HELP Exported Tracks from Mac Pro Sound Terrible

[gvdv]

Hi,
Over the last 20 years or so I have progressed from tracking on a cassette-based 4-track Tascam Portastudio, through using an eight track Yamaha minidisc, and occasionally recording on a friend's cheap computer, with an even cheaper sound card.

About 5 years ago, I decided to make the leap to digital recording, and bought my current system which consists of:
– A Mac Pro Dual Core 2.66 GHz, with 5 GB RAM and over 1 TB storage space
– Presonus Firestudio audio interface
– GarageBand (now version 11)
– OS X Snow Leopard
– Rokit 5 monitors

Although I have recorded quite a few tracks using the Firestudio, and although I very much like the unit, it has never been that reliable – sometimes freezing up during tracking – and after a couple of years of trying to get Presonus to help me, I decided to go with a cheaper unit.

So, I bought a Zoom R16, which is both a self-contained 16 track recording unit, and a USB-based audio interface. Although the zoom is more reliable, there is a problem with getting a high enough gain level to make good recordings, although it is passable for demos.

A problem that has continually plagued me with the Mac is that exported versions of my tracks sound terrible sonically (regardless of whether I'm exporting them to .WAV, MP3, or one of the Mac's native sound formats).

This is very frustrating because the mixes some really good, just as I want them, and then I export the tracks and the sound terrible.

This was brought home to me full force the other day when I was playing a friend of mine at my workplace some of my songs. I had copied some of the .WAV and MP3 files that I had exported from the Mac to USB memory stick, plugged that into my friend's computer at work, and the only tracks the sound anywhere near presentable were the ones that I had recorded years ago on the Tascam 4-track, and another friend's very cheap computer, which had an extremely cheap soundcard in it.

I have tried to compensate for the inadequacies of the exported files by remixing them – for example, if the exported file has a terrible base sound, I will boost it in the mix (where, of course, it sounds ridiculously loud), but this makes little difference to the final, exported version of the track. What I mean by this, is that the base might be louder, but the overall sonic quality of the track is still very poor even if I have chosen a very high quality setting for export.

I am at my wits' end with this, and will try anything anybody suggests.

I would be grateful for any help that anybody can give.

Many thanks,

Gvdv..

 

[mjbphotos]

It sounds like you may be mixing based on your Rokit sound in an untreated room which is making the mixes sound other than they really are. This is not an uncommon problem. By way of reference, you should listen to a production CD that you are familiar with and that you think sounds good through your computer, interface and monitors - this is the overal mix sound you need to search for on your music You may find it needs to sound a lot different than you thought. Then, make your mixes, burn a disc (or load a thumbdrive) and listen to the mix in other systems, including your car, a friend's house, your big ass stereo, etc.

 

[gvdv]

Hi mjbphotos,
Many thanks for your reply.

I completely agree with you that I should try your suggestion, because, as you surmised, I am working in an untreated room.

However, I am doubtful whether this is the whole problem because I have done some of the mixes on headphones (yes, I know that that is a 'sin', but such are the compromises that living in an apartment forces upon one sometimes), and the mixes that I have done over the years via headphones (e.g., on my Tascam Portastudio, and on the Minidisc multi-tracker) turned out fine – so I would have thought having eliminated the variable of having the sound bouncing around in the room would have provided me with a more 'even playing field' to judge that the system is somehow at fault.

Please do not get me wrong – I am not saying that I am a great musician, but mixes not done on the computer have been markedly better, and I have been able to get fairly close to satisfy myself with them – even my work colleague to whom I played the demo's the other day notice the difference between one version of a song which I had done on a friend's computer several years ago, and the more recent version of the same song which I had done on my Mac – his reaction was a kind of "wow" because of the sonic differences between the two recordings.

So, I will try out your suggestion, and get back to you.

one thing that I did not mention in my original post was that it seemed to take my Rokit 5's a few months to burn in – I had been on the verge of taking them back, because the sound that I was getting out of them was not good (and I initially attributed the poor quality of the exported mixes to the monitors – however, I do not now think that that is the problem).

I will try to try out your suggestion in the next couple of days, but the very latest will get to it by Wednesday of next week.

Many thanks once again,

Gvdv.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Can you describe the bad sound? Are you clipping the master bus? You won't hear it in the project but you will when you export the files. Post a link to a downloadable file (even just a clip from a song) and someone here will probably offer more targeted advice.

 

[MrWrenchey]

I think bouldersoundguy may be on to something.

 

[mjbphotos]

try some application that will allow you to convert the file type as for me the problem is from the file type. Usually those Mac based devices are unreadable or sounds broken on other non Mac devices.

I didn't see the GarageBand reference, adie might be onto something. Get a decent DAW, like Reaper!

 

[Turtis21]

Had the same problem along time ago with a mac mini and GrageBand, I was clipping th Bus in GarageBand because I thought my tracks where to quiet and was uneducated about mastering so I cranked the Main faders. IIt won't sound bad in GarageBand but whne you export it it'll sound terrible. Smetimes it will even play good on the same computer you exported it on but if you try to move it you start hearing the clipping. I agree with these guys, you should upgrade, I would say Logic but if you don't got the scratch Reaper got me by for quite a while.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

I didn't see the GarageBand reference, adie might be onto something. Get a decent DAW, like Reaper!

That adie is a spambot that just pasted some text with certain keywords and put some spammy links in its sig line.

 

[jonny deep]

On reading your problem, I thought perhaps it's the quality of the file you're exporting. Are you using a high enough sample rate and bit depth for your exports?

 

[gvdv]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your replies, and sorry to not have responded sooner (life is busy).

I do not think that the problem is clipping - I have been quite careful about that, and I have heard and worked with others who are getting good results. Also, I export at the highest sampling rate (cannot remember what that is now, as I have not done any real tracking in a few months), so I do not think that that is the cause.

I will post an example of what I am talking about when I have the time - might not be for a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I will just describe the sound, as weak, thin and not at all full.

Thanks, again,

Gvdv..