Studio One Is it too hot or not

[MikeS]

Ok, here's an odd one...
I created a backing track using Guitar Pro. When I export the audio to mp3, and play it using MS Media Player or VLC, it sounds fine, but when I drop it into Audacity or Studio One, it sounds like it was recorded WAY too hot. All the levels are at unity 0dB, but I have to bring it down to -32db for it to sound like the right level.
Once I bring it down it's fine, but I don't understand why it plays fine in music players but seems too hot in may DAWs.
Any thoughts?
(My Dropbox is acting funky today so I'm trying OneDrive for the first time...

Last Two Dollars-Backing.mp3

 

[PapaRaptor]

It's hot, but not outrageously so.
I have used Adobe Audition for years as my "go-to" check for levels. I opened the file in Adobe Audition and Audacity both. Audacity didn't show it as hot as Audition did.
I flagged the locations where you had single spiked that exceeded 0db. They are at 1:14, 2:23, 2:46, 3:57, 4:17, 4:40, 5:03, and 5:26.
If you knocked the recording down by 2db, I think those would disappear.
Here's a closer look at the first one at 1:14. It looks like it might be an overlap of a splice point and it is only one excursion into the red.

I don't know why it looks too hot in Studio One. It looks perfectly normal in Studio One when I load it and the points that Adobe Audition sees in it don't trigger the red line on the output of the Studio One Main fader.

 

[MikeS]

When I pulled it into S1, I had to drop it to -32dB! I'll try to output it 2dB lower and see how it goes.
Thanks.

 

[PapaRaptor]

When I pulled it into S1, I had to drop it to -32dB! I'll try to output it 2dB lower and see how it goes.
Thanks.

Wow! I can't imagine why! The clip above is the clip you posted, directly imported into Studio One. I would love to know how and why you got such different results.

 

[MikeS]

Wow! I can't imagine why! The clip above is the clip you posted, directly imported into Studio One. I would love to know how and why you got such different results.

I can't explain it. I dropped it to -32dB and exported it from GP7 again and it is pretty close to the right volume in S1. Fortunately I don't create too many tracks in GP7.
Another odd thing is that when I drop the -32dB track into S1, both the track and the master show that it is at -32dB, but it appears to be at "Normal" hearing level in my monitors or headphones...
until... I export the mixdown. The resulting recording is almost too quiet to hear. ( probably -32dB??)

 

[PapaRaptor]

I can't explain it. I dropped it to -32dB and exported it from GP7 again and it is pretty close to the right volume in S1. Fortunately I don't create too many tracks in GP7.
Another odd thing is that when I drop the -32dB track into S1, both the track and the master show that it is at -32dB, but it appears to be at "Normal" hearing level in my monitors or headphones...
until... I export the mixdown. The resulting recording is almost too quiet to hear. ( probably -32dB??)

I don't use my input channel faders for anything other than mixing. I start with them set at 0 and work (up or down) from there. The MAIN mix output fader should also be set to 0. That will give you a pretty good representation of what levels will be present in the mixdown.

If your playback volume from Studio One is too loud on your speakers, try to remember to use the fader on your Presonus mixer for that purpose. It almost seems counter-intuitive, especially when the MAIN out is right there on the computer screen, but the MAIN out controls levels on your final MIXDOWN, and the meter on it is the one you are shooting for on the output. If it is too far down (-32db), you're going to have really quiet results.

 

[aleclee]

Are you normalizing when you export to MP3?