#18
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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aaaand time is over. Won't be accepting new submissions from now on. I will be uploading your tracks in 30 minutes.
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12-19-2019, 03:48 PM
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#19
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: holland
Posts: 29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKeehl
aaaand time is over. Won't be accepting new submissions from now on. I will be uploading your tracks in 30 minutes.
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i ve just uploaded but it think i am a west eastern time zone to late :]]] ore not ?
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12-19-2019, 04:25 PM
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#20
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pim van dorst
i ve just uploaded but it think i am a west eastern time zone to late :]]] ore not ?
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I'll make an exception
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12-22-2019, 01:18 PM
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#21
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: holland
Posts: 29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKeehl
I'll make an exception
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thnks... but i cant seem to vote ...see the tracks up... listend...but vote page says...sorry your only aloud one i.p. entry a mounth !?
greetings
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12-22-2019, 02:54 PM
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#22
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pim van dorst
thnks... but i cant seem to vote ...see the tracks up... listend...but vote page says...sorry your only aloud one i.p. entry a mounth !?
greetings
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Yes there is a filter on the website that allows you to vote only once per month to avoid multiple votes from the same computer. That means that you have already voted, but I’ll give it personally a look don’t worry
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12-23-2019, 06:50 AM
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#23
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 21,551
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I like that song and (granted) my rock aesthetic is not ideal, but about half of those of the voting list sound "squashed" to me. About 4 of them sound good though.
I actually didn't like the artist's release mix either, subjectively speaking, but again I'm far being a rock guy so ... grain of proverbial salt.
Here's my take on it for fun with the previously stated "I'm not a rock mixer guy..." (and I don't do the contest thing) caveats: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Audio?preview=Master.mp3
Last edited by Lawrence; 12-23-2019 at 10:44 AM.
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12-23-2019, 03:30 PM
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#24
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pim van dorst
thnks... but i cant seem to vote ...see the tracks up... listend...but vote page says...sorry your only aloud one i.p. entry a mounth !?
greetings
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try now
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12-24-2019, 05:39 AM
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#25
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: holland
Posts: 29
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vote
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKeehl
try now
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yip it works again thnks !!
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12-24-2019, 05:04 PM
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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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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawrence
I like that song and (granted) my rock aesthetic is not ideal, but about half of those of the voting list sound "squashed" to me. About 4 of them sound good though.
I actually didn't like the artist's release mix either, subjectively speaking, but again I'm far being a rock guy so ... grain of proverbial salt.
Here's my take on it for fun with the previously stated "I'm not a rock mixer guy..." (and I don't do the contest thing) caveats: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Audio?preview=Master.mp3
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I'll give it a listen tomorrow
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12-24-2019, 05:27 PM
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#27
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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A bit less than 2 days left to vote!
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12-27-2019, 08:48 AM
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#28
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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I have the results and feedback ready to go! Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow
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12-28-2019, 01:32 PM
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#29
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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RESULTS
And here we are at the end of 2019. Such a long and exhausting year, but also so much fun! This contest has seen a significant jump in traffic and that can only make me happy.
As you already know, I'm now going to take an indefinite hiatus (indefinite != forever) to concentrate on other stuff, but rest assured I won't be gone
Before announcing the winner of December and the winners of the REAPER Contest 2019 Edition, I want to also announce that I managed to give you guys a 3rd prize!
The 3rd prize is a one-time personal mix review with my friend and amazing producer/mixing engineer Alejandro ( @Alez156, @reapertips, @ahmusic). More details in the first post.
Now let's talk about what really matters, shall we
This month the contest was won by...
Tiny Tortoise!
That was about to go from P2 to P1 in one month! Great job, I enjoyed your mix a lot! (Feedback is coming).
And finally... the 3 users that have scored the most points in 2019 are...
- aftercutrecords
- Grundton
- Tiny Tortoise
Big congrats to all you 3! I'll send you a DM will all the details for the prizes.
Also big thanks to all the people that have taken their time to participate and always come back here, it truly means a lot to me.
Now, please let's all give a round of applause to everyone and let's share some good feedback.
--> Updated analytics (click it) <--
December 2019:
2019 - Top 10:
Last edited by DaveKeehl; 12-28-2019 at 01:47 PM.
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12-28-2019, 01:53 PM
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#30
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,966
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My feedback
- Mix is ok (stereo spectrum could be a bit wider), but there are some things I would address. First of all the overall EQ curve is a bit "weak". It's pretty empty from 300 hz down. Next, choruses and guitars could be a tad higher to have more impact. Finally, bass and kick drums are colliding a bit.
- Nice and punchy and warm. Kick is a bit too loud at times and covers main vox. Rhythm guitars in the choruses could be a bit louder, they get a bit lost in the mix.
- Snare reverb is too loud and doesn't really fit with the mood in my opinion. In the chorus the vocals are a bit too nasally and all over the place. Toms are way too loud and could be panned. Sound effects are too loud. Mix is in the right direction but has a lot of room for improvements.
