Sounds like shit when i track out

yo fam, been eq'ing, mixing, sampling with my mpc2500. sounds good when its going straight into the monitors, but i lose the punch and volume when i track out into my daw.
i just 2 track into logic, left and right channel out of my stereo outs. i track at around 5.0 to leave headroom, and add a limiter on my master. I'm using logic just to record onto, no mixing or eq'ing in the daw.

why does my final track sound so quiet and dull? i mean of course it can be my mix in general, but its just so quiet?

well maybe you could use a maximizer.. I mean, I am guessing you meant -5db? maybe the limiter isn't doing any limiting.... maybe you need to bring the level up a bit.


It's hard to say without hearing/seeing what you have going on... but maybe you could watch some recording tutorials on youtube to see if any techniques stand out that you could use...

If it sounds good out the MPC then just record it raw into the DAW without the limiter and other crap. No need for extra sugar if you mixed it well in the sampler.

I mixdown in the box all the time because it always sound better. I use my DAW just for adjusting vocals and whatnot.

Get the best quality convertors you can afford, you didn't mention which interface you're using in the OP. A lot of folk recommend the Apogee duet for two-tracking, I'd like to try that joint myself.

Besides the issues suggested by the previous posters, the analog to digital conversion plays a key role in translating what you hear out the box into the DAW environment.

if your going strait into the hp jack on your computer, your gonna want an audio interface.

-5db in logic is pretty quiet as well. when im mixing my beat, i usually aim for -2.3 db at the peaks on the master bus, that way i can leave headroom for the vocalist if im bouncing down a 2 track. of course this stuff will get mastered at one point, and mastering engineers like to have a little leeway to play with.

if your doing a psudeo master yourself i could reccomend the ultra maximizer, but tahts for master track as well...after you mix, if your sending your mixes out then i wouldnet put a ultra maximizer on it though.

when your multitrack recording into logic, shoot for each track to be like -1 or -1.5 db of headroom, you can get pretty load with them. if you dont, you might not be using all the bit depth of your recordings this can cause them to be softer. ie. you need a certain amount of volume to be able to utilize all the bit depth of your tracks. (im not explaining this very well, but it does something similar, look up bit depth to get a better understanding of it, i need to brush up myself.)

if your just 2 tracking your beat into logic and not mastering it after, i would go a little hotter than -2.3 db, then you can bump up the rest with the ultramaximizer plugin.

hope that helps.

i'm comfy with my production flow/sampling, but this whole engineering side of beats is really another game.

as you guys know, the mpc, 2500 in my case, has only 2 f(x) slots. usually ill use one for the sample, and one for the drums. 1 eq on the drum track doesn't seem too bad, but i know a lot of producers have separate eq's for each drum hit which isn't possible in the mpc. (tried resampling, too quiet, ir when i raise the master level pad 10 it just sounds like crap).

is it time to learn how to track out individual solo tracks and eq each hit from there? does it make a big difference? i started on the mp because it kept me away from programs which sort of intimidate me as a producer, but i feel like it could be time.

2cents pls

if you resample (ie. record main out) in mpc, remember to turn Master Level to 0db so you'll get it just like you have it on your pad... and if you replace the sound on the pad remember to turn FX & all other settings you had off.

I suggest you make a new program for resampled sounds. For example: drums.pgm -> drums_fx.pgm

or something...

i would just get a daw that comes with some nice plugins (logic if you have a mac) and track everything out individually, and eq/compress/mix everything from there.

also, alot of people like reaper, i dont know anything about it, but it would be worth checking out imo. it might also have some plugins that come wiht it.

M:T:C
, i tried that method, but when i boost the master to 0db, the samples get too loud and distorted thus ruining the quality for resample.







i actually do have logic, i guess i have to start the long run of learning how to sync these two together. i know theres millions of threads on it, but need to find an easier explanation!

tunnelno5 wrote:M:T:C
, i tried that method, but when i boost the master to 0db, the samples get too loud and distorted thus ruining.....!

I think he meant like in your mixer settings, how you can boost your mixers master out by 0db,6db,12db. Not turning everything up to 0db?

it should work if you go to "other" then set that to 0db.

to sync it to logic, you will need to go midi in 1 to midi out on your thing, then midi out A to midi in on your interface. (i might have this reversed, but 1 and A go together, and 2 and B go together.

in logic create a new software instrument and puta vst on it

in your mpc be sure to siwtch your track from drum to midi

then in the bottom rihgt corner turn it from midi "off" to midi 1A, or 2B if you set it up that way.

word to the wise - whenever comparing two sound sources ( A or B) always make sure that you get the volumes to match before you compare the sounds - when you are learning how to use compression - you can fool yourself into thinking that something sounds better - but really it is just louder!

So in your situation if you have your mpc set up and hitting -3 on your mixer and then run your daw output into your mixer so it is sound like the same volume and also peaking at -3, then what are you hearing?

I have observed the same thing with my MPC4000, and protools (digi 003 sound card).

I think the outputs on the mpc4000 sound better than the output on my 003, also you may be loosing sound quality with the AD conversion going into your DAW. There are lots of contributing factors - but make sure the volumes match in your mixer while you try to analyse this!!!!

word to the wise - whenever comparing two sound sources ( A or B) always make sure that you get the volumes to match before you compare the sounds - when you are learning how to use compression - you can fool yourself into thinking that something sounds better - but really it is just louder!

yup. number one cause of "sounds bad when i track" issues

Nym wrote:

word to the wise - whenever comparing two sound sources ( A or B) always make sure that you get the volumes to match before you compare the sounds - when you are learning how to use compression - you can fool yourself into thinking that something sounds better - but really it is just louder!

yup. number one cause of "sounds bad when i track" issues

+1 on all of the above, probably the most common mistake made when using compression.