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[lil smoke]

If i got it right the Cubase brand is now owned by Yamaha.

I don't mind that at all as Yamaha is a industry standard aswell. In all departments!
Custom furniture for studio equipment is often based on a certain Yamaha Mixing Console, Everybody recognizes the NS10M monitors with the white woofers.
You can find those at all the major studios as they are the best nearfield monitors with the most honest sound. [/Yamaha slurp]

It's just that the stuff Yamaha has done with Steinberg ONLY works with Cubase and the Cubase plugs. Like the new controller looks good, but the buttons ONLY control Cubase. It won't work on the other million plugs that everyone buys! And the N12 really only works with Cubase. I think it's not the right direction for them to go, when the base is buying plug-ins that by far outperform the stuff that comes with DAWs.

I would love a pair of NS-10s, just to have them. There are a mock version called SN-10 Studio Spares that came out last year i think too.

 

[Albino_Samurai]

It's just that the stuff Yamaha has done with Steinberg ONLY works with Cubase and the Cubase plugs. Like the new controller looks good, but the buttons ONLY control Cubase. It won't work on the other million plugs that everyone buys! And the N12 really only works with Cubase. I think it's not the right direction for them to go, when the base is buying plug-ins that by far outperform the stuff that comes with DAWs.

I would love a pair of NS-10s, just to have them. There are a mock version called SN-10 Studio Spares that came out last year i think too.

Hmm. interesting. I realy kind of forgot about the fact that more and more people work with only a pc /mac and some plugins.
Since i love hardware i was thinking about buying that CC121, to compliment Cubase 5.
I have enough other ways to control other VST's (if i used them that is)
The thought of having a total control over Cubase mos important parameters with one hardware controller and another controller for the other plugins and hardware is heaven for me.

Love my HS80M 's

 

[monchi-kun]

Morning Update

Things looking good, wish I had good reference speakers...for now i'm just relying on my meters and shit to make sure everyone's levels are the same and that nobody's track is peaking.

Anyone in the team have good reference speakers? I think i'll need another set of ears on this one...

 

[btkadams]

Morning Update

Things looking good, wish I had good reference speakers...for now i'm just relying on my meters and shit to make sure everyone's levels are the same and that nobody's track is peaking.

Anyone in the team have good reference speakers? I think i'll need another set of ears on this one...

i dont really have good speakers. i have good in ear headphones but thats it. just know that my tracks are much queiter than everyone elses because gb automatically turns it down low when it gets exported. so mine DEFINITELY need to be turned up.

 

[DopeyFish]

Morning Update

look at pm and don't hurt meh mehhhhhhhh

 

[lil smoke]

Love my HS80M 's

Me too.
Shhhhh. Lets not tell everyone about those gems.

I dunno. That CC121 seems like a glorified Cubase EQ adjuster. That's all it does! Ok, you have one fader. Too much desk space, too little function. Mackie control is probably the better deal, since you get all channels, and all control imaginable. Me. I just use the mouse wheel, and this little MPD24.

 

[btkadams]

look at pm and don't hurt meh mehhhhhhhh

DopeyFish
Crying on the inside
(Today, 10:46 AM)
Reply | Quote

 

[lil smoke]

i dont really have good speakers. i have good in ear headphones but thats it. just know that my tracks are much queiter than everyone elses because gb automatically turns it down low when it gets exported. so mine DEFINITELY need to be turned up.

Something seems to be wrong. Explain what GB is doing to your export?

 

[DopeyFish]

 

[btkadams]

Something seems to be wrong. Explain what GB is doing to your export?

i use automatic levelling where i never have to worry about adjusting each tracks level to avoid peaking. gb automatically does it and since this feature is always on the track is always quieter than normal songs. good thing im ditching gb for cubase 5.

*hug*

 

[lil smoke]

Morning Update

Things looking good, wish I had good reference speakers...for now i'm just relying on my meters and shit to make sure everyone's levels are the same and that nobody's track is peaking.

Anyone in the team have good reference speakers? I think i'll need another set of ears on this one...

I don't have PRO grade monitoring here (HS80M as said above) but I do trap bass and diffuse in my room, and I know my monitors. I also send signals out to additional reference speakers for double cross checking. I can be another set of ears, I think everyone should have a listen.

