sound quality issue

C

Creighton

New member
The band I am in has been tracking some songs live in our home stuido recently and I think the recordings are not sounding nearly as good as they should. We have the guitars and bass isolated away from the drums and have good separation on all the tracks so that is not the issue. We are using good quality mics on everything so that is not the issue.

Our setup is we have all the mics running into a Mackie Onyx 1640i board, which is then run into ProTools 9. Our levels are all good and not clipping. What I percieve listening back in the studio and also in the car is that the recordings are not clear sounding and are lacking in detail and depth in both the lows and highs. I would say the sound is 'grainy' for lack of a better term. There is just not as much clarity or lustre as there should be.

Our standard recording template is 24bit depth and 44.1hz sample rate. When we first started recording we did do some tracks in 48hz sample rate and that gave a noticeable improvement in sound quality when we listened back, but there are issues converting this to CD format. Can we track in 88.2hz and mix those tracks to CD? What would we need to convert the tracks recorded at 88.2hz, or 'dither' them down for CD?

Being that everything we have is of relatively high quality and we are all good players, I think we either need to record at a higher sample rate, or the issue could be with the mackie board, although not sure what. Any ideas?
 
Creighton said:
When we first started recording we did do some tracks in 48hz sample rate and that gave a noticeable improvement in sound quality when we listened back, but there are issues converting this to CD format. Can we track in 88.2hz and mix those tracks to CD? What would we need to convert the tracks recorded at 88.2hz, or 'dither' them down for CD?

Being that everything we have is of relatively high quality and we are all good players, I think we either need to record at a higher sample rate, or the issue could be with the mackie board, although not sure what. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

There's no "issue" converting from 48Khz or 88.2Hz 24bit, down to CD 44.1/16.
Most every DAW on the planet does that pretty easily....just *convert*...done. If you are going to use a higher sampling rate, than I would do all the editing/mixing/plugs while at that higher rate, then convert to CD format at the end.
AFA using "dither" during conversion...there's always a few choices available in the DAW...try them all...pick the one you like.
 
I assume the quality of the audio listened to direct at the mixer is OK, so you're sure the problem is in the A to D stages? Nowadays with decent computers, record at the highest settings and down-converting to 44.1 isn't a snag at all.
 
Are mixing on the board?? I suggest running the signals to your DAW raw and mix in the box.

The room you're recording in could play a part. But really, it comes down to how you mix the tracks. You should probably post a song a up in the MP3 clinic and let others hear what is going on.
 
None of these issues- 'grainy, 'unclear, lacking detail or 'depth are a sampling rate problems.
They are source, and/or mix qualities.
Now the questions will be what are you going to do ('address) when the same things apply at higher tates?
 
mixsit said:
None of these issues- 'grainy, 'unclear, lacking detail or 'depth are a sampling rate problems.
They are source, and/or mix qualities.
Now the questions will be what are you going to do ('address) when the same things apply at higher tates?
Click to expand...

Than why do the recordings we did at 48hz with the same sources have noticeably more clarity, detail and depth to the highs and lows?
 
Did these also happen to be different recordings?
Look, my point goes to if we're really going to say the sample rate is or can be- a make or break between 'grainy, lacking etc, etc, etc- recording or not. Vise versa, never heard/can't make one that sounds wonderful at 24/44?
Double down' then and see if it really does get to the heart of it.
 
Creighton said:
Than why do the recordings we did at 48hz with the same sources have noticeably more clarity, detail and depth to the highs and lows?
Click to expand...

Some converters may sound better on one setting rather than another, but it's more likely to be something more fundamental.

You say your recording levels are "good and not clipping". The "good" range is well below clipping, the level averaging right around -18dBFS for most things.

What is the room like that you're recording in? That can affect your recording quality, especially things like drum overheads.
 
The easy way is just do it! Record at the two different sample rates, mix both in the box, dither/convert the high sample rate one down, burn both to CD and listen.
I'm with mixsit - there should be no real difference between the two.
 
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