Does this signify anything bad?

[Brennan]

Just got back from a show, I recorded these guys pretty loud and it came out sounding great. I'm figuring that it probably doesn't, but does this screenshot of the waveform signify any...I don't know...loss...anything of the sort?



Zoom of the first song:



Anything to worry about? As I said, it's not distorted, nothing cut out, etc. This is from my CA cards > CA stc-9000 > R-09.

Thanks!

[rsimms3]

Definately doesn't look sexy (to me anyway).  Part of me is wondering how good the battery in your preamp is because of the asymetrical look of the form.  The fact that it looks like two sticks of butter also worries me, little to no dynamic range in there, similar to an FM recording.  I don't use a R-09, but I wonder if the volume setting on the R-09 was not set at an optimal level.  Hopefully someone with the right knowledge will stop by and check it out.  The most important thing is that it sounds undamaged.

[audBall]

Looks like you may have brickwalled the preamp (STC9000) before the R09's input.  It doesn't look all that bad, though.  Maybe try cutting back a little on the pre's gain, and utilizing some additional gain from the R09, or in post with software. 

At least it sounds great.  

[Brennan]

Ahh good point on the battery. It has been a while.

I have the R-09 set permanently at level 6, which I had heard is the zero attenuation point for this recorder.

So it's probably just because I had my pre too high? It does sound very good though, definitely better than it did there lol

[dorrcoq]

I have the R-09 set permanently at level 6, which I had heard is the zero attenuation point for this recorder.

I can't remember what is should be, but I'm pretty sure it isn't 6.

[M]

I think the r09 unity is 13...although a lot of people seem to think that 8 sounds the best.

[fmaderjr]

I think the r09 unity is 13...although a lot of people seem to think that 8 sounds the best.

Yes and don't ever set it below 8. It has been reported that if you need to set it below 8 to keep the meters from hitting 0 dB your recording may brickwall. Setting it at 6 could be the reason your recording brickwalled since you say the show you recorded was loud.

Unless you had the ST-9000 set at +30 dB or it had a bad battery, the settings on the R-09 is the most likely reason for the problem.

[Brennan]

I think the r09 unity is 13...although a lot of people seem to think that 8 sounds the best.

Yes and don't ever set it below 8. It has been reported that if you need to set it below 8 to keep the meters from hitting 0 dB your recording may brickwall. Setting it at 6 could be the reason your recording brickwalled since you say the show you recorded was loud.

Unless you had the ST-9000 set at +30 dB or it had a bad battery, the settings on the R-09 is the most likely reason for the problem.

is it really 8 (or 13)? That's probably at least a part of it, I had it in my head it was 6 for some reason...idk where that came from, lol. I'll read up and figure it out

Admittedly, partially just to see what I could crank out of this thing, I did have the pre at +30 in order to get a hot signal to the R-09. If I had cared more about the bands...probably not. It did get me a hot signal as I was aiming for and came out a good volume. But now I'm doubting the 9000's battery is the problem (tested it, fine) and I'm thinking that with a higher level on the R-09 I can get that same gain without cranking the pre as high.

just sorta thinking out loud, as always though comments are definitely appreciated!

[fmaderjr]

is it really 8 (or 13)? That's probably at least a part of it, I had it in my head it was 6 for some reason...idk where that came from, lol. I'll read up and figure it out

I think it is more likely to be 13 than 8. More people have thought it is 13 than 8 and Edirol has made 13 the default value when the machine originally powers up.

Also it is best not to crank it up above 25. The pres are most noisy between 25-30. It would be best to keep it at 25 or below and add any additional gain desired in post. Even better would be to use a preamp like the ST-9100 when recording stuff that is not very loud.