Focusrite sound quality

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dreemeternal

New member
Hi guys. I"m not a newbie, but not an expert either, and I'm self taught. I record my own music in my basement. I've had some songs accepted to one music library, so I'm meeting the minimum standards, as far as db's etc. just, my sound it's still subpar, needs thickness, depth, and loudness. I've used the Focusrite solo before and now I use the clarett 8 pre. Would buying an Apollo help me increase my sound quality? any recommendations? could it be as simple as that? of course I'm on a low budget, lol.
I've stopped recording for now since I need to figure out first what the problem is. I know mixing and mastering are way different animals than being a musician, but I'm surprised I haven't achieved a better sound.

here's a link to my music website.
dreemeternalmusic.com

Samples

The slap! Fire Horizon Symphonair Serenite Aeturnus You belong Piece in mind Sunday song Action theme Dark symphony Tierra en mis hojos Dark Bellz Came for you The lighthouse Muscle car Sax jingle …
dreemeternalmusic.com dreemeternalmusic.com

Thank you all!
 
I think it's extremely unlikely that switching to an Apollo interface will make a substantial difference. Thickness and depth are most likely arrangement, recording and mixing issues. Loudness is partly determined by the mix and partly determined by mastering. A decent mastering limiter (not a general use limiter or compressor) can make things arbitrarily loud, but much of the potential for loudness while sounding good is in the mix.

In my experience, the nice thing about some of the Apollo interfaces is that they can host effects and take some load of the CPU.
 
Thanks Boulder Sound guy! exactly what I thought. I guess I'll have to take a course or something as I feel I'm close. 'appreciate your input!
 
I think you just need more experience. I had a quick listen to a few of your samples and felt that you were often using stock sounds that have been well used before. I'd say that you need to think a bit more about arrangements and try to come up with something a bit more unusual in sound. Stick with your existing interface and concentrate on the sound design, composition and arrangements.
 
jamesperrett; I so appreciate your input, and also that you took the time to listen. I do try to find unusual sounds, for the most part, but another fella' told me the same thing. I'm using the native VSTs in Logic Pro, there are endless and, in my opinion, very good sounding, but I'll see what else I can come up with "outside the box".
Thank you!
 
The very 'high end' interfaces tend to have specifications for such things as noise and dynamic range close to the limits of what is technically possible. For example, getting a noise floor better than say-110dBFS takes a great deal of care and technical skill to keep digital and audio circuits 'apart' with especial care with internal grounding paths. However, people like Focusrite regularly achieve noise floors better than -100dBFS and in practice you are never going to get a mic/room combination that good and we will not even mention the noises coming out of synths and guitars!

Folks like RME produce kit of very high specification but are also known for probably the best drivers in the business and their products have a very long life, surviving several OS iterations, something that can put 'lesser' products on The Bay' overnight! But such dedication and efforts cost.

Just my 2p!


Dave.
 
I'm not asure what you mean by "thickness, depth, and loudness" - some of those sounds fit the bill - but have you got a finished track that uses the combination? Some of the sounds are very thick - so adding extras will soon create a mess? Maybe this is the issue - plus of course your monitors?
 
rob aylestone said:
I'm not asure what you mean by "thickness, depth, and loudness" - some of those sounds fit the bill - but have you got a finished track that uses the combination? Some of the sounds are very thick - so adding extras will soon create a mess? Maybe this is the issue - plus of course your monitors?
Click to expand...
Yea verily! "monitors and room" Rinse and repeat several times. Most people on this and other forum concentrate on the 'front end' sometimes to a ridiculous degree...e.g. listening on headphones from a laptop or on some 20 quid 'meeja' speakers.
Yes, good quality headphones ('open' types are generally best) driven from a decent amplifier (and many AIs are now very decent) can be very useful but IMHO, music 'happens out there' and good monitors in a room with even modest treatment will give better results.

The elephant in the room of course is wonga! You can get a very decent microphone, an AI and a set of cans for much less than even entry level monitors*. Room treatment can be very cheap for some basic 'cleaning up'.

*The Presonus Eris 3.5s are an exception but necessarily lack bass and high SPLs.

Dave.
 
I'm a bit confused. Are the sounds you are recording synths that you are recording, or are they mostly VSTs? If you're sending midi signals to the computer, then the interface would have ZERO effect on the recorded sound. All the sound generation is being done in the computer, with the interface itself only providing playback through it's DA conversion. There would be no preamp involved unless you are sending mic or line level signals through the inputs. Did you hear a big difference going from the Solo to the Clarret8? If not, then going to an Apollo will probably make no differnce.

In the samples, you had some vocals, so obviously you have microphones. In my experience, changing mics makes a much bigger difference than changing the preamp. If you are unhappy with the sound of your vocal, that would be my first line of attack. Most interfaces are pretty much flat from 20-20K +/- tenths of a dB. Mic will say 20-20000, but if you look at the graphs, that might have as much as 8 or 10 dB variation. Speakers are the same way.

One thing to be aware of, when people hear themselves recorded, they always thing they sound thin because they are used to hearing themselves with the added sound through their body. Put your fingers in your ears and sing. Hear all that fat, bassy sound? That mixes in with what your ears hear. I actually had a friend compare my vocal with a few different mics, and my question was which sounds the most like ME from his perspective.

What Dave said about your monitoring setup is very true. Speakers and headphones vary widely in their sonic signature. There's a reason that professional studios use expensive stuff, they are designed to accurately reproduce the sound. I've heard some really dreadful headphones that people have recommended. You really need to evaluate a number of headphones to find something that sounds natural, not boomy, or glassy sounding. If you are in NYC, there should be quite a few places where you can audition things and see how they compare to what you are using now.
 
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