I use Audacity to record guitar tracks. It worked fine lots of times, but now record sounds good on Audacity but when I export it some tracks sound heavily distorted (peek sound). I export as waw as I usually do. I haven’t changed any settings for export. The wave in Audacity doesn’t look like peeking.
If it’s not distorted before exporting that can happen if the peaks go over 0dB. Audacity uses floating point internally so it essentially has no upper or lower limits. But regular (integer) WAV files are hard-limited to 0dB and they will clip (distort) if you “try” to go over.
Audio CDs, analog-to-digital converters (recording), and digital-to-analog converters are all limited to 0dB, and 0dB should be considered the “digital maximum”. If your audio does go over 0dB you may not clip your DAC if you’re not listening at “full digital volume” so you won’t hear it. But the exported WAV will clip.
A couple of questions to start…
What is your hardware setup? And electric guitar plugged into a USB audio interface? A microphone in front of your guitar amp with the mic plugged into an interface? etc.?
If you are using an interface, which one? Most audio interfaces have an LED meter or at least a clipping indicator.
Is Audacity configured to Show Clipping? Note that it’s only checking the peak levels. It’s not looking at the wave shape. You can get false positives and false negatives.
Thanks a lot . I use boss Me-80 as interface. It doesn’t have any peak indicator.
No I didn’t set Audacity to show clipping.
OK, set Audacity to Show Clipping and you’ll have to keep an eye on Audacity’s meters.
For now I’ll assume clipping is the problem, but your interface/pedal has lots of effects, including distortion effects.
With USB devices, you normally have to control the recording volume with the interface (or the knob on your guitar). Audacity’s recording level adjustment usually only works with analog inputs. And it’s the analog-to-digital converter in the interface that clips, so lowering the digital audio after it comes out of the USB port doesn’t fix clipping.
Digital recording levels are not critical as long as you don’t “try” to go over 0dB. Leave plenty of headroom and you can Amplify after recording.
Guitar levels are rather unpredictable, and pros tend to record everything at around -12 to -18dB. You don’t have to leave that much headroom… Nothing bad happens when you get close to 0dB. Just make sure you don’t clip and don’t be afraid of recording too low.
Audacity has pre-scanned your file and Amplify will default to whatever up or down change needed for “maximized” 0dB" peaks.
If you do something after recording, like boost the bass, etc., and it shows clipping, that’s only potential clipping (because Audacity itself can go over 0dB). If you run the Amplify effect before exporting, it will reduce the volume to a “safe” level.
Note that “clean” guitar is very dynamic. It has high peaks compared to the average and “maximized” it won’t sound loud.
With a saturated-overdriven amp (or a saturation effect) the average goes-up while the peaks are limited/compressed and it can “sound louder”.
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