Dangerous Music / Sweetwater / puremix Mixing contest Thank you for downloading the audio stems for the Liza Colby Band s Oh Baby song. To win the contest you must be the one who has the best sounding mix of the song by the June 1 st deadline. The rule is that the song s arrangement must remain the same (no additional harmonica or kazoo tracks please). If you think it absolutely necessary, advanced mixing techniques such as "drum triggering" are allowed but should remain as transparent as possible. This contest is about mixing not about producing. Listening levels will be normalized from mix to mix, so there is no need to maximize, master or crush your mix hoping that it will get picked because it s louder. A nominal -18 to -16 dbfs RMS (average) level is best. 1
Prizes The contest ends on June 1 st 2013. On June 21st, Fab Dupont will announce the top 16 candidates who will be awarded the following prizes in order of merit: Prize #1 : One pair of Focal Twin6 Be speakers ($3990 value) Prize #2 : One Presonus ADL700 ($2499 value) Prize #3 : One Universal Audio OCTO core ($1874 value) Prize #4 : One Dangerous Music D-Box ($1679 value) Prize #5 : One Lauten Atlantis microphone ($1599 value) Prize #6 : Dangerous Music Source ($1099 value) Prize #7 : One Blue Dragonfly microphone ($999.99 value) Prize #8 : One Vovox studio cables pack ($999 value) Prize #9 : One Lauten Torch microphone ($999 value) Prize #10 : One Blue Reactor microphone ($499.99 value) Prize #11 : One Presonus Studio One Pro License ($449 value) Prize #12 : One Presonus Studio One Pro License ($449 value) Prize #13 : One Presonus Studio One Pro License ($449 value) Prize #14 : One puremix 1-year subscriptions ($269 value) Prize #15 : One puremix 1-year subscriptions ($269 value) Prize #16 : One puremix 1-year subscriptions ($269 value) 2
How to submit your mix? Import the stems in your favorite DAW (Any DAW you like, tape is fine too if that is how you roll), and mix the song so it s as good sounding as you can get it to be. Upload your mix on your private Soundcloud account (It s free). In SoundCloud advanced settings, please make sure your mix is "download enabled. Include the tag GearfestPuremixContest in the title. For instance: my_mix_gearfestpuremixcontest. Join the official Gearfest Mixing Contest SoundCloud group. and share your mix (Add to group button). url: https://soundcloud.com/groups/gearfest-mixingcontest Please include a detailed description of the gear you used in your song description (software & hardware). Also, do not hesitate to mention your artistic intentions, especially if you encountered technical restrictions. Only mixes fulfilling these requirements will be considered for the contest. The name of the winners will be published on June 21 st at: http://www.puremix.net/gearfestmixingcontest 3
If you feel like sharing your thoughts about your mix, you can do so on the Homerecording.com official thread: http://homerecording.com/bbs/generaldiscussions/mix/gearfest-mixing-contest-356614/ Have a good Mix! You seriously competitive puremix team. *** Please, do not submit your mixes directly to the artists or partners. See you on Soundcloud. *** 4
About the recording of "Oh Baby" In case you have not seen the video of the recording yet, it is important for you to be aware of the context in which the tracks came to life. Please watch the recording session: http://www.puremix.net/gearfestmixingcontest This song was recorded live on stage at Sweetwater in Fort Wayne Indiana with a rig designed to resemble the typical working conditions of a standard home-studio: everybody in the same room, no separation between sound engineer and musicians, and to spice it all up a bit, about three hundred people in the audience. As a result, the recording is not as perfect as it could have been in more normal studio conditions. That said, the musicians' feelings are there, the quality of the instruments 5
shine through and the mood is perfect for the song. We have music, and solving technical problems is the point of the exercise, so let's enjoy the ride! Last word of advice before you listen to the tracks. It is always very tempting to open up every single track to try and fix them up one by one, to get the best possible sounds separately. I will leave it up to you to decide whether it is the best option in this case. Your mileage may vary. Have fun and good luck. I'm excited to be able to listen to all your mixes that will give me a good reason to listen to this great song hundreds of time! Fab Dupont 6
Liza Colby, by Fab Dupont The Liza Colby Sound is the cream of the crop of New York s Rock And Roll scene. The combination of sexy, raw and deeply honest delivery of Liza s vocal with the tight pockets and epic guitar riffs makes for a great show and they have been packing NYC rooms steadily for a couple years now. What you hear is what you get, no tricks, no electronics, just 4 human beings setting the room on fire. More of Liza here: http://thelizacolbysound.com/ 7