PeteS Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 During a recent recording I realised that I occasionally get a massive spike - or clank as I've heard it described. I am sure it's a combination of my playing style and bass (Fender Jazz Special from '89). It never really bothered me until I heard it recorded and saw the size of the spike on the screen. My action is fairly high, playing style - finger picking, a bit John Paul Jones/Entwistle, but it's difficult to change my style. So - would I benifit from a Limiter - if so what type is best? Cheers Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 "clank" is generally high or high-mid frequencies. The attack portion of your note will generally have more high end, especially if you play hard and so that the strings hit the frets. If you want to get rid of this "clank" you'd use EQ A limiter would stop any transient peaks, the very first few milliseconds of your note. It may "smooth" out your sound somewhat. It may get you more headroom out of your amp. I reckon you might be playing so hard that the strings are hitting the actual pickup poles, which creates a horrible pop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveK Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Check the pickup height. I have a bass where a pickup height adjustment screw, over time, works loose, resulting in the string occasionally hitting the pickup when plucked, giving the "clunk" you describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 (edited) If you hadn't seen the size of the spike in the waveform, would it bother you as much? Normally a bit of compression will sort it out and will almost definitely be required to make the bass sit properly in the mix no matter how good your technique is. Edited June 17, 2014 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Can someone expelling to me the term "noise gate"? Is that similar to a noise limiter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 (edited) [quote name='PeteS' timestamp='1403009959' post='2478786']During a recent recording I realised that I occasionally get a massive spike - or clank as I've heard it described. I am sure it's a combination of my playing style and bass (Fender Jazz Special from '89). It never really bothered me until I heard it recorded and saw the size of the spike on the screen. My action is fairly high, playing style - finger picking, a bit John Paul Jones/Entwistle, but it's difficult to change my style. So - would I benifit from a Limiter - if so what type is best? Cheers Pete[/quote] I wouldn't recommend a limiter - they're fairly brutal devices and can pummel any sense of human 'dynamics' out of your sound. IMO you'd be better off using a compressor (same principle, but less like slamming your sound into a brick wall) or better still, work on your playing style to help even out the spikes naturally. If it's any consolation, my own recordings always contain such spikes, which I 'tame' by applying a compressor to the recorded track. I prefer to apply things like compression and EQ post-recording (rather than during the recording), as it allows me to adjust the recording however I like, rather than being stuck with the recording 'as is'. But that's me [quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1403011771' post='2478820']Can someone expelling to me the term "noise gate"? Is that similar to a noise limiter?[/quote] No, they're quite different. A limiter sets a maximum level (volume) for a sound and prevents any noise louder than this level from passing through it (by effectively 'squishing' such louder sounds back down to the maximum level that's been set). Heavy limiting can cause all sorts of weird 'artefacts' in the outputted sound, typically distortion, so it should be used carefully. A noise gate is a device that allows sound to pass through it once the sound reaches a certain level (volume), which can be set by the user. For example: noise gates are commonly used when mixing drums, when you're trying to remove the unwanted sounds (aka 'spill') from a particular drum mic recording. So you might use a noise gate on a snare drum recording, so that the gate 'opens' when the snare drum sounds, but remains 'shut' the rest of the time, keeping out any noises that have spilled over from other drum mics (such as hi hats and overheads). Hope that helps Edited June 17, 2014 by Skol303 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1403012659' post='2478831'] I wouldn't recommend a limiter - they're fairly brutal devices and can pummel any sense of human 'dynamics' out of your sound. [/quote] Only if you set the threshold too low! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 try one of these they turn up on the effects for sale forum fairly regular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1403014787' post='2478854']Only if you set the threshold too low![/quote] Very true! I'd still use a compressor myself... only because limiters, by definition, usually have a high compression ratio (10:1 or more). I'd rather achieve the same result by chaining a couple of compressors together: typically one that's set super-quick and agressive, to flatten the spikes, and another more gentle to smooth things over. It tends to result in a more 'natural' sound... but maybe that's not always the desired result. It's all horses for courses, innit And I work with software, not hardware, so I effectively have as many compressors at my disposal as my CPU will allow. If I was working with outboard gear then sure, I might consider a limiter as a better 'general purpose' device for live recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I agree that a decent compressor would be of more use if you're a bit heavy-handed on occasion. [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/"]http://www.ovnilab.com/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1403016107' post='2478865'] ...And I work with software, not hardware... [/quote] Ahhh, now it makes sense! Yes, when using my DAW I load up a chain of compressors. When I'm playing bass through some pedals, I use a limiter. I just keep bringing the threshold down until I can hear it, then push it back a little. It seems to work well for me. I use the Boss one with the ratio set to the max. I never, ever use the "enhance" feature which should be labelled "detract" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 TBH when I'm recording most of the time the signal goes through a good quality hardware compressor set with a reasonably high ratio and a very high threshold just to tame any over the top peaks. Besides if you are recording 24 bit you have plenty of headroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteS Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 Thanks for your thoughts on this - I will not be dashing out to buy a Limiter, firstly just work on my technique, I don't like too much compression so I doubt I will like limiting. BTW I used my new GK MB500 and MBE210 last night with the band, cranked up quite high, and I noticed my heavy handed approach seems to get naturally compressed by the GK anyway, so it's all good for jamming, I just need to tweek my style for recording. Cheers- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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