Ableton's sound engine is phasey- why?

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by Grater, Mar 1, 2022.

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  1. ayudigital

    ayudigital Guest

    I will dedicate my time trying to find an answer to that and coming up with a technical analysis on it.
    Maybe all DAWs are the same.
    But if you clone a project using only 3rd party plugins on two DAWS (A and B) using the exact amount of gain and no automation for simplicity.
    Why does it sound different? Why one DAW feels more dynamic compared to the other? Why if you export the same session generated from each two DAWs and try to reverse the polarity it will NOT cancel out?

    Why?

    I've been trying to find this answer for years.
     
  2. Myfanwy

    Myfanwy Platinum Record

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    Dude, do you even read my posts?

     
  3. ayudigital

    ayudigital Guest

    Again, if you export something like a sinewave or any singular thing they WILL cancel out no matter which DAW generated it.
    But when it comes to a full song, with the exact setup, it doesn't cancel out. So obviously you hear a difference.
     
  4. recycle

    recycle Guest

    From what I read in your posts I think it is better for you to deepen your knowledge of sound engineering, that is the reason why you have problems with your files.
    I believe that Myfanwy is trying to put you on the right path to reach the solution
     
  5. Myfanwy

    Myfanwy Platinum Record

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    Maybe pan law is the problem, or different calculations for converting dB values.
     
  6. Grater

    Grater Ultrasonic

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    Yes, why would you render a file in ableton and then record it? My point is that the live playback engine in ableton is garbage not the rendering itself. I’m guessing Logic and pro tools auto truncates/dithers to 24bit which results in less quantization errors while live has a different way. That or the drivers dont work as well in ableton as they do in logic, which introduces more unwanted distortion on playback
     
  7. Myfanwy

    Myfanwy Platinum Record

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    Did you even download my files? I made one file using export in Ableton and another one recording my audio interface output with Reaper while playing back your drum break live and in real time through Ableton Lives live audio playback engine which you describe as phasy or "garbage". And it sounds absolutely the same and nulls perfectly if you align the files correctly.
     
  8. ayudigital

    ayudigital Guest

    Pan law being the same.
    In Ableton, at a 0 db output at center when signals fully left or right they will be increased at +3 dB.
    And in Logic using the -3 db compensated, which, according to the manual: " A full scale signal (0 dBfs) has a level of 0 dB when panned to the center position (or +3 dB when panned to the extreme left or right positions)" so same as Ableton.
     
  9. boomoperators

    boomoperators Kapellmeister

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    Do you think the Beach Boys complained about Pro Tools playback engine and rendering abilites back in the days (and it wasn't even 64 bits FP processing) ? Did that hurt the sales ? Did consumers even perceive the difference or care ?



    Make a record sound great with Ableton, Logic, Sadie, Pyramix, Octamed,etc that's all

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_in_Paradise
    ("Produced by Terry Melcher, it is the only album not to feature any new contributions from Brian Wilson, and has been regarded as the band's critical and commercial low point, failing to chart in either the US or UK and receiving almost unanimously negative reviews")
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2022
  10. bdone

    bdone Ultrasonic

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    The null tests been done already loads ,forget that, recording out n all that stuff forget that too. I think the best way to understand like the dude said is to open a track or load some multitrack files in two different daws, eg live and logic have them both open ,press play on one..listen press stop, press play on the other listen . see if they sound a bit different. if they don't to you fine move on. if they do try n figure what it could be

    ps obvs have the same audio settings eg sample rate etc
     
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  11. Stuck In The 80s

    Stuck In The 80s Rock Star

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    Also.... Live's default mode in options is "Create fades on clip edges" is set by default to "On" to stop pops and clicks however it can also soften the initial transient so you should be turning that off too.
     
  12. bdone

    bdone Ultrasonic

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    True dat, that can be missed by some,i think especially when you install a new version of live.
     
  13. kickback

    kickback Member

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    Is it possible to hear a difference even though it nulls?
    If that's true then OP is right. But I don't know..
     
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  14. Sylenth.Will.Fall

    Sylenth.Will.Fall Audiosexual

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    I suppose the only question I have for you is, if you you don't like the results, why are you wasting your time on it?
    Me? If I don't get good results or am unhappy with something, I change it!


    Just out of curiosity, have you considered the possibility you might have your audio Output set with EQ or other enhancements that other DAW maybe sound better with? I turn off all enhancements.
    See if this sounds crap or OK to you.. I only ever use Ableton.

     
  15. bdone

    bdone Ultrasonic

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    For me even though it could null ,its more about how it plays back through speakers and headphones compared to other daws,before u even bounce or record anything down to try n null it. just how it sounds when u press play.
     
  16. bdone

    bdone Ultrasonic

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    I think he really likes live apart from that, probably bugging him like it does some others.I don't think he's wasting his time think he's just talking about it.

    n im not the op but i get what he means.
     
  17. Sylenth.Will.Fall

    Sylenth.Will.Fall Audiosexual

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    I thought that might be the case so i added a few options that might make a difference.
     
  18. Grater

    Grater Ultrasonic

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    Cause apart from the sonics I love live. It lets you work fast and chopping up audio is easy and intuitive. But I guess I might look into logic more now, especially since I will incorporate more outboard gear now. I just cant stand the way you have to click on the timeline bar for it to play back lol
     
  19. Sylenth.Will.Fall

    Sylenth.Will.Fall Audiosexual

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    Take a listen to the track I posted up there ^^ Just tell me if you think logic would sound better? (Click on view on you tube to hear it)
     
  20. gimmechords

    gimmechords Member

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    Maybe I'm wrong but I read ableton doesn't sum audio in the best way. That's why everyone says mix in Logic or Pro Tools.

    I wonder if bitwig and studio one suffer from these issues.
     
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