Recording Volume

[pixel]

Is there a trick to control the gain on a mixer/soundcard combination so that the soundcard can pick up the sound of (say) a guitar both when I'm gently fingerpicking and when I'm wailing away during the same session?

At present, if the recording volume is set to that fingerpicking comes through, then when I start wailing it'll clip like crazy. Conversely, if it's ok to wail on, then it won't pick up the finger picking.

to solve this problem, I've connected TWO cables to my guitar via a splitter, and sent one cable to a high amplification channel and another to a low amplification channel, then sent both channels into my soundcard as left and right, so when one channel isn't picking up due to clipping or inadequate volume, the other one is usually working.

this poses a few problems, not the least of which is having to go back and manually merge the two together, I'd much rather if theer were an auto gain control of some sort that I could employ. Is there such a beast, either in software or hardware?

-Alex

 

[freeztar]

---Is there such a beast, either in software or hardware?---

Yes,
Hardware wise you've got the option of a volume pedal. With software you have more options. I frequently encounter this problem and I use Goldwave to isolate the volume peaks and minimize them (set your to and from points and select "maximize volume" and then set a lower volume, experiment). If you are clipping big time, this will not work. Instead, try recording at a low volume level that will not clip, then raise the volume of all the other parts (time consuming). Also, try manual recording tricks if you don't have a volume pedal (analog is always preferable to digital in the first stages). If you are using a guitar, or other instrument where it is possible to control volume locally, turn down or up accordingly (it's a pain in the butt, but a good practice for live performances where you might not have the luxury of software). I don't know of anything (software or hardware) that will equalize your volume on the fly, but it would probably be inferior if it exists at all.
Peace!

 

[Bulls Hit]

You could also use a compressor (software or hardware).

Try a threshold level of -15 / -20db, compression ratio around 10 to 15, and output gain aroun 10db. This will bring up the quiet passages and bring down the loud bits