Cubase mastering and final volume

[BassicG]

I am using cubase LE and having some problems with what the final song sounds like. I recorded a band that has 2 guitars, bass, drums and vocals, about 18 tracks in all.. When I export it to the mixdown it sounds muddy and I can't find a way to eq the final output.. I have been using soundforge to eq the final wave file, it sounds alot better by adding some boost to higher frequencies, is this the normal way to do this? Also, even though the song is close to clipping on the output, the final song is not very loud (compared to a regular CD)

Thanks for any help on this...

[brandondrury]

When I export it to the mixdown it sounds muddy and I can't find a way to eq the final output..

The last place you should fix problems with mud is on the 2bus (final output). You need to find the individual tracks causing the problem and fix those. This is HIGHLY recommended. If you don't listen to my advice now, you eventually will years down the road.

Very very very little processing is needed on the 2bus. The big boys say that anything passed 2db of EQ is too much. I just did some "pretend mastering" on mixes I've done and just one 1dB of EQ really screwed them up. They sounded better before I "pretend mastered" them.

I have been using soundforge to eq the final wave file, it sounds alot better by adding some boost to higher frequencies, is this the normal way to do this?

It's normal for beginners to do this. It's also normal for beginners to take this mix out onto another stereo and realize that all that processing was little more than compensating for monitors or compensating for a mix that wasn't right. There are times when the big boys do this, but it takes years of practice to get it right.

Again, put maybe a compressor and limiter on the 2bus and call it a day. Everything else should be addressed in the mix.

Brandon

[BassicG]

Thanks for that info... I guess I will have to really look at each track's eq...
I am not a big fan of the eq tool on the tracks in Cubase LE.. Is it worth upgrading to one of the regular versions of Cubase?

[Scorch]

Not sure if this will help.....

I have been getting fairly good mixes as far as clarity by getting rid of the low end muck on the individual tracks.

But when I mixed down it was loosing the clarity and sounded muddy. After reading somewhere in this forum I read about Ditthering (spell check)

Do a search on Ditthering. It is a method of saving the high end during mix down.
I would not do it any justice to try and explain..... But it works!

[brandondrury]

I am not a big fan of the eq tool on the tracks in Cubase LE.. Is it worth upgrading to one of the regular versions of Cubase?

Why not? I think the GUI part is kind of crappy, but it's not a terrible sounding EQ when it comes to notching. I don't like boosting with it. I find that it's much easier to use by typing in the numbers than by using the mouse.

There are better sounding EQs out there. That's for sure. However, they will use up drastically more CPU power.

I have been getting fairly good mixes as far as clarity, gutted out all the low end muck on the individual tracks.

But when I mixed down it was loosing the clarity and sounded muddy.

Cutting out low end made your tracks muddy? How is that possible? Did I misunderstand you?

Brandon

[Scorch]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

Cutting out low end made your tracks muddy? How is that possible? Did I misunderstand you?
Brandon

Yes you did misunderstand. Sorry, I was not clear how I said it.
I got clarity on the tracks by cutting out the low end.
This was not where I was having the problem.

My problem was loosing the high end by mixing down to a lower bit rate. Ditthering fixed the mixdown problem I was having.

(I edited my previous post above to make more sence) Sorry for the confusion.

[docman]

I just want to mention that this is also an issue I come across a lot. I end doing some EQing on the 2bus after I finish the song (mainly to make it compatible and similar to my previous songs so they will flow well on a CD, and to make the song sound good on different stereos). I always wondered whether it is better to go back into the individual tracks and try to fix it there or just do it on the 2bus, and I think Brandon, you answered the question.


I have to look into this dithering thing.

[mr_skytz]

i should know this but is using 16 or 24 bit in mixdown which is better to use. on cubase LE

[brandondrury]

Depends. I usually go to 16 bit then. If I know I've got mastering left to do I mean keep it at 24 bit, but it really depends on the project. Modern rock stuff isn't going to matter because it's so damn loud that it won't ever use all those bits anyway. The bit depth becomes more of an issue when recording stuff with extreme dynamics.

Brandon

[StephenMarshMastering]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

The last place you should fix problems with mud is on the 2bus (final output). You need to find the individual tracks causing the problem and fix those. This is HIGHLY recommended. If you don't listen to my advice now, you eventually will years down the road.

Brandon

And how brother, and how! MUCH easier to ADD mud in mastering