Salvation

Wakey! Wakey!

Fab Dupont's mix (mastered version)

We thought you guys would enjoy having a go at mixing the session of the song described in detail in the Salvation MixCheck, so here you go. For those of you who have not read the MixCheck on this song (Shame on you), here’s a summary of the situation:

I got the call to produce the next Wakey! Wakey! record. Songs came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some just written, some half produced, some mixed and mastered. In the end we went back to the drawing board and re-did the whole album in 30 days. Not a lot of sleep was involved. Salvation was in embryonic mode (Check out the mix check to hear the embryo) but had a clear identity. Over the next few days we reorganized the structure, recorded live players and added synth textures to the whole track). When it came time to mix it, we really just polished the production session, which is what you are getting here. Pre final mix production session. Printed without any of the plugins.

Hold on to your seat, this is a big session. It should keep you busy for a minute or two. Or three. There are many challenges in this mix. Making the real drums pump like programmed drums to be able to hold up on Pop radio should take a while. Placing all those pads so they sound thick but not overwhelming should take a while also. And placing the vocal on top of all of that should be fun. This is the hardest session we have published so far. Lots of tracks, lots of layering, make sure you listen to everything before you start mixing. There are surprises.

I mixed it in ProTools 11HD, with the usual plug-in suspects (Sonnox, UAD, Soundtoys, P&M, etc…) using analog summing via a Dangerous 2Bus with a Dangerous Compressor and Dangerous Bax EQ on the 2Bus. It went to version 2.3 meaning we spent time on it (I rarely go over 1.3 or 1.4 but there were production adjustments made along the way). It was mastered by Diego Calvino at 332 in Buenos Aires. Don’t try and match my mix as it was performed in the context of a whole record. It could have been fatter, wetter, drier, thinner, louder, softer, weirder, more conventional, brighter, darker, etc, etc, if it had been just a single. It’s a different exercise. So treat this as a single. Make it shine. Make it pop.

With all the information from the MixCheck and the full un-edited stems, you are exactly in the position you’d be if you had produced the song and it was time to mix it. Today. Due Tonight. Mastering tomorrow. Or else. You won’t have the pressure of the artist sitting on your couch peaking up from his iPad from time to time, asking ‘Is this how it’s going to sound in the end?’

You could time yourself and see how you fare. Let us know.

Fab

Submissions

Winners

We sat down and listened to all the entries..and *drum roll* here are the winners!

#1 - Congrats to The Goz who won a SoundToys plugin of his choice.

#2 - Congrats to DC who won a SoundToys plugin of his choice.

#3 - Congrats to Morgot21 who won a SoundToys plugin of his choice.