Experiencing low sound quality after exporting from DAW

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Destinationup

New member
For the past few months I have been trying to push myself to put music out there. But my music does not sound ready. A lot of times I get critique from some producers I know and only one of them has been telling me that the sound quality of the drums are very low.
It sounds amazing in the krk rokit 5s I don't have a sub and I really don't need one.

I did notice the drums were low as well when I put it on my mp3 player and played it in my car to work. I then checked my rokits and noticed one of the outputs was not set to flat (0db) and noticed a change when playing my beats again.

So for me to get the sound quality I was getting from my rokits false feedback on any system due to the increase in the level, would I need to go and change the levels around in the mixer in fl studio or sonar x3? Would that theoretically work?

here are some examples that I have been working on.

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?ur...true&show_reposts=false&visual=true"></iframe>


https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?ur...true&show_reposts=false&visual=true"></iframe>


the 3rd and third should be the same beats. The first one should be the original I was gonna go with but tried to remix after setting my monitors back to flat.


https://soundcloud.com/uniqueiam/uiam-here-we-go

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?ur...true&show_reposts=false&visual=true"></iframe>
 
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i think your friend means that the drums just don't sound that great. need better sounds and better production and mixing overall. this stuff takes years to get good if you have the skills to begin with.

The best sounding drums are in that last track you linked.
 
dvyce said:
i think your friend means that the drums just don't sound that great. need better sounds and better production and mixing overall. this stuff takes years to get good if you have the skills to begin with.

The best sounding drums are in that last track you linked.
Click to expand...

how does the mix sound in that one to you? I am trying to figure out why my mix sound different across different platforms.
 
Destinationup said:
how does the mix sound in that one to you? I am trying to figure out why my mix sound different across different platforms.
Click to expand...

your mix sounds different because you are mixing in a bad room... therefore your mix does not translate well. You are not "mixing" to an accurate representation of what your track is.



The mix sounds ok... it is hard to tell how the mix and production is with that type of music when there are no vocals. And mix means nothing unless you have good production.

If you are making the music as well as mixing it, a better question to ask would be "how does this track sound?" rather than "how does this mix sound?"...

If you are mixing somebody else's track, there is no way for anybody to evaluate your mix without hearing what it sounded like before you mixed it. A mix may sound bad, but it may actually be a good mix if you were mixing a really poorly recorded and poorly produced track from somebody... you may have pulled the most out of it that was possible but still ended up with a crappy sounding track (I'm talking in generalities, not about your track)... it could be a "good mix considering what you had to work with".

it is a tough question because it is difficult to critique a "mix" without evaluating the quality of the "production", too.

...do you know what I mean?

Remember: A bad mix of a good production is better any day over a good mix of a cheezeball production.
 
dvyce said:
your mix sounds different because you are mixing in a bad room... therefore your mix does not translate well. You are not "mixing" to an accurate representation of what your track is.



The mix sounds ok... it is hard to tell how the mix and production is with that type of music when there are no vocals. And mix means nothing unless you have good production.

If you are making the music as well as mixing it, a better question to ask would be "how does this track sound?" rather than "how does this mix sound?"...

If you are mixing somebody else's track, there is no way for anybody to evaluate your mix without hearing what it sounded like before you mixed it. A mix may sound bad, but it may actually be a good mix if you were mixing a really poorly recorded and poorly produced track from somebody... you may have pulled the most out of it that was possible but still ended up with a crappy sounding track (I'm talking in generalities, not about your track)... it could be a "good mix considering what you had to work with".

it is a tough question because it is difficult to critique a "mix" without evaluating the quality of the "production", too.

...do you know what I mean?

Remember: A bad mix of a good production is better any day over a good mix of a cheezeball production.
Click to expand...

I don't know a lot of people tend to have different definitions for the term mixing. I really do not see the difference between how the track sounds and how the mix sounds. Ok the mix is of the track. I made the tracks.

I have a small studio apartment and that is where I am making music from start to finish. I'm not sure what I can do about that.
 
