Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
Been a live user for many many years, love the program...
I make techno/house, few releases out no biggie
anyways, so like most producers i try and get maximum punch out of my kicks/bass and i am happy with the tools ableton offers me to do so...
i have watched many videos of robert henke and others using live where i notice they are letting their individual channels hit way into the red on the meters. i have read the manual and i understand the floating point thing but I now believe there is an actual aesthetic reason for this??
I by chance opened the "new in live 8" demo set and sure enough, the kicks and percs are hitting above the red but being brought down at the master stage.
I did some a/b on my own material and I swear it actually sounds better/fatter by doing this. My physical output is still not clipping but by comparing having the levels way down in the green and turning the volume of my mixer up compared to having the channels hitting in the red, the sound is fatter and its not a result of a volume difference...
Is this true? I have seen many screenshots of henke playing live and giving lectures and always i see his meters blasting into the red and wondered why. Is this why?? If so this is fcking SIIIICKKKK. i guess its dub for me to ask if it's true since i hear it but goddamn i always wondered why all these guys i see using live were redding out all the channels
I make techno/house, few releases out no biggie
anyways, so like most producers i try and get maximum punch out of my kicks/bass and i am happy with the tools ableton offers me to do so...
i have watched many videos of robert henke and others using live where i notice they are letting their individual channels hit way into the red on the meters. i have read the manual and i understand the floating point thing but I now believe there is an actual aesthetic reason for this??
I by chance opened the "new in live 8" demo set and sure enough, the kicks and percs are hitting above the red but being brought down at the master stage.
I did some a/b on my own material and I swear it actually sounds better/fatter by doing this. My physical output is still not clipping but by comparing having the levels way down in the green and turning the volume of my mixer up compared to having the channels hitting in the red, the sound is fatter and its not a result of a volume difference...
Is this true? I have seen many screenshots of henke playing live and giving lectures and always i see his meters blasting into the red and wondered why. Is this why?? If so this is fcking SIIIICKKKK. i guess its dub for me to ask if it's true since i hear it but goddamn i always wondered why all these guys i see using live were redding out all the channels
Last edited by diskowipe on Thu Apr 29, 2010 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
it tit its outta c con control
LoopStationZebra wrote:it's like a hipster commie pinko manifesto. Rambling. Angry. Nearly divorced from all reality; yet strangely compelling with a ring of truth.
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Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
good topic I´ve wondered about this too.
KnobCloud - marketplace for audio software
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
louder is always perceived as sounding better. the faders only apply gain, nothing more, there's no fatness algorithm to it.diskowipe wrote:I did some a/b on my own material and I swear it actually sounds better/fatter by doing this. My physical output is still not clipping but by comparing having the levels way down in the green and turning the volume of my mixer up compared to having the channels hitting in the red, the sound is fatter and its not a result of a volume difference...
you can drive a channel into the red but if you do that with more than one channel you'll have the master down so low you'll lose your effective dynamic range at the Master. IOW the Master fader will be at -30dB while the audio is at 0dB, you don't have much room to move the Master.
first thing I do with a clip is to bump the clip's gain so it fills the waveform view. then things flow nicely from there. you know you're in a good spot when you have to turn channels down to mix and not up.
In my life
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
diskowipe wrote:Been a live user for many many years, love the program...
I make techno/house, few releases out no biggie
anyways, so like most producers i try and get maximum punch out of my kicks/bass and i am happy with the tools ableton offers me to do so...
i have watched many videos of robert henke and others using live where i notice they are letting their individual channels hit way into the red on the meters. i have read the manual and i understand the floating point thing but I now believe there is an actual aesthetic reason for this??
I by chance opened the "new in live 8" demo set and sure enough, the kicks and percs are hitting above the red but being brought down at the master stage.
I did some a/b on my own material and I swear it actually sounds better/fatter by doing this. My physical output is still not clipping but by comparing having the levels way down in the green and turning the volume of my mixer up compared to having the channels hitting in the red, the sound is fatter and its not a result of a volume difference...
Is this true? I have seen many screenshots of henke playing live and giving lectures and always i see his meters blasting into the red and wondered why. Is this why?? If so this is fcking SIIIICKKKK. i guess its dub for me to ask if it's true since i hear it but goddamn i always wondered why all these guys i see using live were redding out all the channels
acording to ableton it should be the same.. but theire audio engine seems to be still in development.. i wouldnt exclude the possebility that it has an fx...
also possible that some of theirer plugs, or external ones dont have an unlimitetd 32 float headroom..
But in general i would thnk that this would be buggy behaviour because after theire fact book ther shoulndt be any coloration involved in this kind of gain structure..
