Compyfox

There is no volume standard, except the K-System, Shael. Then again... for good mastering Cool Edit is not the best tool. Unfortunately there's nothing really free out there for mastering.

How often does this same question come up over and over anyway?

Pianos? Hi Q? Search the SF thread, there's a post from me with a torrent link there. Else: GIGA/AKAI samples. SF2 is pretty much dead also in terms of purchasing.

THen why didn't you get the Behringer B1 USB thing (or was it Samson?). Small Membran mic, USB device, all below 80 bucks or so. Good sound for small price? I even recommended that one to Aurora for VGDJ (which she doesn't do anymore).

Aight look. I don't need this and I won't go into this. I speak from experience. The last half year I worked with vocals I heard the cream of the crap. And if I say "iMic or Laptop mic" I know what I'm talking about. You can't simply use them for recording not only because the membran is way too small to catch all frequencies, but also because of the noise they catch. Especially laptop mics. I can filter out a lot with specific tools, but also for the sake of the sound. And if there's no "specific frequency section" (for example bass, or airy treble), then I can't do magic to get them back again. I can "brush" it up a bit, but it will never sound as good as if you spend some money on a decent microphone. The excuse "I'm ona budget" doesn't count! Behringer, AKG, Samson, Marshall, T-Bone... 5 brands who offer awesome microphones for (hold yer horses) 50-99bucks. Better than your 3USD Radioshack microphone. And you have to admit... the better the mic, the better the recording, the more fun you have with your captured sound, the less you have to afteredit. This was no stab at YOU, it's a fact. Live with it or leave it be. If you go off on that, music is definitly no hobby for you (there - now I said it). I started with Low Budget stuff too, I'm always on a budget and still I have a homestudio setup worth a couple of thousand bucks. SGX: Looks like the laptop HDD and/or the PSU caused a lot of noise that the internal audio device/recording card captured. My laptop does the same as long as it's hardwired to a PSU, but on battery the noise is nearly gone. And yeah, you're right. Macintosh iBooks are a joke for not having proper inputs.

Even guys do have feelings...

Whoever sends me vocals recorded with iMic or a built in mic from a Macintosh or an other Laptop again, will die a painful death (and you can mix your stuff for yourself!). *cough* er... just had to express how much I like "built in" microphones and 10$ mics from Radioshack or something like that.

If you're annoyed by that, the Smartelectronix Team brought out an other tool sooner than "SuperTrigger" (unless it is the same). Every start (play) of the sequencer has completely different settings. It's no fun controlling it. Alternatives: - dfx skidder - dblue (firm) - Devine Machine (firm) Here you can trigger whatever the hell you want and you have total control.

Normalize only raises volume peaks, compression and limiting can raise the loudness however (and "compress" the dynamics a bit again)... Two very different things.

Just hook me up when, and I snag that stuff ASAP. Else send me a PM and I hook you up so you can upload it to my server.

...VGF is on. *unlike my PC and that stupid HDD headcrash!*

I thought you did this with FL4 or so... woha... you never cease to amaze me. Maybe I'll take a listen if Ihave access to Reason again. v2.5 or already saved as v3, Scott?

In hopes that the WMRE server is working this week... VG FREQUENCY Show #76 - SATURDAY, 10pm EST *If the server is down, blame WMRE* Here's a small overview of the most salient timezones for you. Small World-Timetable Los Angeles (CA, USA): 7:00pm Calgary (Canada): 8:00pm Chicago (Illinois): 9:00pm Atlanta (GA, USA): 10:00pm Rio de Janero (Brazil): 1:00am (*, Sunday) Reykjavik (Iceland): 3:00am (Sunday) London (England): 3:00am (Sunday) Paris (France): 4:00am (Sunday) Oslo (Norway): 4:00am (Sunday) Germany: 4:00am (Sunday) Kapstadt (South Aftrica): 5:00am (Sunday) Helsinki (Finland): 5:00am (Sunday) Moscow (Russia): 6:00am (Sunday) Hong Kong (China): 11:00am (Sunday) Tokyo (Japan): 12:00pm (Sunday, noon) Sydney (Australia): 2:00pm (*, Sunday) (*) currently observing daylight saving time (DST) Have fun while listening to VGF#76.

You also miss something important (duh I`m posting again): The lower the volume (loudness), the better the VBR encoding, the better the "sound" of the mp3. The higher the volume, the more squashed the sound (dynamics), the less it is possible for the encoder to convert it in a "transparent way". Therefore the encoding is also in direct relation to the music/production. And if you laugh about that again (like with the post about the K-System and AC3), then you should start getting some background information before you "advise" us to change something. "Listening tests" don't really solid-out what you're trying to do here. But that's finally it from my side. *I was right from the start that this doesn't lead to anything*

This is the reason why I said that this thread leads to nothing. You laughed about facts and standards, confirmed and set, by the AES (Audio Engineering Society) not to mention extensive tests. For me this discussion is over, sorry.

