FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: SOUNDCARD RECORDING

Martin Walker answers some of the most common queries about setting up and using
your
soundcard, and achieving the best audio quality.
Although Mac and PC soundcards have improved greatly over the last couple of yea
rs, this doesn't
automatically guarantee better recordings -- as the welter of questions SOS rece
ives bears witness.
Sometimes it can be difficult to get your input signals to actually appear in th
e
on-screen level meter, and even when they do, people still complain of
unwanted distortion, high background noise, or breakthrough of unwanted
signals from elsewhere. If you're relying on your computer to monitor the input
signals, rather than using an external hardware mixer, you've also got to set up
some sort of internal monitoring, and if set up incorrectly this can cause digit
al
feedback.
Even when you've got suitable routing, and your signals turn up where you
expect them, there are still various ways to ensure that audio quality is as hig
h
as possible. After all, there's no point in buying an expensive soundcard if you
don't take advantage of its potential, and in the case of budget soundcards
squeezing out the last drop of audio quality may be even more important. So,
whether your signals are hissing or missing, here are answers to some of the
most common questions about soundcards.
Q Why do I get so much background noise on my soundcard recordings?
This is the most common question of all, and there are various possible reasons
why the quality of soundcard
recordings can be marred by noise. Background noise is normally a sign that the
input signal has been
recorded at too low a level, which should be fairly easy to correct, but can als
o be due to other things. For
instance, if your soundcard features a mic input, and your line-level recordings
have a lot of background noise,
check that the mic input fader is turned right down, and preferably muted altoge
ther if possible.
If you really want to squeeze the quietest recording from a soundcard, and its m
ixer utility provides some form of
input gain or level control, do a few che
cks at different settings to
see whether the amount of background nois
e changes when you
record 'silence' (with no input plugged i
n). If it does, and you have a
hardware mixer, it may be better to leave
the soundcard input level
near its optimum setting, and adjust leve
ls using your external
mixer. Many soundcards provide up to 20dB
additional gain
beyond their nominal 0dB input setting, b
ut you will get better
recordings using the soundcard at setting
s around 0dB and using
higher-level input signals.
If you are recording using a mic, bear in
mind that the mic preamps
on soundcards aren't likely to compare wi
th those on even budget
hardware mixers or stand-alone mic preamp
s. This is because the
computer is a noisy electrical environment, and providing the necessary high lev
els of amplification on a
soundcard can introduce all sorts of stray hum, buzzes, and hisses.
Q Why can't I hear anything when recording or playing back audio?
This is the second most common question, and locating the source of the problem
can be an extremely
frustrating experience. If soundcard signals are missing, it is generally becaus
e one of the software mixer
controls is accidentally turned right down. Confusion is often arises because th
ere are several controls available
with similar functions; if you get used to setting levels inside a MIDI + Audio
sequencer application, you may
forget that there is an additional mixer utility elsewhere. Windows provides a g
eneral Volume Control utility that
can be launched from the Taskbar; if you don't have this installed it can be mad
e to appear by ticking the
appropriate box of the Audio page found under Control Panel/Multimedia. Playback
and Recording controls are
shown in two different pages, and you can choose which is displayed by selecting
Properties in its Options
menu. Often the cure for a missing signal is simply to launch the Volume Control
utility and turn the offending
signal level back up.
If your soundcard has a dedicated DSP mixer utility available there will probabl
y be many more options for
routing, monitoring, and effects, and therefore more possibilities for missing s
ignals. If your playback
disappears, or your input signals can't be heard when recording, the prime candi
date is a mis-routed
monitoring system. Many soundcards now provide 'zero'-latency input monitoring f
or recording purposes, but in
some cases you will have to switch this off again manually after recording befor
e you can hear your tracks play
back normally. Do take the time to study the possibilities in the manual, since
there may be several ways to set
up monitoring for recording purposes. Sadly, some software is not exactly what y
ou'd call intuitive, and the best
way to understand the possibilities is to spend an hour or so recording and play
ing back signals while trying out
the different options -- which leads us neatly to the next question.
