Mixoff IV: Professor Maximillian Von Mixthoffen’s Expert Critiques

From the Desk of:

Professor Maximillian Von Mixthoffen

Round 1 Thoughts and Grades

Bearded Dragon

Overall: 8/10

Tracks:
Hung Up Madonna
Come With Me – Radio Edit Special D.

Not a bad Gac selection for mixing.
Odd stutter effect makes flow of track break flow when not triggered in the right place, use of it got better as the mix progressed.
Need to drop on the down beat (kick) not snare on first mix. We have all done it!
Beat matching is tight and levels are very good, bar the special D mix which was a car crash!
Where did Beck came from? but I love that track so will let it go.

The Cat

Overall: 8/10

Tracks:
Hoots Mon Lord Rockingham’s XI
The Twist Fat Boys

Probably the worst Gac picks for a mix in this round! good luck with these stinkers. 1 point gained pre listen due to difficulty. Great intro track.
Speeding up and down mid track should be avoided unless being done for effect. (build up or break down over the mix is a better idea and sounds smoother) plan your tracks to be as such.
Impressive mix into “fat boys” vocal drop was almost perfect. hot drop o’clock.
Rosa was a bold choice and I could hear the DJ working the beat match on the fly.
This mix shows confidence in the effort but needs to be more tidy in its execution.
Shame the use of hoots mon was a drop and swap but it was a stinker!
The black eye peas vs Glee was a nice drop this is where vocal clash is a done well.
Points lost for untidy mix’s but points also gained for committing to the mix with confidence, The mix’s got better as it progressed.
and as my old friend Einstein says “sometimes you need to show your working”
was almost 7/10,  1 point could have been taken off for the crazy frog!

Crocodile

Overall: 9/10

Tracks:
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Remastered Eurythmics
One Step Beyond (2009 Remaster) Madness

The gac tracks are not a good speed match but lets see what is done with these In the mix.  I hope its snappy!
The madness intro was a good call. saxy into an alex lee remix of same track yes I looked it up ha ha ha!
Super tight mix’s mashup section.
Hard to know if its super slick or a pre made mashup. this is the beauty of the mix.
Done well you would never know!
Great flow
Amazing levels
Fast changes and in perfect timing.
This is pro level right till the last gac track mix. point lost, no Master for you this time.
Anakin was never granted level of master. maybe next round.

Eagle

Overall: 7/10

Tracks:

Justified & Ancient The KLF
I Am a Cider Drinker (Paloma Blanca) The Wurzels

From the sublime to the ridiculous gac tracks.
I Love the intro “iron eagle”
Right into the gac track the wurzels to get it out of the way.
ha! Accy with ice in the mix.
The hard cut transition is a valid choice but always make sure its not like breaking the listeners neck.
Super smooth transition from “house of pain to smooth house tune”
into McHammer!!!! bold and done well.
McHammer into sleeping satellite vocal mash became a vocal clash remember to get rid of the track when the next one drops.
Try not to clash lead vocals, always try and find a gap in the vocal to mix over.

Mixed the 2nd gac track (klf running at ludicrous speed)
Also rhythm is a dancer into rhythm of the night vocal clash.
Try to maintain a sound level. dropping to a lower level in a mix makes the energy drop try and maintain a balance by Trimming each track pre mix.
Watch your levels and vocal clashing but keep the creative vibes.

Kite

Overall: 7/10

Tracks:
Htfu- Permaband
Destination Calabria – Extended Mix Alex Gaudino

Extreme Gac tracks one mix track one rock.
Permaband does not even have a stable BPM… difficulty level Deadly mix at your peril but managed to do it in a way that was not jarring at all. bonus point added!
The flow of this set is very non conventional but has a feel that makes it seem natural.
The more conventional mixing could be tighter/smoother.
Don’t be afraid to let both tracks run longer in the mix over.
Also levels could use some work.
Managed to do a mix where the beat on the incoming track was in-between the beat of the outgoing track… making a double beat!
That’s soooo hard to do and I’m sure was not intended.
As this set rolls along I’m not sure if I’m on a trip or a roller coaster.
and hit a brick wall at the end!
Bonus point for the odd vibes and making it work.

