I had the limiter on also and never exceeded .04 db on the master volume meter. Does CD Architect come with the appropriate compressor and limiter to run on the master plugin chain? If not what would you suggest.

All of our tracks are recorded and mixed in Cubase with peaks of about 1db. Then I am pulling them into CD Architect as 24bit files and mastering there.

WaveHammer ! Comes with SF/CDA.

Also, if you sure you are not doing an 'over', then try the pre-rendering option, and burn at maybe max 8x, to ensure a continuous DAO burn ( Burn-Proof 'joins' are not perfect)

Also a rule of thumb is to have your max level at no more than -0.3dB. Many D-As in CD players and computer drives (especially) do not like getting very close to 0dBFS, and can pump out all sorts of nasty artifacts.

geoff

You said:
I had the limiter on also and never exceeded .04 db on the master volume meter. Does CD Architect come with the appropriate compressor and limiter to run on the master plugin chain? If not what would you suggest.

All of our tracks are recorded and mixed in Cubase with peaks of about 1db. Then I am pulling them into CD Architect as 24bit files and mastering there.

My reply:
The figures you state - are those .04 over zero and peaks of 1 dB over zero? If so, that's part of your problem. You never, ever want to get even that close to zero dBFS. Also, where are you doing your dithering & conversion to 16 bit? If you don't dither that will give you some nasties (distortion, clicks, etc.). You have to get everything down to 16 bit at 44.1 khz sample rate to burn Red Book audio cd's.

Jack

I assume he meant -0.04 and -1dB.

"You have to get everything down to 16 bit at 44.1 khz sample rate to burn Red Book audio cd's."

No you don't. CDA does that for you if you haven't elsewhere !

geoff


geoff

Yes you are correct I did mean -0.04 & -1 db.

I am using the Sony Dither plug-in as the last think in the chain to take it down to 16 bit. from 24bit.

Ok now here is where it gets kind of weird. I have been trying all kinds of things to figure out why I am getting this clicking noise. I don't here it when I listen to the tracks in CDA but I do when I burn to CD. I always use the build temporary file option and burn at 4x which is the slowest speed. I am assuming the built temporary file option is the same a prerendering? Please correct me if I am wrong.
Anyway I created a new project in CDA and Cubase. In Cubase I applied the GVST GComp plug-in across the Output buss with the exact same settings that I was using in CDA on the master plug-in chain with GComp. I them bounced the two tracks to 24bit and pulled them into the new CDA project. In CDA I only had the Dither plug in. I them burned the CD and there are no clicks.

What's up with that. If I used the same tracks but with the GComp (VST using Cakewalk adapter) in CDA I get the click but only on the burned CD.

Any ideas?

Something in GComp the Cake adaptor that CDA doesn't like, presumably !

Try WaveHammer instead and see what happens.

geoff

Unfortunately I do not have Wavehammer to try. I only have what came with CDA, Cubase and free downloads. I am currently changing my method of using CDA to only layout the CD and am mastering the tracks in Cubase to see if that corrects my problem.

Geoff:
I've never just brought in a 24 bit file to CDA as I do all my work in SF9 with the dither & resample in there; never knew CDA did the conversion automatically. I only use CDA for assembly/layout/burn.

Now on to Wave Hammer - I'm not sure it's available as a plug in CDA but it is available as a plug in SF and therefore is also available for use in CDA. It doesn't appear the OP has SoundForge but is doing his 'mastering' inside Cubase (which isn't the best of tools for doing so in my book).

I think I found the OP's problem when he says it (the GCOMP) works in Cubase but not in CDA. The compressor is a vst effect and CDA as we all know doesn't support vst effects without a wrapper and some wrappers have been known to not work all that well. He may need to try a different wrapper - the Cakewalk one seems to get good press.

Jack

I would like to thank you for your helpful advice so far. When I purchased CDA I was expecting to get a full-blown mastering software where I could pull in our mixed tracks in 24-bit and master our CD with the appropriate plug-ins and burn the CD.

Instead what I got was a software that did not have the appropriate plug-ins and uses an old outdated plug-in architecture. So I have been trying to use VSTs with it via the Cakewalk adapter. They appear to work fine until you burn the CD and then you start hearing problems.

So I have resigned myself to only using CDA to layout and burn the CD and all mastering will be done in Cubase even though it does not really have a mastering environment which is a real pain in the butt.

Going forward I am going to totally ditch CDA and probably switch to Prosonus Studio One Pro which has a full mastering capability. CDA has been a total disappointment since I got it and I wish I could get my $99 back.

Now on to my next CDA question:

I noticed in the manual that Mastering Effects are post master-fader. With that being true how do you measure your actual db levels that will be going to the CD? I had always assumed that the master-fader was giving me the final metering?

Thanks!

Did you not read the specs before buying ? You can use VST effects with a wrapper - preferably one that works.

There is nothing wrong with DX plugins. Their poularity has waned largely because of the flood of free VSTs and ease of installation, but you get a good bunch included, and many if not most of my others install in both DX AND VST versions by default. We all hope for a CDA update sometime to address those that are VST-only.

Not sure if you get WaveHammer with CDA - most people get CDA via the SF route (it is included). But there are penty of other great mastering compressors around, in DX.

With a little experimentation you can easily tell that the master metering is POST fader - ie exactly what you get to CD.

Don't do yourself a disservice and give up. I've not seen anything that compares with CDA for laying out, fading, sequencing, and audtioning CD projects. The CPU-load/preview problem isn't a problem if your tracks don't require heavy mastering, and can be 'worked around' otherwise. But again, and update to address would be desirable.

geoff