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Export to iTunes in Acc file format creates distortion in the track

When I export/share an acoustic guitar recording (single track) created in GarageBand to ITunes in ACC file format, The sound quality is diminished significantly. It creates crackling and fuzziness on the notes I hit a little harder, as though I set the recording level too high. But in fact I deliberately set the recording level very low (even big notes stay in the green) to avoid this happening. And as I said, the recording sounds tolerable (not exceptional sound quality, but passable) during playback in GarageBand, before sharing to iTunes.

I didn't experience this problem with the original version of GarageBand that came with the computer (version 6?) - the one export I did with this earlier version, that is. But settings were a little different there, and maybe I just lucked out the first time. I updated to version 10.2.0, and it appears that is when I began having problems.

I'm using a Rode NT-USB microphone and listening to playback through a set of Audio Technica earphones with a plug-in jack (not Bluetooth).

I have an early 2015 MacBook Pro. The version of iTunes I have on the machine is 12.7.3.46. I never used GarageBand until a month or so ago, so I'm still on the learning curve. Still, should it be this difficult to get a good sounding export from GarageBand?

My sincere thanks for any input/recommendations.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.2), recorded with a RODE NT-USB mic

Posted on Mar 4, 2018 7:06 PM

Best reply

LoveHateRelate Author

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Mar 17, 2018 12:41 PM

Just to bring this to a close and help support the community. Here are the GarageBand and iTunes Preferences settings I needed to make to finally get a clean export to iTunes. And just to clarify the problem, the distorted export was only happening when sharing to iTunes or playing back in iTunes (regardless of audio file type: aac, mp3, etc). While troubleshooting I tried playback in QuickTime player and Real Player and didn't have any problems.

For iTunes Playback settings: Notice both "Sound Enhancer" and "Sound Check" are both deselected. From what I understand, these are both deselected by default.

For GarageBand Advanced settings: Both "24-Bit" and "Export projects at full loudness" are deselected. As I mentioned originally, I'm using a RODE NT-USB microphone for recording, and this is a 16-bit mic. The 24-Bit setting is enabled by default. So this needs some attention before recording if you're using a same or similar set up. By the way, the "Export projects at full loudness" setting appears to also create distortion in playback. All of these settings seem to be mutually inclusive somehow. But if I deselect them all, I get a nice, clean export, using plugins and all.

I want to give a shout out to Apple Support. A real human being called me twice and helped troubleshoot this problem. I was astounded that a real, live, intelligent, and articulate human being was put on the case for me. Apple deserves a pat on the back for this. In this day and age, what a rare occasion that a company backs up its products this way.

Please see my original question for various software and OS versions. And my thanks to léonie for initial responses. These answers were on the right track.

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Export to iTunes in Acc file format creates distortion in the track

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