God that discussion again... what was the page again from that... audiophile mp3 group? You can't compare that and I tell you exactly why: AC3 has a RMS limit, and that is -12dB plus 4dB for mezzoforte passages and explosions. That gives you a maximum of -8dB. Or better known as K-12 from the K-System invented by Bob Katz from Digital Domain. That's why it's perfect for DVD audio - you have access full dynamics. MP3 however can go as high as -4dB. But it can't take anymore than -6dB without digital clipping - we proved that in another thread by SGX a couple of months ago. In terms of dynamics totally different. Those tests were made by "selfproclaimed audiophiles", like Darke said - without proper metering tools. This topic came up at least 4-5 times and resulted in a huge flamewar where even the words fell "STFU you know jack shit about that topic" and the insults even continued on that board where this listening test is from. Darke is right. It's up to the remixers to decide which format and encoder they use. It's a matter of preferences and opinions. It's not about gold cables (who barely "raise" the soundquality - only by 1%) or 2000bucks expensive dolby THX amps if you have a crappy room setup or can't even "hear" all frequencies anyway (which is only natural as human). You can't force somebody to do it as "you" want it. Thathappened for the "Chrono Symphonic" project for example... You miss just one tag and the people freak out. You don't offer a FLAC version and the people freak out. What's next... another discussion that OGG is supperior than MP3 in terms of sound? That's nitpicking and in my opinion this thread doesn't really lead to anything rather than insulting and preset minds/opinions on the issue. Trust me... that won't take long anymore. Anyway... I stick to LAME3.96 (VBR) for general material and own encodings, Nero AAC (mp4) for "online presentations" (if needed) and AC3 as standard for Dolby Digital productions (DVD). That's totally fine for me... and I'm an audio engineer.

So what? Standard settings for LAME from 128kbit to 192kbit are totally fine. And most ears can't hear that out anyway (especially higher than 192kbit). Also a track is only as good as it is produced. Encoding artifacts... can you really hear them especially on a portable device? Most of the songs from the last 2 years - either on OCR or VGMix - are perfectly fine. As long as it sounds good. And nowadays you can't do anything wrong anymore. BTW: AC3 (stereo) encoding is also 192kbit, non VBR (in 5.1 it's 448kbit). And AC3 is 48kHz 24bit - does that mean that it sounds bad too because it's CBR? We`re talking about more "information" and frequencies here.

You can trust me... it only "sounds" half as loud due to the drums but the meters don't lie. You don't need to push it any further - it's useless. What you need to do is balancing out the instruments. And I guess all others can only tell you the same as I did. If the compressor kills your dynamics, then use it for "sound enhancing" only... making the sound a bit more even, the drums a tad louder: short said "subtile mixing". And the limiter should be used only to limit the "peaks" in this case. You already pushed the track to it's limits. The reason why I'm writing this is declared in each of the following articles (I still can't find the original loudness-race.net backup): Current Trends in the Recording Format Area Over the Limit How loud is it?! Like I said... loud is not always better. Especially if you want to write dynamic music. Cause you do the exact "other" thing that you intend to do.

Er... you gotta be kidding me... I just checked it with 3 different RMS (loudness) and a PMM (peak meter) meters. Your track has a loudness of -7dB!!! You know what that means? Take a chart CD compilation and put it into your CD player - it's as loud as your track (most of them from the last 3-4 years have an RMS level of -8dB to -6dB RMS - -6dB RMS is the absolute maximum without noticable distortion). So it's definitly no loudness issue or an issue of Garage band. You have other issues: - mixing (balance in mixing, volume balance of the individual instruments in general) - EQ/Compression - and your track clips (digital spikes that go over 0dB peak) Try to dig out a couple of threads here at OCR regarding clipping (search for "solution to clipping") and balance out your track first. I won't go indepth here cause I'd usually take money from that - but one hint... synths lower, beat louder. This gives you a totally different impression. In terms of "volume" or in this case "loudness". If you like it that "loud", use at least a limiter at -0.3dB to prevent the clipping. Then again... you squash the life/dynamic out of your mix. "Loud" is not always better. This is all I can give you on the way.

It's not about samples, it's about a VSTi - and like Darke and I said in an earlier thread of yours... we have stickies for that and they're also frequently read. This is just a lame excuse! However you got your answer now...

I don't use Reason. It can do a bitmore... wavprocessing, compression, timestretching and exporting MIDI for samplers to have the "right" groove. ReFlex and Stylus RMX. The later if you already have REX files.

Sorry but you always have no idea...that's why you got a warning from DarkeSword last time. And yeah... the only "standalone" tool I know too is indeed ReCycle. On the other hand, you only said "Dr. Rex" in your first post. Now I'm not a Reason user, how should I know that you only have "Reason"? Thinking, researching, then asking... I can't say that enough.

Er... You didn't ask in the VSTi thread again, did you? Or did you look at KVR? That's the second time now that you ignore stickyfied threads and do researches on your own!!!

Okay so OCR was down last Saturday, so was the WMRE RealMedia Server. Let me bumb this thing anyway. And Larry... hook me up again as soon as you have some new EPs uploaded. [/log off]

Sorry... I'm on to Wusikstation already and I want a new hardware synth (mbSID) anyway. Time to stock up on 80ies/90ies synthy sound.