he was level on the level

[dobro]

Okay (as we say in America). Right (as we say in Britain). I've started to record for real, and there's a problem which you can help me with. It's either me, the technology I'm working with, or a combination of the both.

Am I right in thinking that digital has a very narrow range of volume beyond which clipping easily occurs, or am I just recording at too hot a level?

I recorded a couple of takes of a song tonight, and although they were inspired (I didn't realize this until I listened to the playback - at the time, it seemed I was just way into the song) at one point on each take, I clipped. Ruined an otherwise really good take. Was it the levels I was recording at, or is digital technology particularly unforgiving?

See, I'm trying to keep the levels as hot as possible, because I heard that anything less than 0 dB means you're not availing yourself of the full-bit capacity of your system. Is this true? Because I'm assuming it is, I record right up to the 0 dB line very often, and so if I get a bit forgetful of volume, I clip.

So, should I turn down the gain when I record, should I maintain control at all times and sing more carefully, or should I just win the lottery and move on to recording to high quality tape?

I've got loads of questions throughout this post. Feel free to respond to any or all. I don't know whether to feel disappointed or pissed off at this point.

 

[DALtune]

Are you using a compressor/limiter? I have found it very useful because I'm a terrible singer with lots of peaks and valleys when I sing (I would write in my vocal range, but that's about 3 notes). The compressor really helps the peaks.

 

[sonusman]

dobro,

actually, the last bit represents the last approx. 4 or 5 db on metering. If you are getting a nominal level that is right around there, you are cool.

I wouldn't worry that much about getting the levels hot in your case. You are not trying to produce a hit, and lossing a bit or two of resulution is not going to kill your recording in any way that you will notice. Often when I talked about optimizing bit depth, it is mostly a theorylogical thing.

Don't ruin a good take by worrying about meters. Do what you can to get them hot, but don't sweat it too much my friend. Really, I am sure that you have many other things in your recording system that could be upgraded to produce a better sound than trying to squeeze the last bit out of your recorder.

At the same time, if your track is jumping from -40 to 0db, well, you need to try to improve that. If your track is running between -15 and 0db, while this is not killer, it will work just fine and produce amazing results.

Digital is actually much more forgiving from a noise aspect. You have a much lower noise floor with digital usually. But digital does suffere from a bit of staleness when you don't get the most bits you can out of a track. But hey, I have tracks on tape that sound just fine that average around -10, so don't worry about it.

Ed

 

[dobro]

DALtune - I'm trying to record without compression, although I know that would solve the clipping problems. I'm trying to record the least processed signal possible.

Ed - thanks, your post was useful and encouraging. I know how I'm going to proceed now. I'm not saying it'll work, mind... but I know the direction.

 

[Buck62]

I'm nearly finished with a 10-song CD that will be released within 2 months, and I didn't use any compression either, dobro. It's great to get every little nuance of sound with out getting blurred by compression.
We always made sure to never get above -3db at the very loudest. To achieve the best levels, we do rehearsal takes and sing or play that part a little louder or heavier to make sure we don't go over. Usually, we record between -6 and -3db, and the recordings are superb. There doesn't seem to be any loss of tonality at all.
Another thing to remember is that when you get to the loud vocal parts, back off the mic, just as you would during a live performance. You can always work the fader on the mix if you backed off too much during that part. Just make sure you back off slightly before you get "loud", otherwise, it's a bitch to mix if you start out loud and back away quickly during the same note.

 

[dobro]

Buck62 - useful, thanks. I'm new to working mics - hardly performed at all, and almost never with a mic, so I'm learning the backing off business. Because most of my musical life has focussed on songwriting rather than performing or recording, my playing and singing hasn't had to be very tight. Now, because of the recording, I'm having to learn some control. I find this a bit frustrating and inhibiting when I'm recording, but I've noticed two knock-on effects recently - I'm playing and singing with fewer mistakes, and more innovation. I've never been fond of limits and constraints, but in this case I think the discipline's having a positive result.

[This message has been edited by dobro (edited 02-05-2000).]

 

[MrLip]

I concur with the last thing.

Recording has made me realize how terrible my rhythm is, and has also helped me improve upon it.

Cheers