Dropout & Quality When Copying A Cd

[LeeAnn]

Hello everyone, I am new to this discussion forum, and have been told by Roxio there isn't any support for toast 6 titanium anymore and it wasnt listed

My question isI have recorded my music & vocals using Atari notator + outboard fx through my mackie mixer to dat and then mastered to CD on my Sony burner, which is a good quality mix until I try to copy through toast. I get sharpness on the mix where the mix was mellow, and get drop out of different instrumentation which is not my choice. I use e-mac and set it all up in itunes with labels then toast it. I really need to have a virtualy 100% copy of my work and wonder if I am missing something, is there some auto-mix button I need to turn off, is it automatically choosing how my CD should sound, this should be my choice not the softwares........can anyone Please help ?? Thanks all LeeAnn

[tsantee]

So you have a master on CD. Did you use the Toast Copy window to make your additional copies? If so, choose Save as Disc Image from the File menu to create a master copy on the hard drive. You can play the resulting .sd2f file with QuickTime or iTunes. It will all be one track. Do you hear any change in the audio? If not, burn that .sd2f file to CD using the Image File setting in the Copy window. Now burn you copy. Does the audio change on the burned disc? If so, then my best guess is there is a problem with your version of Toast and the version of QuickTime you are using. Which version of OS X and QuickTime are you running?

[tsantee]

I'm glad to hear that it seems to be working out. As for the burn speed, the ones in bold face are the actual available speeds determined by the drive after it examines the media. Most CD-R media today seems to have 8X as the slowest speed. It is recommended to burn audio CDs as slow as the drive and disc allow. If the 1X is in italics after the drive has recognized the disc then that speed is not available.

[LeeAnn]

So you have a master on CD. Did you use the Toast Copy window to make your additional copies? If so, choose Save as Disc Image from the File menu to create a master copy on the hard drive. You can play the resulting .sd2f file with QuickTime or iTunes. It will all be one track. Do you hear any change in the audio? If not, burn that .sd2f file to CD using the Image File setting in the Copy window. Now burn you copy. Does the audio change on the burned disc? If so, then my best guess is there is a problem with your version of Toast and the version of QuickTime you are using. Which version of OS X and QuickTime are you running?

 

Hello & thanks for a quick reply. The Mac has OS Tiger which is on the laptop....I have an emac with Panther on it though. I am burning the copies on the laptop with Tiger, and then listening back to a copy on all the audio systems I have available including the original recording speakers. Why would there be a problem with Toast? and I am using itunes to listen to it plus other audio systems....I don't think I use quicktime though for playback?

[tsantee]

Hello & thanks for a quick reply. The Mac has OS Tiger which is on the laptop....I have an emac with Panther on it though. I am burning the copies on the laptop with Tiger, and then listening back to a copy on all the audio systems I have available including the original recording speakers. Why would there be a problem with Toast? and I am using itunes to listen to it plus other audio systems....I don't think I use quicktime though for playback?

Toast uses QuickTime behind the scenes. I don't understand why you are having a problem using Toast 6.1.1 with Tiger but if you are it could be because of changes in QuickTime that have happened after Roxio ceased updating Toast 6.

 

Give the steps I suggested a try.

[LeeAnn]

Toast uses QuickTime behind the scenes. I don't understand why you are having a problem using Toast 6.1.1 with Tiger but if you are it could be because of changes in QuickTime that have happened after Roxio ceased updating Toast 6.

 

Give the steps I suggested a try.

