Bad sound quality when burning to CD

hey peeps

im having problems with sound issues when im burning off tracks to send away... im using Fruity Studio with EMU 0404 DSP card going into Maudio Studiophile Bx8s... the tracks sound great when im working on them and when i export as WAV or mp3 they sound great too... but when i burn em to CD something is going wrong and they are sounding pretty lame indeed

i think i need help with basic mastering but does anyone have any ideas as this is really frustrating me and making it feel all not worth it at all

are you exporting the wav files as 16 bit or 24 bit? what are you using for dither and noise shaping?

This is perhaps a little obvious, but are you listening to the CD on the same set of speakers as the WAV?

no, i use the monitors for the production, everything sounds ace in there

then when i try the burnt CD in a few cd players its just not the same, especially on my bedroom stereo

ive got a mate helping me out as we speak so hopefully il sort it, i tried a few things last night and its helped a little

what exactly do u notice as not so rigth... I think it probably sounds with little midrange and overbassy, mud-up bass.. right?


Z

yeah Ze thats kinda it, just doesnt transpose aswell as thru the monitors and leaves me feeling a bit disapointed

i really need help mastering to demo stage i think

go with a low or sensible level while doing it... cut all bass bellow 35 HZ.. All Highs above 22KHz...

use C4 with a little ratio of something like 2-3db of redution, u can then increase/ decrease each band a little bit 2 suit the way u want yer sound, apply a touch of antares tube ... then a touch of L2 don't do more than 2 db redution.. that should enought 2 get things 2 shine a little better!!


At the prodution stage .. eq each sound 2 trim out the bass / treble that it doesn't need (example bass out of a ride).. use the panning a lot.. carefully with levels!

hope this heplz,


Z


PS - each speaker / system will always translate a little different. The good mastered will b sort of an acceptable average and not the absolute best in just one of the systems (i.e. don't concetrate on squeezing the last every db out of bass/ treble on yer monitors.. they should have room so it kinda sits in between the average speakers!!

nothing is 'going wrong' so to speak. its just sounding good on your monitors because they are designed for mixing. a good mastering session will make it sound more rounded on different systems/speakers, but mastering is something that needs precision. check out some websites that guide you through the basic mastering process and see whatyou can come up with