Like the sound from the PA but not in the box

LazerBeakShiek said:
Well at -18 it will be much quieter. Opposed to -6. Perhaps there will not be as much of the static .

What is this baking?

Playing it back at higher volume?
Click to expand...

Basically, sort of.

So we need this thing called "headroom" over the +4 analog average line level as a place for the peaks to sit. If you clip (distort) the analog side of your signal through your mic preamp or converters before it gets to digital, that distortion gets baked in. Even if the digital signal doesn't go over 0 dBFS. It would be like recording a raging Marshall Plexi with the "Brown Sound" or whatever. Distorted guitar. Very cool. So after we record that sound can we take that guitar track and process it so it's clean? Maybe more like a Fender Twin?

No. We can't. That's the sound. It's baked in.

The Loudness Wars were (I'm hoping it's over now...) a thing where every record label wanted every one of their CD's to be louder than everyone elses CD's. Since you can't go over 0 dBFS without harsh, nasty digital clipping, they started using ungodly amounts of compression and limiting to reduce the dynamic range and increase the RMS loudness at the expense of good sound. Vapour Trails by Rush is an example of a record with absolutely hideous sonics becuase they made it way too loud. You can hear cymbals clipping all over the place. The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips is an example of a CD with a huge RMS level and almost no dynamics, but the illusion of dynamics. Californication and Deaf Magnetic are other records where they chose "loud" over "good".

These are extreme examples, but the point is tracking loud doesn't buy you anything. It's more likely to cost you something. Even if you want to make it loud at the end of the process. The cleaner your tracks are to begin with, the more punishment they will be able to withstand.

So if you're at home with your DAW tracking at line level like you should, you might notice it's nowhere near as loud as a commerical CD release. That's okay. If you clip your preamp or converters on the way in, you can't get rid of the crap it might leave on your signal. Especially if you're using something like a USB powered interface. Headroom matters, and those devices don't have the most headroom.

Digital audio doesn't have a sweet spot. It's harder to track too low than it is to track too hot. The sound doesn't change much until you run into distortion, clipping and aliasing from being too hot. If you have to turn up a track that was recorded clean, it will still be clean. If you have to turn down a track that has unintentional distortion from overcooking the levels, it will still be distorted.
 
Not one of my digital recordings are even usable. They sound poor. Now they want me to re buy. Honestly, it is NO thank you.

DAW has all the convenience with none of the sound.

Nothing tells me any meter is in the red or clipping. No driver error in the computer. It does not faithfully recreate the sound coming from the amp.
 
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There's a saying... Its a poor craftsman who blames his tools!



The recordings that I've gotten via digital recording are FAR superior to anything I ever got using tape. If nothing else, its due to the lower noise floor. That gives you more room to work without having to resort to bandaids like Dolby and DBX NR. (I HATE tape hiss!!!) You've got a boatload of effects without having to spend THOUSANDS of $$ on compressors and EQs. Its a win-win situation. I've got a $300 interface that has compression and EQ built in, and a $60 program in a $400 computer. That's less than $1000 invested in the actual recording equipment. I spent over $600 on a 4 track 1/4" tape deck in the late 70s. With inflation, that would probably be $2000+.

No comparison.

As for wanting you to Rebuy anything, are you talking about Reaper? If you bought it since 2015, then you're still good until they get to Version 7. That will probably be several years down the road.
 
I must say NOTHING will make me return to analogue. The quality of my digital recordings is so much better and I have no issues with the sound whatsoever. In fact, it lets me hear the tiny differences between pieces of older kit that before sounded identical. Digital does not mean noise or any other problem artefacts. Things that matter are mix choice, positioning and correct gain staging. That’s even easier with digits. I suspect your conclusions are based on either faults or wrong choices?
 
Well im a borrow a lin6 toneport from this guy.

Thinking it could be the hardware. I will reapeat Test A as a Test C with the toneport and see if that changes the static. My experiemention just happen to find headphone Jack #2 does not function in the 6i6. There could be something internally wrong with it. Also the Toneport is USB Bus powered instead of a wall current adapter .

