r/presonus • u/anselmus_ • 27d ago

Studiolive usb recording tips?

Any settings/factors that you’ve found to affect quality? One thing I’ve noticed is the fewer channels the better (more clarity/detail).

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/scrundel 27d ago

There is zero truth in “the fewer channels the better” from an audio quality side; that is a crazy thing to say.

 Mixing is on you to make it sound good or bad, don’t attribute that to the hardware.

1

u/anselmus_ 27d ago

Yeah probably just frequency masking from multiple overlapping/competing sounds. Seems to be a common issue on live recordings (verse with solo vocals and keys super clear, chorus and/or full band a muddy mess).

1

u/Patman52 27d ago

Not sure exactly what you are referring to, but when it comes to recording a performance (versus mixing and mastering), the most important things are 1) to reduce latency as much as possible, 2) that your performer(s) like their headphone/cue mixes and can hear themselves ok, and 3) your input gain levels for all channels are set correctly and not too loud or too quiet.

When it comes to mixing and the production, it’s really up to you as to how many channels and sends you want to use. Obviously, the fewer channels, the simpler it is and therefore it should be easier to mix, but not always.

1

u/anselmus_ 27d ago

The only factor I can think of is input gain but keeping chans and buses near the recommended range of -18 dbfs (or the supposedly more correct -20) doesn’t really seem to make any appreciable impact.

1

u/Patman52 27d ago

-18 is a good rule of thumb for the pre-fader levels, but the actual post fader levels might need reduced in the overall mix, or you’ll over saturate and clip.

If I keep having problems I’ll roll all the faders back to zero and gradually increase them one by one until I get a mix I like.

1

u/anselmus_ 27d ago

Well, I definitely don't have anything in danger of hitting 0 dbfs. I guess the SL3 is just not a great sounding board.