do u compress in front of audio interface

[lpagross]

I was wondering how many feed their mics through a compressor before the signal gets into the audio interface - of course I'm talking about dynamic compression not data compression. Most of the shows I hear sound like they have been limited quite heavily to get that "radio" sound. Do you generally do this in software after tracking or at the insert on your mix channel?

Gordon

[X Pat Radio]

I was wondering how many feed their mics through a compressor before the signal gets into the audio interface - of course I'm talking about dynamic compression not data compression. Most of the shows I hear sound like they have been limited quite heavily to get that "radio" sound. Do you generally do this in software after tracking or at the insert on your mix channel?

Gordon

I use a dbx 166xl compressor/limiter/gate on an insert

[bionicgenius]

Hey Gordon!

We record with three condensers into a 4-channel Shure mixer with a limiter. It does a great job. I patch that into a portable MiniDisc recorder that has an auto-gain. Then after the show, I transfer it old-school into the PC, and use Sony [Sonic Foundry] Sound Forge.

I usually normalize everything to -6dB, edit the heck out of the voices, add my tracks, also at -6, then compress/limit up to 0dB. I then do a quick -.5dB normalizing to cover any unforseen angry peaks.

Way too much work for just a podcast, but I loves me audio production.

So, by the end of the show, we're compressed all to hell!

Does it show?

[lpagross]

Hey Gordon!
mixer with a limiter
into
MiniDisc recorder that has an auto-gain
then
normalize everything to -6dB
then
compress/limit up to 0dB
then
a quick -.5dB normalizing to cover any unforseen angry peaks.

That seems just plain crazy!

Gordon
The Joan and Jeff Show

[Dr. Trey]

I use very little compression going to tape. Usually about -2db worth just to grab the crazy transients. Once i get to tape, it's all inserts for me, with a compressor and limiter on the master.

[swingercast]

We record the "studio" portions of our show with a mixer and straight into the computer, I adjust the levels and what not.

When the show is done it usually peppered (not the Cheney flavor) with audio from a pocket recorder that we take with us when we are doing "research" for our show.

This media mix requires a lot of compressing and normalizing but I'm still struggling for the right mix. I think I got it better in episode 5.

We're looking to buy a better portable recorder. Something with 2 inputs (phantom power would be great) and one that is small enough to carry it anywhere. Any suggestions?

[X Pat Radio]

We're looking to buy a better portable recorder. Something with 2 inputs (phantom power would be great) and one that is small enough to carry it anywhere. Any suggestions?

marantz pmd 670 or 660

[bionicgenius]

Like I mentioned - MiniDisc recorders are easy, and tons cheaper than Marantz. Even for dual inputs, the minidisc has been flawless. The media is really cheap too.

[lpagross]

We're looking to buy a better portable recorder. Something with 2 inputs (phantom power would be great) and one that is small enough to carry it anywhere. Any suggestions?
M-Audio recently released a good 24bit recorder that I've only heard good things about.

With 132dB dynamic range at 24bit we record our show without compression (may add a little soft compression after thinking about it due to this thread) and then use the Waves L2 UltraMaximiser (I believe this uses the L3 Linear Phase Limiter) with a -18dB Threshold and 0dB output. I find the L2 Limiter is more useful for dance music as it sounds like it introduces some saturation, but the L3 is cleaner and more transparent.

I'm interested to know if people have their final max output at 0dB or something lower and why?

Gordon
Joan and Jeff Show

[kinkysex]

We're looking to buy a better portable recorder. Something with 2 inputs (phantom power would be great) and one that is small enough to carry it anywhere. Any suggestions?

marantz pmd 670 or 660
Second that. I use a 660 and love it.

[bionicgenius]

Hey Gordon!
mixer with a limiter
into
MiniDisc recorder that has an auto-gain
then
normalize everything to -6dB
then
compress/limit up to 0dB
then
a quick -.5dB normalizing to cover any unforseen angry peaks.

