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  #16  
Old 05-23-2018, 02:32 PM
Wrighty Wrighty is offline
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Just out of interest, I recorded another track on the Focusrite this evening taking more care with the levels - as recorded the level was low (-28 average and around -20 peak)

I then added +10db gain across the board and this is what I got.

Apologies the piece is not the same but this is what I am learning so this came to hand..

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  #17  
Old 05-23-2018, 03:26 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrighty View Post
Just out of interest, I recorded another track on the Focusrite this evening taking more care with the levels - as recorded the level was low (-28 average and around -20 peak)

I then added +10db gain across the board and this is what I got.

Apologies the piece is not the same but this is what I am learning so this came to hand..

That's much cleaner. No distortion and the track is well balanced.
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  #18  
Old 05-23-2018, 03:28 PM
Wrighty Wrighty is offline
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Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna View Post
That's much cleaner. No distortion and the track is well balanced.


Great news :-)

So it’s ok to record at these levels and then add some gain or normalise once in the DAW? (As opposed to trying to hit the right levels on the way in using mic gain)

Thanks..
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  #19  
Old 05-23-2018, 04:35 PM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Better recordists that I may have better advice, but my experience is a modern 24 bit recording setup is very forgiving of lower recording levels, and of course digital recording is very unforgiving of overs.


The noise floor of modern stuff is pretty low, and the 24 bit part gets you enough resolution.
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  #20  
Old 05-23-2018, 08:30 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrighty View Post
Great news :-)

So it’s ok to record at these levels and then add some gain or normalise once in the DAW? (As opposed to trying to hit the right levels on the way in using mic gain)

Thanks..
Yes. -20 to -18 dBfs is a pretty good starting point. It’s gonna depend on so, so many factors including mic pre’s, mic’s, instrument characteristic’s and even room anomalies. As mentioned that’s a home recordist’s journey that most of us can attest to as lengthy. I think most (once the fundamentals start to fall in place) enjoy the process.

As to input gain staging most if not all stand alone DAW’s can’t alter input sensitivity. There are some exceptions but I don’t think Auria has that capability. Usually, as is the case with both the Zoom and the Focusrite, input sensitivity is adjusted at the analog stage of the units before it’s captured in the software. You can pull a fader down in the software and alter the “volume” but volume is a much different thing than the idea of input gain staging.

Output then becomes a whole new can of worms. Like input “loud” is usually defined “in a recording environment” at an analog stage. For example if you recorded a guitar at -18 dBfs and played it back through a really clean board and good studio monitors it could well be too loud to comfortably listen to. Most engineers agree that a mix (pre mastered) shouldn’t exceed -10 dBfs. So at -18 dBfs you’re not far from optimal especially if there are other instruments to follow.

All of that to say NO I’m not fond of any type of normalizing. That boxes one in a needless corner. Adding gain perhaps but that accomplished much more effectively with some of the new mastering software out there with Izotope Ozone 8 doing some REALLY amazing, jaw dropping things these days.
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