GearFest Mixing Contest

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puremix.net said:
Dear all,

Because this is not the first mixing contest we organize, we are quite used to experiencing such an excitement when results are announced.

The current economic turmoil asking for absolute and complete transparency in every form of election, here was our protocol:
- The whole judging process was done in collaboration with the SoundCloud backend. On June 1st, SC provided us with the exhaustive list of all the entries submitted on or before this date and officially closed the contest.
- As per our rules, all contestants who submitted more than one mix where automatically removed from the list.
- ALL mixes that were still on the list have been played at least once. If you're mix has not been listened to, it is because you were either late in your submission, or submitted several versions, or did not share it with the official group, or did not follow the rules.
- No. We did not download all the tracks. Download of the original wav file was used in case of close calls between two mixes. SC does compress the audio but it is often enough to compare 2 mixes and tell which one is going to make it to the next round.
- There has been several rounds during which many people took the time to listen to all the entries. Last round was handled by Fab himself who took a ridiculous amount of time to analyze the best entries and choose the winners.

We understand that some people poured their heart into it and were disappointed by the results. That's normal, we are all human after all. But there is no reason for ganging up against the winners or the organizers who also poured their heart and time into this project.

We are very much at piece with the choices we've made, as all those mixes deserve to be on the list. Not everybody has to agree on the final results. This is music. This is art. It is subjective. There has been a lot of really good mixes but only 16 winning positions available. We'll try to do better next time.

To conclude on a positive note: this contest was designed to have fun and give everybody a chance, to watch, learn and experiment. No less.
We’ve all had a lot of fun organizing this contest and received all lot of positive feedback from all around the world. Everybody who took part in it got to watch an amazing hour-long video on how Fab and Ben recorded the Liza Colby Sound, downloaded the tracks of an amazing song with an amazing singer and got to sharpen their mixing skills on it. All of it for free. Amazing isn't it?

We are very much looking forward to doing it again! (soon).

pureMix
Click to expand...

Well, I'm glad that was cleared up. I only wish I had gone with my gut feeling and left my original mix up and left it at that. That being said, the winning mix is very good to my ears. Creative enough without being over processed. I don't think there were any other mixes that I heard that dealt with the vocals so well. Excellent work IMHO.

For those complaining. You are not hearing what counts. The winning mixes are clear and not over-compressed as so many were. Including mine. Good separation and stereo imaging. This contest was about core skills and without a doubt these mixes have that beyond most of the mixes I listened to. And, I listened to a lot of them myself. A lot of over effected mixes. Too much delay. Too much verb or all out surgical editing. Completely unnecessary and blatantly beyond the scope of the rules. Time for some of us to just apply a little bit of humility and consider this a very good learning opportunity.
 
puremix.net said:
As per our rules, all contestants who submitted more than one mix where automatically removed from the list.
Click to expand...

I really had fun with this competition and learned a lot. I still wonder if a reupload of a fixed version replacing an old one counted as a second mix and thus led to disqualification. I think lots of folks did that.
 
Signal2Nose said:
I really had fun with this competition and learned a lot. I still wonder if a reupload of a fixed version replacing an old one counted as a second mix and thus led to disqualification. I think lots of folks did that.
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That's what I read. I'll remember next time believe the rules I read instead of what others thought they read.
 
hueseph said:
That's what I read. I'll remember next time believe the rules I read instead of what others thought they read.
Click to expand...

It IS a little confusing. I mean, why should you be disqualified for making a last minute correction? I understood it as "only share one mix - don´t try to cheat and double your chances" - which would be a GOOD reason for disqualification :-)))
 
I have found that following a few simple rules is often the basis for disqualification or exemption from "the club". When you happen upon a chance meeting with someone who has the clout to give you a helping hand in this or any media related industry, following the rules is absolutely essential or you are out. Not often do you get a second chance. Yes. Spoken from experience and no, I almost never follow the rules. That is my bane. At any rate, sticking to those rules is a very good way to weed out the riff raff very quickly.
 
Hmm.. I think following the rules is okay. No question about that. I was just wondering because I´m not sure if I misunderstood them.

PLUS: It actually would make me a very happy man to know that I was disqualified!!!!!!!! :-)))

...just joking. Or maybe not?
 
