Any tips for improving overall recording quality?

[timmytoga]

Using a Presonus 2x2 Audiobox, I record directly from my 404 sx to my computer. I record the audio into audacity, and then normalize it.

It normally sounds thin in comparison to what I'm hearing through my monitors. This makes me wonder.

What tips or tricks could I use to maintain a recordings "fullness". Should I EQ/ compress prior and/or post recording? Should I record louder or quieter? I also considered resampling onto one pad, and then transferring that single stereo sample directly from my SD card to my pc...

Any ideas, tips, or tricks that have worked for you in the past?

[IIIII]

The quality of the track might be recording fine, but your playback could be affected by your soundcard. also if you want a fat sound, maybe try recordin out the sp to a tape deck, then recording back into your sp. since you have the sx you can just pop the sd card into your pc and drag the track off. dif tapes give dif sounds, you might like dubbing over commercial releases too. check a goodwill

[timmytoga]

The quality of the track might be recording fine, but your playback could be affected by your soundcard. also if you want a fat sound, maybe try recordin out the sp to a tape deck, then recording back into your sp. since you have the sx you can just pop the sd card into your pc and drag the track off. dif tapes give dif sounds, you might like dubbing over commercial releases too. check a goodwill

Good call. I have a tape recorder and tapes, but haven't experimented too much with them. I think my issue is more with the thin-ness of the recording during playback. It could be my soundcard, but I wasn't positive that spending the money on a firewire/usb Mackie mixer or whatever was necessarily going to remedy the problem.

Thanks IIIII, I'll try recording to tape and bounce back to my SD card and hear how it sounds.

[IIIII]

also if you have a stereo mix make sure you're recording stereo into the pc. i think audacity opens a mono track by default and you have to choose stereo

[wax inspektor]

hmm.. do you use the headphone output of the presonus 2x2 interface for monitoring??

i had that interface too - the headphone output is mono only - that confused the shit outta me back in the day...
there is a newer 2x2 model; not sure if that hp-output is in stereo...

[timmytoga]

:idea: hmm.. do you use the headphone output of the presonus 2x2 interface for monitoring??

i had that interface too - the headphone output is mono only - that confused the shit outta me back in the day...
there is a newer 2x2 model; not sure if that hp-output is in stereo...

Damn I didn't know that! No, I don't monitor through my headphones. But now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever been able to successfully pan audio using my MPC 2500 to my left or right monitors.... Is it possible that everything is getting mixed to mono for some reason? o_O

[wax inspektor]

sounds like an driver issue cause it only "monofies" the incoming signal on the headphone output as far as i remember ...
(the first presonus 2x2 audiobox; don't know about 2nd gen)

[Mr. Davenport]

I would try to get all the sounds eq'd right and as loud as possible without redding out when recording into pc. might also want to check out some mastering plug ins. Like mentioned above make sure you have a decent soundcard. I use the komplete audio 6 interface as my soundcard and it has a nice fat sound to it.

[tape smoke]

You can set the gain on your computer to accompany the SP. usually we
roll up straight full blast on the SP, and then set the gain on the
recording mixer. Lots of the ninjas use the SP at half power, because
that is where the Sub Sonic sits nice,. When using the former signal
technique,
you will have to internal adjust the amplitudes manually. You don't
really want to use a mic input for recording the beatings unless you
really have to. Like mentioned above, you can tweak out and master all
of the voices to get a nice mash, when you master this techniques, you
will be way more happy with using SP only production.