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 Kyma Forum
 Confabulation
 -3db during recording
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watson Member |
posted 27 October 2006 00:54
 
i noticed a couple months back a discussion i cannot seem to find. it was mr mclain talking about digital audio starting to break up or distort once it gets past -3db on the meters...i just made the switch from tape to digital recently and i was wondering if when you are tracking vocals or drums or whatever if you should also record where your peaks are less than -3???? just wondering what you all do so i can make the switch over as painless as possible. thanks [This message has been edited by watson (edited 27 October 2006).] IP: Logged |
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JackRosete Member |
posted 27 October 2006 04:30
Digital distortion (clipping) occurs at 0dB. 0dB is the digital 'roof' above which there are no bits left to represent your waveform. If a waveform hits 0dB (for 2 or more contiguous samples), then it will be clipped (squared off), changing its shape and creating new harmonics which are audible as a nasty distortion. On the contrary, if your input signal is too quiet, then you will hear the artifacts of quantization error (another type of digital distortion, the byproduct of converting a continuous analog signal into discrete digital data). Making full use of the available bits (up to 0dB), along with recording in 24 bit, will minimize the artifacts of quantization error. In that sense, it is better to record slightly too cold, than too hot, because clipping is unforgiving, whilst quantization error is only a problem with very low input signals! It is a good idea to set your input level so that the loudest peaks are hitting, but not crossing -3 dB. However, it may be advisable to use a limiter before A/D conversion, to avoid digital clipping in the absolute. [This message has been edited by JackRosete (edited 27 October 2006).] IP: Logged |
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