master volume adjustments aren't translating when i bounce projects from Logic Express, any tips?

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Level 1

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master volume adjustments aren't translating when i bounce projects from Logic Express, any tips?

hi folks!

whenever i bounce a track from Logic Express it's always significantly quieter than any other aiff, mp3 or wave file i have, including those that i have bounced from garageband. Even if i crank the 'master' volume in the mixing window, it sounds loud in Logic, but the bounced file is a big 'wanh wanh' and has absolutely no change in volume.

i must be doing something stupid.

is there another place i can adjust the master volume that the bounce will read?

does anyone else have this problem?

i'm pulling out my hair.

any suggestions would be very welcome!

thank you!

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jul 10, 2011 11:35 PM

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Answer 1

Foxboy71

Level 4

2,378 points

Jul 11, 2011 3:24 AM in response to moxy phinx

Hi,

first of all: The "Master" Fader is for trimming your mix to your monitors only. The bounce will be taken from the "stereo output" channel, so look there for the correct volume.

Now for the loudness issue: Garageband has kind of a built in foolproof bouncing. Normally, you would have to adjust not only volume to be an loud as you wish, but you have to insert some plugins into the stereo output channel to ensure that the signal doesn't get any louder than 0db, because this will produce clipping and with raising volume, distort the sound. But:

You can raise the volume if you insert the LIMITER plugin as very last plugin into the stereo output channel. Make sure it is the last plugin so there are no changes to loudness after it, not even an eq!

Any change of loudness before the limiter will be limited (hence the name) to a maximum of 0db by default (you can change the value - i use -0.1 db just to be sure.) while the softer parts of the music are being raised in loudness. If you listen to it, you'll notice the whole song is louder without distorting. Of course, if you overdo it, you'll hear the squished dynamics. Experiment!

Garageband seems to have a built in preset to perform these tasks fairly well. In Logic, you have the freedom of using or not using these settings and to customize them, which is quite normal for a pro tool.

Fox

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