Topic: Preamp Gain vs. Recorder Input Level

[DSatz]

rockymtnryan, please read what Church-Audio said directly above your message. He is absolutely correct; the overload light on most preamps can't be trusted at all. In general you can't know what it means unless you measure the input and output clip levels of the preamp in relation to the indicator.

I've measured 25+% distortion in a well-known, very widely sold mike preamp before its "clip" LED came on, because the LED was attached to the output stage rather than the input. And that was at a voltage level that my microphones can very well put out. This type of design defect is common even in high-priced, fully professional studio preamps.

And some indicators come on ~6 dB before clipping, on the theory of being a "distant early warning", while others come on only after the clipping point has been exceeded for some amount of time, on the theory that a small amount of clipping can make a recording sound "punchier". There is no one standard or normal behavior.

--best regards

[rockymtnryan]

So I ran the UA-5 last night higher than I had before, with the peak light flickering periodically during the show.  Never really on as a solid red light, but sometimes a faint blink and other times solid, repetitive blinking, usually in time with the kick drum combined with heavy bass drops.  The place was packed and the show was loud and rocking.

Here's a link...

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=542800

I think the tapes came out pretty good with no adverse results to running what I considered to be pushing things.  The mics seemed to have performed well and the r-09 seemed to handle everything well.  I think I'm getting a better feel for my rig and getting close to the optimal way to run it.

Feedback on the recording would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks. 

[spybo]

FWIW-I run the following setup in all situations her in Oz ( the don't like "open" taping here....)
SP-CMC-8>>CA 9100 Pre with HPF at 69Hz>> Line-in R-09
I have found running the 9100 at about 80% of max and the R-09 at 15 +/- a level or 2 to be the best overall for sound that is never hot....even in the loudest of shows
I can crank it up for acoustic shows or simply run the mics in the mics input for PIP....AGC off

[newplanet7]

Hi ryan.
How do the waveforms look?

[rockymtnryan]

Hi ryan.
How do the waveforms look?

IMO the waveforms look much better.  With my somewhat limited knowledge I'm not sure how to take a screen capture from WaveLab and post it, but maybe I can figure it out.  The room was loud and pretty heavy on the low end, but I spent some time recently in post and I think I've come along way with trial and error in finding ways to bring out the best in my recordings.  Just finished remastering a few shows and I like the new results.  Once I have a chance to really sit down and give a critical listen I'll release the remasters to the wild.  The best thing about this hobby is that I'm constantly learning.