Jim W wrote on Tue, 06 February 2007 23:01 |
Thanks for the reply, I was actually just reading that thread you linked as well.
My question is a simple one ( I think? )and was in reference to my signal as I'm recording it, ( ie: synth is being sequenced, now I want to get it into the computer as a peice of audio...)
What I'm getting here is that it's actually better to not record at such a high level but I'm missing why simply reducing the channel faders level on a part which is recorded at a high level is any different?
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Hi Jim... My take on this is that it's really just a slightly adjusted view of gain staging. You take the output of your synth into your computer with some healthy headroom... your peaks are maybe at -12 or -16db. By doing so, you're avoiding the risk of catastrophic digital clipping as well as intersample peaks and other more subtle forms of digital distortion (the stuff that some believe causes digital audio to sound worse than analog).
Now, here's where you might be thinking, but I was always taught to maximize level to get the best signal-to-noise ratio! The nifty thing is, even 16bit audio has 96 db of dynamic range. If you track at 24bit like most people here, you're in even better shape... you have 144 db of dynamic range. So what if you lose 12-16 db off the top, you still have a ton of dynamic range. Likely more than the dynamic range of the very best playback equipment your work will be presented on, even when cranked up to ear shattering levels.
So now you're into your audio software, with audio tracks that peak at -12 db or so. Keep that level through any digital processing you're doing... track plugins, aux sends, etc, should all be done with similar headroom. That way, you're allowing each algorithm (eq, compression, reverb, etc.) to do its work without creating digital distortion of any kind. Yellow is the new red, as Terry says.
If you're summing through a hardware console, then you just take your tracks and aux material out at whatever level makes sense... at that point, it's not digital anymore, so you can peg the hardware to your heart's content.
But, if you're staying in-the-box, watch out for how you're summing. In all likelihood, you'll want to start a mix by dropping the channel faders significantly. The equivalent to putting a fader at neutral is something like -10 db, maybe more if you have a lot of tracks. You want the sum of all your tracks to add up so the mix bus is peaking somewhere similar to the original input level (-12 to -16 db).
Whew that was long... and reading it over again, I wonder if I really answered your question. Lol. I think the point is this... bad things happen to digital audio when you do stuff to it without decent headroom. Decent headroom is something like 12-16 db.
So keep the headroom on the way in, and keep it through all processing. Doing so will help avoid harshness in your digital audio.
-Garret