Levels - Optimizing
- Date added:
- Thursday, 11 September 2008
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Answer
To: "Kenny"
Subject: Re: optimizing levels
I read your article on level setting for digital recording and found it very interesting. I hear so many differing opinions on this subject. I am recording to a tascam DA-38 and have been told to record as hot as possible without going "over" in order to incease the sampling rate and maximize the sonic quality of the recording. Is this true? Is there really an audible difference?
Unfortunately, there is an audible difference. Especially when using the crappy A/D converter in *any* DAT machine, you want to increase the "signal to garbage" ratio of the material. In mastering, we will lower the softer songs, and actually gain quality, because if we do it properly, with long wordlength accuracy, in the digital domain, we're taking your material with as high a "signal to garbage" ratio as possible, and bringing it down at the point where it will have the least deleterious effect.
Just read my section on the digital "over" and don't go over. If your meters are not accurate, peaks to -1 dB on your meter are more than adequate.
I find it is not always easy to get the levels "up there" when micing acoustic instruments without compromising the timbre of the instrument being recorded, ie: muddy bass on acoustic guitars, proximity
effect, etc. (I am using a very high quality tube preamp direct to tape).
Your problem may be any of the following:
1) Exceeding the headroom of the source preamp
2) Improper gain/distortion/noise matching of the various devices in your signal chain
3) Monitoring at improper monitor gain relative to the levels going to tape
Not being there, I can't speculate as to which of the above is the cause!
But get a real experienced recording engineer in there, and things will change for the better, and you will learn from the experience.
Best wishes,
Bob Katz