Signal2Nose said:
It IS a little confusing. I mean, why should you be disqualified for making a last minute correction? I understood it as "only share one mix - don´t try to cheat and double your chances" - which would be a GOOD reason for disqualification :-)))
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I found the wording of this rule in the instructions a bit unclear actually... that's why I believed it was ok to upload revisions as long as it was before june 1... when I came up here on the official thread it was talked about like it was the normal thing to do lol

basically I read the rule as: don't submit multiple entries to be contenders... as in One soundcloud account adding 2 or 3 active versions.. I zipped through this thread looking for puremix clarification on that and never saw it.. If anywhere you'd think they'd speak up here seeing as "everyone was doing it" and OPENLY!
 
So yeah puremix says the results are "subjective"... way to go for taking a stand on your choices of the winners, LOL! Why dont you just aknowledge that you ran out of time? At least that way, i wouldnt feel (like many others) to be taken for a fool! The winning mixes aren't the best ones I've heard... FAR FROM IT. I'm speechless... if they couldn't deal with the amount of entries, they should have delayed the result. It's a question of respect for all the time and effort the mixers putted into it. I feel cheated... as so many of you. If Puremix says that they did listen to all mixes, well... It would only mean that the Puremix team listening and judging ability is a freaking joke... What makes me say that? I've been following the contest from day 1, I've listen to hundred of mixes and through those, I've identify 3-4 mixes that were without a doubt standing out (balance, clarity, space, punch) NONE of them made the cut... oh well, still had fun even with this sour taste in my mouth right now.
 
puremix.net said:
- There has been several rounds during which many people took the time to listen to all the entries.
Click to expand...

That's exactly the problem, who are those people ? are they experts in their fields ? are they top notch mixing engineers by any chance ? If not, how would one expect average people to have a super discerning ear and differentiating between top notch and merely good ?

puremix.net said:
We understand that some people poured their heart into it and were disappointed by the results. That's normal, we are all human after all. But there is no reason for ganging up against the winners or the organizers who also poured their heart and time into this project.
Click to expand...

It's not really about being disappointed or angry with the winning mixing engineers, no, I think they deserve the respect, but people were just expecting stunning levels of mixing worth $4000 I guess, would you hire someone and pay him/her $4000 to get such a result ? I guess not. PLEASE NEXT TIME ask yourselves this question while picking a winner.


puremix.net said:
We are very much at piece with the choices we've made, as all those mixes deserve to be on the list. Not everybody has to agree on the final results. This is music. This is art. It is subjective.
Click to expand...

I guess it's NOT very subjective! I NEVER heard any mixing engineer(even the top ones) tell me that mixes of "Billie Jean - Michael jackson" , "Lollipop - Lil Wayn" "Eagles - Hotel California(from the album Hell Freezes Over)" "Yes-Owner of a lonely heart" etc etc etc... suck ass

puremix.net said:
To conclude on a positive note: this contest was designed to have fun and give everybody a chance, to watch, learn and experiment. No less.
We’ve all had a lot of fun organizing this contest and received all lot of positive feedback from all around the world. Everybody who took part in it got to watch an amazing hour-long video on how Fab and Ben recorded the Liza Colby Sound, downloaded the tracks of an amazing song with an amazing singer and got to sharpen their mixing skills on it. All of it for free. Amazing isn't it?

pureMix
Click to expand...

Please do not forget forget to mention how much publicity and international targeted exposure you(puremix) and the sponsors got + a mini market research about what gear people use etc(great strategy to be honest)... I know that people charge a lot of money for those surveys generally :) Now you know your targeted market really well :)

But honestly thanks for the contest, that was very challenging and the passionate people learned a lot from it.

But please next time please set the bar higher and pick absolutely stunning mixes, for the love of mixing engineering :) Don't forget to ask yourself the question ... "If I had to pay someone $4000 to mix a song, what type of result would I expect" :D I guess that would be helpful while picking a winner :)


Cheerz guys
 
I think that everybody should stay constructive here... I don´t think that it makes sense to share your disappointment. That´s just like talking to yourself and doesn´t change a thing.

But the question if reuploading a revised mix led to disqualification is still on my mind. It would be great to get some official feedback on that... maybe just for the next contest where the first prize will probably be an SSL 4000 console... I wonder where I´ll put it ;-)
 
lol my exact response to the way this ended.

i-don-t-care-o.gif
 
I have to chime in....the top mix was pretty good but not stellar. The other mixes were clearly sub par and that is probably the rub with those who participated. Yeah it can be interpreted that those whining are sore losers but the proof is in the puddin', or mix in this case and it's very easy to identify a poor sounding mix. If Fab picked any of these wow, it's time to go to the audiologist and get those ears checked ;)

All of these 16 mixes should have been stellar and they were far from that! But congrats to the winners...maybe the new gear will improve their mixes and that's a good thing.
 
puremix.net said:
Dear all,

Because this is not the first mixing contest we organize, we are quite used to experiencing such an excitement when results are announced.

