beats not sounding loud enough in fl studio???

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Lowdownndirty

New member
so i make sampled hip hop beats in Fl studio. After i use maximus on the master track nothing is clipping, and the master track is exactly at 0 Db. When i export and upload my beats on soundcloud, it sounds so much softer compared to the other tracks i listen to on there, and i don't get it. I've been messing with the limiter on the master track, but don't really get how that can make it louder. should i mix and master in another DAW?
any help would be appreciated!
 
all volume sliders so that the master track is at about -4, then used maximus to compress and raised the post gain to 0db on the master track.
 
Don't know much about those except sidechain and some dynamic range reducing, but I wouldn't suggest putting those on anything unless you know exactly what you want.
Raising the individual levels alittle and using some light equalizing usually works wonders but if you insist on using those, might want to raise the post gain or master fader.
Limiters are pretty good for preventing surprise attacks in volume but these are usually for preventing anything from going above a certain volume level in the first place.

It also depends on the sounds you use too. Bitcrushed signals clip faster than 16/24/32bitdepth sounds do.
 
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What are do the individual channels on your mix project look like? And how's the volume differ from your mix to your master tracks? Is it softer on your master? What are you using on your master track to limit it? A compression issue within Maximus could be the issue because it sounds to me you're confusing the purpose of a limiter. It does make the track louder but it's not necessarily from a db standpoint. The range from using a limiter to without should only be a couple db difference. A mix track usually tops out at -6 db to give room for the engineer to mix vocals. Once the vocals are mixed the db will raise and a limiter shaves off the tips of peaks from your wav or mp3 you've bounced or rendered from the mix track, you drop the cell to the peaks and the gain brings it back to the initial volume of -2 - 0 db. Compression can give you a quiet or muddy sound if your ratio/attack/release/thresholds are off, EQing could be an issue, if you aren't cutting the right frequencies, like there could be a number of issues that are giving you a muddy quiet sound.
 
Lowdownndirty said:
should i mix and master in another DAW?
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This thread has potential to start another DAW war. Let's not head towards that direction, please.

I think that you may be comparing your DIY mastering to some pro mastering out there. They have equipment you don't, and probably more experience than you as well.

You should use reference tracks, compare them to yours while you're mixing/mastering. The desired loudness will come with practice.
 
I used to have the same problem, make sure you mix with your master (maximus and fruity limiter) already set on the master track in your mixer. Only move volumes in your mixer don't mess with no other volume knobs. Start your mixing from having every instrument without sound and increase each instrument to your desired volume. Once you export your files make sure you listen to them before posting them on soundcloud, if the problem still happens, you either need to increase your volume on the instruments or get a better master on your track. Search on youtube for mastering in Fl studio, if you need further help.
 
thanks for the replies everyone, turns out it was the FL output volume knob. i didn't know that had anything to do with the exporting volume, but after resetting that it sounds alot better.
 
Lowdownndirty said:
thanks for the replies everyone, turns out it was the FL output volume knob. i didn't know that had anything to do with the exporting volume, but after resetting that it sounds alot better.
Click to expand...

I never thought about using the output knob to increase loudness. Is it the one that usually sits by the picth knob by the Timer?
 
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