What levels should i record at?

[exomonkeyman]

Hello There.

Simple question really, i read that most audio engineers record between -24db to -12db for room in post.

Is this true? And would you recommend recording at that level.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Yes.
The advantage of tracking hotter, in the old days, was that you kept more ground between your signal and noise-floor.
These days it's less of an issue so there's no real benefit of tracking very hot.

Once you clip, though, the damage is done, so why not leave 10db or so for safety?

 

[exomonkeyman]

Ah thanks!

 

[rob aylestone]

It depends on so much really. Many folk now don't worry as much about levels as they did in the past because 1. the available dynamic range is so wide, and 2. because meter ballistics in the various software we use seem to behave very differently. Realistically, the only real factor is avoiding distortion from going over and depending on your music style, this means it can be easy or a nightmare to work to a consistent level. The various software platforms also seem to manage how they deal with summing in a different way, so for many people, having individual channels working at a sensible level to allow boost and cut around the 'average' position makes sense, but this frequently in a busy mix means that the masters will have to be lower to compensate. My peaks seem to be around -6dB, which is closer than perhaps idea to the danger zone, but for my type of music, works pretty well with my average levels quite a bit lower. I suspect people know their equipment well enough to find the 'best' level for the way they work. My material often has very quiet bits, so they become exposed, hence why I prefer to work higher - however, it does mean I have to take care - which I just do.

 

[Massive Master]

If you're bored: Proper Audio Recording Levels | The Rants and Ravings of an Audio Mastering Engineer

 

[Farview]

The thing that makes it hard to give a good answer is the way the meters react. There are two things you want to avoid when recording, distorting the preamp, interface, etc... (the analog signal path leading up to the converters AND clipping the converters.

It is easy to avoid clipping the converters because all the meters in the DAWs are peak meters. As long as you don't hit zero, you haven't clipped the converter.

Distorting the analog path on the way to the converters is a little harder to detect, because that is more likely to happen due to high level sustained signal than occasional peaks. However, the high level sustained signal that is starting to strain the analog path can happen at a level lower than it takes to clip the converters.

In the past, VU meters more or less measured the average level of the signal, ignoring the quick little peaks, so that you had a decent idea of how close you were to a nominal line level signal. Even at that, things like drums would need to be recorded at a lower level on the meters because the sustain is so short that the meters would not accurately read the level.

Setting recording levels and reading level meters has always been a little mix of art and science.

All that said, what you are trying to do is record a line level signal. With a peaking meter, you have to look at the level of an average volume sustained note to get an idea of the level.

To add to the confusion, different interfaces are calibrated to different levels. Sometimes a line level input will give you -12dbfs, sometimes it will give you -22dbfs on the meters in the DAW. It depends on the interface. The good news is, close enough is good enough.

If you don't know how your interface is calibrated, the 'rule of thumb' is -18dbfs is line level. Find a sustained note and set the recording level to that and you should be good. Of course, keep an eye on the meters to make sure you don't clip. Don't worry about not getting anywhere close to the top of the meter. Some instruments will, some won't. It depends on the transient content of the instrument.

 

[Btyre2013]

-18dbFS works for me, I have found often though that around -24dBFS works better for classical recordings where headroom and dynamic range is much more important, I am talking about average volume of coarse, not peaks! with peaks I try to aim for no more than -10dBFS this might sound like too low a level at first but I've never not ONCE had a problem with distortion or been unhappy with a recording since using this method. The Audio won't suffer when you are recording in 24 bit because the noise floor is so low at -140dB, stick to 24 bit and you'll be fine.