The current economic turmoil asking for absolute and complete transparency in every form of election, here was our protocol:
- The whole judging process was done in collaboration with the SoundCloud backend. On June 1st, SC provided us with the exhaustive list of all the entries submitted on or before this date and officially closed the contest.
- As per our rules, all contestants who submitted more than one mix where automatically removed from the list.
- ALL mixes that were still on the list have been played at least once. If you're mix has not been listened to, it is because you were either late in your submission, or submitted several versions, or did not share it with the official group, or did not follow the rules.
- No. We did not download all the tracks. Download of the original wav file was used in case of close calls between two mixes. SC does compress the audio but it is often enough to compare 2 mixes and tell which one is going to make it to the next round.
- There has been several rounds during which many people took the time to listen to all the entries. Last round was handled by Fab himself who took a ridiculous amount of time to analyze the best entries and choose the winners.

We understand that some people poured their heart into it and were disappointed by the results. That's normal, we are all human after all. But there is no reason for ganging up against the winners or the organizers who also poured their heart and time into this project.

We are very much at piece with the choices we've made, as all those mixes deserve to be on the list. Not everybody has to agree on the final results. This is music. This is art. It is subjective. There has been a lot of really good mixes but only 16 winning positions available. We'll try to do better next time.

To conclude on a positive note: this contest was designed to have fun and give everybody a chance, to watch, learn and experiment. No less.
We’ve all had a lot of fun organizing this contest and received all lot of positive feedback from all around the world. Everybody who took part in it got to watch an amazing hour-long video on how Fab and Ben recorded the Liza Colby Sound, downloaded the tracks of an amazing song with an amazing singer and got to sharpen their mixing skills on it. All of it for free. Amazing isn't it?

We are very much looking forward to doing it again! (soon).

pureMix
Click to expand...

Glad to see you finally posted in YOUR official thread again. Would have been better if you had announced the winners here instead of over at GS.
 
Definitely a bit shocked at the results. Not sure what Fab was thinking when he picked those mixes.

I thought fHumble fHingaz, davidpend and Clarity's mixes would surely be in the top 16 after listening to quite a few of the entries over the weeks. They were all better than any of the 16 winners. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of mixing could hear that. Nothing subjective about it.

My personal fav was Dave Bechtel's incredible mix. I never thought it would win because it was so radical, but JEEZUS it should have been somewhere in the top 16 on creativity alone, not to mention the superb sonics.

Ah well...c'est la vie...


puremix.net said:
Dear all,
...We'll try to do better next time.
pureMix
Click to expand...

Sounds like Pace concerning the iLok debacle LOL...
 
Pretty sure they didn't download mie either wtf?
It had an earlier down load but I know that wasn't them.. It was in way early.. Oh we'll thought it be fun.
More of a waste of time if your not even included.
 
If you read the puremix post on pg. 138 they said that they didn't download all the mixes to listen to them. Thought they originally said they would normalize and listen to all mixes at the same volume. Not sure how they did that listening on SoundCloud...
 
You know the funny thing is that if you have PRO account at Soundcloud you can just replace the file without deleting and reuploading. That's the other thing. So I don't know if it's that. I don't think that would count as a multiple entry. A multiple entry by the same person would be if they submitted more than one with the same Gearfest or Puremix tag on it or had more than one Soundcloud account. That is my interpretation.

Anyhow for shits and giggles, my quick 5 minute tweak after hearing the winner. Remember I grew up in the days of 8x10 bass rigs and Marshall stacks. :guitar: None of this 1x12 bass amp and 1x12 guitar amp stuff. lol. Just in case you're not sick of the song yet. I may talk trash, but I mix at a level I can hear the keys on my keyboard click. This is probably what I should have turned in, but I really don't think it would have mattered. Honestly I think this is better than my contest submission.



Quite honestly, music is being relegated to the background these days. nobody sits and listens to an album all the way through anymore. If you like to listen to music you need your own room with a door and a lock on it with no outside stimuli. So you mix for the "background listening" so it doesn't bother anyone. Bass is disturbing because it carries and vibrates through stuff, so you can't have any of that unless you mix for the obnoxious young crowd who want to upset their parents, or us cranky old people.
 
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