Helpful Replyrecord with 0 db? -5db, -10db?

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kakashix
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2018/01/26 20:16:59 (permalink)

record with 0 db? -5db, -10db?

hi folks,
 
ive watched some videos about the db to record with, it should be something around -5dv to -10db but in some videos people telling to go up to 0db and want to know why? isnt that too loud?
 
i mean u have no headroom left then...
here are the links, exact to the second where he explains

youtu.be/HhkNcaI_0LE?t=145
youtu.be/dRa26Xxe1EM?t=135
 
 
ps, i cant post links u have to copie the link above
 
#1
Soundwise
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/26 21:07:01 (permalink)
I usually record at 24/48 with peaks at -6dB. Some peaks may go up to -3 or -2, but I always try to make sure the signal never peaks at 0dB.

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#2
sharke
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/26 21:15:09 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby Soundwise 2018/01/26 21:20:34
You should post this in the techniques forum.

James
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#3
LANEY
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/26 22:34:48 (permalink)
I wish I still had the article that has specific settings depending on your interface.  There was a formula and how to set it with your interface.  I think mine ended up being -16db and when I switched to doing that, my recordings sounded great.  It was also easier to mix with. Focusrite interfaces sweet spot was -12db as I recall
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/gain-staging-your-daw-software
track at -12db 
mix at -20db 

I agree this is a good rule of thumb 



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Kuusniemi
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/27 01:02:01 (permalink)
I would advice against recording to 0db. It gives you no margin of error. You can always boost a signal but a fried recording is just a ruined recording.

Composer & Sound Designer at Really Slow Motion, Man Makes Noise,  Epic North,  YleX and Yle Puhe.
#5
sharke
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/27 01:49:18 (permalink)
LANEY
I wish I still had the article that has specific settings depending on your interface.  There was a formula and how to set it with your interface.  I think mine ended up being -16db and when I switched to doing that, my recordings sounded great.  It was also easier to mix with. Focusrite interfaces sweet spot was -12db as I recall
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/gain-staging-your-daw-software
track at -12db 
mix at -20db 

I agree this is a good rule of thumb 





I've read that Sound On Sound article before and I'm not sure if I agree with his statement "...many people, including me, believe that the summing engines in different DAWs don't always produce the same results when summing lots of very high-level signals, and that these differences can be audible." That sounds kind of vague to me, and for all this talk of differences in the summing engines of DAW's, has anyone actually been able to confirm it through testing? 

James
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#6
drewfx1
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/27 18:52:30 (permalink)
sharke
LANEY
I wish I still had the article that has specific settings depending on your interface.  There was a formula and how to set it with your interface.  I think mine ended up being -16db and when I switched to doing that, my recordings sounded great.  It was also easier to mix with. Focusrite interfaces sweet spot was -12db as I recall
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/gain-staging-your-daw-software
track at -12db 
mix at -20db 

I agree this is a good rule of thumb 





I've read that Sound On Sound article before and I'm not sure if I agree with his statement "...many people, including me, believe that the summing engines in different DAWs don't always produce the same results when summing lots of very high-level signals, and that these differences can be audible." That sounds kind of vague to me, and for all this talk of differences in the summing engines of DAW's, has anyone actually been able to confirm it through testing? 




Some time ago PT used fixed point summing and there might have been issues with summing there.
 
With floating point summing that Sonar uses (and virtually everything else today as well) only ignorant people - meaning people who don't understand floating point math - believe stuff like that. 

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bitflipper
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/27 21:20:21 (permalink)
Once upon a time, it was desirable to record hot because a strong signal could drown out the intrinsic noise of magnetic tape. It's a different world today, but old rules of thumb persist, even when they no longer apply.
 
Some justify the concept by saying you have to "use all the bits". Truth is, modern signal-to-noise ratios are so ridiculously high that it almost doesn't matter what level you record at. Within reason, of course. Noise isn't completely gone. Digital recording brings its own kind of noise, and all the analog devices we record still add their own noise. But you could still record everything at -30 dBFS and all would be fine.
 
I would never, ever set 0 dB as my target. Not for recording, not for mastering. In the weird math of digital audio, 0 + 0 can equal 6!


All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. 

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#8
subtlearts
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/27 23:42:31 (permalink)
Listen to the Bitflipper, for truly he is wise in the ways of bits!

