Recording sample please check out...

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:06 pm

Hi,

http://www.box.net/shared/6iu7j0hhuz

Here is a link to a sample of me playing piano whilest recording with my new Edirol R-09HR, this is to show how crappy my recordings are, as you can hear all the fuzziness etc... especially when the bass kicks in half way through, I am doing something wrong and I need help and advice on how to properly mic my upright piano with the Edirol I have. So far I have been very unsucessful in getting clean recordings without all the distortion type hissy noises.

Bear in mind too that the disturbing noises are even worse before I uploaded them to box.net, not sure what they did when I uploaded them, probably just lowered the general volume of the file or something.

Anyway please help me out, as I have spent alot of money on my mic and its not pleasing me at all Sad

Mark

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:47 pm

Some nice piano playing.

Between 50 and 51 seconds I hear what sounds like digital clipping possibly from the gain being to high. Also, there seems to be some AGC (automatic gain control) or compression happening.

Looking at it in an audio editor, the clipping is evident.

Page 45 to adjust the record level, and 102 to turn the AGC/limiter off.
Link to documentation

Other than that I thought it sounded good.

What did you do for placement?

What are the time indexes you are hearing problems at?

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:06 pm

Thanks for a great reply GeckoMusic Cool

http://www.box.net/shared/6um9gcbvoz

I will have a look into what you said.... Above is a (imho anyway) better recording I have just managed to do a second ago, for this recording I put the mic below the keyboard with the lower panel removed, I think its a warmer and less noisy recording overall, so I think I may be getting somewhere at last!!!!! I hope.

Let me know your thoughts on the above link recording please, thanks.

Oh and answers to your previous questions: the first recording (the one you have heard) the mic was placed above the piano with the lid open. Also as far as obvious unwanted noise that I can hear in terms of time, pretty much the whole file, especially as i said before when the bass notes come in and there is heavy distortion going on.

Thanks again.

Mark

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:09 pm

Oh and the limiter is off, and also i always correctly set the input level so as there is no peaking/clipping occuring. In the Batman sample I know however there are a couple of parts where I peaked!

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:32 pm

That sounds good. There is still a little digital clipping at 1:43. The tone is nicer. Normally I set the gain so the peak level is 6 to 12 dB down from the clip level. Lowering your gain even more should help.

I think what you are hearing that you don't like is the room, and saturation that the compressor is adding to the sound. I'm listening on headphones, but it also sounds like the bass may be rolled off. (page 103 in the manual. This should be turned off, or set as low as possible for piano.)

Draping thick blankets over hard objects, and the wall behind the piano should help with the room sound.

The brilliance of the first recording is great. You can really hear the attack on the treble notes. However the warmth of the second is nice.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:48 pm

FWIW:

Looking at the manual, if it were me recording a piano with your device I would use the following settings:

Sample rate: 44.1 (44.1 if the target media is MP3 or CD. 96 if it is DVD other high definition audio, or you are going to do any time stretch edits on the file)
Rec Mode: WAV 24 (convert it to MP3 using LAME encoder on your computer)
Limiter/AGC: Off, or Limiter (not AGC)
Low Cut Freq: Off or 100Hz

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 4:03 pm

I see, do you mean low cut off? I think I had it on when I did the second recording yes, so that would make sense.

I will try the blankets thing too. The hissy noise I keep hearing is very evident in both recordings, but I feel definetly more so in the first recording. I know what you mean about the treble attack notes too, love the sounds of the hammers hitting the strings Cool

Thank you once again.

Mark

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 7:48 pm

Where the piano is in the room can play a big role on how it interacts with the environment.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:44 pm

Your minor peak transient clipping is not a factor. It's inconsequential. If you're experiencing terrible distortion, you've got your inadequate playback system turned up too loud. Doesn't anybody bother to check things with headphones anymore?? At reasonable listening levels?? Where did you go to school for this? McDonald's University school of Fast Sound? Life is not a happy meal.

Now Let's Review. You Turn off the Limiter and Adjust Levels First. Then You Switch on the Limiter. Select 16-bit, 44.1kHz, the limiter will make sure your recording isn't screwed up. Setting the levels means not peaking out. And voilà'. There is, as long as your gizmo is a couple of feet from your piano. Don't like the acoustics? Place your gizmo on the floor to eliminate a primary source of nasty reflection.

You're almost there!
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:05 am

I agree with Ms. David.
I listened, I listened loud. The noise issue you were describing is not present. Nothing but normal mp3 sludge.

You could be on a winner by going out and getting a nice set of headphones. That way you can actually listen and get a clear idea of what you are recording, and how, when you move the recorder it affects your recordings.

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