- I like it! Kick and snare are a bit too clicky but I like it! Maybe a bit more low-end could make the whole mix warmer and fuller. Thanks for letting me hear those guitars!
- Not bad. It's actually very nice overall. Balance and eq could be a bit better overall, but I've got nothing big to criticize.
- The kick is a bit too clicky but the rest is nice. Good job.
- Not a bad mix, but it's muddy (especially the snare is very dark).
- Vox is too loud, eq curve is weird and some effects are too loud and out of place. Bad monitoring system or maybe inexperience?
- Balance could better but not bad. However, the eq curve is just wrong. Vox is buried by all instruments and it's all very dark. I guess bad monitoring system.
Last edited by DaveKeehl; 12-29-2019 at 05:08 AM.
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01-02-2020, 05:24 AM
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#31
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Australia
Posts: 50
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Happy new year everyone! Managed to find some time to write up some feedback for this month (if a bit late).
1. Quite midrange-focused, most noticeable in the vox which lacks top end clarity for clear consonants. Acoustic guitar takes a bit too much space. Bass sounds good but electric guitars sound quite thin—try to add more low frequency content to guitars that need the solidity, while compensating with more upper midrange to the bass part. Bit more volume on drums will help to bring up the energy too. Reverb level is high, resulting in a distant floaty feeling.
2. Slightly too much low end on kick and bass, otherwise pretty balanced. Great snare. Acoustic guitar from the second chorus 2 onward sticks out too much, where imo the strums should fill the role of a subtle supporting instrument, like a tambourine. Vox could be a bit clearer on the top end as well. The boosted piano I’m torn on—I like the texture and drama it brings, but still feel it should be tucked in a bit. Was my #2
3. Nice solidity and general balance overall. Snare reverb has a dark and gated sort of vibe which I feel doesn’t totally suit the song, but really is a minor point. The much more notable issues for me were the synth in verse 2 being way too loud, and the reprise for the last chorus which I wanted to be quiet and intimate, but instead featured the loudest and most powerful vocals in the whole song. They’re really specific areas in the scheme of things (and are pretty easy to correct), but throw off immersion in the storytelling too much. [post-feedback note: I'm checking out this month's .rrp files out of interest, and noticed your bass distortion fx is set to left channel mode instead of stereo, skewing the instrument's overall panning balance. It was surprisingly easy to miss, listening on monitors instead of headphones]
4. Slightly on the bright side, with a low-end presentation emphasising punch rather than weighty. This mix I think, though it leaves some rough edges in the process, overall captures the aggression and energy really well. Just a slight overall midrange dip, plus getting the chorus vox sit a bit more on top would really make it shine. 2nd verse harmony is a bit too direct and up front. Reprise vox starts too quiet with too steep a ramp back up. Was my #1
5. There’s a bit of a presence/midrange build-up in this mix. The kick gets buried in denser sections, but in verses has a nice visceral oomph. I think bringing up the drums would improve the balance. Shaker sticks out too much and should instead be used for subtle texture/energy. Guitars are very forward and could be balanced with more warmth. Vox has a decent presentation in the chorus, but feels slightly too thick in verses. Was my #3
6. This one is mine. Was quite happy overall, apart from the snare which I decided afterward still could benefit from an explodey aggression, where it currently feels floaty in the verses due to the elevated reverb. And now that Dave points it out, I agree on the kick being too clicky. I think it folds the depth smaller than I otherwise could have presented. Might actually be something I consistently overlook in my mixes, so I’ll be sure to keep an eye out about it in the future. Cheers Dave
7. Lacks top end extension (particularly important for getting drums and vox to come through). Just a high shelf lift from 6khz can do a lot to bring out the detail and clarity. 1:07 has a funny squeaky noise. Guitars seem to have a peaky emphasis around 3-4kHz; this really sticks out in the interlude where they’re volume-automated up and suddenly scream “look at me”. The chorus has some strange volume dips, which is likely a consequence of a too-slow release time somewhere (my guess is the limiter).
8. Pretty good balance, but very direct sounding and bright-tilted. Piano in the verse feels too thin and filtered. Vox in the verse is really loud, yet sinks into the background come the chorus. You want to balance in a way such that: verse vox suits verse instrumentation, chorus vox suits chorus instrumentation, and most importantly that verse vox flows into chorus vox (and back again) smoothly with a well-considered intention. Reprise vocals ramp up too loud, both sounding out of place and reducing the impact going into the full final chorus.
9. Very noticeably low-passed sounding. After a sizeable high frequency boost, the balance is pretty good. Vox in the chorus is placed too far in the background, and there’s some weird pitch drifting (I assume from automatic pitch correction). 2:25, acoustic guitar comes in too early. Guitars are aggressive and harsh but in a pleasant way. At the same time, I think either volume or bite of them could be scaled back a touch though.
Last edited by Tiny Tortoise; 01-02-2020 at 09:33 AM.
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01-04-2020, 03:54 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 for taking your time Tiny Tortoise
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