Trouble with hiss in Sonar X1

I'm using a Line 6 POD Studio UX2 to as my interface. I used it initially with the Ableton Live Lite recording software which came with it before deciding to upgrade to Sonar X1 because of all the extra features etc. But now when I record something, there is a very noticeable hiss that wasn't present when I used Ableton. The hiss is only in exported files (when I playback in SONAR through the POD, it sounds fine), I've been exporting as AIFF with pretty low settings to minimise file size (I tried using less compression before and ended up with a 5 minute song that was 250MB!). Has anyone else experienced this problem and, if so, is there some kind of solution?

No hiss with WAV... strange. Thanks for the help though! Do you know why there was hiss with AIFF?

Nope, it sounds fine in Sonar. But when I play the AIFF in iTunes, VLC or my iPod, there's very noticeable hiss. It seems to be coming from every track as the more tracks I record, the louder the hiss gets. Using WAV took it out, but the file is 55MB now which is still probably too big.

I think I know what's going on here. When you exported to AIFF, you inadvertently used an 8-bit word length, which adds a lot of noise.

When you export AIFF in SONAR, the default setting is 8 bits, so if you just click through the dialog that's what you'll get.

AIFF files should be about the same size as an equivalent (same word length) wave file, since the bulk of what's inside either of them is normal PCM data. AIFF just adds some metadata, so if anything the AIFF file should be slightly larger.

If smaller files is what you're after, encode your exported wave (or AIFF) to MP3 or WMA.

Hiss is removed and MP3 encoding makes the filesize more manageable. Kudos all round!

I have one more question if someone would be kind enough to help out; I'm trying to get a really loud section into the song, kinda like a really crappy version of the Phil Spector Wall Of Sound, but when I create my WAV file, there's a lot of crackling once it gets to the loud bit, almost like the speakers can't handle it. I've tried overdubbing the tracks and putting the sound down on each one to sustain the noise but with less volume (if you know what i mean :s) but it doesn't really help. Does anyone know how to make it loud but also clear?

Without hearing it, the best guess is that your mix may be too hot and you have clipped the loudest portion of the song. Look at the waveform and if it flattens out at 0, then your mix is too loud and clipping. Remix with lower levels.

As a general rule, loudness is not something that you want to achieve during mixing. That is normally handled during mastering. When mixing, you want to get a balanced mix that translates well on different systems, while leaving some headroom for the mastering process. In other words, don't shoot for a 0 dB reading on the master buss. With that said, you don't want your levels to be too low either. I usually do not let my master buss peak over -3, or -4 dB when mixing. The final master is limited to that it never peaks above -1 dB.

Never just lower the master buss fader to adjust the overall mix level. Change the track levels and adjust any processing you are doing to the track as needed. With all of the layering, you may need to add more compression and EQ to the tracks to get them to sound the way you want while getting a better balance on the levels.

After you get the mix right without going into the red, you can make it louder by slapping a decent limiter on the master buss and setting it so that it doesn't peak over -1. NEVER do this if you plan to have the song mastered later, but to go from a mix to MP3 without worrying about mastering, or clipping the final version, you either need a limiter, or a quieter MP3.

I hope that helps a little.

stwb


Thanks guys. A lot of my tracks did end up in the red, never thought it was a huge deal. Thanks for all the help.

The joys of digital clipping -  buttugly sound isn't it?  Now ya know.  Good replies on this thread.  Remember that loudness is relative.  We only think something's loud when it's in comparison with other portions of a track which aren't so loud.  When you get to a place that you really want to kick ass, but you have no head room, then you know you've driven everything else up to that place too hot.  Limiters/compressors are very handy tools, but also remember if over-used, you'll flat line your recording so EVERYTHING IS LOUD - and you'll have not met your goal to make one section louder than the rest.

Randy B.

Faux Mastering ?? Speak for yourself please, and leave me out of "most of us" !!

stwb


Thanks guys. A lot of my tracks did end up in the red, never thought it was a huge deal. Thanks for all the help.

Ending up in the red in SONARs level meters does not mean clipping, because the red/orange part starts at -6 dB or -12 dB IIRC (if that is what you mean). Clipping is indicated by the text appearing above the meter.

When I said faux mastering, I was making the general assumption that most of us (not ALL of us wilqen!) do not operate as mastering engineers with access to mastering grade monitoring systems, tuned rooms and a rack full of high end processors, and lack the skill & experience to be called a "masteing engineer". Faux as in fake.

Right. VC64 on the master bus.

First obvious question - have you set up a master bus?

DON'T confuse this with your soundcard outputs - you need to set up a master bus which every other track/bus you've created eventually feeds into.

This master bus (and ONLY this bus) then feeds your S/C.