Nuendo 14 - Weird Mastering Behavior - Hope Someone Can Help Demystify This Issue

[gab.olteanu]

Hello,

When I do mastering with Nuendo 14. I have a certain signal path that I use (basically a bunch of plugins - see screenshot).

This is the strange part: I master around -9 LUFS (quite acceptable with a rather healthy minimal compression / limiting). When I play my track inside Nuendo everything sounds good. The Project is set to 16bit at 44.1Khz. But when I export the track (with the same settings) the track sound more compressed than inside Nuendo. It doesn’t translate what I had in my project.

And here’s the catch, when I add volume control right at the end of my signal path, and lower everything by -5db, and then export. I don’t have the compressed sound. but it is lower in volume, but the issue disappears. Very annoying and strange behavior. I cannot pinpoint what’s happening here.

Does Nuendo have a built-in limiter or something like that?

I did two test track to show the behavior:

1. Test (no volume adjusted - This is track that has the issue)
2. Test (with -5db added - This sounds good with lower volume)

Also I did the following test, I bypassed all the plugins, and exported directly. There’s no issue there. No compression, granted there is nothing on the master bus.

So this seems to a plugin issue, but I don’t get why if I lower the only at the end (i.e. after all the plugins), does it solve the issue. I don’t get it.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Gabriel

[ManChicken]

It might also be instructive to see a screenshot of your Export Audio Mixdown window (and your mentioned plugin screenshot didn’t come through)

[gab.olteanu]

[gab.olteanu]

I wish I could upload tracks or links, but apparently the Nuendo forum doesn’t allow me to do so

[gab.olteanu]

Again, it is very strange that this issue doesn’t occur after I add a -5db reduction in volume, which technically should not affect the signal inside plugins that come before.

[gab.olteanu]

I wonder if the fact the fader (without the volume reduction is doing some sort of weird behaviors).

When, I add the volume inserts, the fader naturally goes to about 5-6db on the meter.

I can’t figured it out, I tried several limiters + the volume inserts.

Without the inserts, you hear a pronounced limiting effect taking place, and then if I add the volume insert right after, the compression / limiting is not there anymore.

FYI: I play all the track inside Windows Media Player

[gab.olteanu]

I found the culprit. Apparently it is windows Media player. When I use VLC Player. The track doesn’t get compress on the louder parts.