I challenge thee to... uh.... a CHALLENGE!!! (Updated: Please read)

WATYF

...happier than you.
Notice: I have reposted this because confusion was growing about what this challenge was really about... I can understand that confusion, and I wanted to clarify.




As the result of a discussion that took place in this great thread... the idea was put forward by the most excellent SLuiCe to start another HR.com Challenge... so here it is.



All members of the HR.com BBS are hereby challenged to perform the following task:


Record a song and then present us with.... a NAKED mix. (oooooooooh :o )


That means: No compression. No reverb. No delays. No de-essers. No tricks. No treats. No Nuthin'.

Instead, you must use your own natural talents to perform and capture the best sound that you can, and then use your mixing skills to render that sound into a final product without the help of any effects.


READ THIS FIRST!!!

What this challenge IS for:
  • To keep the mix as dry as possible...
  • To present the most "unaltered" representation of what was actually TRACKED.
  • To make the best out of tracking. (i.e. spend more time getting good mic positions/performances, etc.)
  • To get you to focus on what you're recording and how you're recording it, so that you can improve your methods of tracking, so you won't need to clean up your "messes" with effects/EQ/Compression.
What this challenge is NOT for:
  • To force you into using only mother nature to make music (i.e. banging your head against a rock to get a "bass drum" sound).
  • To try to get you to play something other than your normal instrument.
  • To keep you from using guitar effects/synths/loops/etc.
  • To start a new an acoustic-only, "unplugged" version of the clinic.
  • To make you mad. :p
So, you can (for the most part) just do what you normally do during tracking, but after that, you can't alter it using effects. We're not here to try to get you to find other ways of making your guitar distorted (i.e. run it through your electric razor) We can save challenges like that for another time. :p This challenge is to get you to track what you normally do, and then present it in the most "natural" way that you can.

Although this challenge will have a greater impact on those who primarily use acoustic instruments, it can still be a benefit to those who don't. So if you make Electronica, for example,... then you can still use it to help you work towards getting your mixes at their best.

Now, there are rules that apply to tracking also, so please read these carefully.
(It's really not that hard, ya know... stop making every thing so d@mn difficult already, will ya? :p :D)




Complete List of Rules:
  • 1) No effects plugins whatsoever. (The use of EQ modification is prohibited, except in the signal chain: See #3)
  • 2) No acoustic signal chain effects whatsoever are allowed. (i.e. A compressor/reverb unit applied to a vocal or an acoustic git)
  • 3) EQ-related signal chain modifications, such as low-pass filters, are allowed.
  • 4) Electric guitar effects are allowed. (Obviously we don't want every recording to just be a bunch of strats plugged right into a mixer :p.)
  • 5) Natural effects are encouraged. (Such as figuring out creative ways to include natural reverbs.)
  • 6) Any effects you can create on your own are allowed. (Tape distortion effects, etc.)
  • 7) Keyboards, Synths, Drum Loops, etc. are allowed.
  • 8) Effects that are inherent to the instrument are allowed. (i.e. the reverb on a preset in your keyboard.)
  • 9) No MASTERING techniques of any kind are allowed.
  • 10) All non-effect related mixing techniques are allowed. (i.e. envelopes, editing, automation, etc.)
  • 11) There are no limits on the song itself. Any amount of tracks/style/content/instruments are allowed.

(These rules will be edited as necessary... please check back for updates)





As with previous challenges, we want to give as many people as possible a chance to participate. Therefore, the current deadline is set to...



Friday the 30th...



That's May 30th folks.







Join in...



...if you dare.



And remember.... for all you newbies... (and I know there's lots of you oat there... :p) this is just a challenge for anyone who visits this BBS. There are no "winners" or "loser"... The purpose of this is to simply stretch our abilities as home-reckers.



WATYF

*date changed by sm2k on behalf of WATYF*
 
Ok cool. I can handle that. This is close to how my mixes are now though. My mixing style IS tracking.

So is my vocoder an effect?

Just kidding, don't answer that...
 
Cool!

A challenge I think I can actually get in on. In fact, I have a few possible candidates on the hard drive right now.:D

Hmmmmm. Now to decide which one........
 
Well...SLuiCe...since you asked...