 

Thanks for the reply, I have read all the other topics in this forum and you seem to be the one with the answers, so after going to the dentist tomorrow I will get on the case. The thing is that these CDs that are being burnt are demo tracks and there seems to be drop out of instrumentation and a thining out of lead vocals, but only when the CD is copied through toast. The master CD as stated having been recorded on the Sony burner is just as required. Both the master CD and the copy from toast have been played on several other pro audio systems and it sure stands out that there is something missing from the copy. I was interested in what you said about going to file and saving image then copying from the HD, as that may be a sweeter copy when done, which I will try after the dentist, however I don't want to save the whole lot of 20 songs as one, and I hope I can save each one seperately so I can manipulate the running order at a later date. I also was reading about Jam.....would that have an advantage for me or is this mainly for DVD&Audio together? Would an upgrade help or is the fault fundamentaly with the Quicktime & Toast combi ? Many thanks and I will await your reply . LeeAnn

[tsantee]

Thanks for the reply, I have read all the other topics in this forum and you seem to be the one with the answers, so after going to the dentist tomorrow I will get on the case. The thing is that these CDs that are being burnt are demo tracks and there seems to be drop out of instrumentation and a thining out of lead vocals, but only when the CD is copied through toast. The master CD as stated having been recorded on the Sony burner is just as required. Both the master CD and the copy from toast have been played on several other pro audio systems and it sure stands out that there is something missing from the copy. I was interested in what you said about going to file and saving image then copying from the HD, as that may be a sweeter copy when done, which I will try after the dentist, however I don't want to save the whole lot of 20 songs as one, and I hope I can save each one seperately so I can manipulate the running order at a later date. I also was reading about Jam.....would that have an advantage for me or is this mainly for DVD&Audio together? Would an upgrade help or is the fault fundamentaly with the Quicktime & Toast combi ? Many thanks and I will await your reply . LeeAnn

The .sd2f file will play as one track with QuickTime Player or iTunes. But all the track markers and cross fades or whatever else is part of the master are there and will remain when it is burned by Toast to a new audio CD. So don't worry about that.

 

Also, make sure to burn the CD at the slowest available speed (which likely will be 8X). Be sure the blank disc is recognized by Toast before selecting the speed. Do not choose "Best" for an audio CD.

[LeeAnn]

I'm glad to hear that it seems to be working out. As for the burn speed, the ones in bold face are the actual available speeds determined by the drive after it examines the media. Most CD-R media today seems to have 8X as the slowest speed. It is recommended to burn audio CDs as slow as the drive and disc allow. If the 1X is in italics after the drive has recognized the disc then that speed is not available.

 

Greetings to you today,

Thank you so much for the help you gave, it worked!!!!!!!! The drop out and inconsistency of mix has been eradicated by downloading file image onto desk top and then toasting it, leaving out itunes altogether. I recorded the audio disc at the speed 'best' and 8x as suggested, 'best' came out better with a more quality mix, it was only marginal I have to say, it may not matter when copying commercial cd's or itunes tracks, but when they have been sang, recorded & produced by yourself then your ears are tuned to that. I don't know what 'best' is, as far as speed x goes...do you know? In the meantime I will give 1x a go and see what happens, but I am happy with the results you have enabled me to achieve. again many thanks LeeAnn.

[LeeAnn]

The .sd2f file will play as one track with QuickTime Player or iTunes. But all the track markers and cross fades or whatever else is part of the master are there and will remain when it is burned by Toast to a new audio CD. So don't worry about that.

 

Also, make sure to burn the CD at the slowest available speed (which likely will be 8X). Be sure the blank disc is recognized by Toast before selecting the speed. Do not choose "Best" for an audio CD.

 

 

Hello tsantee

j ust to say that the dentist was fine and when I got back I took my master cd and put it onto the laptop as you suggested, basically missing out itunes, just straight onto the desktop as a saved image file and then opening it up, whereupon it opened automatically into toast with all the tracks numbered and displayed. From listening to it there does not seem to be much discrepancy between the two, not as before anyway. The write speeds are from 1x and up to mega amounts and also including 'best' which is the default.....so I did it on 8x as you suggested, is that better than 1x?????? What do you think may have caused the problem of topended recording and drop out of instrumentation......could it have been that the cd was loaded and opened in itunes first off. I hope I have carried out the instructions you gave correctly????....if not and I need to do something else to improve upon it and you can answer the other questions I have posed please let me know. Many many thanks to you LeeAnn x :D