[Tsax]

I need to upgrade my home studio from Behringer mixer and Audigy. I
am considering the Focusrite Saffire and similar units. I need help
deciding if the Saffire's DSP will be useful. I don't need reverb on
the foldback and I don't care about amp modeling. I think it might be
good to use the DSP for limiting during recording to avoid clipping.
Is this recommended practice or would I be better off leaving more
headroom and recording dry? Thanks.

Darryl

[Michael Wozniak]

"Tsax" wrote in message
...

I need to upgrade my home studio from Behringer mixer and Audigy. I
am considering the Focusrite Saffire and similar units. I need help
deciding if the Saffire's DSP will be useful. I don't need reverb on
the foldback and I don't care about amp modeling. I think it might be
good to use the DSP for limiting during recording to avoid clipping.
Is this recommended practice or would I be better off leaving more
headroom and recording dry? Thanks.

Darryl


DSP limiting during recording will not help prevent clipping if the clipping
occurs before the ADC. If you really want to avoid clipping, use an analog
comp/lim *before* the ADC.

Mikey
Nova Music Productions

[John Phillips]

"Tsax" wrote in message
...

.... I think it might be
good to use the DSP for limiting during recording to avoid clipping.
Is this recommended practice or would I be better off leaving more
headroom and recording dry? Thanks.

Darryl


For a digital unit, once the input is clipped then it is too late. In other
words, it is already clipped when it gets to the DSP limiter if you overload
the ADC. As long as you get a 24 bit unit, you can set the gain such that
it does not clip and still have good dynamic range. Just do a couple trials
and set the gain a little lower. If the source is unpredictable, then you
will need a compressor on the input to prevent clipping. One of the
advantages (some will say disadvantage) of digital recording is the ability
to record dry and then decide what type of processing that you want to add
later (reverb, eq and/or compression).

John Phillips

[Geoff]

Tsax wrote:
I need to upgrade my home studio from Behringer mixer and Audigy. I
am considering the Focusrite Saffire and similar units. I need help
deciding if the Saffire's DSP will be useful. I don't need reverb on
the foldback and I don't care about amp modeling. I think it might be
good to use the DSP for limiting during recording to avoid clipping.
Is this recommended practice or would I be better off leaving more
headroom and recording dry? Thanks.

Headroom / dry.

geoff

[Laurence Payne]

On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:36:02 GMT, Tsax
wrote:

I think it might be
good to use the DSP for limiting during recording to avoid clipping.
Is this recommended practice or would I be better off leaving more
headroom and recording dry? Thanks.

IT won't work anyway. Once the signal is digitised, if it was going
to clip, it's clipped. The noise floor on today's digital systems is
nice and low. You don't have to crowd the red line like we did on
tape systems.

[Arny Krueger]

"Tsax" wrote in message


I need to upgrade my home studio from Behringer mixer and
Audigy.

What kind of music do you record?

Frankly, you could do some pretty good work with equipment as humble as what
you have, if you knew how to use it more optimally.

I am considering the Focusrite Saffire and
similar units. I need help deciding if the Saffire's DSP
will be useful. I don't need reverb on the foldback

That's one of the very few reasons to do any processing during recording.

I don't care about amp modeling.

If you did car about amp modeling, a stand alone amp modeling processor
might be a better solution.

I think it might be
good to use the DSP for limiting during recording to
avoid clipping.

While an Audigy isn't a world leader for dynamic range, you should be able
to get enough headroom with it to avoid clipping. Many people do. And, if
you can't, there are incredibly good audio interfaces for a fraction of the
cost of a Focusrite Saffire.

Is this recommended practice or would I
be better off leaving more headroom and recording dry?

You should leave all the headroom you can. Unless you have some special
needs or know exactly what you want to do with EFX, record dry.

[Tsax]

On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:36:02 GMT, Tsax
wrote:


I need to upgrade my home studio from Behringer mixer and Audigy. I
am considering the Focusrite Saffire and similar units. I need help
deciding if the Saffire's DSP will be useful. I don't need reverb on
the foldback and I don't care about amp modeling. I think it might be
good to use the DSP for limiting during recording to avoid clipping.
Is this recommended practice or would I be better off leaving more
headroom and recording dry? Thanks.

Darryl



Thanks to all who replied. Thanks especially for pointing out that a
DSP only works on digital signals and so would have to be after the
ADCs and thus after any clipping. I missed that obvious point. I
record mostly saxophone and voice using a Studio Projects C1 mic. I
think I need a more accurate mic pre and ADC to capture the
subtleties. Since you all have helped me rule out a need for the DSP,
my choice is now between the Saffire LE and the Presonus Firebox. As
far as I can tell the features and prices are identical and both have
good reviews. Unless someone has a compelling reason to choose one
over the other, I will just flip a coin.

Darryl