i think i know where the problem lies. (well, not really a problem)
fruity loops uses a more efficient "sound-engine" (more exactly: a faster interpolation algorithm) during realtime playback. the rendering is usually done with better interpolation filters. interpolation is needed as soon at least one sound is pitched. you can set that filter somewhere in the render options, look out for terms like "linear", "quadratic", "128 point sinc", and similar.
that explains why a track rendered in fl will sound, look and peak slightly differently than the "low quality" realtime version.
a low quality interpolation creates far more fuzz and digital dirt than a high-quality interpolation (like huge sinc-filters). that's why some may think that the dirty version sounds better, but from a technical point of view - it isn't. it has sonically the same effect as creative sample-rate reduction: alot non-harmonic content is created, the high end sounds harsher, everything is more "aggressive". but there are drawbacks as well: the low end isn't really deep anymore, the mids loose alot transparency, and the high-end sounds grainy.
that's the reason why you may think the realtime version is "louder" than the rendered version. but - and here's the important point - the better interpolated version (the rendered file) will sound much cleaner, more transparent, everything will sound clearer. the "loudness" you are missing in the rendered version is mostly "bad" distortion you simply can't repair later.
that's a good reason to stay away from that tool IMO. simply because the signal you hear during production will come out differently after rendering. impossible to make accurate decisions during the production, i call that "deception by design". however, this doesn't happen when using vsti samplers. it happens only during fl's internal pitching process.
anyway, try to use the same interpolation filter during realtime-playback and rendering (when possible) to avoid any surprises.
illapino said:
whoever's talking about "DITHERING" taking something away from a rendered song, please elaborate. Lots of these export features don't make sense to me being the MUSICIAN (not an ENGINEER), so please tell me what Dithering means and what it does since most DAW manuals (like FL) don't completely explain the science behind most of their functions, as if they're expecting everyone to have such knowledge prior to ...
here's the best dithering explanation for non-technical people. i think it will help:
"…one of the earliest applications of dither came in World War II. Airplane bombers used mechanical computers to perform navigation and bomb trajectory calculations. Curiously, these computers (boxes filled with hundreds of gears and cogs) performed more accurately when flying on board the aircraft, and less well on ground. Engineers realized that the vibration from the aircraft reduced the error from sticky moving parts. Instead of moving in short jerks, they moved more continuously. Small vibrating motors were built into the computers, and their vibration was called 'dither' from the Middle English verb 'didderen,' meaning 'to tremble.' Today, when you tap a mechanical meter to increase its accuracy, you are applying dither, and modern dictionaries define 'dither' as 'a highly nervous, confused, or agitated state.' In minute quantities, dither successfully makes a digitization system a little more analog in the good sense of the word. –
Ken Pohlmann, Principles of Digital Audio
, 4th edition, page 46"
and now, my technical explanation:
dither decreases the SNR slightly.
without dither, quantization noise during truncation (bit-depth reduction, for example from 24bit to 16bit) will easily turn systematic, and the ear is very sensitive to that "pattern". For example, for a sine wave test signal, the quantization error will concentrate mostly in a small number of spectral lines.
now we add dithering, and the quantization noise turns more into random white noise.
If you would like to hear the difference, record a quiet note that fades away into the noise floor (piano or guitar) with and without dither.
hope this helps, too.
