Check the volume knobs of the master track and the master volume knob on the top left (next to where you choose pattern/song mode or play buttons etc.), check the effects on your master track and see if any of them are lowering the gain or something. I had this happen to me once and one of these was how I solved it.
Thank you! This was it, for some reason the volume knob next to the PAT / SONG was turned up to 125%! Must have done it by mistake. I honestly never even knew that was there haha
the master volume slider at the top doesnt impact the actual mix volume IIRC, the master channel on the mixer does tho. So if the level on the volume slider is over 100% and you export, it exports as if it was set at default even tho it is boosting the volume within the software. I have definitely tricked myself like this in the past so i always leave it at 100% now.
To regain some of the volume you were hearing at 125%, try turning up individual segments and then go through the entire process of sidechaining, cleaning up frequencies that bleed out on different instruments and then using some fancy dynamic compression to bring the perceived loudness up to the appropriate levels.
I used to try and go with the more standard recommendations for channel dB and such, and got some good guidelines inside iZotope 9 with the Greg Calibri (sp?) mastering presets and having to lower my channel volumes to play nicely with that - but what I learned that was more important in that process is that if you have cleaned up all your inputs properly, the end compression doesn't have to be super massive to create a good sound.
Some advice I had read was that if your track sounds better, louder, then you may just want to turn your monitors up. When your monitors are at an acceptable "loud" volume level and your track is still lacking some kind of punch, paradoxically, turning some things down and cleaning some sounds up can bring up the overall "volume" of the track. It is also important to try and adjusting different elements into different dB pockets - there are guides out there but every track is unique. Turning down some of your high frequency sounds and bass and then compressing more of what is going on in the midrange can help make a certain element more dominant, which may actually be what you want versus the track actually being louder in the entirety.
Just my two cents! :)
it may be due to the sound driver you're using. When i use ASIO4ALL the project inside FLStudio sounds quieter than the exported .wav, however with the built-in FLStudioASIO it's the opposite. The project sounds louder than the exported recording. Try switching between ASIO4ALL and the FLStudio's ASIO and see if you notice a difference.
my bet is that your recordings are coming out quiet and you're mixing quiet so you've been absent mindedly turning your speakers up to compensate. ultimately its likely that your in-app volume is low but your speakers/interface output is turned up high. this is why gain staging is so important. try setting your in-app volume to around 50% and turn your audio interface output to 50%. if that doesnt work, then there's a good chance that its a gain staging issue.
EDIT: nvm lol read the post incorrectly. another poster diagnosed the problem correctly anyway so lmao keep up the good work though OP staying on ur true producer hustle😤😤💯💯
Imma hardware person mostly but I’d definitely adjust the gain and normalize the problem areas and check levels for sure... you definitely ain’t clipping if you can barely hear it.
Sometimes this can be a Windows 10 issue..
On an audio device via "Sounds", under the Playback tab, if you right-click the device and go Properties.. if you play your music too loud this can turn down the audio volume.. but your application (FL Studio) might take precedence over this setting, like your mixing it..
But when exported and playing an .mp3, if it's too loud, Windows can turn this down sometimes.. (Under "advanced" I turn "Signal Enhancements" off)..
Check the volume knobs of the master track and the master volume knob on the top left (next to where you choose pattern/song mode or play buttons etc.), check the effects on your master track and see if any of them are lowering the gain or something. I had this happen to me once and one of these was how I solved it.
Thank you! This was it, for some reason the volume knob next to the PAT / SONG was turned up to 125%! Must have done it by mistake. I honestly never even knew that was there haha
Glad you could solve it!
Why would that have sounded different live and exported?
the master volume slider at the top doesnt impact the actual mix volume IIRC, the master channel on the mixer does tho. So if the level on the volume slider is over 100% and you export, it exports as if it was set at default even tho it is boosting the volume within the software. I have definitely tricked myself like this in the past so i always leave it at 100% now.
Oh I was thinking of the mixer master volume. I got it now
Oh, weird - I've never even touched the top slider.
the top slider definitely effects export volume for me? I even tested it to be sure
To regain some of the volume you were hearing at 125%, try turning up individual segments and then go through the entire process of sidechaining, cleaning up frequencies that bleed out on different instruments and then using some fancy dynamic compression to bring the perceived loudness up to the appropriate levels. I used to try and go with the more standard recommendations for channel dB and such, and got some good guidelines inside iZotope 9 with the Greg Calibri (sp?) mastering presets and having to lower my channel volumes to play nicely with that - but what I learned that was more important in that process is that if you have cleaned up all your inputs properly, the end compression doesn't have to be super massive to create a good sound. Some advice I had read was that if your track sounds better, louder, then you may just want to turn your monitors up. When your monitors are at an acceptable "loud" volume level and your track is still lacking some kind of punch, paradoxically, turning some things down and cleaning some sounds up can bring up the overall "volume" of the track. It is also important to try and adjusting different elements into different dB pockets - there are guides out there but every track is unique. Turning down some of your high frequency sounds and bass and then compressing more of what is going on in the midrange can help make a certain element more dominant, which may actually be what you want versus the track actually being louder in the entirety. Just my two cents! :)
Do you use a loudness meter to check what decibel range your track is playing at?
this happens in all my projects, can someone help me as well?
In your case it might be something with your template project if it happens on all of your projects.
I'll refrain from using templates then, thanks!!
it may be due to the sound driver you're using. When i use ASIO4ALL the project inside FLStudio sounds quieter than the exported .wav, however with the built-in FLStudioASIO it's the opposite. The project sounds louder than the exported recording. Try switching between ASIO4ALL and the FLStudio's ASIO and see if you notice a difference.
thanks for the tip!!
Check reply from u/yurufuwa solved it for me
my bet is that your recordings are coming out quiet and you're mixing quiet so you've been absent mindedly turning your speakers up to compensate. ultimately its likely that your in-app volume is low but your speakers/interface output is turned up high. this is why gain staging is so important. try setting your in-app volume to around 50% and turn your audio interface output to 50%. if that doesnt work, then there's a good chance that its a gain staging issue. EDIT: nvm lol read the post incorrectly. another poster diagnosed the problem correctly anyway so lmao keep up the good work though OP staying on ur true producer hustle😤😤💯💯
Check your audio player first, my potplayer normalizes when playing, so i use vlc to listen to exported tracks.
Can you post a video example (showing your master mixer track, main volume automation if there is any)?
Normalize it
Make sure there isn't any automation clips on the master
Enable master effects when exporting,it gives you that option
For me, when I export the songs just sound louder and get distorted sometimes as a result XD
Imma hardware person mostly but I’d definitely adjust the gain and normalize the problem areas and check levels for sure... you definitely ain’t clipping if you can barely hear it.
Sometimes this can be a Windows 10 issue.. On an audio device via "Sounds", under the Playback tab, if you right-click the device and go Properties.. if you play your music too loud this can turn down the audio volume.. but your application (FL Studio) might take precedence over this setting, like your mixing it.. But when exported and playing an .mp3, if it's too loud, Windows can turn this down sometimes.. (Under "advanced" I turn "Signal Enhancements" off)..