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#1
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Distortion after bounce
Hello, newbie here. Yes, I'm still using PTF but gonna switch to artist soon.
My problem is when I playback my mixes in PTF they sound fine. When I bounce them and listen to them everywhere but my car (which has an aftermarket amp/HU) the mixes distort when I turn up the volume, theyre fine a lower volumes (again this is ONLY when playing in my car). I bounce in 44.1k, 24bd, interleaved. I have master faders in all my mixes with a simple limiter and nothing is clipping. Any ideas? P.S. The amp in my car has a much higher RMS than the aftermarket speakers I have (i wasn't super knowledgeable about it when I installed all of it) but no other music distorts when i turn it up full volume. |
#2
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Re: Distortion after bounce
It's likely you're mixing too hot. Delete the limiter, then mix your tracks so the master fader level is below -0-, better yet, below -10 dbfs. Then re-bounce. If you need to tweak with a limiter, mix again and renounce.
Last edited by nsureit; 08-24-2022 at 12:35 PM. |
#3
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Re: Distortion after bounce
If it sounds ok at lower volumes then the distortion isn't in the mix, it's in the car's audio system. And if other commercially-released track do not distort at higher volumes, then the issue is in the content of your mix. My guess is that it's bass-heavy, one of the most common killers in instances like yours. As you push your track in the car, the amp or speakers, or both, simply can't handle the workload, and you hear that as distortion.
Feel free to post something for us and we can examine the balance. If it is bass-heavy, you may want to look at how your mixing room is treated because it's probably lacking bass, and maybe to a large degree. Or toss a spectral analyser on the master, at the very end of the chain, and make sure low end isn't overwhelming. |
#4
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Re: Distortion after bounce
It can be very deceiving before you use more physical power to drive bigger speakers.
If you have a subwoofer in car, try listening to a 55 Hz sine wave at -18 dBFS and a 120 Hz sine wave at -36 dBFS. Listening to the same on small speakers, it's possible you will barely hear anything at all. In some audio which is sounding distorted some situations, the 10-40 Hz zone is HOT. Our ears don't even pick up much AT let alone below 20 Hz. Sending it to the Amp and Speaker is poor signal processing, but inevitable without the right theoretical sense. "Turning up the low frequency gain" is sometimes the worst way to "hear more low end". Not sure what's going on here without a sample, but it seems related to low end as others suggested already.
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___ >> me: nednednerB // ||main gig: editing audio voiceovers & testing software | 2nd gig: music software tutoring | hobby: electronic music // ||software: Sonoma 14.2 | PT Studio 2023.12 | Ableton Live 11 | iZotope RX, Ozone, Neutron | Arturia Pigments | Auto-Tune | Dubler2 // ||system: iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020) 10-Core-i9 | 128GB-DDR4 | 5700-XT-16GB | OWC Thunderbolt Hub and Thunderbolt 3 Dock // ||devices: RME Babyface Pro FS | Focusrite Clarett 2Pre | some AT mics | SM58 | Ableton Push 2 | Sennheiser HD 600 HP // Onkyo TX-8220 SR ||automation: SoundFlow | Stream Deck+ | Keyboard Maestro | SteerMouse | MacOS Shortcuts // |
#5
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Re: Distortion after bounce
Thanks for all the input! I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Here is a mixdown that was peaking in my car...
I'm not an elite mixer by any means, I'm sure I'm doing a lot wrong. Just fun home recording stuff. Here's the link to the rough edit (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LOL...ew?usp=sharing) The problem I'm having is with the guitar you hear in the intro and throughout the song. That's what seems to be peaking in my car. I recorded the guitar with a distortion pedal so that distortion is there but there is a noticeable clicking/peaking in my car when turned up (if that makes sense). But in my headphones or home monitors I can turn it up full volume and no peaking. |
#6
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Re: Distortion after bounce
After a quick listen (thanks for providing a wav and not an mp3), I can hear nothing wrong. The guitar distorts, yes, but not in a bad way, depending on what you like, of course. The drums and beat is drowning a bit, but that's not the issue.
I think what you percieve as distortion is simply the different systems you are listening on delivering a more or less pleasing translation of your mix. If what you hear when checking on different playback systems is very different than what you hear when you mix, then you have a monitoring problem.
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Mac mini M2 16GB RAM macOS 13.4.1. PT Studio 2023.6. Topping E30 II DAC, Dynaudio BM6, 2 x Artist Mix, SSL UC1, Control on iPad. |
#7
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Re: Distortion after bounce
Thanks so much for listening! Do do you think it's my car system that's causing the issue? I wish I could properly record it, but its definitely crackling and distorting. I was just confused when I played any other music at the same volume and no distortion was happening.
Also, what do you mean by the drums and beat "drowning"? Are the drums too loud or not loud enough and being drowned by the other instruments? Again, thanks so much for the feedback I super appreciate it. |
#8
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Re: Distortion after bounce
So I did a bit more experimenting. A couple years ago I made a song and bounced it the exact same way as the song I'm bouncing today. That previous song was later put on Spotify. So I had the original bounce of it and did the same process (emailed it to myself then played it in my car) and it was peaking like crazy... Then I played the same exact song from Spotify and it did not peak.
I wonder if my Head Unit just doesn't like WAV files or something... Idk. Thanks for all the suggestions though. |
#9
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Re: Distortion after bounce
2 questions:
1-what are you listening on when mixing? 2-is your car stereo overly hyped on the low end?
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HP Z4 workstation, Mbox Studio https://www.facebook.com/search/top/...0sound%20works The better I drink, the more I mix BTW, my name is Dave, but most people call me.........................Dave |
#10
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Re: Distortion after bounce
Hello,
Im using PreSonus Eris E5's for monitoring at home and I dont think i have my low end boosted too much. I have the 500hz boosted a bit but thats about it |
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