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Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver

4,148 Views | 17 Replies
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Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 07:54:01


What's the deal? Yesterday I finished mastering my latest track, got it nice and loud without clipping or distorting, so I exported it from FL studio and played it back in Windows Media Player... Only to find it was quieter that when I played it in FL!

So I went back to it and turned up the volume a little and played it back in Media Player again... Lots of clipping and distortion!

Am I doing something wrong, or is my laptop just pants!? (it's an Advent Monza) Does my sound driver need updating?

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:06:53


At 6/11/12 07:54 AM, Bones341 wrote: What's the deal? Yesterday I finished mastering my latest track, got it nice and loud without clipping or distorting, so I exported it from FL studio and played it back in Windows Media Player... Only to find it was quieter that when I played it in FL!

So I went back to it and turned up the volume a little and played it back in Media Player again... Lots of clipping and distortion!

Am I doing something wrong, or is my laptop just pants!? (it's an Advent Monza) Does my sound driver need updating?

As far as the loudness thing goes, maybe you had FL's volume up higher than that in WMP? I personally use SONAR and Logic to make stuff, so this never really tends to be a problem for me.

The clipping and distortion partâEU"that most likely has something to do with the fact that you turned things up. Use a compressor and limiter to make the volume louderâEU"don't use the master volume. Bad bad idea.

ASIO drivers tend to be used by most (if not all) audio interfaces, and they'd seldom be comparable to a stock sound driver. It's probably something you're doing on your end. Check the Windows Volume Mixer, etc. and make sure that it's all turned up.

Also, get a real DAW. :P


I'm a driven person with driven dreams in a driven world... I work counterintuitively to the above.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:09:14


I think media players are usually a bit quieter than DAWs. I have a dedicated sound card and same thing happens to me.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:13:28


At 6/11/12 08:09 AM, The-iMortal wrote: I think media players are usually a bit quieter than DAWs. I have a dedicated sound card and same thing happens to me.

I've never had this issue, personally. I use iTunes as a media player, and I never really have an issue with it...


I'm a driven person with driven dreams in a driven world... I work counterintuitively to the above.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:26:09


At 6/11/12 08:06 AM, QuadWing wrote:
As far as the loudness thing goes, maybe you had FL's volume up higher than that in WMP? I personally use SONAR and Logic to make stuff, so this never really tends to be a problem for me.

The clipping and distortion partâEU"that most likely has something to do with the fact that you turned things up. Use a compressor and limiter to make the volume louderâEU"don't use the master volume. Bad bad idea.

ASIO drivers tend to be used by most (if not all) audio interfaces, and they'd seldom be comparable to a stock sound driver. It's probably something you're doing on your end. Check the Windows Volume Mixer, etc. and make sure that it's all turned up.

Also, get a real DAW. :P

I've got the system volume on full, I used both compressor and limiter so maybe it is FL...? I'll look into it when I get a bit more free time.

For the record, FL is a real DAW... There's just alot of bad artists that use it. I have Ableton but I just can't get to grips with it :/

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:34:20


At 6/11/12 08:26 AM, Bones341 wrote:
At 6/11/12 08:06 AM, QuadWing wrote:
As far as the loudness thing goes, maybe you had FL's volume up higher than that in WMP? I personally use SONAR and Logic to make stuff, so this never really tends to be a problem for me.

The clipping and distortion partÃf¢EU"that most likely has something to do with the fact that you turned things up. Use a compressor and limiter to make the volume louderÃf¢EU"don't use the master volume. Bad bad idea.

ASIO drivers tend to be used by most (if not all) audio interfaces, and they'd seldom be comparable to a stock sound driver. It's probably something you're doing on your end. Check the Windows Volume Mixer, etc. and make sure that it's all turned up.

Also, get a real DAW. :P
I've got the system volume on full, I used both compressor and limiter so maybe it is FL...? I'll look into it when I get a bit more free time.

For the record, FL is a real DAW... There's just alot of bad artists that use it. I have Ableton but I just can't get to grips with it :/

I was kidding about the DAW thing. :P I've just grown out of FL a bit I guess.

Hm, it might be. I know that Logic has an "overall volume" knob on it (not the master fader) at the bottom right of the program. I don't understand why, I find it a little redundant, but they do apparently.

Ableton is interesting. I made a few songs on it, and it's very VERY good for loopingâEU"but as far as production goes, if you're looking for something to fall into immediately, Ableton isn't exactly the way to go I don't think. Check out SONAR X1 though. I've been using SONAR since version 6 and it's really reliable. I don't use it as much anymore since I got Logic, but for those times where I want to use some of my old VSTs, I use it. :)


I'm a driven person with driven dreams in a driven world... I work counterintuitively to the above.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:40:54


At 6/11/12 08:09 AM, The-iMortal wrote: I think media players are usually a bit quieter than DAWs. I have a dedicated sound card and same thing happens to me.