That seems just plain crazy!

Gordon
The Joan and Jeff Show

It takes no extra time to compress/normalize. Like 30 seconds. It's just a plugin - not hardware. The longest time is the editing. I'm a stickler for stutters, meaning the host/editor always sounds the best in the end!

The initial mini-disc to PC x-fer is done in real-time, with an optical cable, but I usually do this while working, and will make some notes as it goes in.

SoundForge is cool, because the markers {by pressing M when recording} stick on the two-track. Which means, you can mark the heck out of your show, and no matter where you trim, the edits stick on the edit points. Audacity will not do that, and is annoying.

[kinkysex]

I just got this:
http://www.americanmusical.com/item--i-BEH-T1952--noise-gates--m-5_87_199.html#
http://www.americanmusical.com/images/b/p8466b.jpg

We'll see if it helps. :lol:

[MAK]

Wow-that is some serious looking hardware-what is it?

[jeffoest]

I don't compress going in because I also record at 24 bit detail and find it fairly easy to get good levels without clipping with no compression or limiting. For some reason, I've never liked tracking with a compressor on my voice though I like it on my bass guitar!

I then run the audio through a RNC (chained compressor) and then mix it and finalize it using Audition/Ozone which involves multi-band compression and limiting on the mix.

I usually output the final to -.5 db to allow for some room for anybody that applies any EQ to their player (though .5 is probably not REALLY enough! Maybe it just makes me feel better, lol)....

[kinkysex]

Wow-that is some serious looking hardware-what is it?
Hee hee, click the link above the picture and read all about it!

[Dr. Trey]

It's probably force of habit because I really don't see the need to be so picky when it comes to putting out a podcast every week, but the ceiling for my peak limiter is -.03. I usually do this when I'm mastering audio to avoid any oversampling that might occur.

There is a paper written by Nika Aldrich from Trillium Lane Labs. It is an excellent paper on digital distortion. Just because you're meters aren't reading red, you still may be clipping. I put it up in the links section of my website for a little while but it won't be there for too much longer. I think this document should be read by all who are serious about recording.

[lpagross]

Just because you're meters aren't reading red, you still may be clipping.
It's a common debate in studios, "What is distortion in the digital domain?" If you fill all 16 bits is that distortion? Well no, if you only fill them all for the duration of one sample, that's simply full use of your 96dB dynamic range. Of course nobody would call that distortion. So are two contiguous samples at full range distortion? Well, can you hear that distortion? So, how many contiguous samples at full range represents distortion. I'll take a read of that paper on your site I guess.

The reason to avoid multiple compression passes is that every time you compress, your signal to noise ratio is degraded. Compress with a threshold of -12dB and your signal to noise ratio is reduced by 12dB, then limit with a threshold of -12dB on the software side and your signal to noise is down by another 12dB. On a system with a nominal dynamic range of 96dB that's you reducing your signal to noise ratio by 25%. You've basically lost 4 of your 16 bits of resolution. I'm not saying this as a purist because, as I've said, I limit my speech to a threshold of -18dB, but at least it's a single pass with a pretty transparent limiter from a 24bit recording representing only 3 bits of my dynamic range. OK, now I'm confused :-)

Gordon
The Joan and Jeff Show

[jake359]

I just got this:

http://www.behringer.com/MDX2600/mdx2600_medium.jpg (http://www.behringer.com/MDX2600/index.cfm?lang=ENG)

And with help from the good Doctor and others here on the alley, got it hooked in and working. I use it on my mic only, as I'm an Old Skool Radio guy, and I just like a little processing on my voice. Brings the lows up, takes the highs down, supresses background noise for a "deader" sound. I think it's made a great improvement.

[audiocollective]

We use the dbc MC6 and it works great for what we do. We use it mostly for a limiter so the signal dosent clip. It is small and very cheep but does great things. Once the show is recorded i run a few effects on it to compress it and normalize the volume.