Let's have a mix off

CharlesFerraro · Post by **CharlesFerraro** » Fri May 31, 2013 11:51 am

I've been practicing mixing lately and thought the Korg DS-10 demo-1 song would be good source material since I can record each track into my DAW separately. I was wondering if anyone else would like to have a go at mixing the material as well over the course of the week. We can post back here to get feedback and ask questions about how someone else did this or that in their mix version.

There are no rules so you can replace or reprogram parts, change the composition; whatever you think needs to be done to make the song sound its best.

Download the six audio files here:

Kick, Snare, Cymbol/Stab(?) http://en.file-upload.net/gal-43315/69wmgc/1.html

Synth1, Synth2, Synth Arp http://en.file-upload.net/gal-43316/aeej/1.html

btw one thing about the file-upload website, don't click the annoying adverts. after you click on one of the file names it takes you to the download scrreen where you'll see a bunch of "download" and "play now" buttons. The only real button is the one below the file stats with a diagonal arrow.

Pecca · Post by **Pecca** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:55 am

Sounds fun. I´ll have a go @ it.

EDIT: Had a swipe @ it for a couple of hours. I felt stuck to the original song so the mix is not VERY different. I used FL studio for mixing it and used the "Gross Beat" for autochopping some arpeggios. I also used a few other samples in this mix. Turned out perhaps even more repetative than the original *Chuckles*

http://shares.ecg7smyyav.one.me/s#1f67d ... mosong.wav

CharlesFerraro · Post by **CharlesFerraro** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 11:14 am

Ah haha that's awesome! Nice Formant-y bass sound after the initial drop. I also like your downshifter at 1:06, it reminds me of the downshifters in the song Kick Ass by The McMash Clan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KMRXux6Mqk

I also really like the reverberant thing that starts at 1:33.

You replaced the snare entirely right? Sounds much better. Can't tell if you replaced the kick too or if you revamped it with some processing.

My only criticism is that you probably changed the song TOO much actually. Think of it as if you were mixing the song for a client.

CharlesFerraro · Post by **CharlesFerraro** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:45 pm

Alighty heres mine. I haven't checked the low end on my main system... Also for reference is the original song as recorded straight out of the DS with maybe a pinch of compression.

original: http://soundcloud.com/wolf-ray/demo-1-original

Mixed: http://soundcloud.com/wolf-ray/demo-1-mixed

Pecca · Post by **Pecca** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:59 pm

I like the drive in your mix and the cool retro synth. Nice and balanced job well done.

Edit: Oh and the snare i used is the original, but tweaked with a filter to be a bit snappier.

Edit 2: http://shares.ecg7smyyav.one.me/s#f8e15 ... Exmple.wav

I used the bass linked above and tweaked it with 4 separate FX to sound like the link below:

http://shares.ecg7smyyav.one.me/s#060ad ... mpleFX.wav

The snare was tweaked with "Fruity Love Philter" to give the sample a bit more air so to speak. I think the same thing is doable with EQ (boost the higher ends).

CharlesFerraro · Post by **CharlesFerraro** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:11 pm

Thanks Pecca, how'd you get that snare in your version?

Pecca · Post by **Pecca** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:33 pm

Oh, look @ my edit 2 in my last post.

CharlesFerraro · Post by **CharlesFerraro** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 2:15 pm

Gosh FL is such a good program. Free updates for life right? And it comes with that dank FM synth Sytrus. All my synths do the poor man's version of FM called Cross modulation. It would be nice to have a dedicated engine.

I can't believe you got that snare with a filter! I'm definitely going to go back in and tweak my version to get closer to that. What I did with mine was retune it to the key of the song, added an envelope shaper, compressor, and then took off the bottom end. Yours has so much punch and tail end though. Did you use a lowpass with high resonance? What frequency did you tune the cutoff to? And then did you squish the sample after? I read that the Fruity Love Philter has drive and a waveshaper, did you make use of them?

Also yours seems to gel with the kick super well. Did you bus them to the same compressor or was that just a happy accident?

Pecca · Post by **Pecca** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 2:41 pm

Yep, lifetime updates. Really good program.

In my final mix i used a Master preset with the "Maximus" plugin. I only have the demo version but it works. It´s easy yo beef up a production and tbh i listen by ear what preset to choose and then tweak it a lil bit. You can use it when exporting your mix to whatever format of choise. However the demo doesn´t save so when you open the project again it will lose whatever you´ve done with Maximus. I will buy Maximus sometime when i have the buck

.

I just used a Love Philter preset, actually by chanse to hear what it might do, for the snare and tweaked the volume output of it. (by ear again).

"Did you bus them to the same compressor or was that just a happy accident?" The Maximus master preset took care of the end result.

Edit: "Love Philter has drive and a waveshaper, did you make use of them? "
- Yes the preset used waveshaper

Pecca · Post by **Pecca** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 2:55 pm

Good link on how to use Maximus for mastering.

http://youtu.be/Z8vUO8B6mxw

Note: i didn´t do it this way. I just chose a master preset.