Your problem sounds like one I've had to overcome. I've used M-audio Fast Track Ultra and M-audio ProFire 2626... I could work for days getting everything sounding the way I like... export.... and choke on what I'm listening to. Didn't matter if it was Sonar, ProTools or Ableton, it was the same problem. When you are in console view, on the extreme right is a set of faders for your output. Make certain those are at UNITY (double click on the faders and they should set themselves at unity). My work around to get control of this is to work with all tracks going into a buss that I named SUBMASTER. At this stage, I will use a Concrete Limiter NOT to boost signal but to catch transients and keep them from peaking. Then for the MASTER bus, I do not do ANY FX or EQ processing whatsoever. I use that meter as my visual representation that nothing exceeds -.3 dB. By doing this, I've had better luck with my mixes. This mix will always seem weak and leave room for mastering. I have found that mastering (for me) works better after the mix in a separate file rather than trying to mix and master in the same file.

See if doing this helps any Spitfire. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4909348/AudioExport.wmv

Turn down your sound...my mic was a bit hot and made my voice sort of max out in a few spots. Sorry about that...was in the middle of another project and forgot to make "video adjustments". Try this and let me know if it works.

-Danny

sharke

John


Welcome to the forum Spitfire.

Look at your routing within Sonar. Create a master buss to route all your tracks and sub buses to. Bring down all the faders on all the track and start mixing from there. Watch the levels in the master buss you created. Don't let its level go above -3dB peak.

Avoid letting a track become too loud on its own. Whatever you do avoid allowing any track or buss to getting into clipping even though Sonar wont distort if you do. 

Use a limiter on the master buss to avoid peaks that go to clipping. But its best to use that for insurances only keep the overall mix below -3 dB. Many like to keep it at around -12 dB. 

You can have as many buses as you want for all sorts of reasons. One reasons is to group like instruments together. 

There is a lot to know about mixing but this very short post will get you started.

Sonar creates a master bus automatically and routes new tracks to it by default, does it not? It's not like Pro Tools where a newbie can go for a whole week without realizing you're supposed to create a master bus, and wonder why in the hell his audio is distorted 

That would be news to me. You may be using the normal template that may come with a master buss. 

Danny Danzi


See if doing this helps any Spitfire. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4909348/AudioExport.wmv

Turn down your sound...my mic was a bit hot and made my voice sort of max out in a few spots. Sorry about that...was in the middle of another project and forgot to make "video adjustments". Try this and let me know if it works.

-Danny

Hallo, Danny.  It's good of you to make a video for someone like this one.
 
I just wanted to say that that's exactly how I export.  After reading many posts on here, I thought I was the only one.
 
It's always worked for me.

Okay... tried Danny's method and pretty much everything else. Not having volume problems so much anyway... but I simply can't get an export/mixdown to sound true outside of SONAR. Maybe it's my playback? I have an HP Envy m4 running Windows 8 with Beats Audio and I'm starting to think that it's on that end that's the problem. Is there another program I could playback my mixdowns on besides Windows Media Player / iTunes? I heard those can be problematic for mixdowns for whatever reason.

It may be a player config issue in which case you might look at http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html on the other hand it could be windows sound "enhancements" such as added EQ or other effects.

Danny Danzi


See if doing this helps any Spitfire. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4909348/AudioExport.wmv

Turn down your sound...my mic was a bit hot and made my voice sort of max out in a few spots. Sorry about that...was in the middle of another project and forgot to make "video adjustments". Try this and let me know if it works.

-Danny

great vid danny,as always brotha,
 
im going to give this a shot and see how much it varys from what im doing,
i do almost the samething as you w/the exception,i dont highlighting everything and
in my preset i choose "what you hear"
 
im going to give your a way a shot and see if it makes much of a difference.
because i may yeild better results your way,or its possible there is 2 ways to skin a cat if you know what i mean.
 
as always bro,im always all ears when it comes to anything you have to say,cant argue with your finished results,there magic.
 
peace and thanks for sharing this with all of us and not just spitfire.
 
peace,
 
Charlie

I think it might be the latter I'm dealing with, unfortunately :( Question is, first off, how do I get rid of it, and second, since I'm running X2 IN windows, why doesn't it happen there? Additionally, playing it back through VLC showed some of the same problems that I've been dealing with the whole time. Mainly the fact that something that I pan 100% in either direction is suddenly panned only a bit - probably about 50% - in that direction the moment I bring the audio out of SONAR.

Could be an icon in the notification area or control panel > hardware and sound > sound then open the properties|enhancement tab for the default speakers

I don't seem to have an enhancement tab.