How to get a recording w/o clipping?

SpeedKing9

New member
I'm fairly new to Cakewalk, and when I record one instrument, the line levels never go to the "red" area, but whenever I do several instruments, it ALWAYS goes to the red. Is this a good or bad thing? Do I want to prevent it from going to the red or not? What are the best ways of getting recordings that DON'T clip? FYI, I'm using a general soundcard and no mixer as of right now, but the quality isn't SO bad, but I would like NO clipping. Should I run through the line in or the mic input? I tried through the line in, and it did not work?
 
Avoid the RED! As you know, that's clippping. You'll have to do a test-recording, and see how bad it is clipping. Adjust the "Line In" or "Mic In" (whatever you use) in the Recording-section of the Windows-mixer, so the input signal doesen't clip.
 
King of Speed - First. which meters are you talking about. There are meters on each track, and then there is also a Main meter. The Main meter is the sum of all the tracks. Therefore, the Main meter levels will increase as you add tracks to your mix. If they start going into the red, you will have to back off on your tracks a bit.

When you record, you should be interested in the individual track meters. They should stay below the red as you are recording.

Lastly, you will get better quality if you use the Line In on your sound card. But this will require you to supply a separate pre-amp to boost the mic signal to line level. In fact, the separate pre-amp is the reason you will get better quality, since you will then not be using the cheap pre-amp that is built into the Mic input on your sound card.
 
This separate preamp you are talking about....is this a mic preamp that is usually onboard mixers and such?

Also, the individual track meters, I make sure it doesn't hit the red. But, when I do a bunch of tracks, the individuals do not get in the red, but the sum of all of them (the main meters) go red no matter how quiet it is!

ARgh!!
 
Yes, most mixers have preamps built into them. Some are fairly decent. You can also purchase a standalone pre-amp (which is nothing BUT a pre-amp). Generally these are the best quality, but also the most expensive least flexible approach. Many people (me included) just use a mixer. Either one will certainly be a major step up from what's in your sound card.

As for your problem with the Main meters clipping, it could be that one of your tracks needs compression. What do you have recorded? Try muting each track one at a time to see if you can find one that's causing the problem and maybe apply some compression to it.
 
Thank you for your answers. What kind of mixer do you use?

FYI: The song I'm talking about is at http://elysium.tripod.com which is my band's first original, so check it out if you'd like! This was recorded with no mixer, no mic pre's, and ONE mic stand haha.

We're going to eventually get our hands on quality stuff eventually.
 
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