Losing transients in digital?

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pneumatic

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I have been told by a sound engineer that a very important part of the sound
(the transient) is often lost in digital recordings because it is faster then the record meters and as digital is unforgiving, unlike tape, you should record percussive instruments at minus 12 to minus 16 db.
My question would then be this; Does the same apply to mixing down within audio software ? Should the mix down go no higher then minus 12 to minus 16db too?
 
Just dont let it clip. Thats it.

Oh.....


and make sure it doesn't sound like crap.
 
You are confusing a couple of things.

1. Analog loses transients as well. It smooshes them instead of cutting them off, but if you excede a certain level, the transient is affected.

2. Yes, there are transients that are faster then the peak meters so you should give yourself some headroom. There is no reason to peak beyond -6dbfs.

3. You mixes should have the meters hovering around -12dbfs. Imagine that -12dbfs is the same as 0dbvu on an analog VU meter. -12dbfs should be your average level, not your peak level. Make sure your peak doesn't go above 0dbfs.
 
Yeah, I think you're confusing things. If you're monitoring through analog style VU meters, then yes, that can be an issue as those meters aren't fast enough to track the transients thus they can be viewed as RMS meters. However, most digital meters are fast enough to track the transients, so if you see 0dBFS on a digital meter, most likely you've clipped the signal.

When I first started out doing recordings, I'd pretty much push things as close to 0dBFS as I could, in a futile attempt to make my stuff sound... uh... loud :D However, I'm now recording at lower levels. Rarely peaking past -6dBFS on the master output (which means that the individual channels are usually lower, around -10dB or below) and the quality of my mixes has improved. Somehow they sound more open.
 
See thats what i needed to hear,no wonder my tracks sound so harsh and brittle in the master out.Some did and others didnt,now i know why :D
Thanks guys.
 
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