| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
 Posted - 09/15/2007 : 12:17:54 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Lawrence
the mineshaft piano recording
quote:
Originally posted by cpatch
that's really tacky
Maybe it was played on a tack piano? |
Edited by - Retro on 09/15/2007 12:18:19 PM |
 |
|
|
Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 09/15/2007 : 7:18:04 PM
|
OK, so what do you get when you drop a piano on a parade ground?
(Wait for it...)
quote:
It might be a useful tool like you said for practice sessions etc. So where do we go to get one.
They are pretty much all over the web right now, and many local music and gear stores have 'em in stock.
I think Andy may have some deal with a couple of retailers, so that TaroPatch gets a nickle.
Andy?
|
|
|
|
noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 09/16/2007 : 7:28:09 PM
|
| Right on Mark. I ordered one from a web site with free shipping. Tne price is basically the same every where so it doesn't really matter which site. The one i went to I used before so I think I'm all right. I hope I have as much fun as you did when I get to use it. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
Edited by - noeau on 09/16/2007 7:29:19 PM |
|
|
|
Darin
Lokahi
USA
294 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2007 : 3:12:12 PM
|
Mark, your review was so good, I just had to get one! I've never owned a field recorder below, so I was pretty blown away. Even just sticking the H2 on a table and playing yields a good sound.
Here's a link to a bunch of test clips I did:
http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/news.html |
Darin
http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/ |
|
|
|
noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 08:52:50 AM
|
| Well I agree with Darin. In fact everyone I know asked about it and are saving up for one. One thing, if you record in44.1 16 bit and the level seems low when you transfer it to a computer and play it back. You can use a normalize feature that boosts the recorded signal to 0 Db. So when you transfer the file it is at a nominal level for burning a CD. Really great feature that. Too bad no can make multi track so you can add bass and 'uke and harmony on the vocals. But then it wouldn't cost 199.00 would it |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
|
|
|
Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 1:34:49 PM
|
quote:
You can use a normalize feature that boosts the recorded signal to 0 Db.
True, but far better to upload the file to your computer first and use software like Audacity for the normalizing. Processing a full-length file in the H2 will take about a week.
|
|
|
|
Darin
Lokahi
USA
294 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 2:23:02 PM
|
Mark,
Does the normalizing feature in the H2 degrade the audio quality at all? In other words, do you get better sounding audio if you normalize in a software program like Audacity, Garageband, Logic, etc.? |
Darin
http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/ |
|
|
|
NANI
Lokahi
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2007 : 02:25:51 AM
|
| would love to hear if anyone has been useing this now I have been thinking of getting something to take along when I get to play with others so that at home I can replay and learn from it. This sounds like it might do the trick but since I have NEVER recored anything I was looking for someone that had used it or some others for advice. Someone suggested just useing my ipod but then someones else tod me the sound quality will be awful so as per usual in my life I am confused again. |
"A hui hou kakou, malama pono".
Nancy |
|
|
|
NANI
Lokahi
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2007 : 02:44:57 AM
|
| OK so maybe if I had gone to page 2 before posting I would not have made a fool of my self. Sorry anyway thanks Darin for the clips amazing. have you tried it in a noisy setting like a lesson or outdoors? I think I better start saving more pennies. |
"A hui hou kakou, malama pono".
Nancy |
|
|
|
Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2007 : 08:03:21 AM
|
quote:
Does the normalizing feature in the H2 degrade the audio quality at all? In other words, do you get better sounding audio if you normalize in a software program like Audacity, Garageband, Logic, etc.?
Hi -
The short answer to the first question is "not so much as you'd notice."
But yes, any time you mess around with an audio file you are essentially running some heavy math. The better the software and the more powerful the hardware, the better your chances. (And that, in a nutshell, is why pro's use pro software and hardware to record.)
But the main reason to do the processing in your computer rather than the H2 is speed-- the H2 is slow and stoopid (sorta like me) and a process that may take a few seconds in your DAW will take many long minutes on the H2.
BTW: There are a number of Big Dog engineers who say one should never normalize a file under any circumstances. And these guys got the best tools in the biz.
Check out Bob Katz's Digido.com for some great hints and tips:
http://www.digido.com/bob-katz/level-practices-part-1.html |
|
|
|
Darin
Lokahi
USA
294 Posts |
|
|
noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2007 : 09:15:31 AM
|
| Mark, mahalo for the web site regarding digital recording levels. I'm rather inexperienced in this even if I have recording equipment. I'm still at the level of just record and hope for the best and still try to figure out what i did wrong. I only mentioned the normalizing because it was new to me. I think it would be OK to use some of that if I wanted to make a small kine demo record though. I wouldn't record compressed but I might want to make a CD playable without having to crank the playback machine near full volume just to hear what is on the CD. I have tried time and again to record myself by myself and the results are far from acceptable to my ears. I have recorded others in live fashion meaning instruments and voice at same time on one track. I know that limits editing opportunities but again it was just a for fun or give away a gift kind of thing. Having said that I think the H2 is the best small portable recording apparatus I've encountered in along time. As they say its good enough for gov't. work. Also I tried the normalizing since the mike was set high and the record levels were near max and when I transferred the file to a CD it still sounded soft. Maybe I'm still not ma'a to the mikini yet. So I just need more time with it. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
Edited by - noeau on 10/08/2007 09:16:45 AM |
|
|
|
Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2007 : 5:18:11 PM
|
Most of the level setting info in that article appeared to me to be a guide for engineers experienced with analog recording, metering, and level setting.
