Hello all,
Long time reader, first post, and in need of some help with my current PT rig. I have searched old posts/faq's/etc/etc. and wasn't able to find anything quite like what I am experiencing so here goes...
I am running PT 9 on a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 Mac running OSX 10.6.8, interface is an M-Audio Fast track pro.
I have been working with my current recording setup for over 2 years now, but I recently noticed some sound quality discrepancies with some plugins that are starting to become more and more apparent. For the sake of explanation, I will use Guitar Rig 5 as my example as that it is where it is blatently obvious.
You can use Guitar Rig 5 as a stand alone application, or as a plugin in your DAW. When I run GR5 as a standalone application, the sound quality is very noticeably better than when I use it as an insert in PT. I have double checked all settings within GR5 itself, and the standalone and the insert match exactly. Also, I am using the Hi quality setting within GR5 on both. When in pro tools, I am not using any other plugins/sends/etc. on the track. I have tried both mono and mono/stereo versions of the plugin and get the same results.
The best way for me to describe the difference in sound quality is that it seems like a lower quality version of the same sound - its not unbearably different, but its noticable enough. I think part of the reason I am just now noticing this is that I have recently started working on much higher quality projects as apposed to just demoing ideas and the sound quality in the guitars I was working with just dont even compare to what I can get outside of pro tools with the same application.
Here are some thoughts from my end and a few other tidbits in case they might help:
1. I am really starting to think that this is something that affects ANYTHING that is recorded in pro tools via my interface, not just guitar tracks with GR5 (i.e. vocals too). I can eliminate any possible issues with the interface itself because I know that it works well with the standalone GR5 application outside of PT. I have not tested this with any other applications but I think this one instance should be enough to rule out that possibility. If I need to test it further, I can record a quick vox take in some simple sound recorder application to compare to PT.
2. All sessions/tracks play back accurately in pro tools. What I mean is, I recently had a few sessions tracked at a studio elsewhere, and I can import those sessions and play them without issue - sound quality is perfect. Also, tracks play back exactly as they were recorded - so if I record a terrible sounding guitar with GR5, it plays back just as terrible. If I import a perfect audio file, it plays back perfect. This is definitely an issue that is only effecting tracking.
3. My gut is telling me that there is something either with my session setup, pro tools or mac settings, or my hardware settings with regards to audio that is causing this problem. I recently trashed pro tools prefs to see if i had botched something there along the way but the issue is still there. I am not super experienced with handling all of the SETTINGS for pro tools so its possible that I am doing something stupid here. I found a few other posts with suggested settings and I don't see anything out of line, but again I could be missing something.
Last few notes. My sessions are 24/44.1, interface settings on the Mac are set to the same. If its needed, I can record a sample via the Tape Deck in GR5 so that you may hear the difference there vs. the PT session.
Thank you in advance for all of your help - its very much appreciated!
Long time reader, first post, and in need of some help with my current PT rig. I have searched old posts/faq's/etc/etc. and wasn't able to find anything quite like what I am experiencing so here goes...
I am running PT 9 on a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 Mac running OSX 10.6.8, interface is an M-Audio Fast track pro.
I have been working with my current recording setup for over 2 years now, but I recently noticed some sound quality discrepancies with some plugins that are starting to become more and more apparent. For the sake of explanation, I will use Guitar Rig 5 as my example as that it is where it is blatently obvious.
You can use Guitar Rig 5 as a stand alone application, or as a plugin in your DAW. When I run GR5 as a standalone application, the sound quality is very noticeably better than when I use it as an insert in PT. I have double checked all settings within GR5 itself, and the standalone and the insert match exactly. Also, I am using the Hi quality setting within GR5 on both. When in pro tools, I am not using any other plugins/sends/etc. on the track. I have tried both mono and mono/stereo versions of the plugin and get the same results.
The best way for me to describe the difference in sound quality is that it seems like a lower quality version of the same sound - its not unbearably different, but its noticable enough. I think part of the reason I am just now noticing this is that I have recently started working on much higher quality projects as apposed to just demoing ideas and the sound quality in the guitars I was working with just dont even compare to what I can get outside of pro tools with the same application.
Here are some thoughts from my end and a few other tidbits in case they might help:
1. I am really starting to think that this is something that affects ANYTHING that is recorded in pro tools via my interface, not just guitar tracks with GR5 (i.e. vocals too). I can eliminate any possible issues with the interface itself because I know that it works well with the standalone GR5 application outside of PT. I have not tested this with any other applications but I think this one instance should be enough to rule out that possibility. If I need to test it further, I can record a quick vox take in some simple sound recorder application to compare to PT.
2. All sessions/tracks play back accurately in pro tools. What I mean is, I recently had a few sessions tracked at a studio elsewhere, and I can import those sessions and play them without issue - sound quality is perfect. Also, tracks play back exactly as they were recorded - so if I record a terrible sounding guitar with GR5, it plays back just as terrible. If I import a perfect audio file, it plays back perfect. This is definitely an issue that is only effecting tracking.
3. My gut is telling me that there is something either with my session setup, pro tools or mac settings, or my hardware settings with regards to audio that is causing this problem. I recently trashed pro tools prefs to see if i had botched something there along the way but the issue is still there. I am not super experienced with handling all of the SETTINGS for pro tools so its possible that I am doing something stupid here. I found a few other posts with suggested settings and I don't see anything out of line, but again I could be missing something.
Last few notes. My sessions are 24/44.1, interface settings on the Mac are set to the same. If its needed, I can record a sample via the Tape Deck in GR5 so that you may hear the difference there vs. the PT session.
Thank you in advance for all of your help - its very much appreciated!
