Jan 05, 2003 09:54 pm Sorry if this sounds patronising, but the best way to stop things clipping is just to turn the gain down on the desk / channel strip...
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Bass Drum Clipping!!
Posted on Jan 05, 2003 09:20 pm
AKx47x
Member Since: Dec 23, 2002
Alright I'm fed up with my kick drum constantly clipping i cant place it near te drum with out get a bunch of mush. i want a solid tump....just a nice punch of low frequency. I have a kick drum mic. I have an extremely high quality set that sound great.... but the drums are clipping. (toms/bass) my snare is fine. and my overheads are great. Now I just recently ordered an Aless compressor. It wll be here tomorrow. Wil;l this take car of the clipping problem...i really need help what can i do...what do the pros do?
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Jan 05, 2003 09:54 pm Sorry if this sounds patronising, but the best way to stop things clipping is just to turn the gain down on the desk / channel strip...
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Jan 05, 2003 10:28 pm No thts good advice....thanks...anyow so if i turn down the gain.....and turn up the channel im recording to...or what i still need presence and te drum must audible. I dont just want to cancel it out or should i turn the gain don on the channel and boost the master... any info is appreciated.. thanks
Jan 06, 2003 04:55 am Cool!
It appears to me that your problem is that you aren't "tracking" correctly.
When you record instruments (aka "track" them) - in your case, a drumkit, it is important to track each signal as "hot" as possible whilst not clipping (going over 0dB on digital gear).
Once you've mic'd up the drumkit, get your drummer to start smashing the hell out of it - make him play the heaviest part of the song and ensure he is going "hell-for-leather" - this will ensure you are getting the loudest signal from each of the mic's.
Whilst he is doing this, you need to set the gain trims on each channel (mic) so that they don't clip, but are still running hot (the signal should be staying around -3dB most of the time). One easy way to do this is to start with the gain trim on 0 and slowly turn it to the right until it clips (a red light should turn-on inside the desk to let you know when this happens) - when it does, turn the knob a bit the the left to ensure you have enough headroom.
Once you have all the gain trims set, you can start recording - make sure you watch the levels, if ANY of them clip you need to adjust the gain trim (turn it a bit more to the left) and do the take again - tedious I know, but it's worth it.
Once you have a sucessfull take, you can start mixing the signals - because you got a strong signal in the first place, you can place it nice and loud in the mix without fear of background noise or hiss (which occurs when you track with the gain-trim too low) or the dreaded digital clipping (which happens when you set the gain-trim too high).
Just as a side note, the compressor you ordered will not go to waste, as compressors are very usefull when it comes to mixing drums - I would like to write an article on how I mix drums for this site one day (if that's okay with you dB?)
Anyhoos, hope that helped...
--jues.
Jan 06, 2003 05:17 am Quote:
(if that's okay with you dB?)
hell ya...
Jan 06, 2003 09:27 pm Thanks a lot jues.... now we use an analog mixer for the mixing (its all we got).... then we just run the Master Out into the line input in the computer. so i should just keep the things real low and boost them as high as i can (before clipping, of course) correct ? Great. Thanks a lot ill try itand im gonna mix my drums on the analog mixer...compress everything....and then put it into the computer... Sound good? Any suggestions? THANKS!!
Jan 08, 2003 09:26 pm All good advise per my experience. Do I hear two questions however? Clipping yes above adivise will cure that problem. Distinct vs boom....maybe. Play with your mic placement and room size after curing clipping problem. Listen live through the mic if possible. Low frequency bass can be tricky. Accustic modifications to the physical room may be necessary to achieve solid distinct bass recording. Once your volume problems are solved, move to "tightening" your sonics.
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