To bounce fast, or REAL TIME!?

Probably a silly question, but...

Will I have more dependable results if I choose to bounce my projects in real-time? Is there a quality gain from being so patient? Something feels good about de-selecting "Fast Bounce", and letting Sonar takes its pretty little time with the mixdown, but I have no idea if it's to any real benefit.

I found out recently that an audio CD burned at slower speeds is actually better- more dependable, with fewer errors. I wonder if the same holds true with "Fast Bounce" vs. Real time.

Thanks!

-Alex

short answer: both bounces will yield the same quality

only people witth too much time on their hands (and protools users) do realtime bouncing.
i cant imagine the patience required.

BlixYZ


only people witth too much time on their hands (and protools users) do realtime bouncing.
i cant imagine the patience required.

Ha, that's one way to look at it.
 
When I do a "mixdown" in the project, I always do real-time because often I have found myself wanting to change something due to the mindset of "this is a mixdown" as opposed to a "bounce."
 
I certainly don't have too much time on my hands, so I find your statement a bit self-serving;  but to each his own ;)
 
 

great help. Thanks all!

i always real time bounce..you say its faster to not???untill youve done 4 mixes of the same song untill x1 decides to put ALL your instruments in the mix..this is my only gripe with x1 right now..my fast bounces are too unpredictalbe

BlixYZ


ba midi,

just kidding, of course.  but if you are realtime bouncing and changing your mind, then you keep repeating the process, no?

i just know that sometimes after ive spent six hours mixing songs for a client, i have NO INTEREST in hearing them again.  in some cases this would get me another hour of pay as we slowly bounce each song, but i prefer to be very time efficient in every aspect so long as quality is not sacrificed. 

why do i suddenly feel like the only person who doesnt have any plugins that cant fast bounce?  is it really that common?  i have plenty of 3rd parties....


atience required.

Well, see, I'm both for and against fast bouncing.  For it in general.  Against it when a plugin doesn't play well with it.

Unlike you, after a long mixing session and being tired, I would want to listen again even more to double check myself - especially if it's for a client.

But more important, perhaps, is the fact that some 3rd party plugins just don't bounce well in fast bounce mode.   Not many, though.    So I'd rather err to the side of caution.   The only way to know is to do a playback anyway - but whatever works is what matters.

We each have our own work philosophy.

ShermanSmelville


I thought the only reason to real-time bounce was to earn more money if you are being paid by the hour.

By the way chuckebaby, I can't get the metronome going but thanks anyways for the advice. I can't be bothered bumping that thread again!

if you want me to help you unblock your profile and i will pm you.i dont want to highjack this thread

I'm totally with you rbowser!

Don't know about x1 - but in 8.53, tracks with side-chained fx have to be bounced real time.

ba_midi


When I do a "mixdown" in the project, I always do real-time because often I have found myself wanting to change something due to the mindset of "this is a mixdown" as opposed to a "bounce."

It is a bit like listening to your mix for the first time with someone else in the room. You notice different things...

UnderTow

Here are the arguments in favor of Fast Bounce as I see them:

1. There is no quality difference between fast and real-time bounce unless a plug has problems.

2. If a plug has problems, it will be generally be quite obvious - not so subtle you would miss it on playback.

3. Disk-streaming VSTis are the most likely to have trouble; the vast majority of synths and FX do fine.

4. Real-time bounce can actually be more prone to problems if your buffer is small, because SONAR is having to manage real-time audio streaming as it is rendering audio and writing the file. Fast bounce removes this burden, allowing SONAR to perform DSP and mixing more efficiently without the constraints imposed by having to keep your audio interface satisfied.

5. SONAR has a longstanding bug that MIDI automation is not processed during a real-time bounce. If you want to real-time bounce the final mix, you must first freeze or fast bounce any tracks that use MIDI automation. I haven't checked, but I'm betting this issue persists in X1a, since not many carryover bugs from 8.5.3 have been fixed.

You should bounce at realtime for final bounce down, and fast bounce when you just want to hear your mix for evaluation purposes.

A1MixMan


You should bounce at realtime for final bounce down, and fast bounce when you just want to hear your mix for evaluation purposes.

This is not correct as has already been indicated. Unless there is some obvious issue with fast-bounce due to a particular plugin, the sound quality will be exactly identical to real-time bounce.

UnderTow

i am really amazed by this thread.   its making me think.
in over ten years i have never once done a realtime bounce.

am i missing out on something????

i had to think back-  there were a few times when something didnt bounce correctly.  in every case, trying it again or freezing a synth fixed the issue.

when i fast bounce a track, i am done mixing it for the time being.  i have done my finals listen thru.    at least thats been my practice since pro audio 8.

a friend and sonar user recently built a protools system at home and was dismayed to find that there was no fast bounce feature.  this has annoyed him.

i just never would have guessed that so many prefer live bounce.  it has caused me to think.  and this can be dangerous.