What's the proper way of raising your vox levels when recording at a low level?

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by Dizzy

If I'm correct you're supposed to record a fairly low level when recording vocals correct? Well how do you boost 'em back up digitally correctly without getting a hair of distortion?

Push the fader up.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by TonyBelmont

Push the fader up.

Well said!

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by TonyBelmont

Push the fader up.

Bingo.

[Doc Mixwell]

Are you recording solo vocals without any music bed?

For hip hop stuff and even Back Ups, I print to -6 sometimes. That's loud as sh#t!!! What you are recording against, is all relative to the level of how you print tracks. The rules should be, don't print to low, don't print too hot, not print low, or print hot. Do what is required! Its all going to need relative strength to compete with the rest of the instrumentation, and vocal is an isolated instrument in most sessions. Printing average signal level should be what is required. To quote Terry Manning "yellow is the new red". My experience is that noise is far more of an issue when you jack output gain on a week and low recorded sound that is meant to be played back at a relative volume amongst a large dense multi-track mix. Context is king on this issue for me.

[Dizzy]

I record at about -9 -10.

[conyeezy]

Originally Posted by TonyBelmont

Push the fader up.

ftw

[T. Gundersen]

I aim for -12 with the occasional peak at -10ish and I never really have problems.

[tonymission]

Turn down the beat...

[Piedpiper]

Originally Posted by Roc Mixwell

Are you recording solo vocals without any music bed?

For hip hop stuff and even Back Ups, I print to -6 sometimes. That's loud as sh#t!!! What you are recording against, is all relative to the level of how you print tracks. The rules should be, don't print to low, don't print too hot, not print low, or print hot. Do what is required! Its all going to need relative strength to compete with the rest of the instrumentation, and vocal is an isolated instrument in most sessions. Printing average signal level should be what is required. To quote Terry Manning "yellow is the new red". My experience is that noise is far more of an issue when you jack output gain on a week and low recorded sound that is meant to be played back at a relative volume amongst a large dense multi-track mix. Context is king on this issue for me.

Sounds like what I was just posting in another thread. In a nut shell, I strive to print at a level that will require the least amount of fader adjustment in the mix.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by bgrotto

Bingo.

Only on the hip hop forum.

[The MPCist]

The louder your levels are, the more you'll end up with squashed audio on the master fader.... Since we don't have the tape noise issue (as in the old days) and pres have very low S/N ratios, just record at a lower level... Your mixes will thank you for it.

The more you record 'hot', you'll just end up pulling the faders way down to compensate... (example, bass track at -2, etc) Think gain structure and resulting average levels when tracking.

When I track my arrangements, I have the levels all set up the way I want it (rough mix) on the console and so when I am tracking, I just record it at the level it was -- result: all faders at unity is the rough mix.

[bobsandifer]

Sorry if I am not as witty as some of the others but....

First off give yourself a decent level. I try to do at least -6 like Roc but when I am tracking I use a manley voxbox or an LA610 so I can utilize the compressor.

Remember when you turn up a live track that was recorded at a low level you might be also turning up some of the extra room noise that the mic has picked up. Make sure your artist is in the correct position in the microphone so you are not having to crank the preamps. Also be careful how loud you have them in the phones. When the vocal track is loud in the phones they sometimes sing at a lower level. This ends up giving you a poor performance out of the artist, headphone bleed and extra room noise.

I realize this is more than what you asked but I think all things should be considered when tracking with a mic.

[jamescater]

Ok, so I don't get this, chances are you won't get exactly the right level on the way in so you're going to have to increase or decrease the fader before moving on to the next set of bus processing (or adjust the threshold of the compressor on the track)

As long as you don't hit -3db what is the real issue here ?

When recording to tape it's imperative you get the right level because tape is a type of compressor when hit hard, but in the digital domain what is the obsession with recording to -12 or -20 ?

I worry a lot more about how hard we hit our analog compresssor on the way in.

With a 64 bit mix engine on the fades it's virtually impossible to detect + or - gain changes after the fact.

[Igotsoul4u]

Originally Posted by Dizzy

If I'm correct you're supposed to record a fairly low level when recording vocals correct? Well how do you boost 'em back up digitally correctly without getting a hair of distortion?

I do not think recording at a low level is a great idea in the first place. Noise floor issues will become very problematic especially if you aren't in a treated room. Technically you are also recording at a lower bit rate which will result in less depth and clarity. Low signals do not take to signal processing as well as a hotter signal. Abusing your headroom is also not a good idea as it results in plugin and sends distortion. i would aim for your peaks to be around - 10dbfs. This will give you a nice healthy signal with plenty of headroom. You really shouldn't have to boost the signal back up.

[Osten Powers]

Why you all record at such a low level? If I have a compressor in my recording chain that avoids clipping why should I leave such a headroom? I record with -3 - -5 dbFS. Is it too hot and if yes why?

Peace

[jikky]

Originally Posted by Osten Powers

Why you all record at such a low level? If I have a compressor in my recording chain that avoids clipping why should I leave such a headroom? I record with -3 - -5 dbFS. Is it too hot and if yes why?

Peace

If you want to compress going in, you want to leave more room, because you may bring out frequencies you didn't want. But you can go hot in and EQ after, but it'll be harder and it's really dependent on your preference.

[ncoak]

MEGA THREAD: Are You New To Engineering?

[Osten Powers]

Originally Posted by jikky

If you want to compress going in, you want to leave more room, because you may bring out frequencies you didn't want. But you can go hot in and EQ after, but it'll be harder and it's really dependent on your preference.

Don't understand that! I go from mic pre to compressor while recording. The compressor out goes in my audio interface with let's say -5 dbFS. I have 5 db headroom now. Then I send it out of my interace to my eq and from there back in my outbord 1176 and record it again with -5 dbFS! If I want it hotter I pull the fader in cubase up if it's too hot I pull the fader down. Why should I leave such headroom while recording and decrease the S/N ratio?