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Distortion appears when I bounce a song and add it to the Music app.

I'm relatively new to mastering in Logic Pro X, and I encountered something strange while bouncing down my final track. I had finished mastering my song, and I began to bounce the project when I noticed the "Add to Music" option. After bouncing the file, the song appeared in my Music library in the Music app. When I listened to the song in the music app, the transients were slightly distorted (it almost sounded like they were clipping). I immediately assumed that I had over-worked the Adaptive Limiter, so I went back and noticed that I was getting less than a decibel of gain reduction from the limiter. I don't think that was the problem. I then went to my Finder window, and played the song by clicking on the file in Finder. It sounded clear, and there was no distortion. Here is my question: Why was the song distorted in the music app, but it sounded fine when I played it by clicking on the file in Finder? I included some more information below if it can help you construct an answer. Thank you, in advance, for anyone who is able to help.


The song was mastered at -14 integrated LUFS, and had a True Peak of -1.1 dB. I bounced the file in realtime, with normalization off, and dithering off. The file is a .wav file, has a resolution of 24 bit, and a sample rate of 44100.


MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 6, 2020 11:05 AM

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8 replies

Sep 6, 2020 11:40 AM in response to yoyoBen

yoyoBen wrote:

• Make sure Sound Enhancer is disabled.

O yeah. Prime suspect. In iTunes.

ttps://support.apple.com/guide/music/playback-preferences-musdf855a1b/mac
• Is the volume of the music app to high?

Yup. Some apps have a volume setting that "goes to eleven" (+6, mostly). Bad.

Are logic and music app using the same output device?

Good catch. Missed that.



Sep 6, 2020 11:35 AM in response to Matthew DiStefano

Well, what comes to mind immediately is the one different factor: your undisclosed and mysterious "music app". Which app? Has it got EQ settings? "Enhancement" features? A volume knob/slider that goes over 0 (=unity)?


Another thing that comes to mind (though it probably has no bearing on the issue): why bounce realtime? I am aware that there is a stubborn MYTH floating on the webz (like plastic bags in the ocean) that realtime bounces are "better" - but I can assure you this is a myth. The only reason to bounce realtime is if there are hardware synthesizers or external sound modules involved in the mix. Offline bounces are either equal (best case scenario) but more often just better than realtime bounces.

Sep 6, 2020 11:43 AM in response to Eriksimon

Hi Erik. Thank you for your fast reply. The Music app that I am referring to is the Apple Music app. It's the app that used to be iTunes. I haven't adjusted any EQ settings within the app. As for bouncing in realtime, I am only doing so because it was recommended to me. I must have stumbled upon one of those myths on the web. I am new to mastering, and I am still researching the best possible settings. I'll try bouncing offline, and I'll keep an ear out for any significant differences. I really appreciate your help, and advice.

Sep 6, 2020 11:53 AM in response to yoyoBen

Hello. Thanks for your reply. The sound enhancer is disabled in the music app. The volume in the music app is at its maximum. Yes, Logic and and the music app are both using the same output device (my audio interface). After reading your response, it seems like the issue is that I had the volume on the music app at its maximum. I cannot figure out how to disable Sound Check. If you would be able to offer some additional guidance, I would really appreciate it. Thanks again for your help.

Distortion appears when I bounce a song and add it to the Music app.

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