Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: skua on May 12, 2004, 12:48:56 PM
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Do most tapers just release or trade raw recordings as captured by their equipment? Or do you do any post recording mastering?
I like to at lease apply fade in / fade out where appropriate... and sometimes I find that the application of a little EQ and maybe a little multi-band compression can really bring a recording to life.
Do you have an tips or tricks when it comes to mastering a show? Or do you just run with what you've got on tape?
-skua-
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There's a split on the issue, lots of folks in both the leave-it-alone and tweak-it categories. . .
I personally will do some minor things to a show if I think it makes it sound better because the majority of downloaders aren't going to have the software/skill/initiative/clue to do it later; I also do it because it's the way I like it, and it's easier for me to distribute the same fileset.
Sloan
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I'll fade in/out, and occasionally normalize, but I know so little about post-processing that I'd rather leave it alone and let others tweak to their liking later...
--Dave
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I always normalize and add fades. Usually a slight EQ also. Depends on the raw recording really. I try to make it sound as good as possible in my ears. I generally trade out the "fixed" version, but I keep the raw recording if someone wants that instead.
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i normally just do fade in/out and normalize.
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i normally just do fade in/out and normalize.
I oly do so if it make it sound better but that too is subjective....
not related but wanted to say to firmdragon....cool buscat......do you know what that is from (I do).
peace
jah
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i fade in and out, thats about it. Sometimes i'll mess around with it, but not normally.
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I do things only when I need to... which is, much of the time, a normalization.
What I do is normalize it until the loudest point of the recording is just about peaking, and then back it off a tad. This keeps the dynamics proportional throughout the recording, but raises the volume.
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i like to fix a recording for a better listening experience. stealth tapes have various problems in many cases like volume fluctuations, nuke crowds, phasing problems, etc.
while everything can't be fixed, i try to do my best to even out the signal in case of amplitude fluctuations. standard fades and cross-fading any cuts would be fine as well.
marc
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rarely do I EQ, but sometimes it is necessary if the bass roll-off is too high or too low. Other than that it is only subjected to fades
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Ok, normalization question...why bother normalizing to 98%? Why not go to 100%? Isn't normalizing, by definition, getting something as loud as possible without clipping? Why would you want to lose that 2% of dynamic range?
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i normally just do fade in/out and normalize.
I oly do so if it make it sound better but that too is subjective....
not related but wanted to say to firmdragon....cool buscat......do you know what that is from (I do).
peace
jah
thanks
yep its from my neighbor totoro. i'm suprised someone actually recognized it.
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I use a "top-down" method of EQing.. If the bass and treble settings all the way up on my Aiwa CX-NAJ50 stereo, the audio will be properly EQed if it doesn't sound too tinny, and if the bass doesn't distort coming out of the speakers when the volume is turned up in the 20's.
So when I'm transferring the audio from DAT, I monitor the recording with the RCA outs on my DiO 2496 going into my stereo, and then adjust the bass and treble settings on my stereo until the audio sounds most listenable. Then I use those bass and treble settings to estimate how much of a bass or treble cut/lift I have to do in Cool Edit.
I've subsequently put a lot of EQ'ed stuff out on Sharing The Groove, and haven't received any complaints yet :)
Good thing is that only about half of my stealth recordings have needed EQing.
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I do fade in and fade outs at beginning and end of sets and that about it.
IMO if I need to Normalize the recording than I was too whimpy with my levels when I recorded it
edited to say:
i didn't notice this was for stealth recordings, for stealth recordings normalization most likely would be necessary since levels can't be easily checked and adjusted and keeping them a little low is safe
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I do not do anything to my recordings, even to the extent that I wont trade out anything I taped on MD (even if I was the only taper there) since I cant do a digital->digital transfer without that analog output/input in there somewhere...
This is primarily because I believe in creating documents of events, memories if you will, and cleaning up a recording is altering a memory, even to make it clearer. I dunno, something about it doesnt seem right to me.
yep its from my neighbor totoro. i'm suprised someone actually recognized it.
I have all of Miyazaki's movies (except for Spirited Away), and also the ones that Takahata has done with Ghibli too.
I even have a catbus window suction cup plushie and a plushie of the smallest of the totoros (the white one). Paid through the nose to get them though. besides taping, my money goes to anime... I need help... :P
-- Page
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I like to remove local handclaps (from people next to or near you)...it's amazing how you can zero in on just the single clap...then just reduce the volume by 8-10db. This helps a lot at quiet shows where you might want to remove those 5-10 nearby claps. This process can be tedious for sure - but can make big difference.
I also reduce the volume of "applause swells"
Sometimes, at a bluegrass or jazz theatre show...the applause will be way too loud compared to the comfortable listening level of the music.
So select the applause regions and reduce them a few db at a time till you get something that doesnt make you want to turn down your stereo between every song. This really makes certain recordings work a lot better...
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I do not do anything to my recordings, even to the extent that I wont trade out anything I taped on MD (even if I was the only taper there) since I cant do a digital->digital transfer without that analog output/input in there somewhere...
This is primarily because I believe in creating documents of events, memories if you will, and cleaning up a recording is altering a memory, even to make it clearer. I dunno, something about it doesnt seem right to me.
yep its from my neighbor totoro. i'm suprised someone actually recognized it.
I have all of Miyazaki's movies (except for Spirited Away), and also the ones that Takahata has done with Ghibli too.
I even have a catbus window suction cup plushie and a plushie of the smallest of the totoros (the white one). Paid through the nose to get them though. besides taping, my money goes to anime... I need help... :P
-- Page
If mics add coloration to sound, then doing eq'ing after the fact would only be considered restoration. Don't be afraid to eq if it helps it sound more like the original experience.
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I do not do anything to my recordings, even to the extent that I wont trade out anything I taped on MD (even if I was the only taper there) since I cant do a digital->digital transfer without that analog output/input in there somewhere...
This is primarily because I believe in creating documents of events, memories if you will, and cleaning up a recording is altering a memory, even to make it clearer. I dunno, something about it doesnt seem right to me.
So you run omnis for every show, then? Never use a HPF? In a way, running cards or hypers - and certainly running a high pass filter - is a way of "cleaning up" the recording - it just happens at the time the recording is made, instead of in post. I personally don't see a distinction between the two. Do you?
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So you run omnis for every show, then? Never use a HPF? In a way, running cards or hypers - and certainly running a high pass filter - is a way of "cleaning up" the recording - it just happens at the time the recording is made, instead of in post. I personally don't see a distinction between the two. Do you?
Omnis? Nope, I've got one set of mics due to budget reasons more then anything else.
HPF? Nope, never have.
I got into taping after listening to a lot of Zeppelin tapes, many of which people openly admited trying to EQ, and failing miserably. It left a mark on me, thats part of why I leave recordings as they are and have that philosophy. Experiences shape people, thats mine.
-- G.Page