Blue Yeti clipping/distortion

S

Stuartd

New member
Hi all,

I am a game play commentator and I recently bought a Blue Yeti for recording my commentaries. I started with the levels at 100% in windows 7 and the gain on the yeti at 50% and then placed the yeti a few feet away on the desk and began recording. Once finished I played it back and it sounded nice and loud, however whenever I raised my voice it would clip the sound into the red on audition and sound sort of distorted, like a mini crackle. However if I turn the gain down the recording doesn't clip as I have tested it before starting in auction to make sure I can raise my voice however the recording is much lower and will require gain to be added afterwards. What can I do to avoid these problems this is the first proper mic I have used, it has just been headsets before.

Thanks for any advice :-)
 
This is the way of it I'm afraid.

There is a chance that the peaking could just be a result of plosives. Do the peaks coincide with words starting with p and b?
If you say "Pete piper picked a........" will it peak each time?
If so, you need a pop filter.

If not, best practice is to speak at the loudest level and set the gain so there's still room. Keep it around -12db at peaks.
Then, make up the difference in gain by working the mic properly. Lean in slightly for quiet speech, and lean back a little or move off axis for shouting.

If you still have a problem, a compressor is the tool to use.

A compressor can certainly be useful, but remember, there's no substitute for good technique.
 
Steenamaroo said:
This is the way of it I'm afraid.

There is a chance that the peaking could just be a result of plosives. Do the peaks coincide with words starting with p and b?
If you say "Pete piper picked a........" will it peak each time?
If so, you need a pop filter.

If not, best practice is to speak at the loudest level and set the gain so there's still room. Keep it around -12db at peaks.
Then, make up the difference in gain by working the mic properly. Lean in slightly for quiet speech, and lean back a little or move off axis for shouting.

If you still have a problem, a compressor is the tool to use.

A compressor can certainly be useful, but remember, there's no substitute for good technique.
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply to me I appreciate it. I have a pop filter in front of the mic. It tends to be random noises that cause it but I'm not really even shouting when it happens. If I set the gain to leave room to avoid the peaking should I then up the gain after or is it better to have louder gain and move away when making louder noises.

I don't really understand the theory as of yet, however I don't really get how you would use this mic for recording instruments or singing for example. Surley it would just peak all the time or you would have to record it so low.
 
Stuartd said:
I don't really understand the theory as of yet, however I don't really get how you would use this mic for recording instruments or singing for example. Surley it would just peak all the time or you would have to record it so low.
Click to expand...

No problem.

If you're using a pop filter then the peaking is probably just normal and your gain's a little high.

Do what you were doing; Drop the gain until peaking definitely wont happen then do one or more of the following.

Try to keep your voice reasonably level and avoid extreme dynamic range.
Move back and forth as you get louder and quieter.
Use volume automation or compression to level things out afterwards.

Those are in my order of preference, but obviously there are times when keeping your voice level consistent isn't practical.

Hope that's useful.
 
Steenamaroo said:
No problem.

If you're using a pop filter then the peaking is probably just normal and your gain's a little high.

Do what you were doing; Drop the gain until peaking definitely wont happen then do one or more of the following.

Try to keep your voice reasonably level and avoid extreme dynamic range.
Move back and forth as you get louder and quieter.
Use volume automation or compression to level things out afterwards.

Those are in my order of preference, but obviously there are times when keeping your voice level consistent isn't practical.

Hope that's useful.
Click to expand...

Thankyou that is indeed useful,

I tried a recording today and make sure that me normal level was -10 or there abouts, once I recorded the audio I listened back and there was no popping or clipping. I did however have to turn up the gain though as it wasn't quite as loud as I wanted it to be. However when it is I get the peaking, I will try a recording where I try and move back and forth but it can be a hard thing to do in the heat of the moment and once the peaking occurs that is that and I don't want that on my recordings.
 
Ok, from your answer I'm realising I didn't explain part of it very well.

Keep the gain where it was to ensure no clipping, even if the recording is too quiet.

Afterwards you can use compression tools to boost the overall signal level.

Basically, and within limits here's the rule.
If you record with gain too high and cause clipping, it can't be fixed.
If you record with the gain too low, it can. :)
 
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