Post-Bounce Volume is Too Quiet

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Level 1

9 points

Post-Bounce Volume is Too Quiet

So I've browsed multiple different threads on Apple.com and various other websites and have still not found the solution to my problem... or at least I haven't found an answer that I understand.

Here's my problem:

When I listen to a project I'm working on in Logic Pro X, it sounds awesome and is just as loud as any other audio I play on my computer. In other words, I can play my composition in Logic Pro and it sounds just as loud as any song on YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify.

But when I bounce my project to my desktop (24-bit, normalizing disabled), it sounds much quieter. I can even play my composition in Logic Pro X which I just bounced and it will sound much louder than my bounced file. I have tried bouncing it to m4a and mp3 form... same problem both times. I know this isn't due to some form of "audio enhancement" that Apple has for audio files because I have downloaded other mp3 files and their volume is normal. I have been dealing with this issue now for quite a while and have still found no solution. This is a huge problem for me because I want to release the music I compose in the form of albums... which should hopefully at some later point in my life be my sole source of income.

Please help! I have tried everything I know to try, including the advice given by many other people in multiple other threads regarding this issue.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jul 30, 2020 12:07 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

deryk1248 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 31, 2020 9:55 PM in response to Pancenter

Hey! So I found a way around this issue. It took some time to come up with the idea, but I found a way to record my computers' internal audio whilst playing my composition in Logic Pro. Thank you for your help in these forums Pancenter!

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Answer 2

Aug 4, 2020 2:45 PM in response to deryk1248

I have also always thought that Logic pro bounces are quiet. I have never taken a track to fully mastered "finished product" but I suspect it would be the same.

I make a lot of quick'n'dirty accompaniment tracks for singers where I'm not worried about super audio quality. for these tracks I take the bounce from Logic pro and throw it into Audacity and use its compressor it with normalisation on.

the result is a) much better signal and b) a smaller mp3 file (my other observation about Logic pro's mp3 compression algorithm is that it doesn't compress enough).

takes about 30 seconds per track.

hope that helps.

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Answer 3

Iaamusic

Level 4

1,330 points

Aug 4, 2020 11:22 PM in response to stephentargett

I’d disagree. I’ve sent music for mastering and my levels have been fine. I’ve also sent raw files (nothing on the stereo out) and again levels are fine. Normalising a bounce is not a great idea if you’re wanting to preserve dynamics. If you’re not bothered then it’s fine for you. Most users here tend not to pay enough attention to effective gain staging and start compressing without really understanding what it’s doing, because “everyone on YouTube” is doing it and comparing their unmastered output to the latest chart work on iTunes. Mastering is a skill that takes years and there’s no simple limiter to do the same thing. It’s rarely a DAW issue, always a user issue.

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