OK, I got poetic's take on the mixes. Here's how we judged them. I made a folder and labelled them mix 1 through mix 12. I randomly put each mix in so even I couldn't remember which one was which. I sent them to poetic for judging, and did my own judging here. These comments are a hybrid mix of what we heard.
Secondly, did anyone else notice that the drum tracks didn't line up perfectly? That may have been my fault, as I tried to figure out where they went in the mix, but they weren't lined up well. If you didn't do that yourself, mark yourself down one grade.
OK, here is what we heard.
Mix 1 (simman)
Pros: Vocals are upfront clear and warm. Individual levels are very good. Panning is excellent. Good kick drum. Nice lazy laid back drums. This mix had the best hard stop at 2:54. Some of the instruments rang through the hard stop. I think this is the only mix that caught that and cut them off.
Cons: Vocals are over de-essed, and maybe just a bit hot. Very first line "Well I woke up thith morning". Seems to be a timing issue with bass and kick. The kick seems a little behind the bass.
Overall: Really solid mix. Fix the lithpy vocals and this is a great mix.
Mix 2 (thebigredhotdog)
Pros: Good panning, vocals clear and up front. Good ending.
Cons: Where's the low end? Kick and bass are lost. Fiddle, dobro, and tele are so hot, can't hear the
acoustic guitar or piano. Piano is a featured instrument in this song. Reverb seems excessive, especially on the dobro and tele.
Overall: Too much high and not enough low end makes this mix a little harsh. A bit over processed.
Mix 3 (timkroeger)
Pros: IMO this mix had the best snare sound, just right! Just the right amount of roominess to the drum mix. Also, the vocals are just right. They don't need much help, and it sounds like you left them pretty much alone.
Cons: Where's the kick? Dobro and tele seem a little low. Mix sounds a bit cramped and closed. Ending not great.
Overall: Solid mix, just needs to sound more open and 3 dimensional.
Mix 4 (D. Vincent)
Pros: Good instrument levels throughout. Good panning (except see below) nice wide mix. Kick and bass are solid. Vocals clear, present, not harsh. Reverb on vocals tastefully done. Can hear everything well.
Cons: Kick and bass maybe a bit too hot (just slightly). During the guitar solo, the piano is panned right on top of it. Separate those two and it will sound better. Rough ending.
Overall: Solid mix with a touch too much low end. Mix volume is low, but that's OK. Mastering is for later.
Mix 5 (trumpino 1)
Pros: Good kick. Snare sound is good, but... Panning is good
Cons: One big one- snare is way too loud, makes it hard to focus on anything else. The echo/reverb on the vocal makes it sound too processed for this genre.
Overall: Hard to tell with the snare so loud.
Mix 6 (dastrick)
Pros: Vocals sound decent
Cons: Very 2d mix, not panned well. No kick, bass too low. Weird stuff going on in the mids. Phasey sound on the fiddle. Piano is buried.
Overall: Needs more clarity, panning and balance of individual elements
Mix 7 (Robbie L)
Pros: Vocals are good. Panning is good. Mix is spacious sounding. Instrument levels generally good.
Cons: Overheads are too high, giving the whole mix a harsh sound. Kick is absent, bass too low.
Overall: Bring up the low end and tame the high end and this mix could be good.
Mix 8 (whitestrat)
Pros: Good vocals, nice and warm good reverb not overdone. Panning excellent, nice and wide mix. Instrument levels good, can hear everything. Good kick. Best
acoustic guitar yet.
Cons: Drums could be panned wider, a bit narrow sounding. Ending a bit sloppy. Here's the biggest problem with this mix. There's something weird happening with the bass. Gives the mix a big low end rumbly droning sound.
Overall: Very good mix. Fix the bass problem and this might be a winner.
(P.S. of all your mixes, I liked the first one the best)
Mix 9 (izmanz)
Pros: Vocals sound good.
Cons: Levels not good. Tele, bass, kick, piano, dobro and fiddle all too soft.
Drums panned weird and too harsh sounding. Rough ending.
Overall: Unbalanced and lacking low end. Too much high end sizzle.
Mix 10 (Bulls Hit)
Pros: Insane. Bass is decent. Dobro is perfect.
Cons: Insane. Vocal FX really weird and not working. Fiddle has some weird chorus flange phase thing that doesn't sound good. Sloppy ending.
Overall: Wins the insanity award. On a normal scale, sorry, the vocals alone disqualify this mix. Some wacky effects.
Mix 11 (shortton pro)
Pros: Very crisp clear mix. Levels are mostly great. panning is great. Vocals sound great.
Cons: Drum overheads are too bright. I hear some faint echo on the dobro which sounds a little weird to me in a couple of spots. Piano too low.
Overall: Tame the highs in the overheads and this would be a very good mix.
Mix 12 (funkdaddy)
Pros: Vocals good. Fiddle good.
Cons: Dobro is distorted, doesn't sound right to my ear. Too much reverb muddying things up. Lacks clarity. Bass a little low, Kick is missing. Ending is sloppy, sloppy.
So now for the final results. It's amazing how close the notes I took were to the ones I got from poetic.
Honorable mention:
White Strat. Really good mix except for the bass problem which was glaring, and eliminated your mix from contention.
Robbie L. Fix the overhead harshness and you've got a good mix here.
Third Place: Timkroeger: Great job with the drums, by far my favorite drum mix. Just needs a little more stereo spread 3d-ness and this will sound great.
Second Place: simman: This mix was a clear winner if not for the lithpy vocals. Would have won easily without that. Could never send this to mastering without fixing that one thing. Otherwise great mix.
First Place: D. Vincent. Solid mix with no glaring errors except the ending could be tidied up a bit and lower the kick and bass a titch.
Thanks again to poetic for adding drums, and helping with the judging.
Hope you all had fun. I know I did. Hope this helps with your future mixing skills. After all that is the goal.
