What's up FP, quick question ok when recording I run the presonus studio channel as my preamp/comp/eq so I satisfied with the level of the mic playback but it may clip here and there while recording...how do I adjust my comp settings so that it won't clip but I can keep that same mic level without turning the gain down ....high ratio low threshold? I just hate having to turn the mic level down too low to stop the clipping. FP it wold be highly appreciated if someone could help me out here thanks...and btw I'm running the studio channel into my Mbox mini....
Prevent vocal clipping with compressor..
- Thread starter princevee
- Start date
moses
hardliner
Just turn down! Give the recording generous room, it's cheap!
Beside that, compressors are particularly bad overload protection devices. They are way too slow and smooth to prevent overloads. Use compression when you need compression, not just because you don't understand how to record without overloading your device (the latter is explained in the manual, I'm sure).
Finally, it's not a good idea to mess with your material before you even know what it "needs" (if it needs anything at all). Compression is not transparent, it changes the audio. Don't do the mistake to incorporate blind processing in your work-flows, keep them clean.
Beside that, compressors are particularly bad overload protection devices. They are way too slow and smooth to prevent overloads. Use compression when you need compression, not just because you don't understand how to record without overloading your device (the latter is explained in the manual, I'm sure).
Finally, it's not a good idea to mess with your material before you even know what it "needs" (if it needs anything at all). Compression is not transparent, it changes the audio. Don't do the mistake to incorporate blind processing in your work-flows, keep them clean.
I only got the compressor to make my vocals stand out...I don't like low vocals I want them to sound good while recording to make the mix less easier...I don't think I will ever record dry vocals again...I mean the vocals are too low when I lower them I need them to stay at the level where there best heard without clipping or overloading as you say...I've already bought the equip so I do want to use it and be able to function with it.
---------- Post added at 02:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 AM ----------
& everything in the manual is not giving me any type of sound I want but I appreciate your response.
---------- Post added at 02:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 AM ----------
& everything in the manual is not giving me any type of sound I want but I appreciate your response.
ModernMixing
New member
This is a pretty simple fix. First I wouldnt advise not to use compression unless your looking for a particular sound. But with 24 bit recording you shouldnt need to use a compressor to control clipping.
So You want your recording process to sound exciting? Turn down the instrumental and turn down the input level on your preamps. Get to the point where you arent clipping coming in. Then adjust the instrumental so that your vocal recording is louder then the beat. Then TURN UP your headphones. If you want your material to sound like the big boys then DO NOT clip coming in. It sounds very unprofessional and looks very unprofessional when you hand it to an engineer.
Click my sig and refer to my gain staging video. This can potentially help with your recordings but more so for mixing. Just tried pretend that hitting 0db is like stepping on nails, it sucks. Avoid it as much as you can.
So You want your recording process to sound exciting? Turn down the instrumental and turn down the input level on your preamps. Get to the point where you arent clipping coming in. Then adjust the instrumental so that your vocal recording is louder then the beat. Then TURN UP your headphones. If you want your material to sound like the big boys then DO NOT clip coming in. It sounds very unprofessional and looks very unprofessional when you hand it to an engineer.
Click my sig and refer to my gain staging video. This can potentially help with your recordings but more so for mixing. Just tried pretend that hitting 0db is like stepping on nails, it sucks. Avoid it as much as you can.
JackRichards
New member
Clipping means too loud, nothing more
Last edited:
If you're gonna add a compressor to setup.. it should be for a better reason. Don't follow the "I need more equipment to improve my sound" philosophy. It doesn't work like that unfortunately, and you'll end up feeling like you wasted money.
Do what everyone above is essentially saying... record lower. That doesn't mean your vocal will end up low!!! It just means you're recording a clean take that you can then work with in your mix. There's no getting around mixing. If you want your stuff to sound good, it has to be done. If you don't wanna do it... hire someone else to... mixes are not all that expensive depending who you're reaching out to. Plenty of people here will do it for not too much.
If you're gonna add a compressor.. use it like a VST plugin. Record clean, route the audio out to your compressor and back in to a new channel. This way... you still have your clean take, but you also have the compressed take.
If you're gonna record with the compressor going into the DAW initially like you mentioned you wanna do... you seriously need to know what you're doing. You could introduce way more issues than you intended to.
