WHY DOES MY MIX SOUND LIKE CRAP

campsite · 6th October 2006

IM mixing"IN THE BOX"(oh brother)

with the mbox1 in Protools 7.0. now my mixes come out ok to pretty good but seems like when i bounce it down to my desktop or itunes it sounds real flabby and crappy sounding. now back many yrs ago b4 i got into DAW's i was mixing on a mixboard from my gear,to the board,to mixdown on DATS and my mixdowns would sound just like they did when i mixed them(GREAT)!....so can someone tell me what the HELL is going on between my mix and it getting bounced down. im soooo ready to go back to console mixing but the DAW is great when i do edits and trickery type things with the audio but this problem is REALLY bugging me.

Rufuss Sewell · 6th October 2006

If you're monitoring a mix summed in the box then you should be hearing what the end result will be while you're mixing. If the sound changes after you mix then you're probably doing something wrong.

Check your iTunes preferences. Make sure the iTunes EQ IS SHUT OFF!!! That stupid thing defaults to some crappy bass heavy setting.

Also check your dithering options and make sure that your computer isn't automatically turning the file into an MP3.

Jonboy79 · 6th October 2006

Is your mix properly translating to other sources or does it just sound bad in itunes?

aussie_techie · 6th October 2006

dither and possibly sample rate conversion and the crappyness of itunes

campsite · 6th October 2006

Most of the time i would just create a folder on my desktop and send mixed songs or beats to that folder and play them RIGHT FROM THE FOLDER. I just know when i make a beat or record and mix a song, i know 9/10 it wont come out sounded like it did when i create or mix it. I cant put my finger on it but it just doesnt come out the same. A mixed song supposed to sound BETTER than it do unmixed. My mixdowns sound worse. There is definatly something happening when "bouncing to disk"is performed. I had the same problem in Logic Express.I may go back to a board,its starting not to be fun anymore.

007 · 6th October 2006

I used to encounter similar problems when starting out with PT. As mentioned in a reply above, it had to do with dithering (or lack thereof). Once I got better at finalizing the mix and applying what was needed where, my mixes sounded just as good as they did in the session, and that's how it should be.

Saudade · 7th October 2006

yeah maybe it has something to do with the dithering settings. Once I was doing a project in Cubase SX with a lot of vstis, and having run out of DSP to run them "live" (unrendered) I was forced to export them and reimport them. That's when I discovered how different they sounded when I play them "live" (solo'ed of course) versus if I exported them in 24 bit, 32 bit float or even "freeze" them.

All these options sounded quite different

maybe its just my bad ears or different listening volumes but since I had gone back to being superstitious

and exported them in 32bit float (and reimport) cos it sounded best to me.

Oh and certain plugin/vstis require the "realtime export" option in order for them to "update" their automation/settings (if any are used). That may also be why it sounds different when you hear it while mixing it versus after you have exported it (perhaps by non-realtime option).

One way you can find out for sure is to compare your usual mix export format (24bit I suppose?) vs a full 32 bit float export (if your DAW allows that).

6th October 2006	#1
campsite Gear Head Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 32 Thread Starter	WHY DOES MY MIX SOUND LIKE CRAP IM mixing"IN THE BOX"(oh brother) with the mbox1 in Protools 7.0. now my mixes come out ok to pretty good but seems like when i bounce it down to my desktop or itunes it sounds real flabby and crappy sounding. now back many yrs ago b4 i got into DAW's i was mixing on a mixboard from my gear,to the board,to mixdown on DATS and my mixdowns would sound just like they did when i mixed them(GREAT)!....so can someone tell me what the HELL is going on between my mix and it getting bounced down. im soooo ready to go back to console mixing but the DAW is great when i do edits and trickery type things with the audio but this problem is REALLY bugging me.

6th October 2006	#2
Rufuss Sewell Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,935	If you're monitoring a mix summed in the box then you should be hearing what the end result will be while you're mixing. If the sound changes after you mix then you're probably doing something wrong. Check your iTunes preferences. Make sure the iTunes EQ IS SHUT OFF!!! That stupid thing defaults to some crappy bass heavy setting. Also check your dithering options and make sure that your computer isn't automatically turning the file into an MP3. __________________ My Studio: www.Nebulost.com My Band: www.OneEyedDoll.com

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6th October 2006	#3
Jonboy79 Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 2,636	Is your mix properly translating to other sources or does it just sound bad in itunes?

6th October 2006	#4
aussie_techie Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2004 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 2,709	dither and possibly sample rate conversion and the crappyness of itunes

6th October 2006	#6
007 Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 1,602	I used to encounter similar problems when starting out with PT. As mentioned in a reply above, it had to do with dithering (or lack thereof). Once I got better at finalizing the mix and applying what was needed where, my mixes sounded just as good as they did in the session, and that's how it should be.

7th October 2006	#7
Saudade Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Birthplace of the Soundblaster Posts: 633	yeah maybe it has something to do with the dithering settings. Once I was doing a project in Cubase SX with a lot of vstis, and having run out of DSP to run them "live" (unrendered) I was forced to export them and reimport them. That's when I discovered how different they sounded when I play them "live" (solo'ed of course) versus if I exported them in 24 bit, 32 bit float or even "freeze" them. All these options sounded quite different maybe its just my bad ears or different listening volumes but since I had gone back to being superstitious and exported them in 32bit float (and reimport) cos it sounded best to me. Oh and certain plugin/vstis require the "realtime export" option in order for them to "update" their automation/settings (if any are used). That may also be why it sounds different when you hear it while mixing it versus after you have exported it (perhaps by non-realtime option). One way you can find out for sure is to compare your usual mix export format (24bit I suppose?) vs a full 32 bit float export (if your DAW allows that).