Yep, I'm outputting to 16 bit. OK, will try 24 bit like you suggest...

But dont CDs use 16 bit encoding anyway? Whats the point in outputting to a higher quality if its just going to be mastered down to a 16 bit one be it on cd or mp3?

Not that I'm complaining. Hell if it works, I'll be a happy boy =)

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quote:

Originally posted by Axolotyl DJMaytag: I'm not going over 0db, although I noticed that the levels on my master are way down and that I have the amp cranked up pretty high. As a result the mixdown is fairly quiet and I have to normalise it a lot to get it to full level. I wouldn't think this would cause a problem, but I'll try mixing out with the master turned to 0db.

Odds are VERY good that this is your problem. Make sure that the peak readouts on your individual channels aren't going over 0db, then check where the Master output levels are. You can go a bit over 0db, maybe as high as +3db, which will give you some headroom for final mastering and EQ'ing should you choose to do that later.

If the master is pulled down, so will the mixdown level. The lower you have the mixdown peak level, the more noise and aliasing you will get when you normalizin. If your peak is topping out at say, -20db, then you will be boosting the amount of noise 20db!

TURN THE AMP DOWN! What kind of amp are you using? Are you using pro studio monitors? or are you using a home stereo setup? This could be a source of the problem as well.

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because you leave that stage to the VERY end. if you keep bouncing parts of you track down at lower bitrates you introduce quantization noise. basically the idea is to work everything in 32 bit and keep everything as crisp and clean as possible - note you also get extra headroom from working in 32 bit over 16 bit. then once you have completely finished your tune, you master it and dither it down to 16 bit. burn it to cd. voila.

DJMaytag: Its actually a half decent setup. Alesis RA-100 amp and Spirit Abzolute Zero Monitors. Not sure why I've adopted this process of having the signal low and the amp high. Alright, I'll mix out at 0db and see if that helps. Makes sense now that you mention that the noise and dithering would ALSO be normalised with the track.


Derivative: OK, is there anything else I should keep in mind when working in 32bit? Any setting in cubase for example. I assume all my source samples ie: pers, vocals etc.. should be at 32 bit also when imported into my sequencers/sampler.

Its like a ray of enlightenment from the production gods. Thanks guys... I'm such a n00b =)

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