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Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:37 pm
by outteh
There have been a lot of posts lately on problems being encountered when mixing down and rendering audio. This might be a good reference post for tips on achieving the best results. There have been numerous discussions on bit depth, frequency, audio file format, etc. but I think folks would be best served on what seems to work best in Mixcraft! For me, recording at 44100, 24 bit, and rendering to Wav has always worked very well. Also, knowing that many of our effects and plugins have limitations in their ability to render results above this range, this setup seems to offer the least problems. Using the supplied ASIO driver of your specific audio interface also seems to keep down any audio problems. Suggest you folks post your experience and information that provides you the best results. Not looking for experimentation here, but actual practices that produce satisfactory results with minimal problems. Might help our Mixcraft users enjoy the best out of Mixcraft without constantly fighting problems and setup complications.

My setup is a laptop, I7 quad core, 16 GB ram, Win 64 pro, M-Audio C600 audio interface using the latest ASIO driver for this device, M-Audio 49 key USB midi keyboard.

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:18 pm
by Acoustica Greg
Hi,

What happens in some cases is that a plugin used in the mix down doesn't react well to changing sample rates upon mix down. In those cases, it's best to mix down to a wav file with a sample rate that matches your sound device preference settings.

People who are using a sample rate of 44100 Hz might never run into this problem, unless they change sample rates when they mix down.

Greg

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:51 pm
by outteh
Super! Best practice # 1:

Mixdown to a Wav file using a sample rate that matches the sample rate of your sound device preferences!

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:45 pm
by Mark Bliss
I saw this old thread pop back up today due to a spammer and thought "what irony and timing"! 8)

Its a useful tip and should have been a good conversation starter that just never took off I guess. The problems caused still pop up with regularity any way.

I'll add:
If you are having frequent problems, submitting a log file via the support tab can help narrow in on the cause.
For me it has most often been related to a few specific plug ins. Some from the included bundle, some not. I had some trouble for a while and chose to stick to 32 bit plugs in 32 bit MX for quite some time. Many of the problems kept consistently narrowing in on some old, free and inexpensive plugs I was using to be honest.
When some desired tools required 64 bit I began to migrate. But found I was having some intermittent new problems at I suspected were from bridging 32 bit plug ins. So I chose to move to all 64, which while not perfect, has reduced previous problems to a minimum.
Still, most issues I have experienced seem to be plug in related in some way. Some is surely plug in code, and there is likely room for some improvement in MX's handling of plug in code variations.
All in all, I'd say the best improvement for me came from migrating away from free/inexpensive/bundled plugs published like.... Ten plus years ago?

Note, I am not saying there arent good free/inexpensive plugs, I use some! But at the same time, some of this (especially older) stuff has consistently been at the core of problems I have had.
Right now, things run pretty smoothly for me. Knock on wood!

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:29 pm
by jlouvar
FWIW: The only problem I had was a long time ago with the early version of Melodyne Essential... Since Celemony fixed the problem, MX8P has been running rock solid for me. Note: But I don't use very many plugins and etc either.

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:51 pm
by outteh
Wow! 2014 and resurfacing now! :lol: Most of the latest issues have been cables, bad drivers, changes to the operating system (win 10), and failure to read the instruction manual. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to fix my own issues when they arise but that could be due to a strong IT background. Keep on posting and we will help! :D

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:06 pm
by jlouvar
Yeah this is an old thread. Mark said...
I saw this old thread pop back up today due to a spammer and thought "what irony and timing"!
BTW: This tip belongs here: https://forums.acoustica.com/bbs/viewto ... =4&t=24566

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 5:30 pm
by Mark Bliss
OK, to clarify- my comments were based on a general summary of experience since MX 4.5

In addition, I have had some experience with other DAW's along the way that posed similar issues AND I have had some problems with big name, expensive plug ins from well regarded developers, so its not all cut and dry.

Just describing a general trend in my experience....

@Tom- W10 gave me a fit at first for many reasons. But my W7 system was buggy as hell and I never got to the point where I felt like I could depend on it so it kind of forced my hand....
Now I've settled in and made friends with W10.
To a point.... 8)

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2019 6:42 pm
by Daniel Johnson
Using 44100 at 24 bits, recording and mixing down to WAV. No issues. No loss in audio quality. If you drop your mixed down WAV into your master you can do A - B comparisons.

Re: Best methods for quality audio on recording and mixdown

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:17 pm
by Bret Seckinger
I use iZotope. It has a killer feature that most people don't know about.

You basically import a track that sounds like a great mix to you and it has a 'matching' feature.

Which shows you the frequency of your original track (The one you want to sound like) and you simply tweak around.

I LOVE mixing using iZotope. I took one of my favorite rap songs and now I use it as a template.

Done!