Problem with judging thru meters is that you can't really tell if the bass is the dominant sound pressure that drives a compressor or limiter. If you don't have means to "feel" bass, it's hard to balance a variety of tracks. One song will have strong bass and be much quieter than a song with low bass and transients, and that is hard to analyze visually.

 

[lil smoke]

i use automatic levelling where i never have to worry about adjusting each tracks level to avoid peaking. gb automatically does it and since this feature is always on the track is always quieter than normal songs. good thing im ditching gb for cubase 5.

*hug*

JMHO but you should avoid any "automatic" anything. You spent your time struggling with balance and dynamics, and you're asking GB to change that after the fact? You have no control over how much 'limiting' or 'normalizing' that GB is performing. When GB sees too much bass, it will crush your song down to compensate for the pressure overload. You need to go to each mix, and fix these things there. You need to high pass your bass, so it doesn't drive the final limiting. This is why the songs come out at a low level. You can only fit so much SPL into an audio signal.

 

[DopeyFish]

i use automatic levelling where i never have to worry about adjusting each tracks level to avoid peaking. gb automatically does it and since this feature is always on the track is always quieter than normal songs. good thing im ditching gb for cubase 5.

just do what i do and pretend you don't know mastering is and let someone else figure it out mwahaha

*hug*

*hugsss*

and here's my submission if anyone wants to bother listening lol

http://soundcloud.com/dopeyfish/for-victory

i was making it for GAME 2 when i thought it was going to be chiptunes... damn you theatrical! damn you to hell!

 

[Albino_Samurai]

Monchi, I've got a set of Tannoy System 800's hooked up to a Onkyo Amp with "Pure Audio" mode on wich i could give it a good listen. No one i know matches this setup and everyone i know agrees. (soundquality is a very personal thing tho...)
I always do this with my own musical creations and stuff i gent sent from other people.
And then another listen on my HS80M's to make comparisons.
Besides that i also have a damn fine headphone aswell, and i never mind a third listen.

Drop me a PM if help is still needed.

 

[SupraDarky]

http://soundcloud.com/dopeyfish/for-victory

i was making it for GAME 2 when i thought it was going to be chiptunes... damn you theatrical! damn you to hell!

That's awesome DF, sounds mesh together really well with a very clear sound. Love the melody.

 

[btkadams]

JMHO but you should avoid any "automatic" anything. You spent your time struggling with balance and dynamics, and you're asking GB to change that after the fact? You have no control over how much 'limiting' or 'normalizing' that GB is performing. When GB sees too much bass, it will crush your song down to compensate for the pressure overload. You need to go to each mix, and fix these things there. You need to high pass your bass, so it doesn't drive the final limiting. This is why the songs come out at a low level. You can only fit so much SPL into an audio signal.

yeah i know. i did it for one song and it just took me so long (sine im an idiot) that i just kepted letting gb do it. but i am definitely going to start doing it by hand when i have cubase because i did it by hand before i ever got gb or used a mac.

 

[monchi-kun]

alright, things starting to look good...loaded up all the files in sequence and have been listening to the submissions back to back so i can check levels and EQ. for the most part i've been applying limiters and compression where necessary to just keep things within the same "loudness" range.

Didn't realize that some files that I got were mp3 (you know who you are), get me your wav or aiff files asap

LiveFromKyoto...think you can give me a stereo mix-down of your track? it shows up as a 5.1 surround file in logic (no wonder the size is 3x that of a regular submission). Also, i'm getting some "clicks" in your track. Give it a listen when you mix to stereo and let me know if you hear it on your end.

I should be able to post the compiled soundtrack tonight, individual files will follow later but i'd like to get people's opinion on the "mastering" attempt as a whole since i've never done anything like this before

 

[lil smoke]

I'm gonna share an old school tip that I was just reminded of by a pro producer in another forum. It's a balancing tip.

-1st set the main output to mono. (this is something that you should do anyway when setting balance between indivual tracks... I'll add that it should be mono, and coming out of one speaker, not 2)

-Anyway, set a pair of headphones on the desk.

-Bring all mixer faders down.

-Bring main output down from 0 (which it should be anyway hint hint) ... to about 10dbfs

-Start with the kick and bring it up till you hear it click in the phones, then dial it back down a bit.

-Do the same with the snare. All the way up, then back off.

-Follow with remaining percussion

-Then balance all the other tracks in the same manner

-Then set output back to stereo, and start panning instruments. You should be able to hear the pan results thru the phones on the desk.

