Bounced file sounds bad

[Gillis]

Hi...I'm totally new to PT, so forgive my ignorance. I have PT 12.5 and am running Windows 10. My mix sounds great when I'm in PT. After I bounce to disk in wav and mp3 format, the resulting files sound terrible. I've tried different players on my computer and they all sound the same. When I bring the bounced file back into PT, it sounds just like it's supposed to.

I found a similar thread here
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t...ghlight=bounce

He said it had something to do with his drivers. Does PT not use some drivers on a computer that a music player may use? I have a Sound Blaster Audigy FX sound card.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Darryl Ramm]

People cannot guess what "sounds bad" means to you.

Or how you are bouncing with what exact parameters. (Screenshots help)

Or what monitors/headphones you are monitoring on or what exact players you are comparing to and how you have them set up (e.g. Any EQ or compression settings disabled).

Be careful with playback level matching, A/B these things to get the same heard levels before making any conclusion.

[JuanPC]

Originally Posted by Gillis

Hi...I'm totally new to PT, so forgive my ignorance. I have PT 12.5 and am running Windows 10. My mix sounds great when I'm in PT. After I bounce to disk in wav and mp3 format, the resulting files sound terrible. I've tried different players on my computer and they all sound the same. When I bring the bounced file back into PT, it sounds just like it's supposed to.

I found a similar thread here
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t...ghlight=bounce

He said it had something to do with his drivers. Does PT not use some drivers on a computer that a music player may use? I have a Sound Blaster Audigy FX sound card.

Thanks for any suggestions.

PT is designed to be used with ASIO Drivers...

Audio Players use or WDM "Windows Multimedia Device.", or DirectX, or WaveOut...
VLC can use all 3, except ASIO.

QuickTime Player 7.7.8 also can:
SafeMode; WaveOut
DirectSound
Windows Audio Session...
/Edit/Preferences/QuickTime Preferences/Audio/

Windows Media Player also in:
/Tools/Options/Devices/Speaker/Properties

problem using WaveOut or DirectX is that they can be used with or without 32-bit float...

some soundcard drivers Do Not support 32-bit float.

also must be configured in Control Panel to be 2.0 or 5.1, No speakers.
3rd mouse in the Speaker icon near the Clock.
/Playback Devices/Configure & Properties.

.
Problem could be your Bounce settings are Wrong.
.
or could be: that your soundcard is configured for 44.1khz 16-bits, DX or WMD playback.
and you try to play a 96Khz 24-Bit or 32-bit file,
Windows Media Player and VLC with Downconvert in realtime to 44.1Khz 16-bit.
.
more info needed.

[Darryl Ramm]

Sign, yet another JuanPC post heading off into noddy land with all these irrelevent details.

This is all irrelevant to any problem with bouncing. Any playback software using any device should sound reasonably the same as Pro Tools on the same monitors/headphones. Including if it is doing sample rate conversion etc. As long as the bounce was done correctly and is played back at the same SPL and EQ, compression etc. is not being added by the playback software.

If by "sounds bad" there is clicking or dropouts or digital artifacts and other files also show that then sure investigate drivers.

Most problems with bouncing are user errors selecting the wrong source track, or formats (e.g. mono/stereo mistakes) etc. And again, comparing at different SPL and not realizing what a huge difference that makes also is a frequent cause of problems. Ideally A/B test things at the same SPL.

[Gillis]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

People cannot guess what "sounds bad" means to you.

Or how you are bouncing with what exact parameters. (Screenshots help)

Or what monitors/headphones you are monitoring on or what exact players you are comparing to and how you have them set up (e.g. Any EQ or compression settings disabled).

Be careful with playback level matching, A/B these things to get the same heard levels before making any conclusion.

Okay, I am using "Bounce to Disk". Interleaved. I have tried 16 bit 44.1 kHz as well as 24 bit 48kHz.

I'm using Edirol MA 150 monitors for listening in Pro Tools and playing the bounced file.

It ends up sounding muffled, heavy on the bass and very thin everywhere else.

I'm at work right now and can only remember Windows Media Player as one of the players. I did not see any settings for EQ or compression.

Thanks!

[mkosacek]

what's the source of your output you are bouncing - is it coming from a Master Fader? The only time I've ever had a bad bounce is when my settings got hosed up and the source got set to an Aux channel (so all I got was effects!).

[albee1952]

Also, since it sounds good if you bring it back into Pro Tools, 2 things come to mind. When its in PT, is the bounced mix playing THROUGH any plugins in PT? And, do the other programs that sound bad incorporate any sound settings, like EQ or stereo "enhancement"? Many sound cards include some silly effect/eq settings that have no place in a recording computer(might be dandy for gaming, but this ain't no game)

[Darryl Ramm]

To echo again the concerns about EQ etc. make sure there is nothing hidden in the playback utility you are using or in separate control panels (that may bot be obvious until you poke around.

Windows Media Player certainly includes this junk, e.g. see http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...#1TC=windows-7

[Gillis]

Okay, I appreciate everyone's help. I kept going back to what the guy said about drivers in the post I first linked to. I had taken my PC to a local place to be upgraded before I bought Pro Tools. Since I didn't know what they did regarding my sound card, I decided to download the full software for it and install it. After doing that, the bounced files sounded much better. I don't get it, but I'm not a computer expert. I just enjoy writing a little music.

Thanks again!