My cel recorded clips have no static from clean preset #2. However I did not have the PCM 80 bypassed, so the chorus makes it hard to tell if there is static.
 
As others said, digital is all about removing noise from the process.

Switching to an entirely different signal chain may clarify that there are faults in the path(s) being tested so far, but there's too much "noise" in this thread for me to know if that's certain.

I'll suggest to the OP that he open a new thread to report on results of using the UX2. This one stopped kicking a while ago, I think.
 
Let me do my tests in this thread. I don't want to litter posts and reference from all over.

When I am done delete it. Lets keep it in one linear simple thread huh?

I want to try this thing where I play a sampler looped guitar part, and walk around with the mic trying to find hot and cold spots. If there are any.
 
Not familiar with Gearbox. I just turned everything off. All the little pedal pictures, all off. SM58 to L6 UX2 MIc input 1.
 

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That static is a broken 6i6.

Thank you to all who participated. Good call on hearing that 'static'. I thought I found the brown sound.
 
Please recommend an interface with a quality A D D A section. I would like USB cause otherwise I would not know how to connect it to my laptop.

It seems the interface makes a huge difference so that is where I want to spend. API A2D?
 
Where did I go wrong? I did NOT misunderstand this purchase. They told me it would go directly to the DAW.

Annotation 2019-12-05 115734.jpg

My DAW has a USB input, what does your DAW have as an input?

Recommend something under $6000, 2 channels preferred.
 
That goes into the input of something else - it's not meant to go to the computer directly. those with deep enough pockets hang them off similarly expensive interfaces that have line ins. Crazy waste of money unless your entire audio chain is at that level. For my standards, that means speakers of mouth watering price too.
 
Anything? Don't get the Sapphire.

The API A2D has a Spidiff. One of the highest rated A to D converters on the market.

What would I need to get the Spidiff into the DAW? A USB to Spidiff adapter?
 
So it sounds like the 6i6 is the problem, Did you buy it used or new. If new, then contact the seller and get it replaced. Focusrite makes decent stuff but mistakes can alway get through. If it was used, then contact the seller and hope he's not some a--hole who figured he would dump a broken piece of gear and make a few bucks at the same time.
 
If you're SERIOUS about spending some money there are better options than the 6i6.

I know one guy who only works with Universal Audio. LOVES the stuff, and he's a working musician, as in that's his day job. He's firmly in the Mac world, and goes Thunderbolt instead of USB. They do make a USB model. One other guy I know swears by RME interfaces. I think they get a lot of love around here because of excellent drivers support and stability.

You don't need to spend $6000. A UA Apollo Twin USB interface is about $900. Its got two mic pres, two more line inputs, and can handle 8 more optical inputs via ADAT. An RME BabyFace is about $750 and the Fireface starts around $1300. You could use the rest of the $6000 to buy a U87. an AKG 414 and some room treatment, and go out for coffee and donuts with the spare change!
 
Yes, there might be a fault with the 6i6 because it is an otherwise excellent interface as are most others at its price point by Native Instruments, MOTU, Audiofuse and many others.

If you wanted something slightly different and with exceptionally high quality mic pres and converters, look at the Sound Devices MixPre series. Expensive yes but not in the 'silly money' class which I doubt are really THAT much better?

Dave.
 
Dave, yes Focusrite makes some nice products. I do not have a different 6i6 to try and see what it actually would sound like.
I really liked the ISA series from them, the Producers pack had the Lundahl transformers. The demos sounded great.

My laptop has only 3 USB ins. There is an old desktop from 20 years ago with no firewire or thunderbolt or fancy inputs. I do not want another computer.

Rich, I purchased it off Reverb last Sept. I started a thread on a forum called Gearsltz , but they didn't understand what was going on and called me a troll. So it sat for a bunch of months, I had no idea what was wrong. My thought was perhaps the ASIO drivers.

I Love the 1176 compressor from UA. UA makes nice gear, I would like to explore that line. The Apollo Twin is USB? Any reason not to buy it?
 
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