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Why do my mixes sound muffled?!??

Hey guys,

Okay so I got some tech 12's with a Pioneer Djm-500. I have a cable running from the rec out to my shitty ass sound card in my computer. Then I record with Cool Edit Pro 2.1.

Anyway, I'm trying to record a demo and they keep coming out really flat and muffled sounding. Like not CRISP at all. The difference is really noticeable and it takes away from my mixes a ton. So what could it be?
Problem with the mixer (broken crossfader?), loose cables, shitty sound card, recording it wrong?

If you guys could give me some suggestionsit would be greatly appriceated. This is so frustrating because I just recorded my best demo yet, i burn it onto cd and it sounds all muffled and shitty.

HELP!

~Sean

most likely its the shitty soundcard.

what kind of soundcard is it? i recommend the audiophile 2496 from m-audio.

Re: Why do my mixes sound muffled?!??

quote:

Originally posted by Seany_G Hey guys, Okay so I got some tech 12's with a Pioneer Djm-500. I have a cable running from the rec out to my shitty ass sound card in my computer. Then I record with Cool Edit Pro 2.1. Anyway, I'm trying to record a demo and they keep coming out really flat and muffled sounding. Like not CRISP at all. The difference is really noticeable and it takes away from my mixes a ton. So what could it be? Problem with the mixer (broken crossfader?), loose cables, shitty sound card, recording it wrong? If you guys could give me some suggestionsit would be greatly appriceated. This is so frustrating because I just recorded my best demo yet, i burn it onto cd and it sounds all muffled and shitty. HELP! ~Sean

If you say you have a shitty ass sound card, then your shitty ass sound card will probably fuck up the sound.

check out Izotope Ozone 2, its a direct X plugin that will master your mixes.


It gives them that produced feeling.

bottom line if your sound card is shit then your soundquality is going to suck. Izotope ozone won't do much in this case but it does help a bit

Yeah Thanks guys. I forgot to mention that I gave my mix to a budy who's going to sound engineering school. He mastered it and it still sounds like shyt...all flat and not crisp. So I guess it's the sound card...

its times like these that I am glad I bought an audiophile card .

save and buy. its worth it.


although you might have a card conflict if you have a firewire card. I know I did, simple solution, never have the firewire card in.

my soundcard is quite shite, but i recorded some shit today, and it was surprisingly good quality.

Thank god some1 posted a message about this. I have the SAME PROBLEM...my mixes sound like shit when I record into Cool Edit 2000.

I have a SoundBlaster Live soundcard which I bought when I first purchased my computer.

I tried editing the mix in Cool Edit 2000 by normalizing it, amplifying the sound, increasing the loudness of it....but nothing comes of it.

So is the conclusion that its the soundcard???

If so, it seems most people are recommending the M-Audio Audiophile

quote:

Originally posted by joctane Thank god some1 posted a message about this. I have the SAME PROBLEM...my mixes sound like shit when I record into Cool Edit 2000. I have a SoundBlaster Live soundcard which I bought when I first purchased my computer. I tried editing the mix in Cool Edit 2000 by normalizing it, amplifying the sound, increasing the loudness of it....but nothing comes of it. So is the conclusion that its the soundcard??? If so, it seems most people are recommending the M-Audio Audiophile

m-audio audiophile 2496

its like $130.

well, probably sound card, who knows, it could be a combination of various things, but one thing i noticed when i first started to record mixes what i was 'overpowering' (dont think thats the best technical term, but oh well) certain things. like, the recording program, is there a bar that lets you see the 'db' or whatever thats called, basically how strong the signal is. usually its a bar that goes from green to yellow to red. same goes for your mixer, if your mixer has this option (most do, unless its a real p.o.s. mixer). try to kep the bars peaking at the yellow, or maybe 1 'click' or bar into the red. i used to have my mixer all the way up, and the signal would reach far into the red. the mix sounded very distorted and muddy, now i really focus on keeping them at the same level right at the yellow or barely, barely into the red. just a suggestion, i coulda used it earlier on, cause it makes a huge difference in sound quality for the recorded mix

quote:

Originally posted by ezbeats well, probably sound card, who knows, it could be a combination of various things, but one thing i noticed when i first started to record mixes what i was 'overpowering' (dont think thats the best technical term, but oh well) certain things. like, the recording program, is there a bar that lets you see the 'db' or whatever thats called, basically how strong the signal is. usually its a bar that goes from green to yellow to red. same goes for your mixer, if your mixer has this option (most do, unless its a real p.o.s. mixer). try to kep the bars peaking at the yellow, or maybe 1 'click' or bar into the red. i used to have my mixer all the way up, and the signal would reach far into the red. the mix sounded very distorted and muddy, now i really focus on keeping them at the same level right at the yellow or barely, barely into the red. just a suggestion, i coulda used it earlier on, cause it makes a huge difference in sound quality for the recorded mix

these are he decibels. actually, most mixers, aside from showing you this, have numbers next to each step. normally start somewhere near -8db and go up to like 6dB. you are supposed to peak at 0dB, and never go past it. going past 0dB is called clipping, this is bad, and it's why it's shown in red. also, consider headroom; most tracks have sections that are more charged than others, so i try to get tracks at -2dB when theyre starting, that way when they reach their climax it's at 0dB. it also gives me space to mess with my EQs and not go into the red.

I hear ya about the loudness (decibel) level. I'm fully aware of the level and when I'm recording into Cool Edit, it's around -6dB to -2dB. Rarely, if at all, does it clip.

It has to be the soundcard or how I have it plugged into the computer.

Maybe try to use the "Master Ouputs" instead of the rec output. I think you get more ouput when you use the "Master Output" for recording. I believe by using the "record" output, you have less control over the output quality and volume. I only use the "record" output when I am just recording shows. I use the "Master output" when I am recording mixes that I spend alot of time on at home.

Most mixers don't actually clip at 0 dB because they themselves have some extra head room incase of dramatic level changes in song. But its always better safe than sorry ahah

yeah, but either way, its better to have to amplify the recording because it is generally too low, than have to cover your ass because it's clipped all over the place

Thanks every1 for yer input...I'll try to change the cable from the rec out to master output and c what happens.

Regardless, Im going to buy a decent soundcard esp if I ever want to hand out my mixes

Maybe u plugged into the mic input on ur comp? (i did that b4).....cuz' I'm using my onboard sound card and everything seems to work fine.....

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