lets talk gain stages
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- re-cappin' neve
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lets talk gain stages
So sometimes when i record i have problems with noise or distortion.
when i solo a track that i suspect to be the culprit there is no distortion.
so this makes believe this is a summing problem when you have like 32 tracks going on at the same time all the noise is building up. what can i do to prevent this and what are some good remedies to look into?
when i solo a track that i suspect to be the culprit there is no distortion.
so this makes believe this is a summing problem when you have like 32 tracks going on at the same time all the noise is building up. what can i do to prevent this and what are some good remedies to look into?
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- zen recordist
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record at lower levels. there's threads here and elsewhere, i can point you to a couple if you want. but basically try tracking stuff so it's peaking in say the -16dbfs area....mix so that you're peaking around -6...keep the master fader at zero and turn down the track faders....doing this means
1. you're not distorting your pres (or converters) trying to push stuff all the way up to 0dbfs
2. you're not overloading plug ins when you mix
3. you're not overloading the mix bus
1. you're not distorting your pres (or converters) trying to push stuff all the way up to 0dbfs
2. you're not overloading plug ins when you mix
3. you're not overloading the mix bus
- fossiltooth
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Simple answers to obtuse questions.fossiltooth wrote:drumsound wrote:Turn shit down.
Way to 'moderate' Tony!
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Oscar Wilde
Failed audio engineer & pro studio tech turned Component level motherboard repair store in New York
Oscar Wilde
Failed audio engineer & pro studio tech turned Component level motherboard repair store in New York
- JGriffin
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How long, O Lord, until one of these is made into a sticky?!?MoreSpaceEcho wrote:record at lower levels. there's threads here and elsewhere, i can point you to a couple if you want.s
"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."
"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno
All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/
"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno
All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/
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- gimme a little kick & snare
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- JohnDavisNYC
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- carpal tunnel
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Definitely the best "tattoo it on your arm"-sized summary so far.MoreSpaceEcho wrote:record at lower levels. there's threads here and elsewhere, i can point you to a couple if you want. but basically try tracking stuff so it's peaking in say the -16dbfs area....mix so that you're peaking around -6...keep the master fader at zero and turn down the track faders....doing this means
1. you're not distorting your pres (or converters) trying to push stuff all the way up to 0dbfs
2. you're not overloading plug ins when you mix
3. you're not overloading the mix bus
"The world don't need no more songs." - Bob Dylan
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"Why does the Creator send me such knuckleheads?" - Sun Ra
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- zen recordist
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To quote Alber Einstein:RWC wrote:Simple answers to obtuse questions.fossiltooth wrote:drumsound wrote:Turn shit down.
Way to 'moderate' Tony!
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
and
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
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- zen recordist
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well, opinions vary, but for me....-16dbfs average on say, kick drum, would likely be peaking right up to zero. even if it were only peaking at say -6, which would be plenty of headroom, in the mix you'd likely end up having to turn it down, so why not just track it at lower levels to begin with and keep your faders up around zero?qball wrote:I thought it was -16dbfs average...MoreSpaceEcho wrote:record at lower levels. there's threads here and elsewhere, i can point you to a couple if you want. but basically try tracking stuff so it's peaking in say the -16dbfs area....
try this: go through a mix you've already done (one that hopefully peaks a ways below 0dbfs) and solo individual tracks. watch the meters and see where the ave/peak levels are at...then keep these levels in mind next time you track.
i find that when tracking most stuff peaking between -20 and -16, with kick and snare a little hotter, you end up with a pretty reasonable mix with the faders at zero. which is nice when the band comes in for playback cause you can just hit the spacebar and then actually listen to the performance without fussing over basic levels. and if you track stuff lower like this it makes it easier to build a mix up without worrying about overloading the mix buss as you add more and more crap in there....
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