Why are my Logic projects so quiet after being exported or bounced into iTunes?

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Level 1

4 points

Why are my Logic projects so quiet after being exported or bounced into iTunes?

I have had this problem for as long as I can remember with both Logic and GarageBand. When I export my project to iTunes, it becomes very quiet. Much quieter than it would play back in the project, and much quieter in comparison to all the other music I have in iTunes. I've seen this question asked all over the place, and the only answer I've seen is, "You're not mixing/EQing it correctly", "You aren't bouncing it with the correct settings", or "Your settings in iTunes are restricting it from playing at full volume." None of these is the answer! Even when I crank every track up LOUD with the equalizer, and jack up the master volume, it still exports into iTunes playing only half as loud as my other music. I've messed with the iTunes settings like everyone has suggested. It is not iTunes! Even when I play the song on another device on a player other than iTunes, the song is still way too quiet. When I try to show friends my music, if there is any type of noise going on at all, there is no chance they will hear it. I've tried bouncing the project and exporting the project with all the different settings the internet is saying to use to get full volume. There is no change. Like I said, I've experienced this issue in both Logic and GarageBand for YEARS, on several different MacBooks, iMacs, and iPads, and I know many many people who have complained of the same problem. Please do not tell me to bounce the project on a certain setting, or to change my iTunes playback settings. Please, somebody answer who knows what I am talking about and has a solution other than what I've mentioned above. I realize I may have come off a little hot with this question. I mean no disrespect to any readers, and my occasional all caps words and purely there to emphasize my points. I am not angry or raging, maybe a little frustrated about my issue. I appreciate any help.

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Apr 28, 2016 6:34 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Eriksimon

Level 6

15,416 points

Apr 29, 2016 1:56 AM in response to djcob97

OK, that is a lot of text, I just couldn't read it all, but you seem to say "nothing anybody has said has helped me and it doesn't work on any system ever." Well, I wonder then how it is that I can and many, many others can, and you should wonder that too. Ideally, you could upload a project and somebody could look at all your settings and find out what your issue is, because there are a lot of ways to screw things up. But if you cannot or will not, you can read these links I'm providing you.

What you need to do, is to get thing at a decent level, between -15 and -11 dBFS RMS. And make sure you do NOT use the Normalizing option when bouncing. "Jacking up volume" is not going to work beyond a certain point, you need to use compression and limiting. Using EQ to get more volume is the wrong approach, EQ is not for volume.

Download the PDF fromn here and read it:

http://www.logicprohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57055

Read these links about loudness and mastering:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/468170-loudness-when-producing-m ixing-tips.html

http://www.logicprohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=282853#p282853

Bounce setting like this:

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Answer 2

xfggfx

Level 2

217 points

Apr 29, 2016 8:41 AM in response to djcob97

I work at a radio station and we produce promos etc.

that need to sit between songs and sound at a similar volume.

Modern loud music will peak for some time at -.1db

and that is what you are probably aiming for.

You could use the following technique to test your pipeline.

Drag a loud song from iTunes to desktop.

Create a New Empty Project in Logic and import the song to a track with no plugins.

Create a software instrument with a compressor and limiter on the track.

Crank up the compressor input gain, and set the limiter to output -.1db

No plugins on main out.

no plugins on music track.

Both the instrument and iTunes track peak at -.1db

Listening to the result , they sound similar.

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Answer 3

octopi

Level 4

3,570 points

Apr 29, 2016 11:23 AM in response to xfggfx

Well, that's all very well, but you're just talking about peak here. It's the RMS level for the duration of the program material that will give you perceived loudness between songs.

Just aiming for -.1 at peak means absolutely nothing where perceived volume is concerned.

You need to talk to the people at your radio station who set up the comps/limiters on their broadcast signal to tell what is going out, and how, on the air.

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Answer 4

Pancenter

Level 6

14,631 points

Apr 29, 2016 3:08 PM in response to djcob97

RMS vs Peak

In the bounce dialog, Normalize should be OFF.

Also what are you listening with, if it's iTunes make sure ALL of the Audio Enhancements are Off, this includes, Sound Enhancer, Sound Check, Crossfade...etc.

Here's three examples of limiting: (keep scrolling)

Example1: No limiting, four instruments Bass, Guitar, Drum Set and Percussion. The hi-hats and percussion are mixed up, the peaks are reaching 0db but the overall audio level is low this is because of the RMS power level is low at -17.5db. RMS is continuous output level as opposed to peak.

Example2: Using a limiter with added gain, the RMS level is -11.8db, peak level is still close or at 0db, it's in your face but most of the audio integrity is preserved.

Example3: Heavy limiting and added input gain. RMS level is -6.2, very loud. Some recent releases have RMS levels in the -3 to 4db range however it depends on the style/genre of music as to how the audio handles heavy limiting and gain amplification. I've seen releases that were pretty much solid to 0db. If I were preparing this audio for broadcast I'd probably use some medium level compression as well as EQ to tame the hi-hats/percussion... after that I'd run a separate pass to bring the level up. Personally, I treat the overall RMS level as a separate entity that's done after basic balance/eq mastering. The pics are from Soundforge v10 on a quad-core PC running Win-7.

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Answer 5

gregm23

Level 1

10 points

Apr 30, 2016 12:01 AM in response to djcob97

You have many excellent answers to your question here.

The one thing I have not seen here is a discussion on "mastering" techniques. The main difference between your produced song and the iTunes songs is mastering. I have had several songs of mine professionally mastered and am astounded at the difference in volume (and clarity). And the pros use people who specialize in just that: mastering. Some get literally thousands of dollars to master one song.

LPX has mastering tools built in. Why not go on YouTube and check out some how-to tutorials?

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