(That almost sounds facetious, but was not intended to be)

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drewfx1
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/28 00:19:34 (permalink)
bitflipperIn the weird math of digital audio, 0 + 0 can equal 6!




And 6 + 6 can equal 0 too.  

 In order, then, to discover the limit of deepest tones, it is necessary not only to produce very violent agitations in the air but to give these the form of simple pendular vibrations. - Hermann von Helmholtz, predicting the role of the electric bassist in 1877.
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MakerDP
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/28 22:00:56 (permalink)
Not to mention that if you record to 0 or even -3 or -6dB then it's just going to get dialed way back anyways when you do all your proper gain-staging for final mixing.
 
I try and record to the level that I will be ultimately gain-staging to, so normally RMS around -12dB for my own stuff or even down to -16dB if I know there will be lots and lots of tracks. Makes gain-staging much faster, and on many tracks it's not needed at all.
 
#11
Soundwise
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/28 23:49:45 (permalink)
drewfx1
bitflipperIn the weird math of digital audio, 0 + 0 can equal 6!

And 6 + 6 can equal 0 too.  


You guys have impressive math skills!
 
bitflipper
Noise isn't completely gone. Digital recording brings its own kind of noise, and all the analog devices we record still add their own noise.

Usually audio interfaces have analogue preamps on inputs. And those ain't as quiet as theory for 24-bit SNR would suggest. In fact, nowhere near. Aiming at -6dB for peaks means that RMS is between -24 to -12, depending on the source signal. Unless you record heavily distorted/compressed signals, like electric bass or guitars, where RMS is close to the peak value.
Now AI preamps have very low noise. Barely audible, if at all. But when you add processing with lots of gain, like compression or reamping, that noise can become not just audible, but very annoying to the point of ruining your best takes.
Too much gain on the AI preamp adds preamp noise, while too little gain will force you to amplify the signal, which may bring up power supply, grounding and interference noises. That means, that you need to find a balance that works best for you.
post edited by Soundwise - 2018/01/29 01:56:00

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#12
JohnKenn
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/29 00:35:08 (permalink)
Thanks Soundwise,
 
Unearthing the curse of noise when compression is applied. I always compress to the insane for sustain and battle with taming the noise swell as soon as your signal is not maxed out. 
 
Long time ago, reverb was the hardest effect to make credible. They done a good job. Even got overdrive nowdays to be credible as well.
 
Last threshold of struggle is the noise gate. 50 years from now, it will be pristine, but not now.
 
Physical layout of the environment is cardinal until we find a better solution to help primitive technology to limp along in the vision of a better day.
 
Every bleeding source of inductance is a curse if you are compressing the input. Noise floor of the soundcard overwhelmed by the inductance buzz. Input thinks the buzz from a florescent fixture is just part of the music.
 
Have used extensions for the computer to distance the fan and power supply as far away as possible. Have phase switches on the guitars that can negate some of the interference sometimes. Wiring in the walls, distance even from an LED monitor.
 
Was worse though when the thick CRT monitors were your only option. The radiation was so overpowering you could not sit in front of the monitor without the noise being as powerful as the signal. Did not affect midi, but a guitar or a mic had to be more than 10 feet away. Best software in the world was otherwise useless. That gave rise to hardware things like Red Rover. Allowed you to be 15 feet away from the monitor and still control the DAW so you were not destroyed in a cloud of static.
 
Totally off the wall, Sound, but going thru your website, listening to your tunes. Excellent guitarist. (Trying to unload my deep prejudices that a girl can't play a guitar...) You rock by any standard.
 
John
 
 
#13
batsbrew
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Re: record with 0 db? -5db, -10db? 2018/01/29 15:35:43 (permalink)
just finished mixing and mastering a new album.
 
 
i found that i track very conservatively, with rms average around -20, with peaks as high as -6db, 
no higher.
 
when i mix, my stereo pre-mastered file comes in at -23 rms with average peaks of -8
 
when i master, the final is about -14 rms with average rms peaks at -8, with peak at -0.3db.
 
i have found that there is no downside to tracking and mixing conservatively.
 
but there is a downside to tracking HOT, especially if you don't have quality gear or have had poor gain staging control along the timeline of tracking.
 
you will collectively add distortion on the master buss, even if you are not peaking, and for certain projects this is ok, but for most it is not.
 
 

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