-Unplug phones, and listen thru the speakers, and make any necessary minor adjustments.

This technique helps to get a better dynamic response, more width, and better balance of transient information. Try it. It works.

...

btk, it doesn't matter which DAW. You can get loud tracks in GB too. It doesn't take long... but if you're using earbuds, yeah. Some of your tracks sound VERY good tho, I can't believe those were all done thru buds!

Can't wait Monchi!

 

[Garcia]

Awesome advice smoke. Thanks a lot for sharing ! =)

 

[FightyF]

Protips

Will try!

Recently I've gotten more extreme in my panning...very hard right or left.

I never did before because most of the stuff I make is played on ghetto speaker setups that only really output in mono, so harsh panning was always discouraged. Now that UK Hardcore is getting more mainstream it's being played on better setups so I may as well shed off those older habits.

 

[lil smoke]

Will try!

Recently I've gotten more extreme in my panning...very hard right or left.

I never did before because most of the stuff I make is played on ghetto speaker setups that only really output in mono, so harsh panning was always discouraged. Now that UK Hardcore is getting more mainstream it's being played on better setups so I may as well shed off those older habits.

Yeah, I'm still a bit scared to hard pan, but as long as you are checking in mono to make sure the panned element isn't lost, you're ok. If any doubt, hard pan it and copy that same element to another channel and center it, delay a few ms, so nothing cancels, turn it down a bit.

 

[btkadams]

I'm gonna share an old school tip that I was just reminded of by a pro producer in another forum. It's a balancing tip.

-1st set the main output to mono. (this is something that you should do anyway when setting balance between indivual tracks... I'll add that it should be mono, and coming out of one speaker, not 2)

-Anyway, set a pair of headphones on the desk.

-Bring all mixer faders down.

-Bring main output down from 0 (which it should be anyway hint hint) ... to about 10dbfs

-Start with the kick and bring it up till you hear it click in the phones, then dial it back down a bit.

-Do the same with the snare. All the way up, then back off.

-Follow with remaining percussion

-Then balance all the other tracks in the same manner

-Then set output back to stereo, and start panning instruments. You should be able to hear the pan results thru the phones on the desk.

-Unplug phones, and listen thru the speakers, and make any necessary minor adjustments.

This technique helps to get a better dynamic response, more width, and better balance of transient information. Try it. It works.

...

btk, it doesn't matter which DAW. You can get loud tracks in GB too. It doesn't take long... but if you're using earbuds, yeah. Some of your tracks sound VERY good tho, I can't believe those were all done thru buds!

Can't wait Monchi!

i will keep that in mind. thanks for the tips!and yes i knew that you can get loud tracks in gb too, i said in a post above somewhere that i had done it on a few tracks in gb but i just got lazy again.

 

[monchi-kun]

FUUUUUUCCCKKKK.gif

goddamn Sountrack Pro keeps hanging when rendering out the mastered files. First I tried to do batch and then one track at a time and I get the same fucking results. going to have to do this the hard way....

- clean the peaks and click/noise (where applicable) in Soundtrack Pro for each file
- import modified file into Logic for final level balancing

 

[btkadams]

awww sorry monchi, it sounds like a frustrating task. you'll do a great job though!

 

[monchi-kun]

i got all the tracks sounding great, i even messed with the track arrangement and it's all super sweet...all i need to do is render and upload!

 

[btkadams]

i got all the tracks sounding great, i even messed with the track arrangement and it's all super sweet...all i need to do is render and upload!

ok garcia, now you can be wet.

 

[pirahna1]

Awesome, I can't wait!

 

[DopeyFish]

you got mine, right monchi? (i didn't get a pm response back from you after i uploaded the WAV, sorry i cut it so close)

 

[Garcia]

ok garcia, now you can be wet.

hypnotizeddog.gif

Can't wait !! !!

 

[monchi-kun]

yep, got your link as well as TripWarhawkins'

i'm gonna make this happen guys...sorry for the delay (kicks his Mac Pro...stupid quad core...do you job!!!)

 

[Garcia]

Don't you worry Monchi ! Confiamos en tus superpoderes !

Spoiler

We trust in your superpowers ;-)

 

[monchi-kun]

fuck yeah...got this sonovabitch to kick out files

the late submissions will be rendered for tomorrow and LiveFromKyoto...get me a 2 channel version of your track asap!

for now...enjoy the first pass for the tracks

HERE

post all your feedback on the thread please i want to be sure I didn't butcher anyone's track

edit - track names won't be the final name, this just helps me keep track of everyone's song

 

[Garcia]

Downloadiiiingggg!!