It isn't the case on my WMP and FL Studio 10... The title says Asio4All v Standard Sound Driver.........
OP, which one did you use? Asio4All tends to burst the sound levels, which is why I usually stick to the standard sound drivers.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:44:15


At 6/11/12 08:34 AM, QuadWing wrote: Ableton is interesting. I made a few songs on it, and it's very VERY good for loopingâEU"but as far as production goes, if you're looking for something to fall into immediately, Ableton isn't exactly the way to go I don't think.

I have to agree. I got Ableton Live Lite with my soundcard, but couldn't really get into it for ages. Just recently, I decided to explore it, and ended up buying it. Once you get the hang of it, it's fantastic. If it's good enough for Skrillex, it's good enough for me :P

But yeah, Ableton Live is definitely not a DAW to just "fall into immediately".

About FL Studio though... man, I cannot use that thing anymore. It was a great DAW to start off with, but after exploring better DAW's, I know I'll never go back.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 08:48:20


At 6/11/12 08:34 AM, QuadWing wrote:
I was kidding about the DAW thing. :P I've just grown out of FL a bit I guess.

Hm, it might be. I know that Logic has an "overall volume" knob on it (not the master fader) at the bottom right of the program. I don't understand why, I find it a little redundant, but they do apparently.

Ableton is interesting. I made a few songs on it, and it's very VERY good for loopingâEU"but as far as production goes, if you're looking for something to fall into immediately, Ableton isn't exactly the way to go I don't think. Check out SONAR X1 though. I've been using SONAR since version 6 and it's really reliable. I don't use it as much anymore since I got Logic, but for those times where I want to use some of my old VSTs, I use it. :)

Yeah, I know you were kidding dude, it's just frustrating cos alot of really bad music comes from FL due to it's ease of use... So it gets slated.

I find Ableton interesting because the instruments sound amazing (to me anyway) and I can just about use them, but when it comes to putting a song together, automation, song layout etc, I just can't get my head round it! I've been meaning to try a song using Ableton ReWired into FL, perhaps I'll have a go this week.

Thanks for your help anyway dude, I'll look into Sonar :)

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 09:34:56


At 6/11/12 08:48 AM, Bones341 wrote:
At 6/11/12 08:34 AM, QuadWing wrote:
I was kidding about the DAW thing. :P I've just grown out of FL a bit I guess.

Hm, it might be. I know that Logic has an "overall volume" knob on it (not the master fader) at the bottom right of the program. I don't understand why, I find it a little redundant, but they do apparently.

Ableton is interesting. I made a few songs on it, and it's very VERY good for loopingÃf¢EU"but as far as production goes, if you're looking for something to fall into immediately, Ableton isn't exactly the way to go I don't think. Check out SONAR X1 though. I've been using SONAR since version 6 and it's really reliable. I don't use it as much anymore since I got Logic, but for those times where I want to use some of my old VSTs, I use it. :)
Yeah, I know you were kidding dude, it's just frustrating cos alot of really bad music comes from FL due to it's ease of use... So it gets slated.

I find Ableton interesting because the instruments sound amazing (to me anyway) and I can just about use them, but when it comes to putting a song together, automation, song layout etc, I just can't get my head round it! I've been meaning to try a song using Ableton ReWired into FL, perhaps I'll have a go this week.

Thanks for your help anyway dude, I'll look into Sonar :)

Hey, it was the first DAW I used too. Well, the second, but the first "real" one I used. Ableton is good for DJing, and it's great for Live stuff (hence the name), but once more, it takes a lot to get into. I prefer ease of use and simplicity, because I'm more about writing and composing rather than DJingâEU"I just like to get my ideas out there, so I don't forget them and maybe layer and build on top of themâEU"hence my use of Logic. If I'm doing anything live, I use MainStage 2. But yeah, SONAR, Logic, MainStage are all great pieces of software. Ableton Live is like that one really weird kid who no one really gets, but his closest friends understand him and cherish him for who is his... if you get that analogy. :P Just takes some growing into. The tab key was my favorite key when using Live. I actually never used the "Session View" while using Live. I found it sooo much less intimidating to just use the arrangement view. I tend to use a lot of buses for reverb and compression as well, and couldn't for the life me figure out how to set auxiliary sends into individual channels which really bothered me. Haha.


I'm a driven person with driven dreams in a driven world... I work counterintuitively to the above.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 10:01:43


At 6/11/12 08:06 AM, QuadWing wrote:
Also, get a real DAW. :P

whats fucking wrong with you

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 10:43:41


At 6/11/12 08:34 AM, QuadWing wrote: I was kidding about the DAW thing. :P

jpbear, you're out of form, mate!

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 11:02:27


Don't change DAW. Waste of money; if you're used to FL, stick to it. I use FL myself and know of tonnes of people who make amazing music with it too. There's a common misconception that FL Studio is a beginner's program or not as good as programs like Sonar, Ableton, Cubase, etc... this isn't true - FL's piano roll is among the best piano rolls I've ever seen, and has a brilliant user interface. It may lack in some features such as recording and lack of 64-bit support, but it's still a fantastic piece of software.

On-topic: Get Audacity if you don't have it already, and open the file with Audacity.

