An old problem comes back to haunt me

[squids]

but now I know it wasn't me all those years! ROFLOkay, so I'm recording a vox track and I'm clipping all over the place. I don't wanna compress my voice too much but it's a mess over here. I have to do something. Any ideas?Hate to ask such a rookie question but the video tutorials didn't cover this.

[hummingbird]

Quote:but now I know it wasn't me all those years! ROFLOkay, so I'm recording a vox track and I'm clipping all over the place. I don't wanna compress my voice too much but it's a mess over here. I have to do something. Any ideas?Hate to ask such a rookie question but the video tutorials didn't cover this. Might help to give more details on your set-up. What mic, what are you running between the mic & the recording software, what you're using to record.If you're running through a pre-amp, turn down the input level. If you're running directly into the computer, there has to be a way to turn down the input - probably in system tools.Don't sing directly into the mic. Put it on the side. So, for example, I put my mic on my left, pointing at my mouth with the pop screen between me and it. When I go up to larger notes I might turn slightly to the right.Also, try not to "try to sing". Trust the mic. Aim more for nuances and textures than for 'big'.Hope that helps a bit. I found it took several passes at things to find the right settings/set-up for my voice.Hummin'bird

[squids]

Running a Blue babybottle through an Apogee Duet into Logic Express. I'll try as you suggest (I don't sing directly into the mic anyway but maybe I'll switch sides and see if that helps too!)Thanks honey!

[mazz]

You have to check out your gain staging.Start at the pre-amp, in this case the Apogee. Does it have input level controls, either hardware or software? I bet it does. While you are singing, look at the input metering and particularly the clip indication. If the clip indication just blinks on louder notes, you're probably OK, if it stays on, back off the input gain until it just blinks occasionally. (the indicators may be a bit different on your system, I'm speaking generally).Now you have your input matched to your mic and your singing. Move on to the output of the preamp. If your Apogee has an output, route it to a track and watch the meters on the track. Same thing here as on the input, only this time reduce the output gain of the Apogee if necessary to get a clean signal.Now look at your master fader. If, when all your tracks are playing and you are singing it goes in to the red, then you're overloading the master. Turn the offending tracks down and/or reduce the level of your master. You can make up this gain with your speakers/headphone gain controls.Now your gain staging is complete. The idea is to make the gain levels at each stage of the process optimal. If you crank up your speakers/phones and hear a lot of hiss, then you've got the gain too low somewhere upstream. This is a basic practice that must be mastered in recording at some point so you get the most clean signal on "tape". Your mixes will sound much better for it!HTH!!Mazz

[andreh]

Quote:Don't sing directly into the mic. Put it on the side. So, for example, I put my mic on my left, pointing at my mouth with the pop screen between me and it. When I go up to larger notes I might turn slightly to the right.Quote:I'll try as you suggest (I don't sing directly into the mic anyway but maybe I'll switch sides and see if that helps too!)Vikki's suggestion is a good one if you don't have control over your mic pre's input level, but otherwise I would recommend against altering your mic position for reasons other than tone. The exception to this is "working the mic" by pulling back for loud passages, but that should be an aesthetic choice, not one dictated by technical issues.Some mic's do sound better off-axis to one degree or another (depending on the recorded source), but many sound their best when they're "sung into." In addition, singing off-mic will introduce more room tone into the recording, and for untreated rooms that's undesirable. I recommend you try a few positions to find the best tone, then deal with your input level issue elsewhere in the recording chain.This is all assuming you have a mic that can handle the SPL [sound pressure level] of your voice without distorting, but very few people can sing, or yell for that matter, loudly enough to overload most microphones.André

[squids]

Thanks Andre, for the great advice (you too, Mazz!)......I'm a big fan of mic technique since I'm one who can clip a mic without much problem. There're lots more of us out there than one might think, I'm guessin'. I'm using the above-mentioned mic and it can handle it, I've used it before without problems except in eq-ing....I sing at an angle but still within the cone. The room is treated so I think it's a chain problem. I'm working on it but thanks a ton for weighing in, it's always good to hear input! I learn something new every day here.

[matto]

Also check if the mic has a "pad" (switch on the mic that attenuates incoming signal by a given amount, often 10dB). If you've used the mic before w/o distortion with the pad switched on, it's very well possible that you would get distortion with the pad switched off.

[squids]

Thanks Matto! It doesn't have one that I can see but I'll take another look. My eyes......ya know, those cataract surgeries ain't cheap.

[stick]

It's gotta be in the Duet. I'm not sure how it shows up in Logic, but I'm sure there's a way to turn down the pre section... I'm gonna look it up. I bet it has something to do with that big shiny knob. Ok, it's super easy. Press that big honkin' button down a couple times until the light above IN-1 lights up. Now the knob is controlling the input level. As you're screaming into the mic, watch the LEDs above that IN-1 light... turn it down so that your loudest peaks don't make it all the way to the top. Then press the big button again until the OUT lights up, and you're back to controlling the output level to your speakers. And, a side note on levels... there's no reason to try and get hot signal into the computer. Bumping up against the maximum level isn't a cool thing to do like it is on analog tape. Headroom is your friend. You have to have really low signal in a 24 bit digital audio file to have any loss of signal clarity. But, on the otherhand, as you've realized, clipping is always bad. Generally, I don't let the levels get any higher than about 3/4 of the way up the meter in Logic or Protools. It's not worth the headache of having to recut anything if it gets louder and clips.

[squids]

Brian, you are da man. Checking it out as we speak....tried looking at my manual but it doesn't have very detailed contents for the Duet (lots for the other one though, dangit, can't wait to get it!). Fingers crossed, I'm goin' IN!