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FytaKyte:BitterMonks - 16 track challenge
#1
16 track Challenge:

Basically, carefully picked and mixdowned (what I thought) the most important tracks. Bounced some into other channels to free up more space etc. Meant I had to be very precise with my tracks.

NO SAMPLES WERE USED as I thought that it doesn't really suit the dynamics of this song.


.mp3    Bitter.mp3 --  (Download: 5.33 MB)


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#2
Hi Neonacity, nice mix!

Though it may not appear to be the case to the casual observer, pretty much all the tracks on my album were in fact written first and foremost to be played with a 3 piece band - guitar, bass, drums (& of course vocals supplied by the those playing the instruments). All the other stuff is "window dressing" to flesh out the production.

I think it is a great exercise to do what you have done, because it pares the song down to its essential elements. You basically created a 3 piece band version of the track, which is how I have played it live in the past, so I know it works that way. If you were to expand on your mix and add other elements, you would always have this as the core, so the direction of the mix would be very clear. (Of course, the easiest way to know the intended direction of a production is simply to analyse the reference mix).

On a technical front, about the only thing that I noticed was that the sibiants needed taming in some spots. The balances and frequency response sounded good to me.

On a personal preference level, I found the drums a little too much in the "hi-fi" direction for my taste, but they do sound good and suit the style of the mix. I also missed the extra guitars out wide in the choruses to add some impact and size there. Natural playing dynamics can make that work well with a 3 piece format in a live situation, but I generally find a recorded production needs a little help with some extra elements can help with the long term dynamics of song. That said, it still works well as is.

Nice work!
All 10 FytaKyte Multi-Tracks available for you to mix with purchase of Album here: https://fytakyte.bandcamp.com/releases
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#3
Hey Fytakyte,

Thanks for taking the time to listen and critique my mix, you are quite right about the sibilance, and yes this has been a great exercise working with limitations. It has forced me to think outside the box (no pun intended) and also made every move I made while mixing more improtant. Yes the super wide guitars are a really cool thing missing however I didn't have enough tracks with the drums and the synths. The drums sound a little LoFi I do admit, probably has something to do the combination of me not using a room mic and spuashing it and the reverb type I used on the snare. Personally I don't completely agree with the stock "Mixverb" plug-in I used on Studio One 4, I would've prefered to use the Tsar but that's on another desktop I have that doesn't currently work.

Anyways:
Thank you again for reviewing my mix and I hope to hear from you guys some time in the future.
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#4
What a great idea... I always love creative limitations, and here the results are solid even with the 16 track limitation!
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