Headroom 'Watch your head!’
When you are recording very loud sound sources with Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) above 155dB (decibels) you have to be careful not to overload the mic.
Overloading the mic can produce 'distortion' and 'clipping', and damage other audio equipment.
'Headroom' refers to the safe 'distance' you have between the maximum loudness the mic or mixer can put up with without distorting or damaging anything, and the sound pressure level (SPL) of the sound source you are recording.
Some microphones therefore have a '-20dB' 'pad'. If you engage it, you decrease the mic’s sensitivity by 20dB
This is sometimes called a ‘pre-attenuation' switch. You would use this in cases of extreme sound pressure levels (SPL) such as when placing a mic in a kick drum.
You will often hear or read of 'gain attenuation'. To attenuate something is to reduce it. So gain attenuation means 'reducing the gain', or simply 'turning down the volume'. In most plug-ins you adjust gain using a virtual knob called a 'pot'.
This is short for 'potentiometer'. In addition to this -20dB pad, some microphones also have a Bass cut or ‘roll-off’ switch. The Bass-cut filter reduces low end distortion from wind, foot-fall, air-conditioning, traffic, and from the 'proximity effect' you get when placing the mic less than 10cm from a sound-source.
Mixing desks are particularly prone to damage from the lower frequencies. One minute the desk is adding those finishing touches of EQ, reverb, and compression to your mix, and the next your beloved mixer has gone to that glorious mixer paradise in the sky!
Once again! Watch your head.
When you are recording very loud sound sources with Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) above 155dB (decibels) you have to be careful not to overload the mic.
Overloading the mic can produce 'distortion' and 'clipping', and damage other audio equipment.
'Headroom' refers to the safe 'distance' you have between the maximum loudness the mic or mixer can put up with without distorting or damaging anything, and the sound pressure level (SPL) of the sound source you are recording.
Some microphones therefore have a '-20dB' 'pad'. If you engage it, you decrease the mic’s sensitivity by 20dB
This is sometimes called a ‘pre-attenuation' switch. You would use this in cases of extreme sound pressure levels (SPL) such as when placing a mic in a kick drum.
You will often hear or read of 'gain attenuation'. To attenuate something is to reduce it. So gain attenuation means 'reducing the gain', or simply 'turning down the volume'. In most plug-ins you adjust gain using a virtual knob called a 'pot'.
This is short for 'potentiometer'. In addition to this -20dB pad, some microphones also have a Bass cut or ‘roll-off’ switch. The Bass-cut filter reduces low end distortion from wind, foot-fall, air-conditioning, traffic, and from the 'proximity effect' you get when placing the mic less than 10cm from a sound-source.
Mixing desks are particularly prone to damage from the lower frequencies. One minute the desk is adding those finishing touches of EQ, reverb, and compression to your mix, and the next your beloved mixer has gone to that glorious mixer paradise in the sky!
Once again! Watch your head.
By Steve Aluko
No comments:
Post a Comment