Imported file signal clipping

[Alaska]

HELLO and thanks for this forum!
I am a new DP24 user
I exported a track to a computer then to Audacity
compressed and normalized to -1 DB
then transferred back to the DP24
but it clips into the red...no audible distorting or clipping sounds though
the original track was below clipping initially
Why is this happening? According to Audacity the file is -1 under clipping
THANK YOU

 

[Phil Tipping]

Welcome to the forum. Is the clipping on the track meters or the L/R meter bars?
If it's on the track bars, can you repeat the test with it normalised to -1.5 or -2 dB?
If the clipping disappears, it may be a (fairly?) well-known problem with digital signals in general where the interpolation between two loud samples creates a slightly louder signal. It depends on the device doing the conversion from digital to analogue, but you can avoid the problem if you have the option to reduce the normalise target value below 0dB. The normalise function in the Mastering tools does not have an option, but I've not checked if it is fixed internally to 0dB or something slightly lower.
If the clipping is only on the L/R bars at the right, there could be a gain setting somewhere in the signal path, in which case you could try resetting all levels & effects manually, or just do a factory initialise.

 

[Alaska]

THANK YOU PHIL for responding, I'm so grateful to get such professional help!
The clipping is in the track bar...i did experiment with normalizing to -1 on the computer before
exporting it back to the DP24, but still clipped...but it was lower, maybe -2 is the magic number...
it just seems weird for one device (the computer via Audacity) to say the max signal is ok but the DP24 thinks otherwise...i guess as long as i don't hear any distortion etc it's ok
in any case THANK YOU again!

 

[-mjk-]

hi Alaska, welcome to the Tascam forums!

Let me say this, as a regular sub-mixer and importer: I don't recommend normalizing anything going back into the DP machine - even if it's normalized on the machine itself. It potentially causes problems, and the benefits are dubious anyway. We're already in the digital domain so we aren't concerned with the noise floor at that point in the process. In my own experience, I would do a submix using Mixdown mode, normalize it and bring it back into the DP-32. Those tracks would be ridiculously/unnecessarily loud compared to the other tracks I was working with. Since I'm working at around -12 DBFS, that's where I keep everything throughout the entire process, up until the final mix.

 

[Alaska]

Thank you MJK, i've had it drilled into me that zero DB is the target all the time for everything, maybe from the old analog cassette 4-track days...I will try your advice and learn to be OK with -12 until it's time to mix/master

 

[-mjk-]

Alaska, I know exactly what you mean! In the old days, I knew I was ready to go to tape by listening to the analog meters clicking with the kick and snare drum because they were pegged. Of course, we were fighting the noise floor, but in addition to that tape sounds so nice when it saturated. It's a whole different ballgame with digital, and this last year has been a huge education for me. I'm using a digital console and mixing tracks from Reaper coming into the console on the USB hose, and I honestly can't believe how pristine and quiet these very low-level tracks are.

One thing that helps to keep in mind is that you're not looking at an actual DB meter on these machines. It's DBFS and there's no direct correlation to DB. I trying to keep everything in the green zone, and peak in the orange.

Another thing to keep in mind is, if you're going to have your stuff professionally mastered, don't normalize anything. Give them your mixdown at -12, and let the mastering engineer create the dynamic range and loudness space needed.