Sound Quality

[brn2bafactor]

I recently started using Cubase SX in conjunction with a PreSonus Firepod. When I make my beats it sounds great coming out of my Behringer Active Monitors, really big and punchy, the way I like it. When I burn the music to a CD using my PC, it really loses that big sound, it's really low as far as volume. I'm not sure if it's because of something I'm doing wrong in Cubase or what the deal is. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.



BRN

 

[jonnyc]

That problem comes up so much with home/budget studios. There are so many people that want their mixes to be louder or up to commercial cd loudness. I also had problems with having volumes that were too quiet. I just started recording everything as hot as possible without clipping, then after mixing everything I'll add my master track and bump up the volumes a tad thru my eq(but not too much or you can drastically change the sound of your mix) and then I put that thru my L2 plugin and man I get some pretty hot signals now. Do some searches on here on the topic you'll get lots of different advice for getting the mixes to have the balls you're looking for.

 

[dwillis45]

Cubase used to make a set of plugins called the Mastering Edition wich allow you to achieve the volumes you are looking for. There are also "mastering" plugins made by other companies, including WAVES. And there are some stand-alone packages such as T-Racks. If you want to achieve professional results, however, send your work to a mastering engineer who has the equipment and the skills/experince to do the job right.

 

[brn2bafactor]

Cubase used to make a set of plugins called the Mastering Edition wich allow you to achieve the volumes you are looking for. There are also "mastering" plugins made by other companies, including WAVES. And there are some stand-alone packages such as T-Racks. If you want to achieve professional results, however, send your work to a mastering engineer who has the equipment and the skills/experince to do the job right.

So with the setup I currently have, I won't be able to acheive the volumes I want without these plugins, true?

BRN

 

[jonnyc]

Or learn how to get your levels as hot as possible without it sounding like total shit.

 

[brn2bafactor]

Or learn how to get your levels as hot as possible without it sounding like total shit.

I can feel that, crank everything up just below clipping. I'll have to try that and see what transpires. That'll have to do until I can research and decide on what mastering plugins' can help me.

BRN

 

[tappmusic]

Timeworks has developed a mastering compressor plug-in that works pretty well. I believe it's under $100.

When mixing, I'd recommend not monitoring your music at high volumes. You might be hearing "your monitors" and not so much your mix. Recording your sources at higher volumes is a good practice because the audio has better resolution, but don't try to max out your overall level with your rough mix. Leave that to the mastering process . . . that's what it's for.

Micah

 

[dwillis45]

So with the setup I currently have, I won't be able to acheive the volumes I want without these plugins, true?

BRN

Achieving volume and achieving volume with sound quality can be two different things. You could throw any old compressor/limiter across the stereo mix and get it louder but you may loose quality. You could record all the tracks at high levels but you will probably have to lower the track volumes at mixdown. Mixing "inside the box" (inside the computer) will often cause clipping on the stereo mix track becasue of the way computer software "sums" tracks. So it depends on what your goals are. If you want lounder tracks and you are not making a demo or finished cd for distribution, do what you need to do to increase the volume. If you want to learn about the mastering process through tinkering, invest in some plugins or a stand-alone packege. But, like I said above, if you really want to produce the best quality product, find a mastering engineer. Again, they have the skills, the equipment, and the experience that few of us possess--and that includes mixing engineers. They alsogive you a second set of ears and provide more than just a volume boost. They can also add just the right EQ and insure that your songs have a consistent level from track to track. Plus, they will give you added confidence that your music can be played on a variety of sources and still sound decent.

 

[metalhead28]

I definitely agree with everything these guys are recomending, however just because I know some people like to take shortcuts or make some sacrifices for instant gratification... ....here are a couple of links to some free compressor and limiter plug-ins. The "endorphin" from digitalfishphones, and also the "W1" limiter from betabugs can sound good if you don't overdo it!

http://www.betabugsaudio.com/plugs.php

http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=1

 

[dwillis45]

When I burn the music to a CD using my PC, it really loses that big sound, it's really low as far as volume.BRN

Somewhere on this BBS,some wiseguy posted a picture of a volume knob in response to a question about increasing the loudness of CDs. It's a little harsh, but there is some truth to it. If you want louder volumes for your own listening pleasure, just turn up the volume on your stereo or car CD player. If you need more volume because your music sounds odd compared to manufactured CDs and your friends or clients make comments, then pursue the plugin option or mastering. Just remember that doing it yourself, while fun and educational, will probably not achieve the results produced by a reliable mastering engineer. (Massive Master do I get my discount yet?)

As far as "losing that big sound," welcome to the club. I think that frustration is something we all experience--some more regularly than others. What causes it? Who knows but there is a big list of culprits including our own ears and recording talents. On the other end, you can blame the quality of your monitors, the quality of the AD converters that deliver sound to the monitors, or perhaps the computer/DAW itself. There is a school of thought out there (if you read deeply enough) that most DAW mixes lack the big sound. The idea is that you really need to export your tracks to an analog mixer where individual tracks are summed and given that analog magic that comes from a $10,000 board.

 

[Massive Master]

The secret to great recordings and "big" sound is in my sig...

 

[brn2bafactor]

Achieving volume and achieving volume with sound quality can be two different things. You could throw any old compressor/limiter across the stereo mix and get it louder but you may loose quality. You could record all the tracks at high levels but you will probably have to lower the track volumes at mixdown. Mixing "inside the box" (inside the computer) will often cause clipping on the stereo mix track becasue of the way computer software "sums" tracks. So it depends on what your goals are. If you want lounder tracks and you are not making a demo or finished cd for distribution, do what you need to do to increase the volume. If you want to learn about the mastering process through tinkering, invest in some plugins or a stand-alone packege. But, like I said above, if you really want to produce the best quality product, find a mastering engineer. Again, they have the skills, the equipment, and the experience that few of us possess--and that includes mixing engineers. They alsogive you a second set of ears and provide more than just a volume boost. They can also add just the right EQ and insure that your songs have a consistent level from track to track. Plus, they will give you added confidence that your music can be played on a variety of sources and still sound decent.

I do want to achieve a bigger sound but I'm not willing to sacrifice sound quality. In Cubase SX I do have access to compressors, limiters, eq's etc. Unfortunately for me I'm still fairly new to the home recording/ project studio world. So I guess it's just a matter of time and self education from various sources (BBS included) before I have a clear understanding of how and when to use the very extensive program I have. I already have a lot on my plate, and to make matters worse I just bought a MPC 2000xl to integrate into the system. I think this will be my last purchase for a while aside from some acoustic foam to treat the room and a standalone CD recorder, I definately need to get my head in some books and forums to learn a lot of diffeent things. U guys r very helpful! . RESPECT



FACTOR