The warning against normalization in that article simply pointed out that the subjective level might not be changed much my normalizing because we hear average power rather than peak levels, and normalization works on peaks by definition.
This then leads to your issue, noeau. If you're trying to get your subjective level (how loud it sounds to you, in comparison to other recordings) up, you'll need to deal with the peaks in some way.
One technique, if there are only a few peaks, is to use your editing software to select the peaks and reduce them. Sometimes the problem is only a few samples, and I've found that sounds less than 8 milliseconds or so can usually be deleted without effecting the flow of the music. (Select at zero crossings and/or fade the transitions). For longer peaks you can use a volume envelope to pull down the peak. With a little fooling around you can probably find a setting that doesn't noticeably effect the flow of the music.
There's an audio tool called a limiter that does an automatic version of pulling down (or maybe chopping off) the peaks. You have to use your ears to decide how drastically you use the limiter and how it effects the sound. Limiters usually include a "make up gain" setting so you wind up with a louder average level.
When you said you "wouldn't record compressed" I'm not sure if you're referring to a dynamic range reducing device called a compressor or a file size reducing technique called compression. The two are very different, but since they share some nouns I've noticed that some folks are unclear on the differences.
When you record in MP3 format, you're sacrificing quality to reduce file size.
When you apply a compressor to an audio signal, you're reducing the dynamic range - lowering the volume on the loudest sounds and/or raising the volume on the quietest sounds. This may result in a sacrifice in quality <grin> but it's a whole different effect. The limiter described above is a special case of a compressor.
Compressors and limiters are powerful, usually complex, and can make your music sound funny <grin>, but nearly all the commercially recorded music we listen to has been processed to reduce dynamic range, so it's become something we expect in our own recordings as well.
Fran |
E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
|
|
|
noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2007 : 8:53:03 PM
|
| E FRAN THANKS FOR THE INPUT. I MEANT THAT I DON'T EMPLY COMPRESSION A WHOLE LOT IN MY RECORDINGS. WHOOPS MY CAPS LOCK IS ON. ANYWAY,I KNOW THAT COMPRESSION IS USED TO GET LOUDER RECORDINGS AND IF I'M USING THE WRONG NOMENCLATURE ITS JUST MY LACK OF EXPERTISE. HOWEVER I HAVE USED LIMITING IF I RUN THE LEVELS ON THE CHANNEL AS HOT AS I CAN BUT WANT TO CUT EXTRA LOUD PEAKS. ALL I'M ASKING IS WHEN I MIX AND COMBINE MY SINGLE TRACKS INTO A 2 CHANNEL STEREO TRACK TO PUT INTO MY ITUNES TO BURN ACD THE RESULT IS A CD THAT IS TOO SOFT. SO WHEN I PUT IT IN MY MULTI DISC CHANGER IN THE CAR (YEAH I LISTEN TO MYSELF EVEN IF I HATE THE SOUND) I CRANK UP THE STEREO AND THEN THE NEXT CD IS A COMMERCIAL ONE AND I ALMOST BLOW OUT THE SPEAKERS. I ONLY CONVERT TO MP3 WHEN I MAKE CD FOR FUN. I ALWAYS USE 44.1 16 BIT. THE H2 IS JUST A TOOL AND I LIKE ITS SIMPLICITY AND I USE IT NOW MAINLY FOR PRACTICE SESSIONS ADN TO CHECK IF I GOT A SONG DOWN AND IS PRESENTABLE. SO I RECORD IT TO HEAR IT. BUT EDITING IS A GOOD WAY TO GO BUT I ONLY SET IT UP WHEN I WANT TO MULTI TRACK. E I BOUGHT YOUR CD BY THE WAY I LIKE IT YOUR PLAYING IS KINDA LIKE OLD STYLE NOT REAL FANCY LIKE SOME OTHER PLAYERS. THATS KINDA HOW I PLAY BUT NOT AS GOOD. ANYWAY THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR MANA'O. OH YEAH WHEN I SAID SOUNDED SOFT I MEANT THAT I HAD TO CRANK UP THE VOLUME TO HEAR THE RECORD ON MY COMPUTER. I DO USE EXTERNAL SPEAKERS ON MY COMPUTER AND THE NEXT TIME A DIFFERENT SONG COME ALONG FROM A COMMERCIAL CD THE VOLUME IS TOO LOUD. THAT IS THE LEVEL COMPARISON I WAS MAKING. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
Edited by - noeau on 10/08/2007 8:58:28 PM |
|
|
|
Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2007 : 09:11:32 AM
|
Sounds like we're on the same page about compression and limiting. The limiter is the tool those guys use to make those commercial CDs so loud, so if you want to be as loud as them, you'll have to use the same tool. Thanks for the compliment on the CD.
Fran |
E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Topic Locked
