Burning to CD, but why is my mix so flat after?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ozweepay
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ozweepay

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First post, great forums:

I have a few songs to put on CD, and I've tried various programs, but they all seem to come out really flat, with no punch or dynamics, and there's sometimes a slight high end squeal or hiss evident.
Is this just an inherent problem with the do-it-yourself CD home recording, or is there something I should do differently? I've tried different brands of CD's, and noticed the cheap ones really bring the quality down. Any suggestions?
Also, does it make a difference in sound quality if you send it to CD as a wav file or mp3 file?
Here's a snippet of 1 song, and I generally have to boost the lower frequencies before sending it to CD just to get some punch out of it.
mp3 before being sent to CD

Any suggestions on what else I should be doing?
Thanks in advance.
 
Burning to CD shouldn't change the sound of the song. But to answer your question, you should burn wavs, it does make a huge difference. Are you listening to the CD through the same monitoring system and signal chain that you listen through when you mix down. In other words, are you mixing down in your studio and then playing the CD on another system?
 
I like the material...

very cool sound you're getting, and a great job writing and recording.

An mp3 is a tiny file, compressed for use on the internet or portable player. Better to burn a huge file to CD with all the subtleties of your original recording. Use the wavs.

And don't use data CDs. get some especially for your music...
 
Thanks for the advice on burning wav files instead of mp3's. I'm finding that the CD sound will vary depending on the setup it's played through, so that's why I'm having doubts about the mix. It sounds great through the PC, but not so good in the family room setup. Also sounds punchy in the car stereo. Many variables at play, I guess, with smaller space and speakers being the difference.
I have been comparing the mix to some of the samples on the forums, and some of them sound great in comparison. My mix is mid-rangey, which is a by-product of being a guitarist all my life. I always want to hear that guitar first, at the expense of the other tracks, so I'll have to address that.
Any suggestions on good CD's?
Thanks.
 
That sounds pretty good, actually. But like you said, it's a little midd-y...and I find the guitars a little too loud. I understand that's a natural tendency you have, like you said. But I think they can come down a bit and still be dominant. You got a great voice, by the way, and that sounds like a kik ass cool tune.
 
Hey ozweepay,...thats a great sounding track. It sounds to me your problem is one of monitoring. If your mix is not sounding the way you want it other system's than my guess is that you need a monitoring adjustment more so than trying different brands of Cd's.
Anyway,..Your guitar sounds arent bad at all. Well,..they are if YOU dont like it. But,..I gotta tell ya,..I think they sound good. In my opinion the mid range sound of your guitar tracks works. Bare in mind that I only litened to this on my pc.
Yeah,..read,..read,...read,..about monitoring and room acoustics.

My 2 cents

Take 'er easy,..
Calwood
 
Thanks for the answers guys, just what I needed. I'm glad I found thise site, it's great to have unlimited sets of ears that can hear things that might be missed after a marathon mixing and mastering session. After a while, your ears just go numb, and you can't judge properly.

I still can't stand the sound of my voice, and I'm not just fishing for compliments. I really feel limited in what I am trying to convey in a song. It's like asking a painter to paint a nature scene using only 2 colors. That's how I feel about trying to sing. I hear how the vocals should sound in my head, but with limited range and control, it's difficult to capture the sound exactly as you think it should come across. After a while, I just kinda let it go and move on, try to live with it.

The monitor suggestion is a good idea, I think I'll buy another pair and A/B them with my current set, just to get a feel on how it will sound thru different setups. Why didn't I think of that?
 
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