Improving Sound Quality

Hi there Internet Stranger!
Well I'm looking for any sort of info on improving sound quality. I have a Audio-Technica AT-LP2D, basically a shitty $60ish USB turntable. I've been sampling records making beats and I was curious of other peoples techniques or what they do to improve sound quality maybe certain VST's etc. I'm using Maschine and the maschine software to exclusively produce these beats.

-Should I be able to get good sound quality out of Maschine after mixing/mastering etc? I was thinking of importing my tracks from maschine into ableton to get deeper options and tools for increasing sound quality.

-I'm also buying Izotope's Ozone 5 for mastering and mixing which I hope will give me a better edge on mixing/mastering. Is there any other recommended techniques or VST's people use to improve quality?

-If my turntable is giving not the greatest quality samples but decent should I be able to get them sound significantly better with Eq techniques and/or VST's or something?

-I'm wondering the if the sound quality issue is do to the main factor being my turntable, or maybe I just don't the know the ways to improve quality yet, which is why im asking obviously. Any and all help is appreciated thanks.
-Wolfeman

 

I like T-RackS more than Ozone, but Ozone 5 looks really good. However, there's no one trick to making a track sound "mastered" and most of the time you'll just end up cranking up the bottom end and crushing it with limiting, until you study up on what actually needs to go into mastering a track.

Not that loud and crushed isn't the way most folks will go, too, but learning to be loud while preserving the dynamics is the way to go in my opinion.

For your turntable, first figure out what quality you're not getting - depth? range? loudness? stereo separation? too noisy? Too much hum? More than likely a good slipmat and a better quality needle/headshell will make a bigger difference in the sound, and definitely looking at your recorded sounds, and seeing where you may need to adjust via EQ, etc. will help as well.

You can make killer music with really crap recordings, if you have a good ear for how to make the qualities that are there work for you. If you're throwing stuff into the pot, stirring, and just hoping for it to come out right, its always going to be a guess.

I get tracks out of Maschine that sound great, I get some that need work, because the original sound sources weren't pushed the way I wanted when I started making the beat I ended up with (that is quite often the case when I have a drum break I love but end up chopping it up so that it no longer punches through the way it did when I had it isolated in its original form. I usually go back and listen to the original, and see what I can do to bring back what I heard in the first place).

Most of what it takes is just practice. Knock out beats, set them aside, then listen to 4 or 5 at time. Compare what you like in them to beats that are done by artists you like. Listen to instrumentals of tracks, not just the album or radio cuts. Try doing a few remixes by chopping up a beat you dig on, and rearranging it, taking note of what alters the sonic character of it, what works what doesn't.

Go back to a track you really dig, find the original sample sources, and see how much of it you can rebuild on your own. I did that with the Beatnuts Off the Books last year, and I feel like I learned a ton doing that.

If you know your tools in Ableton, use those, otherwise, learn the tools in Maschine, it has tons, and since you can host plugins now, its got amazingly deep options, even with just the free VSTs and AU plugins that are out there.

 

u should be able to get machine sounding good out the mob and in the mix without all the mastering plugs.

look at ur gain staging to ensure levels are good also look at sound selection and fitering to make sure the right frequency ranges for each sound are sounding good and withing they own space in ur mixes

 

Most of it has been said. In my experience it is not so much what you put in but what you do with it.
However if you sample from turntables a good soundcard and stylus is the best way all though there are tons of variables at are beyound but the most elite persons scope.

For me I just use a technics 1210 with an ortofon Arkiv stylus going into a soubndcard designed for ripping vinyl. I.e the Artcessories USB phone plus.

A decent sylus set up right can make such a difference.

If your sampling using maschine remember it will; only sample at 44.1. 16bit
This is why I never sample straight using maschine unless i want lofi, I can tell the diff between 16 and 24 bit recordings and it is one of maschines biggest fails when it comes to the 'quick sampling' n.i wanna promote.

 

noting wrong with 16 bit **** sounds fine all them records that u sample prolly was not recorded at 24 bit but yet they sound amazing so go figure

 

If you want to improve your sound with Maschine then look at the quality of your cartridge and audio interface.

 

He wants to improve his sound quality no6t stay the same as. I rocord my records at 24bit and you do get a much better recording, that's not to say the 16bit isn't excellent but the 24 bit sounds much better side by side.