Q Why do my recordings always have a little bit of previous tracks recorded alon
g with the new
input signal?
I've had various emails from readers complaining of 'ghostly' versions of previo
us tracks being added to fresh
recordings. This is nearly always due to incorrect setting up of the soundcard's
monitoring facilities: for
instance, the SB Live! card has a 'What U Hear' function that allows you to reco
rd the entire output of its
software mixer. If this is selected when multitrack recording, existing tracks w
ill get mixed in with fresh ones,
which is not normally what you want. Most musicians will want to monitor their p
erformance at the same time as
hearing existing tracks being played back, to enable them to keep in time, but w
ill want to record the
performance in isolation.
To check that your mixer (either an external hardware one or a software one) is
correctly routed, temporarily
unplug your input signal, and try a dummy recording. If the input meters still m
ove during the recording, and the
track contains anything but a little background noise, then something's amiss, a
nd you need to track down
where the stray signal is coming from. You may have to resort to reading the man
ual again to find the
manufacturer's suggested routing, but in most cases it should be possible to mon
itor inputs and outputs
simultaneously without needing an external hardware mixer.
Another potential problem with incorrectly routed mixer utilities is subtler, bu
t can degrade the sound quality of
every one of your recordings if you don't spot it. If any signal gets accidental
ly routed back to itself, it may emit
an obvious howl of feedback that no-one could possibly miss. However, if the rou
ted level is low, it may pass
unnoticed, but still add a flanging effect to your audio recordings. Once again,
the best thing to do is explore the
routing options of your mixer, and make sure that you know exactly what each con
trol does: you will normally get
the cleanest recordings if you mute every signal source but the one you are actu
ally recording.
Q What's the best way to set up soundcard recording levels?
In general you just need to watch the level meters included in whatever software
you are using for recording
purposes, making sure that you get as high a level as you can manage without eve
r running into clipping. When
you are recording 'live' inputs on acoustic instruments you will have to allow a
reasonable margin for unexpected
peaks (depending on the type of instrument this might be 10 or even 20dB). Howev
er, where signal levels are
predictable, you can optimise recording levels far more to squeeze the last drop
of dynamic range from your
soundcard.
For instance, many people still predominantly use MIDI sounds, but then use the
audio facilities of their
sequencer to make the final mast
er recording from the
stereo output of their hardware
mixer. You can take
advantage of the fact that there
will be no unexpected
surges in level by playing back
the entire song from
start to finish while monitoring
the soundcard input level:
on most sequencer level meters t
his will then give you a
readout of the highest peak leve
l reached during the
entire song. You can then adjust
either your hardware
mixer output level or soundcard
input gain accordingly,
to ensure that the track peaks a
t between 1 and 2dB
below full digital level. For in
stance, if your peak meter
reads 6dB by the end of the song,
you can increase
the input gain of your soundcard
by 4dB (many are now
calibrated in dBs), so that when
you make the final
recording it will peak at about
-2dB. This will ensure that
your recording makes the most of
the dynamic range of
your A-D converters.
If your soundcard has a dedicate
d DSP mixer of some
description, there may be severa
l gain controls at
different points in the signal p
ath. In this case you might
start hearing distortion in your recording long before the signal level hits the
top of the level meter. You may even
find it impossible to get your input signal to reach the top of the meter displa
y at all, since it is clipping earlier in
the signal path. The solution to this is exactly the same as when using a hardwa
re mixer -- you need to set the
input gain control to a suitable position to match the level of your input signa
l. In the case of a hardware mixer
the PFL (Pre-Fade Listen) control lets you check the setting of the input gain c
ontrol in isolation, but this facility
may not be available in your soundcard mixer. Check your soundcard manual (print
ed or electronic) to find the
recommended way to line it up.
By the way, if your soundcard provides a dedicated mixer utility with its own le
vel meters (such as Event's Echo
Console), it may be preferable to monitor input signal levels with these rather
than the meters inside your MIDI +
Audio sequencer, as they are likely to suffer far less from latency, and thus be
far more responsive and 'in time'
with the input signal.
