Mixdown always loses stereo image - sounds squashed - Questions & Answers

Mixdown always loses stereo image - sounds squashed

asked Mar 5, 2017 in Studio One 3 by trojannate (120 points)

Hello,
I'm frequently running into the same problem with mix downs. I have a mix that sounds terrific in studio one with some panning effects on synths and wide panned vocals and instruments. When I export the mix down (with any of the available bit settings and kHz settings) the resulting mix sounds like the stereo field is squashed. I don't hear a panning synth any more, it just sits in the middle. Only my hardest panned vocals sound wide. I'm listening to it on my same mixing headphones and speakers though iTunes. Everything sounds cramped. I brought the track back into Studio One to see if it was iTunes, but it sounds just as bad in Studio One when I solo the mixed track and then compare it to my mix. I'm preparing to send this off for mastering so really looking for some help. I'm using a Mac with OS X El Capitan and a Universal Audio Apollo Twin as the interface. Sincere Thanks! Nathan

1 Answer

answered Mar 6, 2017 by gadget69 (31,150 points)

Hi.

I'm not sure I can help but how are you getting the audio out from the DAW to the storage device? Is the drive the same as the root drive? Does the drive meet specifications with the DAW? It has been suggested that the drive the program is on and the destination drive be different, and 7200 rpm's is suggested. I have had success with lower track count (and lower processing demand) on lower RPM drives but the casualty might be quality...It kind of sounds like you have phase issues somewhere...If your using an external drive to record/mixdown to have you tried a different cable? Be it firewire, USB, and have you tried shorter higher quality cables? Final thought, make sure all your drivers are up to date for your system and maybe even re-install Studio one/3 and see what happens. Short of that the only thing I could suggest is try defeating all the processing and see if it still exhibits the same issues. If this helps then run through the plugins and see what causes problems.

Best regards

commented Mar 6, 2017 by gadget69 (31,150 points)

Oh and PLEASE when something is this important start a tech ticket right away! you can always cancel it if you solve the issue but it takes time to work your issue to the front.

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