 

Not to hijack the OP's thread, but what is a good turntable to sample? I want to get good audio from sampling. I was looking at a Audio Technica LP240 with a Shure M97XE Cartridge.

 

most important is running smoothness so you don't get tempo differences in the recording. the rest is a good needle and a clean record. if you'd take a look at those tiny cables in my 1210's that deliver the sound you can be sure that these are absolutely ignorable for sound quality.

 

Any other turntable recommendations?

 

technics
none better than dat

 

Unless your going super hifi and gonna get incredibly g33ky about it, a Technics with a good cart and set up properly, will last you years.

I've had my technics since 1997 and they still track perfectly.

 

Any other recommendations besides Technics? I dont want to spend $1K new or buy USED.

 

Hi,

First up, what is the file format that the turntable is recording to? I know that some go direct to mp3 which is substandard really. If it is Aif/Wav at 16-bit/44.1 then you are at CD quality. Higher than that is excellent

Signal processors will not make sound quality "better" per se, they will process them. So a mastering plugin will not necessarily improve an already mastered track, it will just do some master processing, and in many cases, more compression will be the last thing that your file needs. EQ-ing really comes under the same category, as the original recording engineers will have sorted out the frequency ranges, and doing more work on this side, may again be overdoing it.

So it's always going to be a case by case basis regarding processors.

The following question is the most important one though. What do you want to do with the samples?

If you want to chop and then import them to Maschine to do remixes etc, then what style of music is it? You see, you may not wish to remove crackles and pops etc, as they add a character to the medium, particularly if you want, say, a Wu-Tang or Public Enemy or NWA sampled vibe. If you're doing housey/techy kinda stuff, you'll probably be sitting the samps so far back in the mix that it won't make any difference anyway.

So ask yourself, "what do i intend to achieve?", then come back and tell us more

 

you could go for a stanton. but if you think long term, pick the technics (even used). i bought mine in 1993 and first thing i did was throw away the dust covers. they are still working flawless. i doubt any other manufacturer can promise you that.

 

- i route my maschine audio channels into ableton and mix it there as i feel maschines effects quite limited .... u got all u need there like the multiband - comp. , the analog warmth ... to tweak the hell outta ur samples ... that way u wouldnt need to invest in stuff like

- a vst like the psp vintage warmer if u need somthing stand alone

-or the ozone that i dont like very much or use the wrong way

i dont think the issue is the quality of ur tt really

if u got ableton already .... try mixdown there before u spend tons on money on numerous vsts

 

The music will be hip-hop and I want to work with them in Maschine. I want good quailty because I plan to maybe sell the tracks I make on soundclick, etc.

 

Then you need to spend some money on a half decent soundcard with a phono preamp

I use this, it is not the most expensive and no where near as expensive as my main soundcard, but with this you will be able to record in decent quality.

But a decent soundcard and monitors are the most important thing hardware wise, that is where most of your money should go.

I use this for ripping vinyl, but I wouldn't dream of using it as my main soundcard, my main is a focusrite Pro 24, which does the job and has superb preamps, but no phono option.

http://www.production-room.com/art/art-usb-phono-plus2/
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Well you can go cheaper, but if you can afford to front the money they will last forever and save you a ton of money in the long run.

Either go second hand but know what to check, whether they are running at the right speed, whether the counter balance is working correctly etc.

If you must go for a cheaper new model, they are alll much of a muchness at the budget end.

Stanton some numark models are ok. Something that would make having the right stylus worth it.

Remember some stylus are made for loud club use and for wear, some are designed for sampling and sound quality , but don't use the stock, even on a technics, the sound is crappy compared to Ortofon etc
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BTW here is my youtube channel, it shows what I use, the recordings have been compressed to AAC in the mp4, think at 320kbps , so it will give you some idea although youtube compresses the sound quite harshly.

http://www.youtube.com/user/recordsondabed

 

Thanks for the reply. I have a Komplete Audio 6 and Mackie MK2 monitors. I had planed to purchase the phono preamp you linked along with a Shure MX97e cartridge. Just still undecided on the turntable. I'll check out your youtube channel.

 

Ah sounds like you have it all in hand. I wouldn't discount some of the audiophile turntables as well, although they could be even more expensive than technics.
I don't know much about them except that they normally take a lot more knwlege to set up.

Good luck!