Your low volume problem is mostly likely caused by your mix... not by your sound source. Almost any condensor mic if u've right can give u a good enough useable sound source that you can make sound halfway decent in your mix. Unless you're using a radioshack computer mic. that won't cut it lol. Trust me... I tried once upon a time.
Do what everyone above is essentially saying... record lower. That doesn't mean your vocal will end up low!!! It just means you're recording a clean take that you can then work with in your mix. There's no getting around mixing. If you want your stuff to sound good, it has to be done. If you don't wanna do it... hire someone else to... mixes are not all that expensive depending who you're reaching out to. Plenty of people here will do it for not too much.
If you're gonna add a compressor.. use it like a VST plugin. Record clean, route the audio out to your compressor and back in to a new channel. This way... you still have your clean take, but you also have the compressed take.
If you're gonna record with the compressor going into the DAW initially like you mentioned you wanna do... you seriously need to know what you're doing. You could introduce way more issues than you intended to.
Your low volume problem is mostly likely caused by your mix... not by your sound source. Almost any condensor mic if u've right can give u a good enough useable sound source that you can make sound halfway decent in your mix. Unless you're using a radioshack computer mic. that won't cut it lol. Trust me... I tried once upon a time.
ModernMixing
New member
I think I have an understanding about what your issue is here. You are most likely using beats that are bounced through a limiter and WAY to loud at your tracking/mixing stage. This means you cant hear vocals over the beat in your headphones while recording. While rapping over already brickwalled mp3s is not ideal when it comes to sound quality, I understand that sometimes that all you have to work with.
So, stand infront of your mic, and perform your part as you will while you record. Set you mic-pre level so that you maybe touch YELLOW on your metering once or twice in a verse, if you have explosive parts.Then, in your DAW - Cubase, Pro Tools, Sonar, whatever you use, turn the track that you have the beat on down until you find a good balance between your vocal in headphones and the beat.
Then if you absolutely need to have the whole track LOUD, turn the WHOLE thing up together (beat and track). While this is not ideal, when presented with this particular situation that is how I achieve the best possible results.
You absolutely do not want to record through a hardware compressor, unless you really know what you're doing, or you are using a fairly mild setting on a high-end compressor. "Pros" do it this way, but often times not for compression, but for the sonic character a specific compressor can add to a sound. It would suck to have a great take get ruined by a compressor.
So, stand infront of your mic, and perform your part as you will while you record. Set you mic-pre level so that you maybe touch YELLOW on your metering once or twice in a verse, if you have explosive parts.Then, in your DAW - Cubase, Pro Tools, Sonar, whatever you use, turn the track that you have the beat on down until you find a good balance between your vocal in headphones and the beat.
Then if you absolutely need to have the whole track LOUD, turn the WHOLE thing up together (beat and track). While this is not ideal, when presented with this particular situation that is how I achieve the best possible results.
You absolutely do not want to record through a hardware compressor, unless you really know what you're doing, or you are using a fairly mild setting on a high-end compressor. "Pros" do it this way, but often times not for compression, but for the sonic character a specific compressor can add to a sound. It would suck to have a great take get ruined by a compressor.
P
ProfessionalP
Guest
You all made such great points...
When it comes to compression on the input, I generally avoid it also. Having light compression can help for artists who perform takes without regard to the effect dynamic range, but often times the quality is severed. If you really want to make the compressor work you'll have to have the artist perform consistently so that you can tune the level. I consider this part of tracking anyway especially since it has an effect on the output db of the vocal being recorded. Test and make sure the sound quality is improving while using the compressor otherwise ditch it and do what zlaya said. Lower the instrumental, track the vocal or double-check the mic gain, do your take, then fiddle with compression after.
When it comes to compression on the input, I generally avoid it also. Having light compression can help for artists who perform takes without regard to the effect dynamic range, but often times the quality is severed. If you really want to make the compressor work you'll have to have the artist perform consistently so that you can tune the level. I consider this part of tracking anyway especially since it has an effect on the output db of the vocal being recorded. Test and make sure the sound quality is improving while using the compressor otherwise ditch it and do what zlaya said. Lower the instrumental, track the vocal or double-check the mic gain, do your take, then fiddle with compression after.