Proper recording and mixing environments are critically important important when trying to achieve quality sound.

It doesn't matter what equipment you have, without a good listening environment, you'll never achieve professional sound. There is no way around this fact. This is why your favorite producers spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours getting their product out. If it were possible to get Grammy-level mixes from a bedroom, they would all be doing it.

When one is undertaking the endeavor of mixing, one's goal is to achieve the Universal Sound. That is a mix that translates well to all media used to reference your mix. This way, your final, properly mastered product will sound well anywhere and everywhere it will be played.

There are no shortcuts. You will not get a good mix after having just started. While it is possible to improve your technical skills with minimal equipment, it is not possible to improve the product without investment.

Your largest investment at this point in time, obviously, is learning the basics:

https://www.futureproducers.com/forums/production-techniques/getting-started/
 
RedBeerd said:
Proper recording and mixing environments are critically important important when trying to achieve quality sound.

It doesn't matter what equipment you have, without a good listening environment, you'll never achieve professional sound. There is no way around this fact. This is why your favorite producers spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours getting their product out. If it were possible to get Grammy-level mixes from a bedroom, they would all be doing it.

When one is undertaking the endeavor of mixing, one's goal is to achieve the Universal Sound. That is a mix that translates well to all media used to reference your mix. This way, your final, properly mastered product will sound well anywhere and everywhere it will be played.

There are no shortcuts. You will not get a good mix after having just started. While it is possible to improve your technical skills with minimal equipment, it is not possible to improve the product without investment.

Your largest investment at this point in time, obviously, is learning the basics:

https://www.futureproducers.com/forums/production-techniques/getting-started/
Click to expand...

You didn't really respond to a concern. I know it doesn't matter if I have millions of dollars worth of equipment. (I already understand that) You didn't contribute to this post you have just stated obvious things. You didn't express how I should go about reaching a flat response. You just posted a link that has dozens of forum threads that I guess you want me to read but may probably will not solve the issue at hand.

You didn't even think to add in what could possibly be the reason why I am getting different sounding mixes.
 
dvyce said:
i think your friend means that the drums just don't sound that great. need better sounds and better production and mixing overall. this stuff takes years to get good if you have the skills to begin with.

The best sounding drums are in that last track you linked.
Click to expand...

I am not 100% and I will be checking later but I'm pretty sure they all have the same drums.
 
Destinationup said:
I am not 100% and I will be checking later but I'm pretty sure they all have the same drums.
Click to expand...

Its been several hours since I've listened to the tracks, but from what I can recall, the first two tracks had a small sounding 808-ish snare and the last track had a big clappy snare.
 
Destinationup said:
I don't know a lot of people tend to have different definitions for the term mixing. I really do not see the difference between how the track sounds and how the mix sounds. Ok the mix is of the track. I made the tracks.
Click to expand...

i'll explain the difference:

Let's use the example of bad sounding drums... (This is just an example and not about your song)

Maybe you picked really cheesy outdated drums and the beat sucks, but they sound really crisp and clean and lay nicely in the track... But they are still cheesy drums that make your track sound amateurish.

THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A GOOD MIX WITH BAD PRODUCTION... or a GOOD MIX OF A BAD TRACK


or...

maybe be you used drums that have an amazing character and you programmed some awesome beats, but they don't pop as much as they should and are a little too quiet... But they sound super cool but just need to lay in the track a little better.

THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A BAD MIX WITH GOOD PRODUCTION... or a BAD MIX OF A GOOD SONG.



See the difference?

if the song/production is bad, it will always be bad regardless of how good the mix is.



Destinationup said:
I have a small studio apartment and that is where I am making music from start to finish. I'm not sure what I can do about that.
Click to expand...

do some simple acoustic treatment.

make sure your monitoring area is placed properly in your room and pointing in the proper direction.
 
How would I find out the proper way to place my monitors right now they are sitting in front of a window facing a way towards a bathroom door and my 2 closets. I have read that they should not be placed in the corners.
 
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