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Audio sounds horrible after import to FCP X.

Audio sounds horrible after import to FCP X, and when exporting. The original audio from 2 cannon camcorders and iPhone 5 are very decent. Why is FCP X making it garbled with static? I'm letting FCP choose the settings based on the clip. I go back and check the original audio and it sounds ten times better than what is in the project.


I am using a 2014 Mac Book Pro with an updated OS (8/14). 16 Gb of RAM (8 x 2) Final Cut was just upgraded too, but it sounded bad before the upgrade. I believe I'm on 10.1.3 now.


All files are stored locally on the MacBook hard drive, not using any external devices. I'm keeping all elements with the library. I've played around with FCP X audio-correction settings but it just makes it worse, pumping up the volume and clipping.


This is not isolated to one project. I've had a similar issue with about a dozen projects.


I'm an expert Avid user, but relatively new to FCP X. I'm not ruling out operator error here. Any suggestions?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), Final Cut Pro

Posted on Sep 7, 2014 7:50 PM

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Posted on Sep 7, 2014 11:40 PM

I'm not sure I'm addressing the same issue as yours, but I think I had a similar problem.

I found most of the audio registered by a Canon HD camera distorted in FCPX after import: basically all low pitch sounds were cut (not static as yours). The reason for that was that the Analyze and fix audio problems option was set in the import preferences: by turning it off (and deselecting the audio corrections to the already imported clips) the problem was fixed. The original audio wasn't very good, but the automatically corrected audio was much worse...


Hope this helps


Piero

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Sep 7, 2014 11:40 PM in response to Icebergjim

I'm not sure I'm addressing the same issue as yours, but I think I had a similar problem.

I found most of the audio registered by a Canon HD camera distorted in FCPX after import: basically all low pitch sounds were cut (not static as yours). The reason for that was that the Analyze and fix audio problems option was set in the import preferences: by turning it off (and deselecting the audio corrections to the already imported clips) the problem was fixed. The original audio wasn't very good, but the automatically corrected audio was much worse...


Hope this helps


Piero

Sep 8, 2014 12:41 PM in response to Icebergjim

Are you sure you disabled all automatic "fixes" ?

In the Inspector, for each clip, select Audio/Audio Enhancements, click the right arrow on the right of Audio Analysis, and make sure that Loudness, Background Noise Removal, and Hum Removal are ALL unchecked, i.e. disabled. This ensures that the imported audio is used without any modification.

If this does not work I'm afraid something wrong happened to the original audio before being imported...


Piero

Sep 9, 2014 8:52 AM in response to Icebergjim

Thanks, Tom & Pierre. Based on your feedback - I decided to start over with a new project. I made sure the auto correction was turned off for audio and I still experienced the same problem. I then manually checked the audio settings to ensure nothing was checked for Loudness, Background Noise Removal, and Hum Removal. Unfortunately, it is STILL manipulating the audio quality. Tried again with both iphone and cannon camcorder with similar results. Now, I'm wondering if I have a hardware problem with RAM or if I should just reinstall FCP X. From everything you guys say, this is not normal - so I think something is broken. I'll post an update if this fixes it. If anyone else has ideas, I'm open to them.

Sep 10, 2014 8:02 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thanks again for your help with this. I do believe some of the issue was with audio correction. It's amazing how much damage those settings can do to your audio files. But the choppiness was definitely something going on with FCP X. I removed the app and reinstalled. I turned off all the automation preferences per your advice, especially for import. Now the app is working fine. I'm back in business. It also freed up a ton of memory with the reinstall, so maybe a log file had been building up or something. But it's clean now. Thanks again.

Audio sounds horrible after import to FCP X.

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