Thanks for sharing this Chuck, I am a bit on the fence about this still. I do understand that many plugs such as the waves are calibrated for about minus 18 DB or so, but at the same time there are controls to adjust many aspects of levels as well as the way plugs respond to signals and such. I had a friend who recorded a session in my studio yesterday with a client and when I checked his session after they left the vocals were sitting at only minus 4DB on the track and minus 10DB on the vocal bus and it sounded really good. Given he doesn't use many plugs and he recorded with compression from a Universal audio peace and as I said, it sounded pretty good with only a touch of reverb. I also notice that I have some clients who are so dynamic that I need to go even lower and some who really know how to project their selves in a consistent way into the mic and I can be less conservative on signal levels.
From: ptaccess@googlegroups.com [mailto:ptaccess@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of CHUCK REICHEL Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 11:57 AM To: ptaccess@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: A thanks to Slau and others Hi Poppa, Just a couple of clarifications for you from my life time Friend tom Graefe who was on the Sony Oxford console design teem. :) Heres a couple of quick pointers to remember when tracking. First 24 bit is the resolution of the A/D converter. Yes theoretically the Dynamic range of 24 bits is 144 dB. The reality of usable range is substantially less. That 140+dB has nothing to do with volume or sound pressure level. You should always record to maximum level before clipping to get the maximum signal to noise ratio when recording individual tracks. As you get further away from 0dBFS you start showing up more of the non linearities of the A/D process. This is especially noticeable at very low levels. There is no need for headroom when recording Digital. This is not tape. The A/D is most linear and least artifacts just before 0 dBFS. When designing a system you measure the IMD, Signal to Noise etc. of an A/D at -1 dBFS. Sometimes at -0.5 dBFS. Check out Tom's latest designs here; http://GraefeDesigns.com/ HTH Chuck CHUCK REICHEL soundpicturerecord...@gmail.com www.SoundPictureRecording.com 954-742-0019 GUFFAWING :) In GOD I Trust On May 8, 2014, at 11:11 AM, Poppa Bear wrote: I missed the talk, but in general I record vocals and instruments at about minus 9 to minus 12DB. I do still get projects to mix from clients where vocals are pushed to 0DB and the instrument track is often clipping so your not alone in your experience. ----- Original Message ----- From: Slau Halatyn <mailto:slauhala...@gmail.com> To: ptaccess@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 4:33 AM Subject: Re: A thanks to Slau and others Common mistake. People think they need to record as hot as possible and that's not the case. Back when DAWs recorded in 16 bits, it was common practice but with 24 bits, it's absolutely unnecessary. Glad it helped. Slau On May 8, 2014, at 7:05 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland <clgillan...@gmail.com> wrote: Just wanted to thank everyone for their help yesterday with my issue regarding clipping and how to better set levels. Slau, I used the techniques that you outlined. I'll admit, it's a bit out of my comfort zone. I'm not use to recording initially at such a low impedance, but man! I did a track that way, then I raised the volume through a master fader, plus a very very slight bit of compression, and man! god almighty! what! a difference! I mean literally! Night! and day! I've never! heard myself sound so clean! and so crisp! I think guys that was a huge bit where I wasn't getting that crispness I've been looking for all these years when I kept saying even dating back to midi mag, about how it was just real muddy. Well, yeah, duh! Of corse it's gonna be! I mean, when you set yourself up to master and mix at the same time? Judice! Priest! No frickin wonder! I sounded all muddy! I mean, I think I was starting my levels on the input gain right at! 0DB. So yeah... W'w'w'w'w'w'w'wayyyyyyy! too hot! Man, I cranked that thing back, and boy! did that smoothen things out! I don't know why! I thought it was so necessary to run things so hot! How could I a been so stupid! It's a wonder! I didn't fry my equipment putting so much juice through it! Is it normal, guys? that most people make this mistake when they first get started? I hope I'm not alone, otherwise, I'm gonna be pretty imbarrassed. LOL! Chris. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pro Tools Accessibility" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ptaccess+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pro Tools Accessibility" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ptaccess+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pro Tools Accessibility" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ptaccess+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pro Tools Accessibility" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ptaccess+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pro Tools Accessibility" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ptaccess+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
