Hi all. I’ve tried as many things as I know to do, have read to do, watched tutorials on how to do…asked in facebook/online groups…but I can’t get an answer. So I’m going to try here.
When I export a mixdown…to a WAVE file it sound muffled. Like someone has a blanket over the speaker the song is being played through. Except my PC speakers, Cubase itself and most headphones/Earbuds. I listen to music on Beats Sports Pro headphones when I am on the go. Everything else gets the blanket treatment for some reason.
Everyone under the sun has told me I don’t know to mix properly. So I thought I would try and experiment. I exported one guitar track twice. One with Reverb, EQ and some slight compression. The other one was dry. Nothing added to enhance the sound. They BOTH sounded like they were under a blanket. So it can’t be a mixing issue since there would be nothing to compete with the frequencies of the guitar, No stacking…or masking.
I’ll post specs below, but Is it a set up in Cubase I have wrong? Maybe a windows setting? Something to with the sound card?
Cubase Project settings:
Sample Rate 48.000
Bit Depth 32 Bit Float
Wave File
Mixdown Settings:
Sample Rate 48000
Bit Depth 32 Bit Float
Wave File
Export As Interleaved
Effects Inserts and Strip (still working in MIDI…no sends have been created yet)
Apple air pods sound great! Beats headphones sound great. Even the wired apple earbuds sound great. Pkayback through Cubase or Windows Media player sound great too. It’s anything outside of these listening devices
No. I do a lot of writing and recording on headphones. Over the ear. I’m in a. Apartment. So nothing is treated in my room. But, once I have everything like I want it the headphones come off and I mix. I understand “my room is lying to me” sine there is no treatment. But one acoustic guitar track cannot sound that bad even without a property treated room.
Hi
You could try to create a new project with one song you know well. one stereo audio file.
Just export - mixdown this song without processing it.
You can even import the mixdown back to the project and invert the phase to do a null test.
It’s a good way to verify if your system is adding something.
Hi, I am nor sure what you are telling us, so I ask to make sure I dont get you wrong:
You are listenig to your project (not the export) via Headphones via the PC-Headphone connector or the Scarlett?
You are listeing to the exported WAVE-File via…? What signal path do you use that does NOT sound “blaketted” and what signal path do you use when it does?
I compose/record VST normally with headphones plugged into my Scarlett. Then I do a mix through my monitors also hooked up to my Scarlett.
I am usually listening to the exported wav file on my Beats Sports Headphones while I am driving over to play the music for the person who has hired me to compose music for their project.
Once there, playback on their soundbar with sub, Bose speaker or any other Bluetooth speaker sounds like a blanket has been wrapped around the speaker.
I don’t understand the “signal path” question.
With signal path I meant: What is the playback device when you listen and where are the phones/speakers connected to. I understand now what you are doing while mixing. In your car, while driving over… what is your listening-setup (I understand that everything sounds correct in this setup?). And I understand that then, when listening to the result at the customer’s it sounds “blanketted” - but: What is the device used for playback there and how are the soundbar, sub, Bose, etc. then connected to the playback device?
I don’t believe there is anything technically gone wrong. I believe what you are witnessing is that different speakers and headphones sound different.
Here’s what I would do in your shoes. Pick a favorite song, one you have listened to a lot and are familiar with. Listen to this song in the environment where things sound as they should (with your beats headphones or what ever you listen through when your songs sound “right”).
Listen carefully and analytical and take notes. Listen to the high frequencies, the mid range and low end. Now do the same with one of your own tracks you are having problems with.
Next, take these same songs and repeat the process on the equipment that sounds muffled.
What differences can you detect when comparing these two listening environments?
That really is a horrible example. The track you attached is significantly quieter than the YouTube video. It’s hard to hear it, much less hear a difference.
