im in DAWstress

[myles]

:confused:

I just started using pro tools about 2 months ago (just a digi001 set up) running on a pIII/933; 512 ram. but anyway when I mix tracks in pro tools and play it back on my monitors it sounds great -- somewhat comparable to pro cds also played thru the monitors. but when I burn to cd the pro track still sounds professional and my mix sounds like garbage, sonically. everything sounds like its in the background. its loud enough it just sounds muddy and muffled. i bounce my tracks to 16 bit files when comparing with other cd's so i know that its a fair comparison and that probably isn't the problem. when i tracked cuts to a cheap fostex HD recorder it sounded better, with the exception of excessive background noise. anybody got any tips or remedies?

[dude21]

Muddy usually comes from having to much low end. What kind of speakers do you have? They may have very little bass and it gets overcompensated. Not to insult, but the phase is correct on the speakers right?(I've seen a manger of a pro studio in NYC have his own speakers on his stereo out of phase and didn't even know it.) What program you burning to disc with? Are your plug-ins working properly?

[myles]

honestly, I dont know what phasing is. I use alesis m1 actives. I also have a tannoy ps110 10' sub. all my pugins work great. Im pretty sure I dont have too much low end beacuse I monitor with my alesis and my 7506 (mdr's). Its not like my mixes have excessive bass and they dont lack treble either. Its more like the instruments in the mix sound more dull after they're recorded. I have an exciter that I dont use. I guess I could try that out. also I have mixed down tracks before on a cheap multitrack and they sounded better on cassette tape from the fostex than these do on cd from pro tools (go figure.) So i really am not sure whats going on. I was thinking it might jsut be because I dont have a specific "pro audio" cd burning program/ plug-in. I have just been using roxio. I was planning on getting a different program when I got back in town. my mixes even sound good out of garbage computer speakers when I just play the WAV. but when I mix to cd and play it in a commercial system it sounds horrible. I konw I cant be the only one who has ever experienced this. but I know its not the digi001. I appreciate your suggestions too. I definitly can use som more.
myles

[dude21]

myles,
when i say your speakers are out of phase i mean you have a loss of low end. If you take the wire going to your speaker and reverse the red and black cable in the back of each speaker and listen to a CD you will DEFINITELY notice a loss in the bass. Also, what is your crossover set at? it should be the same between the sub and speakers. The sub should put out nothing above 180hz and the speakers nothing below. Personally, i don't like mixing with subs, but some people love it and do a very good job wth it. you say the instruments sound dull after recording. you should ALWAYS monitor your recording from the tape return, I'm imagining you're doing this, but just need to check. I'm assuming when you say you monitor with your alesis you are talking about the power amp. Those are fine, but if you bought it/them used i'd get them checked. I've never used a 7506 so i can't tell you what to expect from them, but i can say that yu should try burning a cd of your stuff and bringing it to a major pro audio retailer and try it out on every set of speakers they have. If you find it sounds good on some but not others take this into consideration and analyze the hell out of the frequency spectrum chart(every spaeker has one). I f this doesn't work email me at ian@dude21.demon.co.uk I've used the digi001 on lots of things and never had this problem. Also, what make of computer are you using? I pray it's not a hewlett packard.