Recording Volume

[stamati76]

Hi,

I am having a bit of a nightmare with my recording levels on Audacity. Is there an easier way to set the correct recording level, so that there is no clipping, without listening to the whole album all the way through?

Also, what would an audiophile suggest to be the appropriate db ranges and do you think normalizing a song distorts it in anyway?

Oh, and lastly what audio quality do you suggest t use? At the moment i'm using 48kHz 16bit Stereo.. Would it make a noticeable difference changing?

Suggestion, help and comments would be really appreciated

[kozikowski]

I do everything in 48000, 16-bit, Stereo. That's digital television sound standard. Purists will insist on 44100, 16-bit, Stereo if you're planning on making a Music CD, but I've never found any problem.

Normalize can totally distort a show because it operates on left and right stereo sound independently. Use Amplify to simply make the whole show as loud as it can get.

Records give you some interesting additional problems. Both Amplify and Normalize work with reference to the one single loudest note in the whole show. That's all they do. They increase the volume of the whole show until that one peak reaches maximum. If that one peak happens to be a cat hair pop on the record, you're dead.

Whole wikis have been written on how to transfer records.

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Trans ... uter_or_CD

Skip down until you get to stuff you don't already know.

Koz

[stamati76]

It doesn't explain anything in detail, or the questions i am asking...

Your comments above are helpful and i agree with the distortion when normalizing.

Does anyone know how best to set up the recording level, when ripping vinyl and what db range should it fall into?

[Irish]

Opinions vary, but the ideal is that the loudest part of the finished recording should be close to 0dB, but not touching it.

To allow for unexpected volume variations, most people will record with a level set so that the sound averages around -3dB to -6dB.
If the level is a bit low, you can use the Amplify effect to increase it afterwards.
If the level is too high, and you go above 0dB, you almost always get permanent sound damage that can't be fixed.

PO'L

[kozikowski]

A lot of us take representative samples around to record to get a feel for overall volume. Needle drop four or five times. I don't know any other way. Some classical pieces are obvious. Saint Saens, 1812, etc.

The needle drop itself can be the loudest thing in the show and must be removed before processing.

Koz

[kozikowski]

You're very clear what Normalize and Amplify do, right? They're variations on a theme. They don't adjust the volume note by note through the show. Only the compressors and processors do that. They set the overall volume once and that's the one single setting for the whole show. That's why the cat hair is such a big deal. That one pop from Mittens can screw up the loudness of the whole 35 minute long record.

Koz

[whomper]

Hi,

I am having a bit of a nightmare with my recording levels on Audacity. Is there an easier way to set the correct recording level, so that there is no clipping, without listening to the whole album all the way through?

most people record at -18dBFS to -24dBFS from the typical signal
in order to allow for louder material to be kept from clipping
you can amplify the recording later to make it fully loud without clipping

listen to the first and last minute they are often the loudest average
and then set your gain eg -18 to provide the needed headroom from possible peaks

[stamati76]

Now you're all confusing me!!


I though normalizing and amplify will, in some cases, distort my rip?

Isn't -18 --24 db too low? At the moment i'm ripping my vinyl at around -6 to -3. However i have one album that peaks at -6 at the beginning, but then peaks at above 0 (several times) in the middle... Is it okay if it clips a few times?

[whomper]

amplify normalise will only damage it if you tell it to amplify over 0dBFS
you have to tick a box to let that happen

no, -18 & -24 are euro/usa "standards" to ensure good recordings

you have a humongous dynamic range and s/n with digital
and no room for error when you clip such as with analog that was forgiving of occasional high signal levels

record with plenty of headroom so you do not clip
at the last step you amplify/normalise so you get a maximum and consistent volume level on your final cd

clipping is only okay if you like distortion and bad sound
some rock groups want that and do it deliberately

i like reality and would ensure that no original recording ever hit zero so i use the more conservative -24dBFS for the average signal level to allow plenty of room to avoid clipping.

record *low* and make it loud later with amplify
do not try to max the level during recording like the old analog days when you had to do that to avoid noise problems

[stamati76]

Okay what if the music was recorded purposely so that some instruments sounded less amplified through one channel?

Also, i find that when i turn my pre-amp to record at such a low db range, like you suggested, one channel is always louder than the other! I obviously have an issue there, but i cannot diagnose it. I bought a new pre-amp, a Pro-ject Phono V USB. I have 2 decks and two carts with styli, but whatever combo i use, i get the same dilemma. Any suggestions?

However when i amplify it to a higher range the levels are roughly the same...

And thanks for your help so far, i've really taken it on board..