What to do about renders that do not sound like the DAW

LazerBeakShiek

LazerBeakShiek

Rad Racing Team
My rendered results are not sounding the same as what is in the DAW. I play it after render as a MP3. They sound echo'd or like a buffer is set wrong somewhere. Experiementing I found that these areas effect the sound areas I am talking about. Not changing sliders.
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I am ready to pay someone to set up my DAW. Make it so I just press record. The reaper has an analyzer that shows the CPU is at 14%. Nothing is in the red. Why should any of that stuff matter?
 
I do not know how to do that. Please do what makes you feel better.

Would a sound engineer be able to help me solve all my issues? I would pay for a SKype session type instruction.
 
Just on the surface, this seems like a rendering issue and it could have something to do with how you are doing it in Reaper.

I assume this based on the information you provided. It could also be you have a track turned off, but it renders. So I am thinking it is more of a software user issue that a sound engineering issue. Hence, people in the Reaper forum could assist much better than in general mixing.

Let's wait and see what Reaper expert might show up. I have Reaper but do not use it that often and would be hard pressed to be able to answer your questions.
 
I appreciate that.

Do all DAW's render ? as MP3? Is that a Reaper thing?

Earlier I was looking at a new computer, and I noticed the mother board has a sound db statistic or spec. The MSI motherboard had a db of 108. Is this important for recording with a USB interface? The sound quality of the motherboard? Right now my laptop is a Dell inspiron 13. I do not know the sound db spec of its architecture.
 
No. Nothing seems to do anything. It comes in sampled at 48000. Still set to 192000. Are they talking about ASIO? Is the DAW sample rate different from the ASIO sample rate? Looks like it. Then the render has a sampled rate, the rendered MP3's are 320000 because the output rate is set to max. I dont understand.

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mp3 specs
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Looks like your render screen is correct. Try rendering a a WAV at 44100 16 bit PCM. Then take a listen. I am just having you test if it is your encoder install.
 
LazerBeakShiek said:
Do all DAW's render ? as MP3? Is that a Reaper thing?
Click to expand...

All DAWs have the capacity to render or bounce to a variety of formats.

Reaper's default is to a render to a WAV, probably using the project's sample rate (which in turn is probably set to the interface's setting).

You render a file for a specific purpose, e.g. to create a file suitable for a CD, and the idea is to pick output settings appropriate to that purpose (so, for a CD, render to 44.1 sample rate/16 bit WAV. If you were going to use the output for video, you might render to a sample rate of 48k instead.

I would do what DM60 suggested as a first step . . . try rendering to a basic WAV first and see how that behaves.

With your particular problem, i.e. 'they sound echoed', on what are you playing the rendered file?



LazerBeakShiek said:
Earlier I was looking at a new computer, and I noticed the mother board has a sound db statistic or spec. The MSI motherboard had a db of 108. Is this important for recording with a USB interface? The sound quality of the motherboard? Right now my laptop is a Dell inspiron 13. I do not know the sound db spec of its architecture.
Click to expand...
This is not relevant.
 
DM60 said:
Looks like your render screen is correct. Try rendering a a WAV at 44100 16 bit PCM. Then take a listen. I am just having you test if it is your encoder install.
Click to expand...

This did not improve anything.

If I set everyhting manually to 48000, it matches on file view. That does not fix how it sounds only how it is recognized.

Analyzing the playing track of drums in the DAW. Analyzed at -14 lufs with peaks at -8. Analyzing the WAV render it is 2-3db lower in level.
 
LazerBeakShiek said:
This did not improve anything.

If I set everyhting manually to 48000, it matches on file view. That does not fix how it sounds only how it is recognized.

Analyzing the playing track of drums in the DAW. Analyzed at -14 lufs with peaks at -8. Analyzing the WAV render it is 2-3db lower in level.
Click to expand...

OK, render the MP3 and lets have a listen.
 
Sample rate shouldn't matter really. But I must ask why you - or if you are recording at 48k? 44.1 is fine for what you are doing. Good enough for my studio recordings.
 
And that does not show up so much in my computer speakers. My big monitors show the low end is way way too hot! And I am assuming you may have a compressor or limiter that is making the rest of the kit sound like shit.

I am not sure what is going on here, but that export is showing there is something really wrong with your initial setup.
 
No compression, unless it is in EZ Drummer somewhere.

I normalized it at -14 LUFS. Now when I drag the rendered mp3 into Reaper faders at 0 the track analysis tells me -23db WTF! I lose 10 db in the render? How will I know how loud things are going to be? I am just guessing, making it up with the mains for the render to now compensate. Trying to get back to -14 the youtube standard.
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Other than double click install reaper I have no idea how to set it up. What is a ready to go DAW where I can just press record?
 
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LazerBeakShiek said:
Other than double click install reaper I have no idea how to set it up. What is a ready to go DAW where I can just press record?
Click to expand...

Other than double click install Reaper, it would generally be ok to run, press record, then go.

What can happen, though, is that when exploring various settings, you can go down a path that is sub-optimal.

So you need to get off that path. However, when Reaper closes, it (failing any intervention) will assume that what you've set up is what you want and save all that tinkering, so that it is present (and as equally unhelpful) next time you load it (or install a new version, which copies the settings from the old).

However, once you have installed Reaper, in the system there are five ways in which you can invoke it.

These are:
1 Reaper
2 Reaper (create new project)
3 Reaper (reconfigure to factory defaults)
4 Reaper (ReWire slave mode)
5 Reaper (show audio configuration on start up)

If you go to option 3, that will get you back to a good starting point.

Once you've done that, you may need to select the appropriate audio device if there are a number to chose from, and you may need to specify where it can find your plugins. It should get sample rates and bit depth from the interface.
 
LazerBeakShiek said:
MP3 or wav?

I am trying to make it the least echo sounding. Flat. Dead.
Click to expand...

EZDrummer has a 'room' track - do you have it split off into separate tracks for each drum/virtual mic? I always zero off the room mic and add my own reverb. Also, the kick tends to be at full 'hit' in EZDrummer, and the fader always needs to be lowered (snare too).
 
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