Check out the waveform. If it's something like this then it means that there's no problem with FL's exporting. If it's something like this (i.e. a lot of headroom) then it could be that FL is exporting at a lower volume.

In the case of the former, open Windows Media Player, hear your track and check your Windows sound mixer (go to the volume icon in the taskbar, click on it and click 'Mixer'). It'll show you how much volume is allotted to each program using sound that's currently open. If Windows Media Player has less volume, boost its volume to the same amount as the main volume. If it doesn't, then I'm stumped.

In the case of the latter, I'm really not sure what the problem could be. Make sure your master volume and the mixer master channel's volume are both where you want them to be. Also, are you exporting it directly with FL Studio or recording it with FL's Edison? If you're using the Edison, then watch out; I've tried recording with it before when my export feature was glitchy and it would record at a lower or higher volume than what I intended it to be.

If the worst comes to the worst, contact the Image-Line Customer Support or as a last ditch effort, simply amplify your exported files with Audacity.


Review Request Club | CHECK THIS OUT | Formerly Supersteph54 | I'm an Audio Moderator. PM me for Audio Portal help.

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Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 11:27:50


The compressor idea as a volume boost is a good idea. Your problem is possibly you recorded at to low of an input volume, so when boosting the gain in a program it'll start clipping and getting distorted because there isn't enough information for the computer to work with... Sorry, for some reason I can't think of the proper way to explain it at the moment.

Yeah, programs like iTunes are usually louder than any DAW. I'm not sure of the reason, but it just seems to be the case.

For at least my case, since I use mainly live instruments, programs like FL are just shit. A few of the features are cool, but not worth it. I really don't ever recommend it to people. The best programs (imo) are Audition and Audacity. Then Sonar I like but never bought so I can't fully say, but it left a good impression in my mind. Then Ableton I really just couldn't enjoy, I know people love it but... just no...

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 15:16:38


Ok, so I have the system volume on full. Played in itunes, played in WMP, played on soundcloud, played on youtube... All the same low volume! I think the problem lies within FL. I didn't use Edison to record anything since the track is made using VST synths and samples I've had for a while. Here's the song in question anyway

KrazR - Deathmatch

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 17:01:01


At 6/11/12 03:16 PM, Bones341 wrote: Here's the song in question anyway

KrazR - Deathmatch

Yeeaaah, that goes any louder than it is now and my speakers will explode in a glorious ball of fire.

It doesn't get much louder than that. Computer-generated audio is not an infinite space of volume for you to fill at your own leisure. There's a limit that your waveform's amplitude can reach before the top and bottom parts of the waveform get cut off, producing distortion otherwise known as clipping. No amount of amplification will ever make that song significantly louder than it is now.

Regarding you hearing it louder in FL, I'm not sure why. It might be some sort of result of MP3 compression (to check, export your song as WAV and see if there are any differences in the WAV file). Either that or something weird's going on with your sound output or your imagination, because I'm afraid that's as loud as your track is going to get.

Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver


Review Request Club | CHECK THIS OUT | Formerly Supersteph54 | I'm an Audio Moderator. PM me for Audio Portal help.

BBS Signature

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 17:10:16


Instead of focusing on the "loudness" of the track, make sure the rest of the mix is good. Fiddle around with some compression on most of the tracks and have some sort of master mix (the fl multiband compressor works pretty good on the master).

Turn down all of the instruments in the mix and turn up the ones that need to stand out. Cut out any unnecessary frequencies. Becareful of the highs as they can be piercing , and watch out with the low end, as too much with probably cause a lot of clipping if the mix isn't good.

Also if you do use it, please don't use soundgoodizers as they will make mixes derpy. Also, try turning off asio and use your built-in sound driver. It might use more CPU but it will at least sound more like the mix you are working with after exporting.

Response to Asio4all Vs Standard Sound Driver 2012-06-11 18:16:10


At 6/11/12 05:10 PM, Kirbyfemur wrote: Instead of focusing on the "loudness" of the track, make sure the rest of the mix is good. Fiddle around with some compression on most of the tracks and have some sort of master mix (the fl multiband compressor works pretty good on the master).

Turn down all of the instruments in the mix and turn up the ones that need to stand out. Cut out any unnecessary frequencies. Becareful of the highs as they can be piercing , and watch out with the low end, as too much with probably cause a lot of clipping if the mix isn't good.

Also if you do use it, please don't use soundgoodizers as they will make mixes derpy. Also, try turning off asio and use your built-in sound driver. It might use more CPU but it will at least sound more like the mix you are working with after exporting.

This one nearly chewed up my CPU and spat it out, probably due to the amount of automation in it... I have a habit of using alot of automation so I need to save CPU where I can at the moment. I've got a redundant PC sat in the corner of my lounge with FL installed, but it just can't handle my stuff! It's being upgraded this week though, so here's hoping.

The master channel does have the multiband compressor on it

As for the soundgoodizer, I try not to use it where I can. I'm still learning to master my tracks properly so I use it as a reference for what I'm aiming for then get rid of it. But maybe that's where I'm going wrong...?