recording with the red light flashing/on

[Heat Vision]

so i hear about people recording stuff into the 303 with the red light on to achieve a certain sound for their samples.


I was wondering what that did for them, and if it has the same effect on the 404/404sx?

[dStx]

I never used a 303, but for the most recent track I'm working on w/ the 404sx, the red light is on for every sample I used b/c I had to record it straight from my vinyl adapter to the 404 (not thru a receiver where I could control volume). Anyway, with all the samples red-lining, it seems to have a more crunchy sound with heavier vinyl clicks and pops. It sounds sick, and from now on, I probably won't put to much stock in keeping the light blue while recording...

[Heat Vision]

^^^

Hey that sounds nice K =D

This makes me wonder though is it safe to do in the long run? this wont burn out anything in the 404 will it?

[dStx]

I hope not... But I'm not an expert here...

[squ!L]

it's no problem for the 404 if you record with the red light on. it's just up to you if you like the sound or not.
i read an remixmag interview with dj premier where he talks about his drums:

“I turn 'em up loud when I sample 'em,” he says. “When you're sampling, go the most you can go without distortion. I always go right to the tip of distortion, even with vocals and all that. Tap the red a little bit, and then kinda round out the top when you EQ.”

he's talking about the akai s950 or the mpc but it's the same effect on other machines or mixing boards. off course every audio device sounds a little bit differnet when driven hard.

[admbmb]

Premier was talking about going into the red on tape. Tape will compress and prevent "clipping" and can sound good. Going into the red digitally will cause clipping/distortion. Not a fan of this type.

[squ!L]

i think he's talking about tape, mixing boards and samplers. he is probably not recording all of his drums to tape before sampling.
but whatever. i agree with you, digital distortion can be pretty harsh. usually i try not to hit the red light in the sp while sampling but with my old akai s2000 i would do it a lot. nice warm digital crunchiness

[cartesia]

the purpose being alluded to is to digitally just touch the red at the verrry peaks.. the point is to clip a little bit to make it crunchier and loud, but not clip it so much that it sounds crap

[dStx]

interrressssting.

Well I can say that with my samples deep in the red it sounds crunchy in a damn good way and not distorted or harsh... I'll upload it on my soundcloud in a day or two so you can hear.

[admbmb]

Premier's secret is that he does run his drums through tape. Or at least he did at one time (now he just reuses the same drums). Bottom line...I have read interviews where he talks about it. And cartesia is right...but the bottom line is how does it sound? In general, digital clipping is bad. If your waveform looks like a block of cheese or if you kicks have rectangular peaks...this is not a good thing.

[squ!L]

premier really ran his drums through tape? good to know. reminds me of portishead pressing drums on record just to sample them with the vinyl sound. even though that's a lot more work than recording to tape before sampling.

Well I can say that with my samples deep in the red it sounds crunchy in a damn good way and not distorted or harsh

one time i was sampling with a broken cable without knowing and the sample would sound way dirty and fucked up in a good way. there are no rules. sound is king.

[dStx]

if you want to check out what i was talking about, play 'castles on the rhine' in my soundcloud below. its scratchy, let me know what you think.

[squ!L]

K.DeStefano, that's a cool dusty beat. and you're right, it doesn't sound distorted at all.

[yo-yo crunch]

i don't think primo uses tape anymore. he said that they stopped a while ago in that redbull academy lecture.

i like to turn my pt-01 all the way up when sampling drums (and eq's boosted on xenyx 802). the red light is on the whole time during sampling but when i play the pad there's no red light action at all

[blavatsky]

old thread I know, but i noticed in the 404sx it recommends when you record samples to get the level where the red flashes "occasionally"...thought that was interesting... I know all digital clipping can be bad but maybe roland has some real simple limiter or similar that soft clips really brief peaks as sampling. I dunno just a thought.

I usually try to keep the red to a minimum, if you record everything in the red and layer it you will have some issues esp. with more effects added.