Quality of Vst plugins

Modplugger · January 17, 2007, 23:41:06

hello i got another short question , i hope you can also answer this one.

Does modplug change the quality of your sample or plugin you use, or does your soundcard also plays a big role?

i got the m-audiophile 2496

Thx....

Sam_Zen · January 18, 2007, 05:00:47

I think every element in the chain of the process can change the quality. From the wav-file upto the final soundcard.

Of course the output device is quite a crucial one. But even the settings of the amp connected to your card, plus the speakers, play a role.
I don't think you have to be afraid that OMPT would degrade some sample. It has excellent procedures for this. And it has enough options to finetune the output to the soundcard.

I guess the main thing in this chain for each step is : don't overask the next, receiving, element. Avoid unnecessary conversion. So don't offer a 48 kHz sample to a system that can only handle 44 kHz, etc.
How many input channels does m-audiophile 2496 have ?

Snu · January 18, 2007, 05:01:26

modplug's sound output settings (view menu > settings > sound card tab) will set the quality of both the samples and the vsts, so you can set it to 96khz 32bit easily enough. this will determine the quality of the stream that is sent to windows, and has nothing to do with your soundcard or drivers. so, even if you had a soundblaster16 for instance, you could set modplug to 96khz and it would still play (the drivers would downsample it to 44khz)... just it wouldnt sound any better than 44khz :)

here's the problem tho: using a vst at 96khz uses twice as much cpu power as the same vst at 48khz, so i typically write the song at 48khz, then just render it at 96khz.

Sam_Zen · January 18, 2007, 05:07:58

2 Snu
You are right with your technical corrections.

Modplugger · January 18, 2007, 06:54:34

OKe thanks for the information
but what ca i do som friends say they hear the differencewhen they play my beat and then theres..?

what are the best settings for modplug ...?
My settings
Mixing Quality 48Hz stereo 16 Bit
max Polyphony 256(400+Mhz)

LPChip · January 18, 2007, 09:16:01

The soundcard will only change the quality of what you HEAR. This means, Even if you have a bad soundcard, exporting it to wav or just giving out the module to a place with a good sound card won't certianly make it sound bad too because it was originally made on a bad soundcard.

I would say for that reason that soundcard is not something to take into considderation (apart from the fact that you also have a good soundcard).

I hope you're using OpenMPT and not the old MPT 1.16?

If you are using MPT 1.16 then you should definatelly switch to OpenMPT, as it has better soundquality (new mixing routine)

Secondly, there is also knowledge.

Do you know how to make your beats sound good?

I can make nice beats, but if I keep them dry, or apply the wrong VST's it will sound bad. You'll need to learn about wht VST's will make your beat sound better and what setting you should use in those VST's.

It took me about 2 years and I'm still learning on what the right VST's are and what settings I should use.

I've bough Electri-Q param EQ which has a very good quality. They've also made a free posifopit versioo of this EQ which I'd recommend to you.

Next you need to use a compressor to pump up the basses. It will give you some depth. I use BuzzComp Compression suite, which are free compressor vst's in a package.

If you use this and you have played enough with it to get the sound you need, then you're almost there.

When molding your sound, its important to make sure that no other EQ setting is changing your sound. Eg. if you have an EQ in your windows mixer then set it to flat! Thats the only way you'll be able to boost the basses and treble to the right proportions. You can then switch back to your original EQ and listen it with that, but don't tweak with them on, or they will be way off.

Modplugger · January 18, 2007, 09:43:49

okE OKE VERY CLEAR.....

But i mean without any compersing or reverb....

And my firend uses protools or some times logic

i got OPenMTp1.17.02.45

And i use very good vst like colluses, sampletank and more

I gonna try something i will export with mp Beat to a midi file
and open it in protools and then fill them with the exact same vst i use in Mp.....

Modplugger · January 23, 2007, 11:20:23

Quote from: "Railexbeatz"okE OKE VERY CLEAR.....

But i mean without any compersing or reverb....

And my firend uses protools or some times logic

i got OPenMTp1.17.02.45

And i use very good vst like colluses, sampletank and more

I gonna try something i will export with mp Beat to a midi file
and open it in protools and then fill them with the exact same vst i use in Mp.....

i did the test it it seems like no difference only think i change is the bit from 16 to 32.
Maybe some of you can do the test...? :?

seventhson · January 23, 2007, 18:01:22

Quote from: "LPChip"Thats the only way you'll be able to boost the basses and treble to the right proportions.

You're right for the most part,however i'd like to point out that cutting is generally a better idea opposed to adding,this is because when you boost certain frequencies you might also be boosting unwanted noise or hiss.

LPChip · January 23, 2007, 18:04:28

Quote from: "seventhson"
Quote from: "LPChip"Thats the only way you'll be able to boost the basses and treble to the right proportions.

You're right for the most part,however i'd like to point out that cutting is generally a better idea opposed to adding,this is because when you boost certain frequencies you might also be boosting unwanted noise or hiss.

Hmm, never considdered that.

Thanks for the tip.

seventhson · January 23, 2007, 18:49:33

Quote from: "LPChip"
Quote from: "seventhson"
Quote from: "LPChip"Thats the only way you'll be able to boost the basses and treble to the right proportions.

You're right for the most part,however i'd like to point out that cutting is generally a better idea opposed to adding,this is because when you boost certain frequencies you might also be boosting unwanted noise or hiss.

Hmm, never considdered that. Thanks for the tip.

No problem

Oh and one more tip from me,if you find that for instance your bassdrum is lacking some bass,instead of boosting the lower frequencies,you could also try to layer another bassdrum on top of it that does contain alot of bass.
Layering is a nice little trick to get a more full sound or to spice up certain instruments/percussion but it takes some experimenting with different eq settings on the different sounds you use to get a good result.

seventhson · January 23, 2007, 18:53:36

Quote from: "Railexbeatz"
i did the test it it seems like no difference only think i change is the bit from 16 to 32.
Maybe some of you can do the test...? :?

The difference can be very subtle i think,i've tested it some time ago and i think that the biggest difference (yet subtle) was that at 32bit there were a bit more high frequencies then at 16 bit,at least that's how it sounded to me.

also have look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_resolution

Modplugger · January 24, 2007, 00:12:44

Oke thanks for the information

Last think,So modplug doesnt change the sound of the vsti....?

seventhson · January 24, 2007, 00:25:13

Quote from: "Railexbeatz"Oke thanks for the information

Last think,So modplug doesnt change the sound of the vsti....?

Well it does i think,every host has it's own soundengine so vsti's can sound a bit different in different hosts,however i think the soundengine in modplug is quite good so shouldn't be any problems quality wise.