best possible final mix

[Ash Holmz]

aight heres tha deal... im tryin to make pro quality mixes on my macG4 computer ... ive been constanly improving on my mix and mastering skills.... ive gotten to where im pretty pleased with the way my mixes sound..i do most of my mixing in cubase... the problem is that i have this beautiful, full, nice sounding mix in cubase ... then when i export.. it sound the same...but it seems to be lacking some of the depth and openess it had while in cubase.... it is not noticeable to most but i notice it because of my "producers ears" i guess ........ my guess would be that cubase uses a 32 float engine while the cd uses 16bit......but i dont know ... do i need a better sound card? .... the one i have is crappy one the g4 came wit..... do i need to invest in a hardware console to mixdown into? ..... please throw me some ideas..... im tryin to get the best quality sound straight to cd ..... thnx in advance

- Holmz

 

[WingsOfAnAngel]

Dear Holmzini,
here's something that might be helpful:

Mastering

Cubase VST's ability to export the complete mix as a file, incorporating all effects and automation, make it a powerful mastering tool. All Cubase versions can record and edit at least 24-bit audio. VST effects work at an even higher resolution. But most people mix for 16 bit CDs so Cubase VST now includes high quality dithering options to smooth the transition down to 16 bits, giving a polished professional result.
Cubase VST/32 goes one step further as it includes the Apogee UV-22 dithering algorithm - widely acclaimed as the absolute best sounding dither in the industry.

Yours Truly,
Wings

 

[nas2000xl]

i was once told to save all the sweetening till after you export, because of that same reason. you should only mix in cubase then export, then open wavelab (2 track editor) and sweeten the mix in there so you don`t loose anything.

 

[Ash Holmz]

wings - i use the uv -22 dither plug... it still does that ..thnk you for your concern though man i really apprecite it

nas - i think ill try exporting into peak and working there ... thnx for tha suggestion ill look into that and let u know if it works better


if anyone else has any ideas throw them out please!

 

[Architect]

Originally posted by nas2000xl
i was once told to save all the sweetening till after you export, because of that same reason. you should only mix in cubase then export, then open wavelab (2 track editor) and sweeten the mix in there so you don`t loose anything.

That's a good idea but the only thing about that is you lose the option of tweaking individual tracks which you can't do with a 2 channel stereo mix. Yes you can sweeten the entire mix, but what if you want to add that chorus effect to the drums or some compression, it's much harder to get at those instruments in detail once fully mixed down.

Some tips:
Try using some multiband compression on certain tracks so they can reach their peak level, get it sounding really tight before exporting.

Make sure you turn down the main mix volume a bit because the output from the main mixing buss (which is a total of all the tracks in the project) is what is being exported and each track added raises the volume level of the entire song a couple decibels.

Get everything sounding really nice, tall- wide- fat maybe over compensate a bit but don't make anything distorted or peaking too much on the individual tracks, because when you export songs your almost always taking away some qualities of the mix, but if you do it right you should be pleased.

So try using some EQ and Compression bring more punch to your tracks before exporting and then once you've got your exported file just embellish it with the some more compression (if needed) or whatever you think suits the track.

I hope this helps.

 

[eka]

Originally posted by Architect
That's a good idea but the only thing about that is you lose the option of tweaking individual tracks which you can't do with a 2 channel stereo mix. Yes you can sweeten the entire mix, but what if you want to add that chorus effect to the drums or some compression, it's much harder to get at those instruments in detail once fully mixed down.

that is not true.
you make the MIX first and add all fx you want and tweak all individual sounds and than render and use wavelab for MASTERING.
you master the whole mix.
you are getting these two different things mixed up.

 

[Architect]

Sorry friend you may have misunderstand me.

Nas2000XL explained that someone suggested that you LEAVE ALL EFFECTS OUT and tweaking until the MIX has been rendered to a 2 channel stereo file, and then add them.

My recommendation was that if you do that: you lose out on being able to MIX your track: Meaning "add all fx you want and tweak all individual sounds"

I'm not confused my friend.

Then I suggested if you read my post again (and I apologize if maybe I wasn't clear) that once you've mixed your tracks down (render or whatever you want to call it) then you can add more compression or EQ to taste.

Hope this clears things up for you Holmzini and Eka.

 

[Formant024]

I'd suggest working with 16bit, 44 kHz or 48kHz, then master in wavelab or something at a higher ratio and also a ratio that's supported by your soundcard's hardware specs, not software utilities. I think eventualy your problem is the lack of hardware converters opposed to the software converters. UV22 is pretty good, even for a single algorithm but it's fully efficient when having a good soundcard too that has embedded D/A - A/D converters. Another option would probably using digital storage like DAT/HDrecorders and digital I/O. So, maybe stupid for me to say, but why not leave the uv22 out of it ? And then master and compare.

On my pc I use the Optimizer plug-in ( dspfx 6.0 ) in the 2track master @ 16bit, in that all signals from all chnls will gain the exact same 2track mastering no matter what's been " floating " around. In these conditions I don't do a lot of mastering since I master everything during the production of a track, leaving me no mastering to be done at all when the track is done.

Emulation is a bitch.

 

[Architect]

Since Holmzini said he did have a crappy soundcard I would recommend looking at a replacement, that would help things out a lot. The Audio cards, DSP Cards, things like that make a huge difference in the quality of your mixes, but by no means should this discourage you, you can still work with what you got and get good results.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/perfect_mix.html

http://www.looperman.com/tutorials_production_master_the_situation.php

This is a favorite of mine Bob Katz is good
http://www.digido.com/index/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=119/

 

[eka]

Originally posted by Architect
Sorry friend you may have misunderstand me.

Nas2000XL explained that someone suggested that you LEAVE ALL EFFECTS OUT and tweaking until the MIX has been rendered to a 2 channel stereo file, and then add them.

My recommendation was that if you do that: you lose out on being able to MIX your track: Meaning "add all fx you want and tweak all individual sounds"

I'm not confused my friend.

Then I suggested if you read my post again (and I apologize if maybe I wasn't clear) that once you've mixed your tracks down (render or whatever you want to call it) then you can add more compression or EQ to taste.

Hope this clears things up for you Holmzini and Eka.

oke sorry, you are right.

 

[Ash Holmz]

thnx guys... illl look into all of this!!!