 

[SupraDarky]

Just downloaded it. Both my tracks are completely slowed down!! Hahaha. Man, it feels like I'm drunk while listening to them. lol!

 

[monchi-kun]

Slowed Down???

gonna have to see what happened with the files on soundtrack pro

 

[SupraDarky]

Listen to the wavs I sent you then to the mp3s, can you hear the difference? I double checked the wavs and they're fine on my end. I can't say for sure since they're not my own songs, but some of the other songs I had already heard sound good.

 

[monchi-kun]

alright...will re-render...but i'm listening to them again and if this is the slowed version i'm toally LIKING it

maybe i should mess around with tempo more often on my tracks to see how different it can sound

can everyone else chime in on their track's speed (if there's any variances from the original)?

SD - holy shit, it was super-slowed down! holy shit! now i'm wondering if everyone's files were also slowed....

 

[SupraDarky]

Edit: Ok whew, glad you can hear how slowed it was! As I said, if my memory serves right and from the many tunes I've already heard, they did not seem slowed down. I'll let everyone comment on their own track though to make sure. But yeah, just so you don't freak out too much.

 

[Garcia]

Just listened to my songs as well. They're Ok no problem at all, sounds really good.

Excellent Monchi !

Edit: OMG ! :lol It's true ! SDZeta's entry is SUPER slowed down ! ... It's like playing battletoads when u're drunk xD !!

 

[pirahna1]

My song is SUPER SLOOOOWED down as well.

The version in the zip is 2:44 while my version was 2:28 (133 BPM). There's also some nasty clipping on the sub-bass kick (and a few other parts) that wasn't in my version.

I REALLY dig the slowed down versions of SD's songs though!

 

[monchi-kun]

Soundtrack Pro is doing something funky with your tracks. I noticed in the inspector that your files had a metronome icon in it. it's possible Soundtrack pro might be reading some additional data from your songs.

I listen to the source files in Quicktime and they play at normal speed. Can you guys render your files to a different format (like AIFF) while I try to figure this out?

 

[pirahna1]

The only export options FL Studio gives me are Wav [either: 16Bit int, 32Bit float (0.24), or 32Bit float (16.8)], mp3 (any rate), or MIDI. The file I originally sent you was rendered in 32Bit float (0.24), which is default. Should I try the other options?

Dunno how to convert .wav to .aiff or if I even can. Let me check some of my other programs for CD ripping.

 

[monchi-kun]

aaaaahhh, send it to me in 16 bit wav format, SD you may want to check your file setting as well when you render your track....check your WAV file settings since you and pirahna1 have the same issues

 

[pirahna1]

PM sent. File also here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/54855186cab45097/

 

[monchi-kun]

hmm, didn't work either, that stupid metronome icon still shows up. What's the actual BPM for your track? it shows up as 133 on soundtrack pro

 

[SupraDarky]

Ah ha! So that was the problem. Here's the link: http://www.zshare.net/download/54855633586e2f25/

Edit: Well was it?! Both my songs are the default 140 bpm by the way.

 

[pirahna1]

It's originally 133bpm which makes it around 2:48 in length.

EDIT: That should have been 2:28 in length. The file in the zip (that was slowed) was 2:44 in length.

 

[monchi-kun]

Soundtrack pro is fishy...only 3 tracks are affected by this strange time issue...i might have to start a separate project file to see if that does anything...

 

[pirahna1]

I just used MixMeister's BPM Analyzer on the file in the zip that was slowed and it was showing a BPM of 120.01. Is SoundTrack Pro defaulted to 120 BPM maybe? Could that be affecting things?

EDIT: Showed the same BPM for SD's tracks as well. Didn't check the others, will do now.

EDIT: List of tracks at 120 BPM (dunno if all of these are slowed or not)

BTK - High and Lows
Dartastic - Chips Ahoy!
Garcia - Descending into Dungeon
Plastic Handgun - Ghosthouse
SD - Factories...
SD - Stars...
Monchi - OVRWHIRLD
pirahna1 - Modulations
littlesmoke - sharczF2M

All the rest seem to be at normal tempo.

 

[monchi-kun]

aha, looks like you found the culprit...i'll disable the universal BPM and re-render the tracks