Fostex MR-8 Help
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Posted on Jul 11, 2004 05:52 pm
Pingaso5446
Member Since: Jul 11, 2004
HI everyone im new here, and im also kidna new to recording aswell, I've been doing it for about 4 months. I have a problem when I pan everything out on my fostex mr8, usually I put my guitar to the left, the bass to the right and my drums and vocals in the middle. Well when I get down to mixing and mastering it it always comes out mushy and its either the guitar is too loud and the bass isnt or the drums are too loud. I do not have a decent pair of monitors, I use headphones, and sometimes computer speakers. What causes this, is it the levels of my amps and the tone, or the volume that I record at. I play a marshall TSL 60 and I use alot of distortion, the gain on the dirty channel is set to 10, should I lower the gain? All help would be apreciated. Thanks in advance
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HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Jul 12, 2004 02:57 pm Welcome to HRC Pingaso !
Are your levels exceeding the 0dB mark ? Lowering the level of your gain wont effect your recording levels, unless they're already 'out of bounds' . It will affect the sound you're used to, but it is rule of thumb, y'a wan'na decrease the amount of gain slightly as to leave some 'room' for mixing things later . I may be wrong, but it sounds like you're trying to use all of your level meters, including the part that says you're clipping . More info on what you're levels say would help here . Don't go above 0dB, even if there's 'more meter to go', and it sounds ok while recording .
Also mixing on those speakers/headphones wont help your perception of what's REALLY going on, trust me, I still use such sorces, and compensation is always a reality . I notice no compressor/limmiter listed in your profile, one of these would help greatly in maintaning your levels, and the integrity of your sound .
Need more info on your proceedure to help further, but if y'a hang around and read the tutorial section, I'm sure you'll find the answers that you are seeking . They've been very helpfull to most of us here at HRC . :) Hope this helps .
Jul 12, 2004 03:35 pm Thnak you very much, My recorder has a peak LED indicator and when i record it never blinks so I know i dont go voer the max for recording, every slider on the track has a limit mark on the side i always stay under it. What does a Compressor/limmiter do? Is it expenisve? What do you need to use it? Once again Thanks for the help.
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Jul 12, 2004 03:59 pm Hmmm, no clipping, eh ?...
Maybe it's your speakers then... ever try other sorces ?
Compressor/limiters, do just that... compresses the signal so that the quiet stuff is audible, and the too-loud stuff is not... er, too-loud, and also limits the inbound signal as not to clip . VERY handy . :) They're relatively cheap... utilitarian ones run from 75$-250$, and the really nice ones run higher . Deffinately something to look into as your next gear purchase... I don't know many people who don't use one in one form or another . Check the Gear Bag for some recomendations . :)
Jul 12, 2004 04:58 pm Thanks. When I looked up compressors in Musicians friend most of them ar rack systems. All I have to record is my 6 channel p.a. and a fostex and I mostly record demos. I want that professional sound and I want to get into recording but in my case is it worth buying one of these?
Jul 12, 2004 05:03 pm Everyone needs a compressor.
Jul 12, 2004 05:18 pm Alright, I was looking at the the Alesis 3630 Dual channel compressor, and it looks complicated to use. Alright correct me if im wrong, A compressor is kinda like a mixer I would plug in my amp's line out into the input and have a cable going from the output into the input of my a recorder? Instead of lo's, mid's, and hi's this has attack, treshold, and ratio and more? Can I use this for my stack when I play live to give me a type of sound I want? And I think thats pretty much it after this I'll stop bothering everyone. Thanks.
