saw this somewhere, can't find it again :(

S

sirslurpee

What does THIS button do?
I read somewhere on here about input levels when recording.. it said something about when using digital inputs not to overdrive the preamp as opposed to analog where you keep the levels as hot as you can. I THINK it said guitars and vocals (anything with long sustain but normal attack) should be set around -6dbfs and drums should be around -16dbfs (high attack, short sustain) or something of the sorts. I don't remember if i have it backwards ot not.. or if that is even right :confused:
Could someone clarify for me please?
 
man i hate that, it's even worse with me i save valuable info and store it away somewhere safe (in computer or physical copy) but by the time i need it I can't remember where it is, unbelievable.


All I can say here is that Digital Distortion is aweful, where as analog distortion can be very nice, and if you're levels just barely clip with analog alot of times you can't even tell...but digital distortion is very noticeable and horrible even with the slightest amount of distortion it ruins your recording, and you can't eliminate it without removing other frequencies in your recording.
 
I think the deal with analog and keeping the levels hot was about maximizing the signal to noise ratio. You had all those pinch wheels and capstans grinding away plus the tape hiss which meant a constant and relatively high noise floor. Hot signals were also compressed naturally by tape, which lent its own character.

In the digital world with 24 bit convertors, it's a different game. Lower noise floors and greater dynamic range mean you don't need to drive the preamps so hard, so you leave plenty of head room and avoid any possibility of digital clippijng
 
You've got it backwards - And a little hot -

0dBVU is going to give you a signal around -18dBRMS digitally. That's a normal tracking level for a sustained signal. High-transients (kick, snare, etc.) will give you short bursts that can't be readily measured via VU/RMS meters, so expect digital signals to hit around -12dBFS or so on individual tracks.

And you're trying NOT to overdrive the ANALOG signal path. Digital doesn't add any noise/distortion on its own - But the vast majority of preamps are well into their available headroom and distorting wildly well before you can push the signal to full-scale. That distortion, lack of clarity and focus, noise, skewed spectral response, etc. is permanent at that point. You are NOT trying to get the hottest signal - That's not the point. You're trying to get the CLEANEST signal with as much headroom as possible within reason. There's certainly not reason to track with peaks at -30dBFS (although I'd much rather track that low than have peaks hitting -3dBFS), but it's not bad either. I treat -24dBRMS as a normal "0" point (and have my tracking converters calibrated as close as I can to reflect that).
 
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