My job with Verizon down here on LI is most likely on the outs.A major lay-off is in my immediate future and I just made the last work force cut(by a week) and I'm not sure I will survive this next one.I might get moved to another department but most likely I'll be let go.I have few options after that.My father, who lives in Maine,has done some poking around up there and found a few employment opportunities for me in the communications field.It's so shit ass cold up there ,I'm totally freaked but I've been up there during the winter plenty of times so whatever...Anyway,I have no money,no nest egg,no savings,no plan and no way of knowing when all this will go down...if at all.So I was covering my ass as bwst I could to see what my options are.One is moving to maine to live in a spare cottage my dad has on his property.The other thing I'm working on is a possible personell swap between me and a woman my dad met in New Hampshire.That road has been blocked from both ends by company and union alike,I see little hope in that happening.I have no other plan.I can't afford LI anymore.Not with 2 kids and 2 cars and a spoiled wife,not to mention my own mental instability.Maine is seeming like the best option for me,if not the only one.So,in the near, if not immediate future,I'll be headed north to the land where most of my memories were of happier times.A good thing.Also I'll get to be around my dad,who I rarely ever see now and of course the SLuiCe man,who might be too afraid to hang out with me...you know,with his good reputation and all.I really don't know where I'm gonna end up,and I don't care as long as I can get off this stupid little island.I swear to christ I feel like f*ckin Gilligan sometimes.I've been trying to do this move for 4 years now and I'm always met with some assanine opposition or lame excuse.I will eventually end up in Maine anyway.I know this as sure as I know I'll be having to pee in the morning.Don't ask me how but I just know I'm destined to live there.I feel different there,in a way that I have trouble describing and I'm never at a loss for words.I get told to shut up all the time....hey,...that's a good idea right NOW!
 
SLuiCe said:
Can I add loads and loads of Flange to my vocals?

If you achieve the flange by leaning on your reel-to-reel, yes.

If you achieve the flange by applying an after-effect, no.

If you apply flange as an after-effect and tell us you leaned on the tape deck, we'll have no choice but to believe you.

If we find out you lied, we will devote a special thread to talking about your lame ass in the Cave.

Daf (who will probably have to post an instrumental because his voice sounds like SUCH shit...)
 
Yeah! This is a challenge I wanted to do last time around. The rules and reasons are very well laid out and I think it will be an interesting challenge in terms of both results and learning, as well as experimentation. I have about a half dozen techniques I want to try out, so now I have a reason!

WATYF--Thanks for submitting this one. I'm in! :D
 
sooooo basically EVERYONE else is going to sound pretty much like my shitty mixes do anyway....sweet....finally some of you will find out HOW much work goes into getting your sound that crappy....any one needing help on how to peg your meters or the wrong drum settings pm me...:D
 
Whew...thank God "Autotune" is not an "effect."

Yeah, I'm in...hell, I'm actually almost done, lol.

Oh, and WATYF - those "harsh" comments about my mixes used to bug me and make me wanna' get better... until I heard a couple of your mud-laden, pillow soft, mixes. MUWHAHAHAHahahahaha...

:D

Do we really need a month? I mean, for the last one, we had all this time, and a similar series of long threads about committees and rules and stuff, and then...like 6 people actually did something...And all of them ('cept maybe Crawdad) did it in a day, lol.

C'mon, make it 2 weeks or something...maybe people will actually track while they care.
 
If you can use the effects pre-mix what's the challenge?

I'm losing sight of this goal here. This is how I always track. You can print reverb and other effects to different tracks in the computers most of us use it will be no problem to have just as many options in mixing as using effects post tracking.



When this challenge is over we should have the 'no real instruments' challenge. That would not exclude using instruments in new ways however....guitar for a drum...

I should get my 4 track out.
 
jake-owa said:
If you can use the effects pre-mix what's the challenge?

I'm losing sight of this goal here.

The goal here is simply: "You can't fix it in the mix".

If your used to doing it that way anyway then it won't be much of a challenge for you.;)
 
M.Brane said:
The goal here is simply: "You can't fix it in the mix".

If your used to doing it that way anyway then it won't be much of a challenge for you.;)

My guess is that a lot of us (not ME, of course!:D) figure we can sculpt our ASS tracks with EQ, compression, reverb, echo and limiting and solve all our self-injected problems that are a result of tracking.

This exercise will force us to "stand naked" and confront the errors of our ways. Hell, I'm gonna keep one eye open while I stand naked--Monty may be lurking, ya know!

Anyway, I think everybody should try this on at least one song. It could create a Clinic renaissance. I mean--thats what this place is for--to turn us all into recording geniuses, right?:D people may stop asking why their songs sound so bad because they will see the value of tracking great big perfect tracks.

By the way, how do I do that?:D
 
chrisharris said:
**scurries out the door to buy hardware Antares unit to use as new preamp**

Oh God, Chris! Haven't you figured out by now that talented guys like you don't need that crutch?:D
 
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