Recording Levels

[JImM]

Thought I'd dig this topic out from the bottom of another thread and restart it, as it is a rather important item.

I found this article very good and wanted I'd share it.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-how-much-headroom-should-i-leave-24-bit-recording

 

[TS-1]

That's what i said in this thread few days ago :

http://www.tascamforums.com/threads/dp-24-32sd-tutorial-videos.4475/page-2#post-22194

Look at my post #31 and those who follow

 

[JImM]

Yes I know TS-1. That's the thread I "dug" it out of.

 

[Arjan P]

An important note to make, is that the SOS article speaks of an AVERAGE level of -18 dB. Reading an average level on a digital system's meters can be problematic though, and is very dependent on the type of source you record. So to be on the safe side (certainly with percussive instruments) keep the -10 dB PEAK as a safe level.

 

[skier]

If you want to learn more about loudness metering and the recent push to get away from squeezing the heck out of music as we've been doing over the last few decades, you may want to explore the K-Metering system created by Bob Katz. He defines 3 scales: K-12, K-14 and K-20. Select the scale you want to use that'll provide the headroom you want. For example, K-14 sets the 0 reference level 14 db below digital 0. This gives you 14db of headroom and is described as designed for moderately compressed, typical rock and pop music. K-12 is designed for radio broadcast and K-20 for very wide dynamic range material, such as film and classical music.

I record into Pro Tools and don't know much about portastudio equipment (so please forgive any stupid recommendation I might make if it's not pertinent), but in the DAW arena, many vendors have added K metering as one of the metering options. For example, Pro Tools added K metering to the HD version several years ago, and included it in standard PT in the last year. Perhaps some recent or forthcoming software update has or will do the same for portastudio gear.

Here's a decent article that discussed the topic comprehensively:

http://www.digido.com/how-to-make-better-recordings-part-2.html

Hope this helps.

 

[Arjan P]

@skier, however true your point in itself, loudness (and K-system is also about listening level) doesn't have much to do with recording levels.

BTW, another good - and more current - resource about loudness is Ian Shepherd's http://productionadvice.co.uk/blog/ website. His Dynameter plugin is a fantastic tool for mastering.

 

[cmaffia]

That perception tool seems really cool. For years I've been doing what the app does manually. $149 seems a bit steep though especially when it's $50 more than mastering software such as wavelabs elements. Decisions decisions..

 

[cmaffia]

His Dynameter app is cool too. Thanks for this info Arjan!

 

[skier]

Hey Arjan,

You are correct! I interpreted the OPs post and article he highlighted as an interest in headroom, and by extension, loudness. I didn't mean to highjack it into an off-topic discussion of loudness.

And thanks for the link — great info!

 

[Arjan P]

You're welcome ofcourse, guys. And to end the topic hijack ;-) one more tip related to mastering: Ian Shepherd also produces/hosts a great podcast for free: http://themasteringshow.com/