Search results

And if you forget to tighten the lug nuts on your car the wheels will fall off. I don't think avoiding incompetence is a valid reason to waste 50 percent of your hard drive space and available track count. Again, who cares if the quality suffers when recording at -40? Bear in mind, years ago...

Agreed. The best way to establish an "order of importance" is to assess the degradation added by each stage. Obviously the performance is outside the loop, and surely that matters more than anything. Even if a singer is out of tune, it might be on purpose for effect. Is that sexy raspy quality...

Yes! That's why recording two different performances is never valid when comparing preamps or converters, or anything else. --Ethan

Modern DAW software records audio at 16 or 24 bits, but all processing is handled at 32 bits FP to minimize distortion and noise. So there's no benefit to actually recording at a higher resolution. --Ethan

Yes, and analog tape also has a worse frequency response than digital audio - even with frequent alignment - and much higher distortion. Just one generation loss with analog tape is obvious, versus modern digital which can withstand several generations before you can even hear a difference...

Exactly. Even that is a silly reason to waste 50 percent of your hard drive storage capability. All DAW software I know of can import one bit depth into a project set for another bit depth. My explanation for why 24 bits is standard is simple: mass delusion. :D Both parameters matter, but...

Still no link? I didn't get defensive, I just stated facts. I never said a preamp should cost a couple of dollars, even when that's the cost of the parts. I have pointed out that some budget mixers come with 1-4 perfectly good preamps for $50 to $200 including the rest of the mixer. That's...

I agree. Distortion is a "commodity item" that is simple and inexpensive to create. --Ethan

So much for the perception that the 24-bit mix sounds a tiny bit better. Seriously, this is a valuable lesson that I hope is not overlooked. --Ethan

Can you link to a post where I did that unfairly? I said "per channel," though I do think that $1,000 even for two channels is not a good value. Again, if the vendors didn't use audiophile BS to justify their high prices I'd object less. If it's built better, and has better features such as a...

Maybe one was mono and the other stereo? That would explain the 2-to-1 size and bit-rate ratio. --Ethan

Good point. I totally missed that this is for live sound, and he did mention "drums" as one entity versus a bunch of separate drum tracks. In that case the right advice is to subgroup to buses in the DAW, which also requires a sound card with enough separate outputs. --Ethan

Not really. I do often link to my own articles and videos, but they're short and to the point, and they directly address the issue at hand. Further, I always answer questions with clear logical answers, and offer the articles and videos for further study. I never ever tell someone nonsense like...

Bobbsy and Dave explained it perfectly, so there's no need for me to elaborate. But to address your specific question above, my point was that when "believers" are unable to provide a specific answer, they try to snow you with endless and usually irrelevant techno-babble. If they had an answer...

I believe you're over-thinking this. If you have every instrument on a separate track in a DAW, then the mixing and added effects can be handled in the software. There's no need to mix the tracks in a hardware mixer, and doing that is much more complicated and less versatile. --Ethan

I was arguing with an "audiophile" recently in a hi-fi forum (yeah, I know...) and that's what he said too. I asked for a specific technical explanation why fancy wires and "isolation" products improve sound quality, and he told me I'll never understand until I spend enough time with truly...

Ding ding ding! Give this man a ceegar. Yes, and "or similar" can be had for 50 cents with a couple of diodes and resistors to add distortion similar to "iron" and "toobs." --Ethan

I think you answered your own question. Unless you record everything with extremely close micing, the room you record in affects the quality at least ten times more than the preamp you use. Even with close mics the room has an affect. Further, your room also affects what you hear when mixing. So...

A sound card is a digital interface. So you are not "all analog." Whether replacing your sound card with another model will give better results depends on what you have now. Many sound cards are very high quality. Regardless, I see no reason to get rid of the Mackie mixer. It's a fine unit. This...

Someone else linked this page above, but it wasn't very clear so here it is again: RealTraps Product Data --Ethan