Automation- Volume fader

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Vokalzz
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2014/07/18 22:07:44 (permalink)

Automation- Volume fader

It seems when I do automation on the tracks to even out the volume, sometime I hear a crackle when it gets to a point where I automated the volume higher. Why is that and is there a way around this. Now I have light crackles on the track due to automation. Anyone experience this and have a work around???
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    RobertB
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    Re: Automation- Volume fader 2014/07/18 22:48:59 (permalink)
    That's most likely digital clipping.
    Does the red clip indicator light up in the track you are working on?
    Here's the fun part. The clipping may not be occurring in that particular track. Levels are cumulative.
    If you have several tracks maxed out, the sum of all of them is virtually guaranteed to clip, and you get the crackles.
    Work around? Just use good practice.
    Route all of your track outputs(and bus outputs to your master bus. There, you can keep an eye on your overall level.
    I like to drop Voxengo SPAN(a free spectrum analyzer) in the master bus. This is a good indicator of when things are getting out of hand.
    It also shows where problem frequencies might be. The project may not seem loud, but you might have too much energy at a certain frequency. Judicious use of EQ and compressors/limiters on the individual tracks can help tame this. Bottom line, clipping is clipping. It doesn't sound good.
    The work around is not really a work around. It's honing your skills to properly balance all the stuff that is flying around in your project.
    More than once, I have killed off the envelopes, dragged all the faders down, and slowly brought them back up.
    Watch the master bus. Adjust EQ to suite.
    You will probably find that the overall mix sounds much better with individual tracks at a much lower level than you might think they need to be at.
    Hope that helps.

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    Shimozu-Kushiari or Bob
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    Vokalzz
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    Re: Automation- Volume fader 2014/07/19 00:32:43 (permalink)
    Thanks for the help. Everything you have mentioned is great advise and I will keep all of it in mind while working on this project. However, I noticed that I got the clipping when 2 nodes were on top of one another. For example, lets say im doing automation and the beginning of the song I set to -2.0, then as soon as it switches from -2.0 to -3.5 (same spot) it cracks, because they are on top of each other. So I just slightly moved the first node to the left a little and it goes away. Maybe the adjustment in volume added with the guitar coming in at the same time does something to it. I don't know if this is something you experience???
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    RobertB
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    Re: Automation- Volume fader 2014/07/19 10:46:34 (permalink)
    You might have a transient spike at that precise moment when the guitar starts.
    Moving the -2.0 node to the left could be allowing the level to decrease just enough to prevent the click.
    -2(even -3.5) is pretty hot for a single track within a mix.
    Generally speaking, individual tracks should usually peak around -12 to -6.
    I haven't experienced problems with nodes being vertically aligned, although I usually offset them slightly because it tends to sound more natural.
    Can you zoom in on the track in question and post a screen shot?

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    Shimozu-Kushiari or Bob
    #4
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