Q Can I ignore levels when recording digitally?
In general, yes, since when recording digital input signals the data should simp
ly be copied bit-by-bit onto your
hard drive. However, some soundcards provide a mixer level control for the digit
al input, so you should make
sure that this is set to unity gain if you want to preserve the original signal.
This often just means pushing the
fader all the way up (to 0dB if there are any markings). The only reason you wou
ld want to alter this is in the
case of cards like the Emu APS and SB Live!, which can mix all their input signa
ls (including the digital ones)
together. In this case a digital recording should be treated just like an analog
ue one, by watching the level
meters.
Similarly, if a level control is available for a digital output, leave it full u
p unless you need to use it to set a
monitoring level (for instance with external USB-connected digital speakers).
Any position other than maximum will compromise signal quality by reducing
its dynamic range, so try to avoid using such controls altogether if you can.
Q My soundcard can record at 24-bit resolution at 96kHz. Are there
any special precautions I need to take?
It can be frightening to see how large your recorded files become if your
soundcard has 20-bit or 24-bit converters -- both will occupy the same
amount of space on your hard drive, and be 50 percent larger than 16-bit
ones. If you move up to a 96kHz sample rate as well, the file sizes become three
times the size of
44.1kHz/16-bit ones, and this huge increase in data flow will also mean that you
r computer will manage far
fewer simultaneous tracks with the same hard drive. For this reason, some musici
ans with 24-bit cards but less
powerful computers still carry on recording at 16-bit resolution to save space o
r achieve more audio tracks.
However, now that some audio software allows mixed file types (Cubase VST allows
16-bit and 24-bit files to
be freely mixed, while Sonic Foundry's new V
egas Pro lets you mix
files of different sample rates as well), yo
u can mix and match a little
more. Some sources, such as MIDI synths and
samplers, may not
warrant using more than 44.1kHz and 16 bits,
because many only
have 16-bit converters outputting 44.1kHz sa
mpled sounds. However,
if you are recording acoustic instruments or
analogue synths, 24-bit
recording may well give you better quality.
You can save a lot of hard
drive space and gain more simultaneous track
s by choosing a
sensible resolution for each track individua
lly.
Many of the latest 24-bit soundcards dither the 24-bit signal output from their
A-D converters down to 16 bits, if
you choose to record at that bit depth. If this is the case you are likely to ge
t better 16-bit recordings than when
only using 16-bit converters. However, if your 24-bit soundcard doesn't dither a
utomatically, it may be preferable
to initially record a 24-bit file, and then use a software dithering process to
reduce this to 16 bits after the
recording has finished.
Q How can I get the best performance from a soundcard with my chosen MIDI + Audi
o sequencer?
First of all, make sure you have the latest version of the soundcard drivers, si
nce this will normally give you the
best combination of features and performance. All manufacturers keep the latest
updates on their web sites for
free download, but even if you're not on the Internet, most UK distributors shou
ld be able to post you the latest
drivers on a floppy disk if you ask them nicely. On rare occasions a
new driver version may be released with a bug that wasn't in
previous ones, but this will normally be speedily discovered by
irate users. If you are concerned about this then wait for a week or
two after a new release for the dust to settle before you install the
new version -- by then the braver users (or the more foolhardy,
depending on your point of view) will have published their findings
on various relevant Internet forums.
If you are unsure how best to integrate the special facilities of your
soundcard with a particular software package, another trip to the
soundcard manufacturers' web site will often reap dividends. Many
of them have hints and tips, or even step-by-step instructions on how to set up
various software applications to
best advantage with their own products. Sometimes the developer of the software
package will also provide
similar details on their own web site. Finally, don't forget the SOS Forum
(www.sospubs.co.uk:8080/~SoundOnSound) -- SOS readers have a vast amount of expe
rience between them,
and there's always likely to be someone who knows how to use various pieces of s
oftware and hardware to
best advantage. In my role as FAQ-master I have already placed many thousands of
words on soundcard
problems in the PC Music: Frequently Asked Questions section.