I actually dont know if that is really true.. they are the experts.. but there are other experts out there.. The guys from Rane for example had some articles regarding digital audio in the internet that claim that unlimited headrooms cause a signal degeneration themself by having the point floating too much. Causing a higher accumulated error rate in the end than artifical limited headrooms... Maybe a reason why logics soundengine dont allows such drastical overshoots as abletons...
Anyway..i dont know.. I am just very certain that the last word regarding digital audio engines is not spoken yet..
The very strong trend towards analog summing and mixing is actually not a media hype..rather the opposite..the digital superiority was the media hype..and now we see a backlash and companys like API find customers for >100K desks again
mac book 2,16 ghz 4(3)gb ram, Os 10.62, fireface 400,
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
agreed.3phase wrote:i dont know..
you're writing that a simple gain adjustment in Live does more than make it louder? c'mon man...
In my life
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
wait and see fanboy.. the future will bring the air bus...Tone Deft wrote:agreed.3phase wrote:i dont know..
the art of mixing is not a simple addition of signals.. that is just not the way soundsources mix by nature..
and no digital nerd can opose to that simple fact..
An old style analog console is in many regards closer to the natural process of mixing in the dynamic media air than the 2+2=4 digital mixing bus.
A plain addition is a rather primitivistic approach towards mixing of sounds..
The best mixer is air
not a contemporary digital mixbus..
there is defenetly room for further invention. a lot of room actually
mac book 2,16 ghz 4(3)gb ram, Os 10.62, fireface 400,
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
Tone Deft wrote:agreed.3phase wrote:i dont know..
you're writing that a simple gain adjustment in Live does more than make it louder? c'mon man...
i havent wrote that.. but after the experiances of the last year i wouldnt be surprised if it wouldnt work as expected because things at any corner havent worked as expected.. 1000 bugs..but not a single one effecting the audio engine? ok..possible.
I clearly said that after the book there should be no difference.. i might check it when my health is better and i leave studio B..
the good monitors are in studio A
mac book 2,16 ghz 4(3)gb ram, Os 10.62, fireface 400,
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
3phase wrote: 2+2=4 digital mixing bus.
LoopStationZebra wrote:it's like a hipster commie pinko manifesto. Rambling. Angry. Nearly divorced from all reality; yet strangely compelling with a ring of truth.
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Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
but what if you just drive the master into red? a friend does that as a part of his "mastering", he says its like using a limiter.Tone Deft wrote:louder is always perceived as sounding better. the faders only apply gain, nothing more, there's no fatness algorithm to it.diskowipe wrote:I did some a/b on my own material and I swear it actually sounds better/fatter by doing this. My physical output is still not clipping but by comparing having the levels way down in the green and turning the volume of my mixer up compared to having the channels hitting in the red, the sound is fatter and its not a result of a volume difference...
you can drive a channel into the red but if you do that with more than one channel you'll have the master down so low you'll lose your effective dynamic range at the Master. IOW the Master fader will be at -30dB while the audio is at 0dB, you don't have much room to move the Master.
first thing I do with a clip is to bump the clip's gain so it fills the waveform view. then things flow nicely from there. you know you're in a good spot when you have to turn channels down to mix and not up.
now if there is "headroom" why not abuse it till there isnt?
KnobCloud - marketplace for audio software
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
if the Master goes over 0dB it will clip. never push the Master into the red. don't use the Master as a limiter, put a limiter on the Master so it doesn't go into the red.
In my life
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
^ ^ next thread subject in support corner "Live must suck - pops, crackles and drop outs in my mix"
you've still got money, why not keep gambling?
you've still got money, why not keep gambling?
LoopStationZebra wrote:it's like a hipster commie pinko manifesto. Rambling. Angry. Nearly divorced from all reality; yet strangely compelling with a ring of truth.
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
This will cause clipping on the DACs of your soundcard / audio interface. The master track or any track which is routed to an external output should never go into the red.Grappadura wrote:
but what if you just drive the master into red?
Individual channels which are routed internally can be driven hot, because floating point calculations are not restricted to 0 dB. There's a safety limit at +60 dB, though. Anything beyond +60 dB will clip (in Live).
Best,
Nico
Nico Starke
Ableton Product Team
Ableton Product Team
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
64dB?!?!?!!!! now THAT'S German engineering!
In my life
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz
Re: Am I Crazy, LIve has Huge Headroom??
It's *magic*.Tone Deft wrote:64dB?!?!?!!!! now THAT'S German engineering!
You can easily try it yourself. Just play an Operator sinewave and push the level to +60 dB (e.g. with several Utility devices). The signal will remain clear until you reach +61 dB (provided that you compensate the master to -60 dB).
n.
Nico Starke
Ableton Product Team
Ableton Product Team