Limiter issue? Recorded files being capped?

[Fingahz]

Hello, does anyone know why my sound files being recorded are now capped and the waves not showing in full? This has happened before and I can’t remember what I did to rectify it? All I did was alter the recording volume top left a little, now my files aren't showing in full and have a flat top??

[Trebor]

Hello, does anyone know why my sound files being recorded are now capped and the waves not showing in full? This has happened before and I can’t remember what I did to rectify it? All I did was alter the recording volume top left a little, now my files aren't showing in full and have a flat top??

Sounds similar to this ... viewtopic.php?p=379317#p379317

[Fingahz]

Thank you, no it's not that. It's so strange as I know it's something simple but for the life of me I can't get it back to normal!!

[steve]

Perhaps we may be able to help if you give some details about your setup and what you are doing.

now my files aren't showing in full and have a flat top

Almost certainly that is the result of "clipping".
"Clipping" occurs when an input signal exceeds the maximum available amplitude. For example it can occur when over-driving a microphone or amplifier. It can also occur in the digital domain by exceeding 0 dB anywhere in the signal chain. It can also occur as a result of poorly written device drivers incorrectly mixing or splitting audio channels.

[Fingahz]

Yes i've looked into all the clipping settings and can't find a solution, all i'm really using it for is recording my vinyl to mp3, and dj mixes to mp3, straight from my mixer, into the pc and audacity.

[steve]

Does the recording sound distorted?

Are you able to monitor directly from the mixer? If so, does that sound distorted?

How is the mixer connected to the computer? If it's a USB mixer, what's the make / model? If it's not a USB mixer, what is the make / model of the sound card / audio interface that you are using?

Are you recording in mono or stereo?

Please post a short audio sample to demonstrate the problem. Just a few seconds in WAV format (see: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=72887)
(WAV format is important as some important clues about the problem can be hidden by lossy encoding).

[Fingahz]

Recording is stereo. The audio is fine, that's not the issue. The issue is visually as now i'm seeing my files with a flat top and can't fully gauge when recording in, if i'm going to high to distort it. Hope this makes sense. I need to know how to stop it capping the files, they seem to still record ok, but they are all showing a flat top instead of the full wave.

[Fingahz]

No matter where I put the recording level too on Audacity, it still records with a flat top on the recorded file wave??

[steve]

Please post a short audio sample to demonstrate the problem. Just a few seconds in WAV format (see: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=72887)
(WAV format is important as some important clues about the problem can be hidden by lossy encoding).

[Fingahz]

Please post a short audio sample to demonstrate the problem. Just a few seconds in WAV format (see: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=72887)
(WAV format is important as some important clues about the problem can be hidden by lossy encoding).

How do I post up a sample? Sorry! Got one here..