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About This Multitrack
#1
You can find the multitrack files for this project in the 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library.

Before posting a mix, please read The Three Commandments!
Please post your mix as a new thread, rather than as a reply to this sticky.

Here's some more project info you might find useful:
  • About The Raw Multitracks: A nicely ordered project this, so you don't really need to think to hard about things from an arrangement perspective and you can just get on and mix.
    • The drum tracks comprise stereo overheads, and single close mics for the snare and two toms. Instead of a kick-drum close mic, you get a trigger signal which you can use to insert your own choice of sample. In addition to the live parts, there are sampled tambourine, reverse cymbal, and bell-tree 'sprinkles' tracks.
    • The bass part is DI'd.
    • There are four electric guitar parts, three of them double-tracked, and the single acoustic guitar is also double-tracked.
    • There's a single stereo grand-piano part.
    • The lead vocal is double-tracked during the choruses, where there are also three double-tracked backing parts. The middle-section features three further backing vocals, bringing the total number of vocal tracks to 11.
  • Challenges You're Likely To Face:
    • The snare and tom close mics aren't particularly natural-sounding, and the snare presentation in the overheads is a bit muffled, so you'll have some work to do to get it to compete with the cymbals.
    • The bass part's been scorched occasionally while recording -- although this shouldn't matter much in practice unless you're planning to do any drastic rearrangement.
    • The guitar arrangement, while eminently sensible, is also fairly static, so it may be difficult to pull off really attention-grabbing pop-style dynamic contrasts without doing some multing and/or layering of additional parts.
    • Although all the vocal vocal performances come across as very committed, they've been quite heavily processed with real-time pitch-correction, and it's tricky to avoid the artefacts of this from showing through if you bring the vocals as far up front as a pop track tends to demand.
  • Some Mixing Tips:
    • Start with the lead vocal. Seriously -- she puts in a star turn performance-wise, so make the most of it! Smile
    • I'd probably trigger not only a kick-drum sample, but also a snare, and maybe toms too.
    • A bit of subtle (or not so subtle!) distortion on the bass will help it cut through the mix.
    • Multing is your friend here, not just in terms of varying the guitar arrangement, but also for making the most of the vocal sound in different parts of the song.
    • I'd personally put some of the lead vocals through something like Melodyne and try to iron out the printed-in pitch-correction misfires.
    • There's lots of discussion available about this multitrack over on Mixoff.org, where it served as the basis of a mix-off competition presided over by engineer Arthur Walwin. The winning mix can be found here, but there are plenty of other versions on that thread too. (And you're welcome to post mixes for feedback here as well, of course!)

If you have any other general questions about this multitrack, just reply to this post and I'll see what I can do.
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#2
(30-08-2012, 08:58 AM)Mike Senior Wrote: There's lots of discussion available about this multitrack over on Mixoff.org, where it served as the basis of a mix-off competition presided over by engineer Arthur Walwin.

Arthur Walvin MixOff site wrote:

I will be judging the mixes on these 3 points:

Overall Quality of the mix/master.
Mix Consistency - They all need to sound like they've come from the same CD.
Creative Input - Any quirky effects or extra parts you choose to put in.

and:

- These are commercial songs, so loudness is of key importance. These tracks need to blend into any radio playlist etc.

- No rough mixes. I want the finished full product.






I took these instructions seriously! I have tried to reflect this in my mix!

Especially one: These tracks need to blend into any radio playlist etc.

Everybody: Have you tried this!?

I think not!



Google translate! Blush
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