Topic: Low volume recording

[nameloc01]

I had this exact problem last night taping the Cowboy Junkies. But maybe even a little worse..they play quiet electric,loud electric, and very,very soft acoustic. I find its overall better to set levels to the (highest) music and hope for the best. My levels were ALL OVER THE PLACE last night. It actually came out a lot better than I thought it would.

[Frequincy]

I had this exact problem last night taping the Cowboy Junkies. But maybe even a little worse..they play quiet electric,loud electric, and very,very soft acoustic. I find its overall better to set levels to the (highest) music and hope for the best. My levels were ALL OVER THE PLACE last night. It actually came out a lot better than I thought it would.

The dynamics of a recording like that can be an awsome experience on a great playback system. It's like if there was no quiet, there would be no loud.

On the other hand it makes for an annoying experience on say, a factory car stereo.

The elusive balance is hard to reach.

[nameloc01]

Yeah,it actually sounds real nice. I was just somewhat freaking out watching those levels jump all over. Hardest band to tape ever...ironically,one of the most taper friendly.

[skokiebob]

Yeah,it actually sounds real nice. I was just somewhat freaking out watching those levels jump all over. Hardest band to tape ever...ironically,one of the most taper friendly.

Yea, doesn't the singer actually recruite tapers from this site to record their shows? Anyway, after all this info, I do still have a question; Is it better to capture as much info as possible with the highest levels rather than simply adding gain in post? I realize 24 bit accomplishes some of this for you, but in my newb brain it still seems logical that higher levels will give you more raw data to tweak later. Plus am I correct that when adding gain you add noise as well? OK, commence firing...

[nameloc01]

Margo (the singer) does not...its their official "archivist" who does that.

[bgreen]

I do still have a question; Is it better to capture as much info as possible with the highest levels rather than simply adding gain in post? I realize 24 bit accomplishes some of this for you, but in my newb brain it still seems logical that higher levels will give you more raw data to tweak later. Plus am I correct that when adding gain you add noise as well? OK, commence firing...

Any process in post production has the potential to add noise and boosting gain on a really low volume recording, unless done with good quality plugins and a firm knowledge of the tools your using certainly has a good chance of adding/amplifying noise. You should try to get your levels as high as you can without a risk of  clipping, but  always leave some headroom there. Basically you want to find the balance between leaving enough room for your transients to hit a little below digital zero, but you certainly don't want your average RMS in the -40 to -30 range. It's all about finding that happy medium.

In all honesty, I would rather work post processing on a show that has a few cymbal hits/transients clipped than I would a show with a really low RMS. Thats just me though