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Subject:distortion & mixer levels - weird
Posted by: bflat
Date:11/26/2003 2:29:08 AM
When I mix my own recorded projects in Acid, I'm safe if I hit the "0" but nothing above that right? This has worked okay for me but something really strange just happened. I put a CD in my player and had ACID copy a few tracks. I snipped bits to mix. But then -- the only way to avoid distortion was to keep the track level at UDENT/ 0, and the mixer at UDENT. If I added any volume at all (which I did to boost the signal when I RENDERED TO WAV FILES), it distorted like hell. So I had to record at UDENT all the way. (ie, a passage at -13 would distort if I tried to boost it via the mixer on track volume control). What's going on? I noticed this only happened with a few CD's, but I don't understand it at all. Isn't it always safe to to boost a signal as long as you're under "0"? |
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Subject:RE: distortion & mixer levels - weird
Reply by: marcarotsky
Date:11/26/2003 11:32:31 AM
do you have sound forge?? (or another pro editing app.) if you do, i would raise the volume in that. i have had experiences like that also. for some reason, raising the volume at extremes in acid, causes some bad distortion. not all the time....but sometimes. try your volume changes in an editing app. --marc |
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Subject:RE: distortion & mixer levels - weird
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:11/26/2003 12:22:59 PM
If it's only happening with some but not all CD's, the CD's that are problematic may just not be mixed properly. I've noticed some professionally done CD's actually clip, so you may be amplifying it even more when you raise their volume, even though the Master bus in ACID's Mixer does not show clipping. Iacobus ------- RodelWorks - Original Music for the Unafraid mD's ACIDplanet Page |
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Subject:more weird
Reply by: bflat
Date:11/28/2003 12:35:00 AM
I did some more tests. ACID is definitely adding distortion if I raise up the volume level on the track or the mixer. The problem isn't with the source recording, as far as I can tell. When I render (to a WAV) at UDENT ("0") I get pristine, clear copies. I can raise the volume of these in ACID or win Media Player to high with no distortion. BUT: if I raise the mixer or track volume (even if it's no where near 0), I get tremendous distortion and blurring of the louder passages. Problem is, some tracks are very soft and I can't get clean volume boosts. Is this not a problem in SOUND FORGE? So far, I've only noticed this when boosting the signal from CD tracks I've brought in as WAVs via ACID. I haven't noticed this in other situations. Does ACID behave differently because I'm making "a sample of a sample"? Strange. |
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Subject:RE: more weird
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:11/28/2003 10:58:39 AM
Hmm. I've noticed that if you take an extracted CD track and let ACID turn the file into a Beatmapped track, volume fluctuations may occur as a result of the stretching that goes on with that track type. What if you tried turning the problematic tracks into One-shots? Does the problem go away then? HTH, Iacobus ------- RodelWorks - Original Music for the Unafraid mD's ACIDplanet Page |
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Subject:RE: more weird
Reply by: bflat
Date:11/30/2003 2:29:37 AM
Yes, it does it with beatmapped and one-shot, loop, also. I did alot of experimenting with this, and it SUCKS. I think I'm getting a clean copy and it distorts BADLY. Interesting: I haven't noticed this being a problem in other situations -- only when I have ACID "pull in" a song from a CD. The WAV it pulls in is fine: it's just that when I snip off little "samples" it'll distort if I raise the level AT ALL. (It's worst at higher levels, but all are below "0") Do I need sound forge? I have a ton of files I thought were fine but they're massively distorted. A real frustration. It happens maybe 40-50% of the time. If I have this problem with a particular CD, I'll have it over and over with the same CD. (I've never fiddled with the PREVIEW control; is that something I need to be concerned with?) This is strange and frustrating... Just how trustworthy is the ACID mixer control? |
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Subject:RE: more weird
Reply by: marcarotsky
Date:11/30/2003 11:32:39 AM
if i were you, i would get sound forge. and extract all your audio in that. also do all your editing in it also. you can get a stripped down version of sound forge which would start you out on the right track. i think its like 40, 50 bux. --marc |
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Subject:RE: more weird
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:12/1/2003 11:45:22 AM
ACID's mixer control is very trustworthy. Any distortion from stretching done on a file is just a matter of fact as the track's dynamics are being changed. However, it doesn't explain why even One-shots aren't sounding right for you. I can pull in a track from a CD as a One-shot and its levels at unity are spot on with, say, Sound Forge's levels. (Sound Forge takes a file's volume at face value; there's no volume control.) Could your installation of ACID be hosed somehow? Have you tried uninstalling and then reinstalling? (Be sure to pick up the latest update.) Try also updating any drivers for your soundcard if possible. (Or uninstall and reinstall the latest drivers.) HTH, Iacobus ------- RodelWorks - Original Music for the Unafraid mD's ACIDplanet Page |