Topic: noob: got overloading, after some advice

[towanda]

I taped a band at one venue with my R-09 set at input level of 12 (second show i ever taped) and the levels were a little low. So when i taped them a few days later at a different venue, with the input level still on 12 (the pre is fixed gain) i only bothered to look halfway through the first song (i did check during the opener) and noticed that it was overloading. I dropped it down to input level of 8 which worked except for one song later in the set that i only noticed when i transferred the file to my pc.

It sounds OK to me  , but i'm concerned about sharing it. I got izotope RX and tried the declipper on it, but it only sounded worse, to me. It dropped some of the peaks down, but the ones that remained made clicking noises, which it didn't do prior to my attempt at fixing it. Of course, it's quite possible i didn't use that program correctly.

Obviously the right channel is a little lower, and there's quite an audible volume difference when i dropped the level during that first track. I guess i would bring the levels up after the input level drop to try and fix that.

Either way, just looking for some advice on how to proceed here. I'll post some screens, i can post audio samples if that will help.

Regards, noob

The whole file

 

The first track (the main problem)



The track later in the set

[SmokinJoe]

I think that recording is probably fine. If it sounds fine, it is fine.  You've got clips in that 1-2 minute area, but they are clearly separated. We've all done that, and I don't think there is much you can do to "fix it".  Just throw in a note "some clipping during first song".

The torrents sites are full of people who love to download our tapes, and then criticize us because it isn't perfect.  Most of them aren't tapers.  if anyone harasses you for sharing it, then they need to get a life, and you shouldn't take it to heart.  This is a hobby, you are learning, and everyone makes little mistakes.

I generally start off with the levels low, and then bring them up a bit, watching them pretty closely the first song or two.  I suggest you target for peaks of -6db, and then have a little more headroom.  Then just bring it up in post.  Especially if you can run your R09 at 24bit, this won't add noticeable hiss.

[goodcooker]

If you got distortion during the peak program material I don't think there is a whole lot you can do.
But you can use the volume envelope tool to reduce the volume during the hottest parts, then bounce to a new track and apply some light compression, maybe 3:1 and see how it sounds.
If there are substantial "faults" in the recording I don't share it. It goes on the lesson learned heap.
my .02

[Brennan]

Especially if you can run your R09 at 24bit, this won't add noticeable hiss.

OT: 24 bit will help to alleviate hiss when normalizing, etc?!

[Argitoth]

iZotope RX will help with the clipping. It's a $350 audio restoration program, but cheaper from retail.

[paulbaptiste]

It sounds OK to me  , but i'm concerned about sharing it. I got izotope RX and tried the declipper on it, but it only sounded worse, to me. It dropped some of the peaks down, but the ones that remained made clicking noises, which it didn't do prior to my attempt at fixing it. Of course, it's quite possible i didn't use that program correctly.

iZotope RX will help with the clipping. It's a $350 audio restoration program, but cheaper from retail.

any advice with this program, beyond the declipping?  I've heard good things about, but am not familiar,

[DSatz]

towanda, that looks like the screen from Adobe Audition. If so, you've got a very good "declipper" already, without paying any extra for (whatever else). It's under Effects.Noise Reduction.Clip Restoration and you can begin by trying the built-in presets. Soon I think you'll understand what it's doing.

Naturally this effect follows Mark Davis' "Law of Conservation of Goodness": If a recording only needs a little bit of help, then processing is much more likely to work well than if the recording needs a lot of help. But the waveforms you showed us don't look so bad compared to some. I'd encourage you to give it a try.

--best regards

[Brian Skalinder]

Audition's clip restoration does, indeed, work pretty well.  You'll want to select only the portion(s) of the waveform you want to fix.  Sometimes it's possible to apply a single clip restoration against a whole range of clips.  Other times, I've had to apply to smaller groups of clips, and occasionally even to each individual peak.  FWIW, I sometimes encountered clicks between the unedited portion of the waveform and the start/end of the portion I edited.  Aligning the left and right selection boundary to zero crossings seemed to solve the problem.  If memory serves, there's a menu command to move the cursor and/or selection left/right to the closest zero crossing.

[balou2]

Your ears are your guide.  I've pulled tons of shows that have wave forms illustrating ">0db" yields, but there is no audible clipping.  The digital signal does indeed clip over 0db, but that doesn't always mean you'll hear it, especially if it's an isolated "blip".  The key is not to run over 0db consistently.  It's good to roll hot, but don't compromise your overall recording when you can bump it a hair or two in post.

Remember, a tapers do it best, in post!