Komodo Dragon

Overall: 7/10

Tracks:
The Reflex – Single Version; 2010 Remaster Duran Duran
Opposites Attract – Magnetic Mix Paula Abdul

One 80s one 90s Track, Decade vs decade…..
First mix was unusual using filter out and in on each of the tracks this makes the mix sound wooly and makes it hard to hear if its on beat for both the listener and the mixer.
A common issue with mix’s is the lack of confidence to let a mix ride a little longer, but cutting to soon it makes the mix feel rushed.
The rest of the mix was a lot smoother and the retro vibe was very nice def 80s heavy.
Just watch you bass level on the mix over it was over driving at points.
The GAC track proved an issue here “duran duran” being droped on fade. it is not always easy to mix old tracks as they don’t have stable beats so this means you need to get Creative in the mix.
Discord bleep will trigger many people when its played on air lol

The Mole

Overall: 8/10

Tracks:
Renegade Master – Radio Edit
When Will I Be Famous?

Dance classic vs Cheese classic
Kicking off with both GAC tracks in a mash style. tight. should have gone longer on that mash action.
Nice to see something done with the gac tracks apart from playing them solo for as short a time as possible.
The drop into bros missed the mark, try and makes sure if you vocal drop that the first beat hits on the beat to.
if it does not due to unstable track, cue the vocal and then cue the down beat and re trigger.
man in finance to le bouche was a bit off beat and harsh. nice remix of le bouche… “gac track” different version though.
Into the business end of the mix, this mixer feels at home in his/her style and it shows.
Brutal drop into the helix track. that could have been smoother.
Over all a smooth well delivered set.
Great levels good fast track swaps.
SCOOTER!!!!! or smurf?

The Puffin

Overall: 8/10

Tracks:
Walk The Dinosaur Was (Not Was)
Be My Lover La Bouche

One 80s one 90s track, Decade vs Decade….. again.
Kicking off with the helix track vocal drop.
La bouche “gac track” vocal dropped over the helix track, can hear the mixer is fighting with the la bouche track so its prob not stable 90s euro pop.
Showing a little working.
Mix into gecko is very strange, it sounds like its off but its not. also WTF! slowing down but also speeding up? what craziness is this.
House to drum and bass transition…
Out of that into a remix of was not was “walk the dinosaur” need to check with the east german judge on that one. I don’t rem the given track being DnB.
then into a solid DnB 80s fest
Probably the most effective use of the Gac tracks in all the mix’s
Few mistakes and glitches but nothing major to ruin the flow.

Polish and you will get that 9 or even a 10!

Bengal Tiger

Overall: 8/10

Tracks:
Kung Fu Fighting Bus Stop
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go Wham!

Cheese off!
Starts with a Assault on the sense’s
WUB WUB WUB!
now it wants to eat me!
I am scared and I want my mummy
and then wham! the sun came out
The gac tracks once again cause issues making it hard to mix them in a normal way.
now into tribal house style 80s
and now electro swing!
and now breaks without missing a beat…..
and back to WUB WUB!!!!!
this is a trip.
lost points for light use of gac tracks

The Crow

Overall: 9/10

Tracks:
Religion – Kinky Roland Dub Mix Boy George
Doin’ The Do – 7″ Radio Mix Betty Boo

Nice use of the samples from the “crow” movie.
This mix has a feel like it was made by the crow in the picture.
It has a dark feel and I like it.
The music choices were amazing and also different.
The transitions are smooth and subtle.
Levels are nice and tight.
Only real issue I can see is that loss of bass on some of the mixs kills the energy.
Other than that its a classy mix with good flow and feel.
Hendrix and stones in the mix! count me in twice….
Will crow be sat on kites tomb stone?

The Turtle

Overall: 5/10

Tracks:
Whoomp! There It Is – Radio Edit Tag Team
Let Me Think About It Ida Corr

2 gac tracks used first up. I am unsure what the plan for these two tracks in the mix.
Issues with sharp cuts which didn’t always hit on beat.
Also levels were very hot making the tag team track to distort.
Points given for “trying to use the gac tracks in a non basic form”
The track choices are very surreal almost makes the mix feel like an acid trip.
Levels need a lot of work the helix track was totally distorted, make sure you trim your levels before you mix each track.
Red is bad green is good yellow is making it sweat!
Most transitions failed to hit the mark.
Brave effort but I feel this turtle is laying on its back.

The Polar Bear

Overall: 8/10

Tracks:
Kung-Fu 187 Lockdown
Girls Just Want to Have Fun Cyndi Lauper

From the start this set is butter smooth, but you need to check your levels as running hot can make the bass distort on the mix.
Remember trim each track.
Very happy vibes in this set makes it bounce along at a lovely pace.
Mix went  south a bit at 13 mins but recovered well.
Nice track choices. with lots of swaps.
Lovely mix in with the 2nd gac track the mix out was a tad clashy on the vocals.
fun happy mix.

First Round Final thoughts:

Professor Mixthoffen MVM (Most Valuable Mixer) of Round 1

The Crow

Round 2 Critiques