why do songs i make in CUBASE

even after mastering (normalization, brickwall L3, etc)

can't be just a headroom thing, can it?

It might be normalizing to an invisible level. Meaning, they don't tell you what it is, a la Logic, which I'm quite sure automatically normalizes to -3dB.

Could also be a file copying/sampling thing, but I'm not sure what your settings are, so it's hard to say.

You mean when you render to WAV and play the WAV outside the DAW?

  we_kill_soapscum said:

even after mastering (normalization, brickwall L3, etc)

 

can't be just a headroom thing, can it?

i haven't noticed a difference but i've barely used live, primarily use cubase. I've heard the software code programmed in each make of software specifically in its summing bus algorithms can effect the way a mixdown sounds. not sure if this is bullshit or not but it would make some sense, but i think if abelton sounds worse to you there is probably some asshole out there who thinks cubase sounds like shit compared to Reason.

I have had similar frustrations. Live (I use version 5, btw) mixdowns sound unquestionably lacking compared to Cubase and PT mixdowns imho.

Same here, I almost always have to do something to ableton outputs to make them the proper level. However if I record ableton output in cubase/goldwave/etc when Im recording a live set its the proper levels. Just a shot in the dark but maybe ableton has some kind of preamp booster when your using the software since its designed for performing, and that preamp isn't there when you render to wav.

I've very recently (as in 2 minutes ago) realised that clicking normalize when rendering stuff in ableton fucks the mix up and makes it a million times quieter, i was wondering why everyone elses stuff in ylc is way louder and fuller sounding than my stuff! Turning normalize off instantly solved this - what the fuck? Whats it supposed to do anyhow?

I, too, have this problem.

lately my production partnrr has been putting the master of FL Studio at max (which is i assume +6db according to FL) when doing rewire bussing stuff, and it sounds surprisingly non-clippy.

my guess is maybe ableton has a db of headroom more than cubase..? or maybe it does its equations more on the warm side...?

not sure about the normalizing stuff, i guess ableton just errs on teh side of safety when normalising. i honestly rarely normalize, i prefer to limit and bump volume