I had to replace my XLR interface and when I record vocals with my new one, the sound will clip at -3db, it seems to be limited to that. The soundwave won’t go any higher than that.
I had this issue before when I set up both of the mics I have and my previous interface and I messed around with my laptop settings and sorted it eventually, but I can’t seem to find how to do it this time.
Really hoping someone can help.
Are you sure it’s not -6dB ? …
No, it’s -3db.
Pan law attenuates by 3dB …
Clipping at -3dB is unusual. Digital usually clips at exactly 0dB. (That “famous” -6dB problem is actually 0db clipping before the level is cut in half for mono-mixing.)
Check Audacity’s recording volume slider which is “hidden” under the recording meters. (The playback slider is under the playback meters.)
Does your interface have meters or clipping indicators? It’s (usually) the analog-to-digital converter in the interface that clips so the interface “knows” the level going into the DAC and you can almost always trust the clipping indicator.
But you can also get analog clipping elsewhere and the waveform in your image has some variation so I’m not sure it’s “digitally clipped”.
What’s the sound source? What’s plugged into your interface?
When you lower the volume knob on your interface, does the waveform still look like that? If so, it’s happing somewhere before the interface.
P.S.
-3dB isn’t really a problem if you are aware of it. It’s standard practice to leave some headroom and pros often record around -12 to -18dB. You can always amplify after recording.
The recording level slider is set at 100% which is where I always have it.
I’m using a dynamic mic with a vocaster 1 (auto gain and sound enhancements are all off) and it does have a clipping indicator, however this problem happened in exactly the same way when I had a usb mic, a second usb mic and again when I started using that mic with an XLR interface. I solved it for all of them by messing with the laptop sound settings but nothing I try with the vocaster is working.
If I use my old interface, I don’t have this problem (since I solved it for that device), so I’m pretty sure it’s the same issue I’ve had before which I fixed with the laptop settings. I just can’t find how to do that again.
I chose a vocaster because a friend has one and it seems to work well for them, they’ve never had any issues. Although they’re using a Mac and I’m using windows.
When I lower the gain on the interface, it still has a limit at -3db, so if I make a sound loud enough, it clips there, as if that’s the top of the track.
This is not ideal for me as it’s not easy to tell visually when a sound has clipped or is just close to that mark. I’ve tried working with it before and I ended up having to go back and rerecord a lot. I don’t have time or the inclination to be doing that all the time.
When i had this problem, it was due to my windows sound settings- i had to untick the enhanced sound feature and viola. Hope it’s so simple for you as well.
Yeah, I’m sure it’s the windows sound settings and I fixed it before with other devices by fiddling with those.
The first thing I did when I plugged it in was go to the settings to untick that, but there’s no option for enhanced sound for the vocaster which surprised me because it’s been there for everything else I’ve used.