VCR+ limiting

[Sunyboy]

Greetings,

Quick question...

at what threshold does the limiter kick in when recording audio to a vhs?

is the answer universal? or do VCRs vary?


'preciate it

 

[Cosmic]

Suny,


I will assume you are referring to the VCRs that only have automatic level setting.
I can't verify this, but I don't believe there necessarily is such a thing as a limiter in one of the "auto" jobs; more just an auto gain function that probably is set to "stop gaining" at a level comfortable to the record electronics and to the capabilities of VHS tape with regards to headroom. I may be wrong, but it seems to make sense to me
The real curse of those machines, if you intend to 'master' or such on them, is precisely that the gain hauls up the quiet passages when you don't want it to happen, ruining the dynamics of your music. Also, some folks have had tracking issues with the tapes depending on the machines involved.
With pro machines with manual level setting, you do sometimes get an additional 'limiter' switch to throw.


Best,
C.

 

[Sunyboy]

thanks man