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Old 05-26-2019, 06:18 AM   #1
Atmospherium
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Default Rendered track sounds wrong

I've recorded some songs with 2-3 guitar tracks, one bass track, one midi drum track. I'm listening thru headphones using my audio interface, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.

I'm only recording rough demos to give to my bandmates so they can learn the new songs, but I've tried to make a decent (for a newbie) effort at making it sound acceptable. I've done a bit of panning to separate the tracks, and I think I've got the levels OK. I've added some EQ, delay and Compression too so all the tracks seem to sound OK together.

However when I render the song to MP3 then play it back, all the levels are all over the place, nothing like how they were sounding before - the drums and guitars are louder, and the bass can't even be heard way back in the mix.

Where am I going wrong? Is it something to do with how I hear it thru headphones vs. how it ACTUALLY sounds? Many thanks
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Old 05-26-2019, 06:55 AM   #2
Xenakios
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Originally Posted by Atmospherium View Post
render the song to MP3 then play it back
Play it back with what? Is it the same equipment you used while mixing the song in Reaper?
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Old 05-26-2019, 07:01 AM   #3
Atmospherium
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Play it back with what? Is it the same equipment you used while mixing the song in Reaper?
No, I use the audio interface for recording and mixing (sounds fine thru this), but I render it to MP3. If I then play it back thru anything I'd normally use for listening to MP3 - iTunes or VLC - this is where the problem starts.
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Old 05-26-2019, 08:16 AM   #4
toleolu
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If you take the rendered mp3 file and play it back in Reaper, does it sound OK, or is it messed up there as well?

If it plays back OK in Reaper, then it might be the mp3 devices, if it plays back like crap in Reaper, then it might be something in your render settings or the mix.

What you may need to do to figure this out, since there are so many variables involved, is start with something simple. Record one guitar track, don't apply any effects just leave it pretty much clean, keeping an eye on your record input level. Big debate here on the right analog record input level, but somewhere around -18 db seems like a good starting point.

Render that simple track and see how it plays across multiple platforms. If it plays OK, then start building on that, adding some effects, maybe add another track, but take it in small steps, rendering the file, then playing it back across your different platforms until you find where things start to go south. Short tracks of maybe a minute or two should be fine for testing.

Good Luck.

Last edited by toleolu; 05-26-2019 at 08:25 AM.
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Old 05-26-2019, 09:36 PM   #5
Atmospherium
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Originally Posted by toleolu View Post
If you take the rendered mp3 file and play it back in Reaper, does it sound OK, or is it messed up there as well?
I'm not sure how to do this. Can you advise? Many thanks
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Old 05-27-2019, 06:22 AM   #6
Hypex
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The easiest way may to be to simply open a new project or tab, then import the mp3 as a media file in a track. For starters. Then play back.
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Old 05-27-2019, 06:52 AM   #7
SoundGuyDave
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To double-check your render, simply add a new track, and drag-drop the .MP3 file onto it. Solo that track and give it a listen.

I'm willing to bet that it'll sound fine doing that, but will still sound "off" when you listen to it on something else, like an MP3 player, home or car stereo, and there's a reason for that...

When you mix with headphones, you are mixing to a HIGHLY colored reference. Say for example that your headphones have that nice "boom" boost at around 100Hz. When you're mixing, you make EQ judgements based around that, and as a result you will judge that there is enough or too much low end in the source (bass guitar for example) and base your mix around that. Now, when you render your mix and move it to something "flatter" like a home stereo, suddenly there's an appalling lack of bottom end. You got fooled by your monitoring source when you did the mix.

Nobody is going to say you need $30,000 soffit-mounted reference monitors in a perfectly treated acoustic environment to mix writing demos for you band, but you may want to invest in a set of relatively inexpensive near-field studio monitors to at least provide some comparison to your headphones. Or, you can do it the "hard way," and keep rendering, running off and listening to it in the car, and the living room, then making mix adjustments, and repeating over and over until you mentally "learn" your headphones. Studio monitors do NOT "sound good," like headphones or audiophile speakers. They're designed to be neutral, with as little coloration as possible. That'll give you a blank canvas to start from, rather than one that is already tinted, if you follow. You can get into a basic set for under $400 pretty easily, much less if you shop used. Think something like the Yamaha HS5.

As a tip, if you're really focusing on making a "learning" demo for the band, then panning and NOT EQ is your best friend! Don't touch the drums, just lay them down stock out of the box, no verb, etc. Bass guitar right up the middle, with just a bit of compression to keep it in the mix, clearly audible against the kick. Think 4:1 ratio, adjust threshold to show ~6dB or so of gain reduction on average. Hard-pan the guitars, and don't hype the tones. Minimal, if any, effects! For balance, don't sweat the details, just focus on being able to hear EACH part distinctly and clearly. Your band-mates will thank you. Nothing worse than trying to figure out a guitar part that is slathered in delay, and buried under the tom reverb!
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Old 05-28-2019, 10:23 AM   #8
toleolu
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When I render something in Reaper, and play it back in Media player, it always sounds a bit different. I just attribute that to differences in my sound card and system speakers, versus my interface and monitor speakers.

One thing I did notice recently, if it helps, is in the past, I had my headphones plugged into the headphone jack of my monitor speakers. I've started plugging my headphones into the headphone jack on my Presonus interface and I've noticed that what I hear in the mix, is a bit closer to what I hear when I play the rendered file in Media Player. Still a bit different tone wise, but as mentioned before, I just figure that's due to the differences in the devices creating the sound.
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