Bouncing to Disk

[Noobish]

I have created some tracks that I would like to upload to Soundcloud.. But I am having difficulty troubleshooting why I can't bounce to disk and create a .WAV file. It says:

"Could not complete the Bounce to Disk command because the requested file size is too large for the file type to support..."

Do I need to compress.. or record to audio files.. Sorry this is my first attempt.. So I am clueless as to what to do.

[albee1952]

More info might help. How long is the tune? What sample rate/bit depth is the session. Are you working on a system with 2 normal drives? What is the desired format for uploading to Soundcloud?

[Noobish]

Bounce Source: Out 1-2

File Type: .WAV

Bit Depth: 24

Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz

Converting after bounce..

The track is about 3 minutes long. 5 Xpand Tracks, 1 Audio Track with 2 Boom Tracks linked to it.

Not sure what you mean about drives...

[albee1952]

By drives, I meant are you using standard drives and recording to a separate drive, that is NOT the system drive(C:) or a partition(which nets the worst possible performance), as opposed to SSD or some non-approved drives(like a USB drive for any non-Windows 7 system). Are you bouncing to a 24 bit/44.1 file? What do you need to upload to Soundcloud? I would expect it wants an MP3? Are you intending to master the file before uploading, or are you trying to do that as part of the bounce? Not being sure of your skill/knowledge level, are you aware about using Dither when going to 16 bits(which usually is needed if the product will be uploaded or burned to an audio CD)?

[Noobish]

My skill level is low. I am bouncing straight to my hard drive, or desktop. Not sure what you mean about bouncing TO a 24 bit 44.1 kHz file. I thought basically bouncing just meant you were transferring the file type, and saving it to your hard drive. I know nothing about Dither.. I tried to use a master volume but I have not done so successfully. What does going from 24 bit to 16 bit do to the sound quality? I thought 16 bit was for CD's. I just need to change the file from ptf, to .wav. If sound cloud wants MP3 I have converters and decoders on my computer to change format. But I would prefer it in .Wav format. Btw I just tried to bounce to MP3 but it said that my trial has expired?! wtf

[albee1952]

Okay, I get the picture now. There is much to learn, so I would start with some reading. Google "dither" (without the quotes) to learn what it does and why you use it. Recording at 24 bit is a good thing as it gives you more headroom, so you don't need to shoot for the "ragged edge" of your meters(just into the yellow is plenty). Bounce to disk is a function of mixing the song down, to a stereo file(not converting from pts to wav). I suggest using a master track(stereo), even if you do nothing with it other than have it on the screen. If it shows clipping(the red part at the top of the meter) then you are clipping the mix bus internally and should lower the master fader(if you need to go farther down than 3-5db, I would start over with all the tracks backed down a bit. When you bounce, you get to choose the parameters of the final file. Choosing Stereo Interleaved will create a single stereo file(instead of 2 mono files). Choosing 16 bit is what you would want if you wish to burn the file onto an audio CD. If you will send the song(s) out to be mastered, then stay at 24 bit and let the mastering house deliver the 16 bit file(their gear is likely much better than yours or mine). You will likely find that un-mastered files are a lot softer volume than any commercial CD track(which may or may not be a bad thing). This scratches the surface Let the learning begin

[Noobish]

Thanks for the heads up on dithering.. I googled it like you said and read up on the why's.. Now time for the how's.. I am about to try to dither this track and see what happens.. If you have any other info you think I should know please point me in that direction pls.. I am an information whore...

Epic Fail... Can't find a dithering option.. I hate sounding like sucha noob :/.. I'm gonna search this site for mix down tips and bouncing see what I can come up with.

[albee1952]

Dither gets inserted as a plugin on the master fader track. It should always be the very LAST process, so if you use any other plugins on the master, they should go BEFORE the dither plugin. Some mastering plugins(like Waves L2) have a dither feature as part of the plugin.

[The Weed]

PowerDither is one of the stock Digidesign plug-ins.

Cheers,

[Noobish]

Nothing is peaking out.. its all Green baby... It still says that my file size is too big when I tried to bounce again this time in 16 bit, dithered up and master fadered. I saw how dither added that white noise though and smoothed things out a bit.

Also I have sound dropping out and in randomly from volume 96 to 57 or so.. But when one goes 57 they all go 57.. Am I overloading something?