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Too much rumble filter?

Started by Mantaz, September 29, 2014, 09:12:31 PM

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Mantaz

Hi-

I'm new to VS and want to make sure I'm getting the best possible sound I can with the equipment I have. So far, I've only recorded one album that I keep tinkering with and re-recording in order to get a quality of sound I'm comfortable with.  For some reason, the finished product sounds excessively high-pitched and shrill and somewhat distorted, kind of like a poor quality mp3 downloaded for free off of a Russian website. The saxophone is the music is also muffled. I'm convinced it has something to do with my settings.

I'm using a Project Debut Carbon TT and a Zphono USB preamp, running into a Macbook Pro with the USB connection. On the preamp, I have the RIAA curve switched off and the preamp's rumble filter turned on.  I'm recording and saving files with ALAC (using the 4 setting) at 16/44.  The gain seems to be set adequately since I'm only getting 1 - 3 clips each time I've recorded. I'm primarily using the default click removal settings (of course with the percussion and brass protection left where they are); with the exception the I turn up the sensitivity to max in quiet sections (without drums, bass, or sax). I also turn the sensitivity down to a minimum in sections containing saxophone. I have the software's rumble filter and hum filter both turned on.  I use the VS RIAA equalization curve, with the exception that I turn up the bass and turn down the treble because of the sound quality issues I've been having. I have normalisation set to 0.

By the way, the album I'm recording is Gloria Mundi's I Individual (high energy post-punk with sax). The album is in good condition and sounds fine when played through the turn table.

A couple of ideas have occurred to me as possible causes:

1. Am I overdoing it with the rumble filter by using both the preamp and VS rumble filters?

2. Should I be recording with WAV or AIFF instead of ALAC. I used the ALAC "4" setting to try and save some space. Could this potentially be a problem?

3. Am I just hearing the inherently inferior sound quality of 16/44, rather than a higher bit rate and frequency?

4. Would I get significant improvement if I brought my normalisation down to the default -3, rather than keeping it at 0?

I would like to figure this out before I get going with recording more albums. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)

#1
Quote from: Mantaz on September 29, 2014, 09:12:31 PM
1. Am I overdoing it with the rumble filter by using both the preamp and VS rumble filters?
Yes, probably  I would use just one (doesn't really matter which).  That's not the cause of your problem, however.

Quote from: Mantaz on September 29, 2014, 09:12:31 PM2. Should I be recording with WAV or AIFF instead of ALAC. I used the ALAC "4" setting to try and save some space. Could this potentially be a problem?
No, ALAC is fine.

Quote from: Mantaz on September 29, 2014, 09:12:31 PM3. Am I just hearing the inherently inferior sound quality of 16/44, rather than a higher bit rate and frequency?
No, 16/44 is perfectly adequate.

Quote from: Mantaz on September 29, 2014, 09:12:31 PM
4. Would I get significant improvement if I brought my normalisation down to the default -3, rather than keeping it at 0?
No, 0dB (or perhaps -1 dB) is fine.

Quote from: Mantaz on September 29, 2014, 09:12:31 PM
I would like to figure this out before I get going with recording more albums. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Absolutely. So that leaves the question of what is wrong.  Are you sure you're applying RIAA equalisation correctly in VinylStudio?   You can apply it either at record time (recommended), via the Check Level dialog, or afterwards as an Equalisation Curve / FFT Filter, but don't do both.  I would use the default curve; it shouldn't be necessary to adjust it if everything else is set correctly.  I'm assuming you've successfully defeated the equalisation in your preamp.

If you're still stuck, you might like to send me a sound sample.  To do this:

1.  Select (click and drag) about 30 seconds' worth of audio in the Cleanup Audio window.

2.  Right-click (or Ctrl+click) and select 'Save Selection As'.

3.  Please save in OGG format (to keep the file size down) and email the file to:

p DOT sanders AT alpinesoft DOT co DOT uk

Thanks.

Mantaz

Thanks for your quick response.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to have the option to apply RIAA equalization while recording. I read in the manual that this is available as of V8.5. I checked my version and I have V8.3.1 that I purchased from the Mac App Store. How can I update to the most current version? I'm unable to figure this out from the software or from the App Store. Thanks.

Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)

Hi,

You can download the latest version of VinylStudio from here:

http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk/VinylStudio/download_mac.aspx

This will recognise your App Store receipt and unlock all the features, and you will then be able to apply RIAA equalisation in software (which, I imagine, will solve your problem).

Mantaz