DC Offset experts!

[PW]

Well, a few months into DP 3.1 (thanks again
for those who advised...) I'm beginning to
stumble into the more advanced stuff.

Such as: DC offset in the final split stereo
mixes.

Questions:

• Is this a frequent occurence?

• Should I automatically DC Notch all tracks
as I begin working on songs, or...

• will applying the notch to the final stereo
mix do as well?

Thanks for any advice, and Happy Fourth!

-PW-

[Scott Reams]

In your shoes, I'd make it a priority to find the source of the offset and
correct it if possible. DC offset reduces available dynamic range.

-S


"PW" > wrote in message
...
> Well, a few months into DP 3.1 (thanks again
> for those who advised...) I'm beginning to
> stumble into the more advanced stuff.
>
> Such as: DC offset in the final split stereo
> mixes.
>
> Questions:
>
> . Is this a frequent occurence?
>
> . Should I automatically DC Notch all tracks
> as I begin working on songs, or...
>
> . will applying the notch to the final stereo
> mix do as well?
>
> Thanks for any advice, and Happy Fourth!
>
> -PW-
>
>

[AWD]

? Is this a frequent occurence?
If you are using a lot of plug-ins, there tends to be an accumulation
of DC offset, even with expensive and otherwise well-designed ones(I
was told once why, but can't remember). If this is the case, maybe you
can figure out which plug-in effect/s is/are the offender/s. This can
usually be remedied with the "Remove DC Offset", or whatever it's
called in DP, function.
Granular synthesis and pitch shifting down can also yield some hairy
DC energy which would require a hi-pass filter to rid. What are the
sources that you're mixing?
-awd

PW > wrote in message >...
> Well, a few months into DP 3.1 (thanks again
> for those who advised...) I'm beginning to
> stumble into the more advanced stuff.
>
> Such as: DC offset in the final split stereo
> mixes.
>
> Questions:
>
> ? Is this a frequent occurence?
>
> ? Should I automatically DC Notch all tracks
> as I begin working on songs, or...
>
> ? will applying the notch to the final stereo
> mix do as well?
>
> Thanks for any advice, and Happy Fourth!
>
> -PW-

[Justin Ulysses Morse]

Some plug-ins lately are claiming to model the individual components
inside classic pieces of analog gear. Maybe for added vintij mojo the
blocking capacitor models have been programmed to leak?

ulysses


In article >, AWD
> wrote:

> ? Is this a frequent occurence?
> If you are using a lot of plug-ins, there tends to be an accumulation
> of DC offset, even with expensive and otherwise well-designed ones(I
> was told once why, but can't remember). If this is the case, maybe you
> can figure out which plug-in effect/s is/are the offender/s. This can
> usually be remedied with the "Remove DC Offset", or whatever it's
> called in DP, function.
> Granular synthesis and pitch shifting down can also yield some hairy
> DC energy which would require a hi-pass filter to rid. What are the
> sources that you're mixing?
> -awd
>
> PW > wrote in message
> >...
> > Well, a few months into DP 3.1 (thanks again
> > for those who advised...) I'm beginning to
> > stumble into the more advanced stuff.
> >
> > Such as: DC offset in the final split stereo
> > mixes.
> >
> > Questions:
> >
> > ? Is this a frequent occurence?
> >
> > ? Should I automatically DC Notch all tracks
> > as I begin working on songs, or...
> >
> > ? will applying the notch to the final stereo
> > mix do as well?
> >
> > Thanks for any advice, and Happy Fourth!
> >
> > -PW-

[PW]

AWD wrote:

> ...Granular synthesis and pitch shifting down can also yield some hairy
> DC energy which would require a hi-pass filter to rid. What are the
> sources that you're mixing?

Audio tracks taken from an ADAT, most of them
acoustic instruments and vocals recorded by mic
and a few electric instruments such as keyboards
and electric bass.

Very few of the tracks appear to have offset,
looking at the waveforms, but on those that do,
it's fairly severe...

-PW-

[James Perrett]

PW wrote:
>
> AWD wrote:
>
> > ...Granular synthesis and pitch shifting down can also yield some hairy
> > DC energy which would require a hi-pass filter to rid. What are the
> > sources that you're mixing?
>
> Audio tracks taken from an ADAT, most of them
> acoustic instruments and vocals recorded by mic
> and a few electric instruments such as keyboards
> and electric bass.
>
> Very few of the tracks appear to have offset,
> looking at the waveforms, but on those that do,
> it's fairly severe...
>
> -PW-

Vocals and brass instruments rarely produce symmetrical waveforms. While
your software may indicate that there is a theoretical DC offset this
isn't necessarily the case with these sounds.

Cheers.

James.

[David Morgan \(MAMS\)]

"PW" > wrote in message ...

> Audio tracks taken from an ADAT, most of them
> acoustic instruments and vocals recorded by mic
> and a few electric instruments such as keyboards
> and electric bass.
>
> Very few of the tracks appear to have offset,
> looking at the waveforms, but on those that do,
> it's fairly severe...
>
> -PW-


Did you track through an analogue console? Is there any
possible relationship between the use of certain channel
strips and the tracks with DC? Any commonalities in the
signal paths shared by the tracks with DC?

Certain keyboards taken without a DI box can produce
DC that may or may not be related to ground or cable
issues. Any correlation to the tracks with DC there?

--
David Morgan (MAMS)
http://www.m-a-m-s.com
http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com

[Bob Olhsson]

In article >, AWD
> wrote:

>there tends to be an accumulation
>of DC offset, even with expensive and otherwise well-designed ones(I
>was told once why, but can't remember).

I've been told one reason why is that many developers don't understand
that they need to first make a call to disable the rounding function in
the math engine and then dither their results.

--
Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery Recording Project Design and Consulting
Box 90412, Nashville TN 37209 Tracking, Mixing, Mastering, Audio for Picture
615.385.8051 FAX: 615.385.8196 Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
40 years of making people sound better than they ever imagined!

[Monte P McGuire]

In article >,
Scott Reams > wrote:
>In your shoes, I'd make it a priority to find the source of the offset and
>correct it if possible. DC offset reduces available dynamic range.

More annoyingly, it can make it a PITA to edit, especially if the
offset changes over time or isn't present in all your audio. Make a
cut and get a thump. Not fun...

Regards,

Monte McGuire